DroidTalk: Is Android dying?

 

Unfortunately, I am not one of those geeks who can say they have been around since the G1 days. My Android ORD (Obsessive ROM-updating Disorder) started with flashing Android onto the SD card of my HD2. Eventually, it progressed into owning the real thing – a G2. The G2 could never compare to my HD2, but even so, the tight-knit Android community helped me grow into an Android-lover.

It has been almost two years since my first experience with the Android OS. I went from drooling over the latest and greatest ROMs, to flashing only when I had issues with my current ROM. Last year, I was so excited to be going to the Android BBQ and this year, I don’t even care that I am not attending. Currently, I have three home screens on my phone – two are empty and the third is half empty. These are only a few cases that led me to the conclusion that Android is no longer in my heart.

Despite the popularity of Google’s operating system, my lack of enthusiasm is shared by many. In the last few weeks, we have seen Apple win their patent dispute over Samsung, phone manufacturers looking for new operating systems to play with, Samsung leaving a blogger thousands of miles away from home, and HP finally releasing their webOS platform as open source. Aside from these examples, I have also read quite a few posts from other geeks who have lost their Android ORD.

For some, the root of all evil is Apple. For others, it is the huge crowd of teenie-boppers that have came in masses and broke the community bond. Whatever the reason, there is definitely a trend of fellow geeks disappearing from the lime light.

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong… I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this,” Steve Jobs vowed in 2010. Although Jobs has done a very good job at tearing Android to pieces, the hard core Android enthusiast would never let Apple win in this war. For that alone, I am going to remove Apple from the top reasons why I think Android is dying. After all, they may have won the battle over Samsung, but they did more harm than good by pushing others to purchase the less expensive, “Android clones.”

With the soon-to-be launch of Windows 8, manufacturers such as Samsung and Nokia are beginning to throw their ducks in the basket, by announcing their own line of W8 smartphones. With the amazing display put on for the announcement of the Microsoft Surface, who is to blame them? Not me, that’s for sure! Although the Metro style interface does not quite tickle my fancy, I have always been a Windows girl at heart, and I can’t wait till the launch of these new devices.

As a retired senior moderator of XDA-Developers, I got to see first hand the effects teenie-boppers can have on the Android community. The noob-ish attitudes of these Android owners have in some cases, chased away developers who used to be all about the community. Their ETA requests and non-searching mentalities have torn down the spirits of those interested in true development. Unfortunately, this is not going to go away anytime soon. The inexpensive operating system is perfect for those whose parents won’t buy them the more expensive alternative – the iPhone.

My final stance on the matter – true geeks will never be chased away by childish antics cough Apple cough, or ignorant noobs. Rather, they will either keep on truckin’ or flock to the next big thing. In this case, I am seriously hoping for the next big thing to come along quickly, as Android has just about lost its ‘flavor’ for me.