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Android Platform Versions Chart Updated, 1.x Won’t Go Without a Fight

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android-versions-chart

It’s December 1st and Google’s ready to serve up some new platform distribution numbers. Last time, we saw Android 2.0+ taking up a majority of the pie at 77% (Eclair  with about 41% and Froyo with 36%), while 1.5 and 1.6 were still lingering around. This time, Froyo’s taken over the top spot with 43% while Eclair drops to 39.6% for a combined 82.6%. As for Cupcake and Donut, they’re still taking up 6.3% and 10.6%, respectively, which – combined – accounts for nearly 17%. The trend has been out with the old and in with the new – as it should be – but once 1.x is fully antiquated we’ll be wondering why everyone isn’t on 2.2, 2.3, and eventually, 3.0. [via Android Developers]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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21 Comments

  1. Any word on 2.2 on the Fascinate? If its even getting it. If it’s going to be much longer they might as well wait for Gingerbread.

  2. Why name Android versions ater food? Why not different names for the Android versions, like as in making a unique Mascot & name for each version. Not foooooooooooooooood. Yuck.

  3. After*

  4. It’s interesting to wonder what version Android will reach by the time I can renew…

  5. zachary,

    because food is easy, and fun, just like google. and its easy to follow. *A*lpha, *B*eta, *C*upcake, *D*onut, *E*clair, *F*rozen yogurt , *G*inger Bread, *H*oney Comb…. and it will be easy to go on and on and on. People are curious to what happens once we hit Z but that is a long while away. as android releases are perfected new releases will be further apart as changes will not be necessary and we will see avlot more x.1.3 x.1.4 ext.

  6. hehe Android was built by a bunch of hippies!

  7. This actually looks really good, 83% of phones on 2.x? Android has made a lot of improvement.

  8. This is funny. After doing a little research, I found that Chitika reports that 68% of iPhone users are running their latest major version, 4.x. Compare this to 83% of Android running our latest version 2.x…

    Fragmen-what?

    http://chitika.com/research/2010/iphone-os-breakdown-september/

  9. Hippies? Then Z might be *Z*agnut?

  10. Ryan.. Just curious, what happens if/when they reach X, Y, and Z? All I can think of is Yams, and little debbie’s Zebra Cakes.

  11. Zucchini?

  12. I just wonder if tmobile will ever upgrade their other android phones to 2.2 ( the mytouch slide that was promised 2.2 but that never happend and the vibrant has been pushed aside :(

  13. Zeppola, perhaps, since the food theme has been focused on desserts and sweets thus far?

  14. Hmmm… they could just use Yogurt for Y. I don’t think there are any ‘x’ desserts (in English, anyway). If they decided to use different languages, they could go with xiaodianxin for x. *shrugs* they’re still releasing phones that aren’t even froyo, and won’t be soon, if ever, so I am much more interested to see how much fragmentation is reduced in the future. There will always be some differences, especially with 2-year contracts, etc. However, as time goes on, significant updates will be rolled out less and less frequently simply because Android will be more refined and won’t require it. Of course, when the manufacturers fail, there’s always xda.

  15. @TheDrizzle
    you forgot the hardware fragmentation/variety, which makes it sometimes difficult to develop for especially in games

  16. I am not surprised that there is still quite a high percentage on v1 of Android. There are a lot of G1, Hero’s etc that were bought and not everyone who bought one of these phones is going to go to the trouble to root it, especially if you aren’t a power user (their main short coming was a lack of space to install apps, rather than their usability). As these phones are largely unlikely to be updated to v2 I expect this percentage to stay above 10% probably for at least another year – before these phones stay dying out and a replacement is required.

  17. I do not consider this 2.x argument valid. I have 2.1 on my Milestone and feel that 2.2 is a much more mature platform. OK the number is only +.1 but better JIT, flash, apps to SD – all big improvements. When I look at it I see a split as 1.5 as the low end then 1.6 to 2.1 all together then 2.2 and 2.3 (when it arrives) in a separate category at the top. I am getting bored of the non-updates and the uncertainty when I buy a phone of if it will be update. And custom ROMS are not an option when companies are resisting open phones. Even HTC are making the G2 hard to root…..son locked bootloaders for them too??

  18. T Mobile… still waiting for upgrades…..

  19. In Argentina for example, Motorola started selling Quench, Dext and Backflip a few months ago, all running on 1.5 or 1.6 without plans of upgrading.
    This means that 1.x phones are still actively being sold and slows the (numerical) decline of these platforms. Obviously they do that in other countries too.

    http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/AR-ES/Home

    Still a lot of room for development in some countries.

    PS: I barely believe it, but a Backflip costs 200 bucks, on a 50 bucks / month contract. http://www.personal.com.ar/personalblack/individuos/backflip.html

  20. Zeppelani? (a Lithuanian staple dish)

  21. Didnt even realize they were doing A B C. I guess we should start suggesting names for H right now. I suggest Hummus or hamburger.

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