Al Sutton wrote: > I think Android is seen as offering the most benefits when it has a net > connection and a cellular modem is the best way to ensure that it's portable > and has the connection, and once you have that putting voice on is a very > common request, and once you've done that, well, you've got a 'phone. Things > like Google Maps, Email, the Browser, Social Network apps, etc., etc., are > all heavily dependant on a connection to the net, so skipping the cellular > modem means you'd lose a chunk of functionality (and appeal) the moment you > stepped out of the door of somewhere with a Wi-Fi hotspot. > > If you look for less functionality then, well, OEMs may as well go with a > Linux core and a custom UI because the way the 2.x tree seems to be run > they've go no guarantees that they won't end up with users demanding an > update to the latest version of Android which they initially can't get access > to the source for, and when they do they may have a chunk of work to do to > update drivers and interfaces into DSPs, GPS chips, etc., etc. > > I've seen at least one report that the native Archos media player (which is > basically a Linux application running alongside the Android framework) uses > far less battery than the built-in Android media player. Whether this is > because Archos didn't make full use of the hardware when the ported Android > to their device I can't say, but the reported figures were around 75% battery > drop using the Android media player for 1.5 hours, and a 25% drop to do the > same and more using the native app. > I would guess that Archos specifically has a next-to-nil development budget, so the "native" media player is the reference one from their chip supplier and their Android implementation has minimal customization for their hardware. It's probably possible to get an Android tablet with an excellent out-of-the-box user experience, but Archos is not the one to do it. (They did come through with their free device for developers though, and the hardware is quite nice provided you work the screen with a stylus).
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