The really amazing thing is that there are still developers out there willing to continue getting screwed by Google rather than moving on to doing real work for a real system that really exists. I guess it really is easy to fool some of the people all of the time.

I will be ever patient for our Overlord Google to deliver.

But...

Taking too much time can mean you miss the bus. An excellent example of this was British Sattelite Broadcasting who were late to the UK sattelite TV market - the writing was on the wall within a year of launch because they were so far behind the opposition.

The opposition to Android is Windows Mobile, Symbian, iPhone and to a lesser extent OpenMoko. All these have devices in the marketplace and all but OpenMoko are well established. The Freerunner (production version of the beta OpenMoko phone the Neo1973) is selling well but in much smaller quantities than the iPhone.

If people want to make money, a slick iPhone application is the answer right now. Android is in effect a research programme until there is hardware to hand. Even OpenMoko had beta hardware for 18 months before the Freerunner became available recently.

Do you remember Vista?

There will always be devout followers of the Open Source religion, but how many will keep this doomed project going is beyond me.

Anyone with a brain will be moving onto the iPhone by now.

10 million apps downloaded in just a few days. OK, so most of those won't be paid-for apps, but you can't argue with those numbers.

I don't get Android, I can certainly see Google's motives but I don't understand why the Networks would want an open platform that endgames their added content sales and relegates them to little more than mobile ISP's or why Dev's were excited about coding for a platform where the average user is going to expect apps to be free*

Meanwhile this weekend another million iPhones were sold and 10 million apps downloaded, This user has found it all too easy to spend cash at that app store, I suspect I'm not alone and I wish I had something, anything sitting in that app store already.

*with maybe some adverts, or silent tracking for marketing purposes heh

What?

It's not open source. That's part of the problem.

Think about the iPhone as Windows and Android as Linux

That might help you get people's motivations.

the point is that they devices aren't going to be open in the sense that the hyped up idiots think it will be. it was never meant to be a "linux" platform, linux is just used as kernel for running the bytecode vm you're supposed to develope for.

the vm even has security/api restriction system in it - and you're not supposed to touch the native linux underneath at all(you're probably going to be tried to be kept away from it at all costs - which gets us to real reasons for delaying sdk while they're trying to figure it out).

the reason why say, an operator, is intrested in android is that android has the openness FOR THE OPERATOR to make it as LOCKED AS THE OPERATOR WANTS before shipping. it's a basic thing in the industry that some operators prefer to order their phones from the manufacturers more locked/limited than others.

theres other huge things still floating in the air too though, like j2me on android.. is it going to happen or have they missed that boat along with apple(j2me is a huge thing.. bigger than missing mms)

That was the one after DOS wasn't it?

Tony and Cherie?

I just vomited a bit in the back of my mouth.

The OpenMoko Neo has android in the stack.

The OpenMoko Neo Freerunner has been released.

Release the code Google :)

Has anyone noticed that organisations such as the open mobile alliance and the open handset alliance operate more as oligopolies, abusing the term open. Most appear to be backed by lawyers not developers.

ADC Entrants,

We're pleased to announce that SDK build 84853 is now available on your private download site. This will be the last build released for ADC Round 2 and is the build that you will need to submit your final application under.

In addition, the final ADC deadline has been extended to Tuesday, August 5. This is the final ADC deadline.

Thanks!

Android Developer Challenge Team

Should have mentioned that it looks like those who didn't make the top 50 are stuck using the older, buggier version of the SDK. Most of the development community believes this email was sent out by mistake. This is a roadblock for many developers who have invested both money and time.