Android's Spread Could Become a Problem

As more handset makers adopt Android, there's a danger of multiple versions of the operating system. Software developers may have to build several iterations of a single app

By Olga Kharif

For the mobile-phone software Android, popularity may carry a high price tag. The operating system created by a Google-led consortium is being adopted by a growing number of mobile-phone manufacturers and wireless service providers.

Yet as Android is woven into more phones, developing add-on tools and games and other software-based features for it may become more difficult. "We are very careful about not splintering the code," says Eric Heiser, director of business development at Kyocera Communications, one of the manufacturers that plans to build Android into devices next year. "That's definitely a concern, that's something Google (GOOG) has been talking about every day." What's more, the widening variety of Android devices could have the unintended consequence of confusing consumers and diluting its brand appeal.

Manufacturers, carriers, and developers have grown more concerned about the prospects for Android amid news that the operating system is being adopted by a who's who of wireless players. Motorola (MOT), Samsung, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel (S) are just some of the companies that have recently become big supporters, joining the ranks of early adopters HTC and T-Mobile USA, owned by Deutsche Telekom (DT). PC giant Dell (DELL) and Sony Ericsson are working on devices based on the operating system.

Possible Splintering of Software Code

As many as 20 phones based on Android are likely to be released this year, and Gartner (IT) analyst Ken Dulaney expects to see 40 more devices in 2010. "There's a lot of horsepower behind it," he says. Android's share of the mobile operating system market is expected to skyrocket to 14.5% in early 2012 from 1.6% in the first quarter, he estimates. That would make Android the world's second-most popular mobile operating system, behind the current leader Symbian.

The more wireless service providers behind Android, the greater the likelihood of one-upmanship. Carriers and handset makers are already competing on the look and feel of their Android devices and have begun encouraging third-party developers to tailor applications to work better on their phones, and not those made by others.

A result could be so-called splintering of software code, where developers work on multiple versions of software, rather than contribute collaboratively to a single project. So if programmers want software available on more than one or two phones, they'll have to build multiple versions of it. In the past, developers who wanted to write for such systems as Java and mobile Linux had to create dozens of iterations of a single app if they wanted it adopted widely.

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