Thread: Google Android as a FE Platform

I don't think it's a good idea to use android as an OS for the car for several reasons.

1) you are locked into using android specific APIs because android does not use many standard Linux APIs (ie, like using gstreamer for audio).

2) you don't gain much by using android. A lot of the android apps will have design issues that make them incompatible with in-vehicle environments. That makes the apps all but useless. So if you can't take advantage of all the nice cell phone apps, why use it? If you just want something that boots fast, use Moblin or LinuxICE and build on that. At least you'll be using standard Linux stuff that won't be tied into a specific platform.

3) Google will kill Android. I could be wrong but it seems like Chrome OS is their new baby. I wouldn't be surprised if Chrome OS replaces Android on the phone and everywhere else. In fact, the android "experiment" may have just been another poke at Microsoft to **** them off. To add, WebOS and Maemo are superior Linux-based platforms on the phone and Google knows this. It's easier and more profitable for google to be on Apple's, Palm's, Nokia's, Microsofts, etc phones by making deals with them than it is to make just-another-mobile-phone-os.

just my two sense

I would trust kev on his views of the current situation, he knows the ix like no one else here on the forum. Looking forward....

I honestly think we are within 2 years from having phones replace CarPc's in the mainstream.

Example, everyone hates win mobile 6.x but lots like Touchflo running on WinMo.

How soon until someone makes a frontend like TouchFlo on WinMo, combined with a phone that supports vid out (Omnia II) with some horsepower to do what we need.

Whats his face is already going down that route with the Iphone.

Anyway u look at it, phones with a docking station will be taking over the CarPC in the very near future.

Drunk *** rant done!

To the original question:
Kev nailed it-the apps available just aren't designed for in vehicle use. The whole idea of a cell phone OS is that the user is focusing on it, so things like pop-ups and requiring user action aren't a big deal. Carpcs are the opposite.

To the chrome os comment:
Yea it will be about as successful as google video (before they gave up and bought youtube), google video player, Google web accelerator, google answers, google checkout,....i could keep going. Linux is still Linux no matter how pretty the interface. The idea of a webOS and cloud based computing is a cool one but good luck trying to explain to most users that now they get integrated gmail but cant run 90% of their programs. Not to mention Google's excellent privacy record and the possibility of now having adsense on your desktop

Originally Posted by bemenaker

Google spent way too much money on buying Android to be in a hurry to kill it off. Not disputing the rest of your points, but I don't think they will be in a hurry to get Android off of the phone market, since that market is finally about to explode for them. There are 40+ Android phones slated to come out in the next few months, and Google spent a ton of money aquiring the software. Have to get some return on investment at least first. I know they want Chrome OS to become a serious contender to MS and Apple, but I would think there would be more a of a merging of the two than a killing off of one after this much time, money, and development sunk into the platform. If they went that far, they'd at minimum want to sell it, but even that wouldn't make much sense at this point.

Google has so much money they don't know what to do with it. That's why they start 50 new beta projects a day it seems. Only a few of them ever become popular (ie, gmail, google earth, etc). I've seen some pretty bizzar google projects that Google's spent a lot of money on that disappear or stay in beta forever.

Sure, I heard 40+ phones would be released with android this year. And so far I've seen maybe 2? Android has a lot of market hype behind it, but that's about it. Unlike the iPhone, the current stacks in Android don't have anything to back the hype up.

I'm not sure anyone quite understands what Google is doing with Chrome OS. They can't possibly be targeting destkops -at least with the idea that they can compete with Microsoft. They may be trying to target netbooks, but the competition for netbooks is to saturated (BTW, i think android on the netbook is a stupid idea as well). netbooks are too much like laptops, and people who buy laptops expect the "microsoft experience". There is a lot of effort from Ubuntu, Xandros, Moblin, etc to be on the netbook, but I think they will all realize that people don't want Linux, they want windows -because that's what they've been fed, and they are generally okay with that.

Linux is best on appliance devices like your car or your phone (and your dishwasher), Engineer's desktops, the uber geek's desktop, and your classic supercomputer.

http://www.androphones.com/all-android-phones.php
Yea 8 available...7 more in the next 3 months

Most have a 3.2-3.5inch screen