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Originally Posted by Graham
Really, the fragmentation argument? The vast majority of Android apps are backwards compatible to Android 2.1, so will run on 99% of Android devices.
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Yes. Fragmentation exists and it is ultimately a bad thing for Android. Fragmentation particularly in the UI and system services is a drag on developers coding to the latest and greatest. A developer must make the decision to "dumb down" their app to be supported on a wider variety of devices, or take advantage of features unique to the newer versions of Android (which in turn reduces the potential number of customers).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
And you're claiming that the wide selection of free apps is somehow bad for Android customers?
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Commercial viability ultimately drives the development of quality applications. Generally speaking, if there is no financial benefit, then serious development houses won't invest the resources to create high quality applications. If there is a mindset that apps are free, then a developer who charges for a high quality app will find it difficult to gain traction.
There have been quite a few reports of developers who were able to sell the iOS version of their apps but unable to sell the Android version in spite of parity between the two versions.
Ultimately that is not good for Android. Nor for Android users.