Google Attempting To Stem Android Fragmentation

via Android ReleaseGoogle's Android has been gaining traction, but losing consistency. See, Android is open source. What this means is that all the code that goes into making the OS is available for everyone to see and anyone to edit and use on their own. Open Source software is great, but as Android stands right now, it has been fragmented beyond usability. Because of multiple versions (Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1) and multiple takes on the OS (Dell Areo, MotoBLUR, HTC Sense UI), there are far too many iterations of the OS on the market right now.

Because the difference versions of the OS support different features that are baked in, in order for a third party like HTC to update their Sense UI to sport new features, they have to rebuild it on the new version of the OS. Well, Google thinks they might have a solution.

Over the next two iterations of Android, Froyo and Gingerbread, Android will begin separating applications and components from the actual OS, and begin distributing through the Android Market. Google has been doing this already through the Google Maps application, and seems to be working. Components (such as keyboards) will be able to be distributed through the Android Market, as well. The goal here is to level the playing feature-set playing field across every version of Android. This way, new features can roll out to users without having to update the entire OS, and third parties like HTC can sport all the new features just as quickly without requiring an entire re-skin of the OS.

Do you think this is progress in the right direction for fixing Android fragmentation? Let us know in the comments!