http://www.androidguys.com/2010/01/27/worth-putting-android-netbook/

Android seems to be Beta for Chaos (A-BC). What are the rules for one item only having Android ver 1.5, another ver 1.6, and others versions 2.0 or 2.1 and so on? Does each OEM program his own version as needed when he gets to it, to get it to work under his own broad rules? I’ve read that Google has not plans for Android on tablets. Isn’t this one trait that killed the Windows PDA market as we knew it–it got beyond MS’s ability to control so MS left it up to each supplier/OEM to program? We wonder why apps don’t always work! Maybe Apple’s heavy hands has some merit? Will Google step up to the plate?

Simple, obvious, game-changing additions for which the technology is already available keep getting left out of phones and pads and tablets and netbooks, etc.

Things like front-facing cameras (game changing by making video calls easy), FM tuners (when you want to listen to the local radio station on your phone, sure, it’s technically quite impressive that it streams over the net, but wouldn’t you have been happier if you could just turn the dial and listen to ANY local station without the hassle?), accessible memory slots, etc are easy to add but just aren’t available in most devices.

A long, long time ago (2000) I emailed Palm repeatedly suggesting that they move the game forward by combining cellular, gps, cameras, and advertising. I laid out what seemed like an obvious opportunity to sell many more devices AND make a new market around combining GPS with the net and ads.

They wrote back with a short message that said essentially, “Thanks. We’ve heard you. We just don’t agree with you. We don’t think many people would ever use those features.”

They missed the boat in a big way. I feel like the people guiding development of android devices (and obviously the ipad) are just as short-sighted.

Anyone want to start a web site and get together a group of interested people to do mock-ups of what these devices SHOULD be? We could accept ideas, then group them together into specific features.

For each feature we could then investigate whether the tech is currently available and draw out exactly what would be needed to add it to a phone. Some things may need driver support. Some may impact carrier networks by requiring more (or less) data usage. Some may be accessories (like a carrying case with a really thin keyboard and kickstand) may require a specific form-factor.

If we were to put all these things together, create some specs, and then do some work to get the site some real publicity, then maybe we could get it into the development plans of phone makers.

Seriously, the way things are going it’s wayyy too long between leaps forward. And the vendors who are making big leaps (like the litl) aren’t using the standard platforms (android) that we all want, so they’re not getting the benefit of all those apps.

Apple really fumbled yesterday. There’s a great chance for an android tablet maker to swoop in and make a big difference in the world. Sadly, it seems like none of them see the point of doing so.

After using glass touch screens on the iPhone and Droid, the Archos’s touch surface is just too unresponsive.

I was also very frustrated by the UI. I kept having to switch back and forth between horizontal and vertical orientations while setting up the unit; the home screen doesn’t rotate, and so I couldn’t just pick an orientation and go with it.

But the last straw was the missing App Market. Without apps, it’s not really “Android”… it’s just another PMP.