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Originally Posted by Andanzas
Maybe this is part of the problem: Google is used to releasing web services in beta, but I don't think that works for an OS, not when the user has to pay several hundred dollars to use it.
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It seems to have worked quite well, and users have paid hundreds to use far less functional versions than Google is releasing now.
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And now they are releasing Chrome OS. A company that had no previous experience developing operating systems just a few years ago, now it's goint to develop and support two at the same time. O 2.5, because I am not sure that Android for phones and Android for tablets are exactly the same OS. At least it has significant differences, doesn't it?
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Google has had an internal battle going on for some time, about just how far to commit to the cloud and how soon. Chrome OS is part of the full on cloud side of the battle, Android is a little more conventional. When Google first bought Android, they weren't fully committed to it, but they were concerned about the mobile market being controlled and their web content (specifically, their ads) being shut out, so they released Android in beta, though they called it 1.x, gave it a shot, and people liked it. Not everyone wanted Apple, winmo was neglected and Palm was nearing extinction, so it filled a void. 2.x is like a real OS, though still rough around the edges, and it's hard to imagine sales having better trajectories. Android's biggest purpose was to ensure that no group (Apple, MS, et al) could shut off access to an open mobile internet (that Google needs to survive) without consequence, and I'd say it has done that job well.
Android is Android. The newest for tablets has a different UI than the newest for phones, but the next iteration, called ice cream sandwich (not the catchiest nickname) unifies the two. With lots of tablets itching to get to market to compete with the iPad, Google wanted a more tablet friendly UI on the table fast, and I suppose there wasn't time to iron out all of the wrinkles, so they split things up temporarily.
Lots of people share your dissatisfaction with the market. And the complaint is fair, as are a lot of others. Google Docs is one indication of how the company has lots of different groups with different focuses: Docs was not developed for Android. Neither was Chrome (the browser), and both should have been. As to the core of your question, I don't think the shortcomings indicate google isn't serious about Android. It's been a huge contributor to their core business: advertising. Mobile ad revenue is a fast growing market, and pretty much everyone believes the mobile internet will be THE internet of the future. Google is deadly serious about that, and so long as Android helps, they'll keep getting a little better at it with each passing year.