[EVO 4G General] Mitch Matrixx:
I 2nd this big time.

I'm in complete agreement with this OP, and in fact was thinking the exact same thing the other day.

Android has such a confusing and fragmented ecosystem that's it's not funny. I believe this is a result of the "young & wild" thinking behind the business model of the original Open Handset Alliance that Google helped form during Anrdroid's inception. Google came forth with a set of rules, but were perhaps a little too loose on their requirements. They made a set of hardware parameters that Android phones "should" utilize. And in a desperate attempt to become relevant during the iphone craze of the last few years, said "have at it, go build some Androids".

I understand the thinking behind such a model, as not everyone needs, or can afford a high end device i.e., Evo, Incredible, Droid X etc. Some people want to spend $100 or less and have a data enabled phone without giant touch screens, and 5+ MP camera functions. They just want to text, and download ringtones etc, as this is economically viable.

This model has some major pitfalls however, being that; 1) With marketing ploys like Verizon's "Droid", & 2) A new low end Android phone coming out every month -

Android as a whole becomes more and more anonymous and confusing to the average consumer. A lot of people are already walking around asking, "What the hell is Android anyway?" They know they want a smart phone, or maybe even the ubiquitous iPhone like all of their friends and family have... They hear about Android, and how cool and open it is, then go to purchase one from ATT, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, Tmobile, Etc... WTF, who to go with, and now, which phone! Wait, what do you mean I can only get the Galaxy Captivate on ATT? Why can I only get the Evo on Sprint, and the G2 on TMO?

Not a very fluid purchase, and then to find out that your precious phone won't be receiving the latest OS updates becomes the nail in the coffin.

This is the biggest thing I've noticed about Android since purchasing my Evo in June. If I didn't have some technical know how, and the support of XDA, my Evo would be near obsolete already. However, I am not the "average" consumer, I love to hack things. Most people want a good phone that will last a year or two, and not have to feel buyer's remorse every few months when a better and faster device hits the shelves.

You could make the same argument about Apple devices with their yearly refresh, and most technology for that matter but I feel the impact of this phenomenon may be greatest with Android... It's almost as if the marketing gurus at all the big telco's want to cram as much of this stuff out into the public, before we realize what's going on, and don't want it anymore.

I love Android, and my Evo is a good phone (not great), but I clearly see behind their marketing fluff, and their poorly disguised ecosystem if you can call it that.

Don't even get me started on the failure that is the Android Market.... Ugh...

What a messy, clusterf¨©k. An unorganized, unregulated, bloated piece of $Free.99 garbage. Google seems to actually encourage "free w/ads" apps over developers making GOOD apps, and getting paid for them!

Not to mention the lack of security, repetition, and licensing infringement that runs rampant throughout. This may seem off topic, but it all ties in to the lack of standardization that plagues Google, and Android as a whole.

If I were Google's CEO, I would clamp down fast in a clear and concise manner with Motorola, HTC and LG etc, and call for better hardware standardization, less marketing fluff, and actually give Devs a reason to want to get involved with the Android market. One way of doing this would be to stop selling old hardware (read, crappy) repackaged in a new phone.

Granted, Android sales are huge right now, but if they stay on this rocky path, the Big G may soon find themselves in a sales plateau, if not on their way to a canyon. They set out to be different, which is good, but sometimes different ends up being strange.