Though it started the race late, Google’s Android operating system has quickly caught up, offering a range of phones and tablets of all sizes, builds, and price points. Unlike Apple, it’s not all a single design, so you can choose the Android device that looks and feels the best for you.
Benefits of the Google ecosystem
The Android ecosystem is even more tightly integrated than Apple’s. By using a unified Google login, you can automatically download all the apps you’ve downloaded or purchased on one device to all of your devices – all without having to use an intermediary application like iTunes. Though some manufacturers, like Samsung, like to put their own “skin” or operating system layer on top of Android, the basic experience is the same across all devices. Applications and media automatically sync across all Google devices. Once you purchase it, it’s yours.
The Google ecosystem is among the least expensive. Good Android tablets cost about half of what an iPad costs, and the phones are comparable in price with Apple and Microsoft.
Though Google frequently updates Android, it still offers tech support for the earliest versions. Also, app developers are encouraged to be as backward compatible as possible. This chart shows the latest breakdowns of Android users: half of all Android users are still on Gingerbread, which is several versions old.
Drawbacks of the Google ecosystem
Operating system updates are always free for any Android device. However, you’re restricted by your device’s manufacturer. While “pure” Android devices like the Nexus 4 get updates immediately, branded devices like the Samsung Galaxy S3 can take months to update. It took five months for Samsung to get Jelly Bean after it had already been released.
There are relatively few apps that are optimized specifically for larger Android devices, like tablets. Often, you’re stuck using the phone version, but stretched out.
Mobile Phone
The initial line of Android phones had a clunky operating system, a small screen, and poor battery life. These devices didn’t stack up well against an iPhone, but times have changed, and phones like the Galaxy S 3 and HTC One X are as good, if not better, than the iPhone 5. The larger screen, NFC (near-field communication), removable battery, and the ability to add a memory card in some models separate these Android phones from the iPhone pack. The Galaxy S 3 has a superior feature set compared to most any mobile phone.
Tablet
Though initially a weak link in the form of the heavy, expensive Motorola Xoom, the latest Android tablets, like the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire, are inexpensive, light, and fast. Most have a smaller form factor for ease of use (and the iPad Mini is a response to this trend). The Kindle Fire, especially, is a link to Amazon’s own ecosystem, including FreeTime Unlimited, a subscription service that provides a huge range of free apps and games for kids. No other tablet has anything like that.
Computer
In the absence of any true Google Android PCs, Google has a line of ChromeBooks, which run in the cloud and are based on Google’s Chrome Web browser. Unfortunately, ChromeBooks are useless offline, and are missing applications that only work in Windows. Google’s weakest link is definitely the PC, then, forcing a user to choose between a Windows or a Mac machine. The Chromebook runs an operating system based on Google’s Chrome browser.
Other Devices
Google TV, rather than being a standalone device, is a component of many smart TVs. This Android experience on your TV allows you to access applications, Chrome, and so on, just as you would do on a standalone device.
And how about Microsoft…?
I don’t think any “electronic ecosystem” is ready for primetime, as you say, but I would argue MSFT is further along then the others. The only real deficit they have is the broken link between phone and tablet apps. All of this cross integration is hard to pull off, with Apple owning tablet, MSFT owning desktop, and Google leading the fight for phone.
The real question is, will a winner emerge any time soon, and how long will it take? Meanwhile, the ecosystem you choose now won’t really matter, because by the time that winner is chosen, any of your software will be long obsoleted by something completely different.
I couldn’t disagree more. Name one Windows Phone speaker dock? There are more Apple compatible cars than Microsoft has as well.
Unfortunately, I would say Apple, then Android and MS for the ecosystem race.
Microsoft all the way!! love the surface windows 8 and the windows phone!!!
congrats, SH, on an intelligent effort to address the REAL story of the post-PC era – the “ecosystems.” of course your post will get nitpicked a lot, but great first try.
now to nitpick:
- you mention the Amazon Fire as if it is a functional part of the Google ecosystem, but of course it is not at all. Google apps are not included. it’s really a rival “forked” ecosystem.
- you badly undervalue to Apple desktop/laptop. you mention AirPlay, but not how convenient it is on a home LAN (and also OS X’s other LAN sharing/backup tools). maybe you don’t use them (i do) … and you don’t mention the easy integration of all the OS X iLife apps with their iOS counterparts. maybe you don’t use them either (i do). i know you can do all the same things on a PC by mixing and matching software and cloud services, but you have to be more technically adept. so using a PC with Apple iOS products is do-able, but really, the result is very second rate and so that is a bad half-baked recommendation.
- Google’s communication ecosystem is definitely the best, with Google Voice and many other conveniences. if that is the main user activity, Google’s Android is the way to go.
Hi Alfie,
Commenting on one part of your excellent post … The Amazon Fire uses apps from a curated selection called the Amazon App Store, which are most definitely Android apps. Though no Google apps are included (a shame, since undoubtedly Gmail would be a better app than the Kindle’s built-in one), I wouldn’t say Amazon and Google are rivals. They work together very closely.
I’m sorry but the “Facebook integration works poorly” is the statement made by somebody who hasn’t used it. It appears to be the most reliable form of mobile Facebook as the integrated version updates and is more reliable then multiple Android devices that I have used/been around and most recently the iPhone 5 Facebook App
The big drawback with the Windows Phone app is that it doesn’t allow you to administrate Facebook Pages. If all you have is a personal profile, it’s probably fine.
Umm. Windows Phone does have a Facebook app and has for quite some time. It was actually just updated and the performance has improved dramatically.
Hi Defiler,
The difference is that Windows Phone’s Facebook app is not the official Facebook App that Android and iOS have, so it has quite a few limitations compared to the real thing.
Ahhh. Understood.
Which of course is completely wrong. It IS official. Its developed by MS, but its officially sanctioned by Facebook, by one of its investors…. Microsoft :)
Note the word “official” here:
http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2012/12/17/whatsapp-for-windows-phone-8-arrives-facebook-updated.aspx
Not to concerned about FACEBOOK anyway
The only thing I don’t like about the article is that it completely ignores Linux (well… not really as Android and Chromebook are built on it). Ubuntu is working on developing an ecosystem of its own, though I think everyone is ignoring them for the moment. If Google could work Android into a PC operating system, leaving Chrome as a thin client OS, I think they could win the ecosystem battle hands down. But that’ll take working on a PC version of Android, and I don’t know if they even have that in mind.
For now, I think the best of the three would be the most expensive of the three. I think this race is Apple’s to loose at this point, with Google on its heels. However, give Micro$oft a year or so, and they’ll have their act together.
I have a 12 year old Pentium 1 file server running Fedora 2… still holding strong.. Ive thrown in new hard drives over the years, but thats it… Need to put her down (still runs old pATA drives) but damn she is the definition of duability (Dell FTW)
top 5 platforms of all time? Android. Android. Android. Android. Android….cuz they spit hot fire