While Google's updated Android 2.0 operating system officially reached the consumer market in early November in conjunction with Verizon Wireless' commercial launch of the Motorola-produced Droid smartphone, Sprint announced the revamped OS will not expand to its Hero and Moment devices until as late as mid-2010. "Happy to announce Android 2.0 is coming to Sprint's Hero & Moment," reads a Dec. 11 post on the operator's official Twitter feed. "Date TBD, but roughly 1H 2010."
According to IDG News Service, the delay underscores the potential fragmentation challenges facing the open Android platform as it spreads across more operators and manufacturers. With various smartphones running Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0, there exists the possibility that not all Android applications will function properly across all addressable handsets, a situation that could discourage developers from creating software for the platform. "That type of confusion doesn't give developers a warm and fuzzy feeling," said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg.
For more on Sprint's Android 2.0 holding pattern:
- read this IDG News Service article
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