Six Android Issues

According to the recent statement of the Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt Android is already ahead of the iPhone but there are 6 Android issues that the company doesn't want to discuss. Some of them are the lack of Android updates, the hardware failures and the security problems with its application and the bloatware installed by the handset manufacturers.

Currently there are some 200 million Android devices in circulation with some 550,000 being added daily, but Schmidt things that Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) will give Android an extra boost, both in terms of sales and developer interest.

Let’s take a look at some of the challenges facing Android that Google doesn’t seem willing to address.

Data pulled together by Michael DeGusta back in October showed how seven of the eighteen Android phones had never run a current version of the Android OS, and how most current Android handsets will never see the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Android handsets also top the hardware failure list, with 14% of all Android support calls related to hardware failures. These Android device returns alone is costing mobile operators a staggering $2 billion per year.

Then there’s the problem with apps. A sucky game is one thing, but what about the free Android anti-malware scanners ‘near to useless,’ with most products achieving 0% detection rate? Also, despite security researcher claiming that Android is not the major target for malware, Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager at Google, continues to refer to security firms that warn of Android malware as ‘charlatans and scammers.’

What about Flash support? Currently there’s no Flash plugin for Ice Cream Sandwich, and after this update is released, that’s it from Adobe. No more.

While Google continues to offer Android to handset makers free of charge (don’t worry, Google still pulls in some $2.5 billion a year from ads displayed on Android devices), patent issues mean that handset OEMs are having to hand over millions of dollars every year to Microsoft. The only company that seems to be willing to leap to Android’s defense is Barnes & Noble.

Oh, and there’s also that issue of bloatware installed by the handset manufacturers is making Android insecure. And that whole CarrierIQ thing.