Dr. Google and Mr. Android · Links

22 March 2013 · PPK

Excellent Vision Mobile article on the future of Android in the post-Rubin era.

By my estimate roughly one third of Android devices that will ship this year will come out of the branded Chinese handset makers

That will change the make-up of the Android users a lot. Further problems are bad app monetization, the fact that Android users browse, buy, and search less than iOS users (explanation here), and the fact that Android's business model remains vague. Sure, getting people to use Google services sounds good in theory, but what if the average Android user is not interested in services at all?

Finally, some thoughts about the web on mobile:

In a world in which the phone is just a browser, then Google wins all the search business it ever needs. In that vision, the need for a mobile OS eventually withers away. My sense is that many at Google still believe this is the ultimate outcome. [...] And if that is where we are all headed, then Android and iOS and all the rest are merely transitional stages to be borne through, not eternal pillars of the firmament.

Read more: http://www.visionmobile.com/blog/2013/03/dr-google-and-mr-android/