Okay Google it's time to step up

Posted by craz on May 4, 2012 08:02 pm 25

I was immensely excited for the announcement of the Galaxy SIII. I've been waiting on "my next" and was sure that this was going to be it. They held the announcement from MWC, the solid leak prevention, and the hype leading up to the announcement. I just knew they were going to blow us away. We were going to see new screen technology, a new processor, a new focus on design and materials.

Well we know what happened at the announcement. We got a Galaxy SII / Galaxy Nexus combination with a heavier version of touch wiz and a bunch of bloat that will do nothing to increase productivity. Oh and we got simulated urination noises too! It was like a gut punch to the stomach that lasted the length of Samsung's hour long announcement.

So we have HTC (who I think wins the head to head battle in this one,) and Samsung, our two leaders in the Android device world. Neither HTC nor Samsung want to build Android devices. They are both obviously hell bent on bastardizing Android to create their own faux operating systems. Both are blatantly ignoring Google's recommendations for both software and hardware design.

The lack of cohesion is becoming a serious problem for android. Especially now that Android 4.0 is such a solid base and has a distinct design language. The design is good and it is working. Just look at the Holo app thread. They made a brilliant decision in handing Androids software over to Matias Duarte and his has made leaps and bounds with its design. People love the new direction of android but the average consumers just don't know it's out there. The OEM's are completely ignoring all of great leadership of Google on the design front. The OEM's are pushing their brands at the cost of the whole ecosystem. The Nexus devices are basically becoming gifts for us tech fans because obviously the average consumer doesn't even know they exist. And how would they. Samsung doesn't want you to buy one. They want you to buy a Galaxy.

There is only one solution I see at this point.

Google has to get into the hardware business. Not by partnering with different OEMs. We need Google hardware. It's time to put that Motorola purchase to use. Maybe I'm naive, maybe Google doesn't care. I mean they still get the ad revenue and the app sales either way. I'm just worried that if Google doesn't step up what may come next. I mean who really wants to see a Samsung or HTC app store? I'm honestly surprised it hasn't happened already.

In the mean time I’m going to sit tight with my 4.0 Nexus S and wait for "my next."

And for the first time since the G1 I don't know if it will be Android, IOS or Windows phone. Hell I might even be open to BB10.