There have been more than 600 Android phones and tablets -- that's according to Hong Kong developer Animoca, which has highlighted the vast range of Android phones and tablets with a photo of its many, many test devices.
While you probably don't need to own every Android device to build an app, it does prove that Android phones come in all shapes and sizes. That's a lot of phones -- and all in less than four years.
I wouldn't want to be the guy who has to test Pretty Pet Salon or Token Toss on 400 phones, but how satisfying must it be to spread out that assemblage of Androids?
TechCrunch reports that Animoca has amassed the 400-strong Android armada to test their apps and make sure they work across the varied range of devices running the software. Android phones and tablets have a broad range of screen sizes and pixel counts, a wide gamut of processor speeds, and countless other variables. There are also many different versions of Android software still hanging around, as different phones receive updates in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, which some argue is the biggest issue facing Android.
The developer reckons that around 600 unique Android devices have been released since the first Android phone in late 2008 -- although that number has swelled due to the glut of cheap low-end phones.
Update: Animoca has asked me to point out that this is not a comprehensive industry analysis, but they counted those 600 devices on their app network in the last month -- which means that the total number of Android devices ever made is even higher. That really is a lot of phones.
Many argue this broad range of devices and different levels of software update means that Android is hopelessly fragmented. But really it's not as bad as all that, as the actual number of phones that people buy is much lower. And there are many tools to make sure an app will play nicely with the range of devices -- but that doesn't make such a fun photo.
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anonymous 14 May, 2012 14:21
my favorite? iPhone 4S... i had the tmobile my touch 3G, and a droid x.. i hated both of them, when i finally got my iPhone i screamed like a little girl. I'll never go back to android ever again. WAYYYY too complicated even for a techy like me.
anonymous 14 May, 2012 15:02
The techcrunch article doesn't say that Animoca believes 600 unique android devices have been sold since 2008? It says "their studio has detected about 600 unique Android devices on their network." it makes no mention as to the number of Android units there are worldwide?
The one with the Keyboard looks neat, is that a tablet or an android netbook?
anonymous 14 May, 2012 16:10
@anonymous 14 May, 2012 15:02
The one with the keyboard is both, It's an Asus Transformer Prime (tf201) in the champagne color. It's the second in their Transformer line (tf101 was the first and is still pretty cool). It runs ICS. I've seen reviews of it as both a net-book and a tablet. I've got one and it is pretty slick. They just released a cheaper version of it (Transformer Pad tf300) and are going to release a HD version of it sometime this summer.
falo 14 May, 2012 16:45
"WAYYYY too complicated even for a techy like me."
Did I step in something? I smell ******** ... can be made complicated if you want to, but out of the box complicated? Not that I've noticed, and certainly not if you actually are a "techie".
Anyway, onto the article.
Rich, I think this was somewhat misleading:<br />
"Many argue this broad range of devices and different levels of software update means that Android is hopelessly fragmented. But really it's not as bad as all that, as the actual number of phones that people actually buy is much lower"
That's kind of missing the point (and a cynical man would suggest doing so deliberately so you can remain on the fence regarding that much loved "fragmentation" word). Device proliferation and platform versions are often cited as a problem, but they are irrelevant for the majority of apps when using APIs that are designed to be compatible regardless of what device the app is running on. You skirted around the point when you said:
"While you probably don't need to own every Android device to build an app"
How about removing the word "probably"? Even better, how about getting an article on Crave that covers the CTS and what gaps it actually has? For example, problems with OpenGL seem to be the most frequent genuine "fragmentation" problems that crop up. Of these, how many are actually an issue? How many people actually need to play around with strange custom shaders? There's less and less value in these articles manufacturing a scale for fragmentation ("ooh look, thousands of devices") without also putting a scale on the impact.
anonymous 14 May, 2012 17:26
@falo - Goal at CNET UK is not to provide 100% accurate information. It is designed to make sure the layman audience can believe that they've understood something about tech.
Though, if fragmentation affects app developers, it would affect users. Many apps have a staggered launch for supporting a large number of devices, and also remain incompatible with some % of devices. Thats a negative however you look at it.
falo 14 May, 2012 18:07
@ Anonymous 17.26
I'd hope their goal is to provide 100% accurate information ... maybe not 100% comprehensive, but aiming for accuracy has to be important right? :P And yes, I understand it's designed for a wider audience, but that's not an excuse to be vague or evasive.
OK, so there's certainly a negative aspect to incompatibility, but it's not a negative "however you look at it". Think instead about an imaginary boundary between the devices supported and those not supported. Let's assume, for the sake of this example, that this represents a boundary sitting down amongst some very low end smartphones. One could argue that those low end devices that have just made it over the boundary are lucky to have done so and so I would see it as a positive that apps can, without additional effort, provide support for phones other than flagship devices.
p.s. "Many apps". Citation needed.
anonymous 14 May, 2012 21:54
I would love to see a meeting between one Android only dev, one iOS only dev and one dev that develops for both and see them "discuss" the reasons for developing in the way they do.... can cnet or anyone else make that happen?
Rich Trenholm 15 May, 2012 09:25
Interesting points, thanks everyone! I felt like I had to touch on fragmentation without getting into too much detail, interesting to read your thoughts on the subject