Hey AAA community, lets help out Jason Howell what do you consider to be the biggest Android sto...

[G+_Marlon Thompson]

Hey AAA community, lets help out Jason Howell  what do you consider to be the biggest Android stories of the year. 

Is it the Nexus Family?

The rise of Android on Samsung Galaxy S3 an the HTC one X?

Can't forget Apple vs Samsung

[G+_Josh Schweigert]

I think the big story is how ICS/Jelly Bean finally brought Android to a serious competitive level with iOS.  Gingerbread never quite felt like the same quality product as what Apple was producing at the time.

 

Now that we have a equal or better OS.  I think the next issue Google has to tackle is the amount of time it takes for the carriers to update the system software.  I know it is not Google's fault, but the average consumer is not going to make the distinction.  The Nexus line is a good start, but it would be nice if other phones got the updates just as quickly.

[G+_Ken Fromchicago]

Josh Schweigert Yeah, Keylime Pie is when #Google  can work on getting #Android  clearly surpassing iOS.

 

I disagree most consumers even notice "fragmentation" since most consumers get a phone for 2 years and when it's up, only then think about upgrading to what's available at that time. They aren't gnashing their teeth that a newer better Android came out mere months after the one they got--since that's the consumer trend in general. You buy a new car, air conditioner, refrigerator, whatever and a newer better model comes out shortly afterward. It's only tech reporters and developers griping about fragmentation.

 

If it were up to developers there's be only one phone, computer, and game console ever since the 1980s and they'd never have to learn to program for different and newer specs. But that aint happening.

 

As far as tech reporters, the simplest fix Google could make for their grousing about fragmentation is release a new version of Android SIMULTANEOUSLY with a new model of phone that has it (or at least within weeks, no longer than a month's time) so tech reporters aren't upset that someone else has access to a cooler toy than they do--or worse by the time a new phone does have the new version, they've forgotten about it, or worse still, Google has announced the next version.

 

Of course carriers and manufacturers would love to announce a new model phone with new Android OS to boost sales instead of listening to complaints that old phones haven't been upgraded yet while tech reporters (and tech-forward consumers) are waiting for those new phones to come out the chute.

[G+_Carlos Corcuera]

Nexus Family is huge, better Google experience.

[G+_Emil “opi” Oppeln-Broni]

Nexus 7, an Android tablet that does not suck. :-)

[G+_Michael Olsen]

Agree with all the above...after that, I really think the success of the Note and NoteII are stories not to be overlooked.

[G+_Stephan Powell]

I agree with above. For me the Nexus 7 was the first real foothold into the tablet market, but the real success is the wider Google services, chrome, books, music magazines, G+ etc which extend android across platform which iOS cannot. Lastly, I cannot help but feel that part of Samsung's dominance is due to the fact that they still have removable batteries and SD slots. No matter what Apple or Google (Nexus) think we the buyers still like this flexibility and it would not stop us from using their cloud services but enhance the usefulness of the devices.

[G+_L I]

From the other post: runaway success of the Ouya and the Galaxy Note.

[G+_Jason Howell (raygun01)]

You guys are great. :) So nice of you to do this! Thank you! I had created a list and ranked them myself before reading the answers here and the other thread and honestly, it looks like we are all on the same page! Nice reassurance. THANK YOU!

[G+_Jagannath Moorthy]

Another story that must be told is just how bad the upgrades from GB to ICS was handled with multiple delays and broken promises across all manufacturers. 

[G+_Marlon Thompson]

No problem Jason Howell here are my five top picks for Android stories of the year in no particular order.

 

1. Samsung vs Apple (well maybe this is my number one), this story more than any other impacted the smartphone wars. I had persons who don't care about tech and phones asking me about this trial and Apple unwittingly pushed Samsung and Android on par with Apple in the public eye.

 

2. The Galaxy S3 (the phone of the year) and The Note 2, Their are a lot of Samsung haters out there but you cannot deny that these two devices brought it, A huge global launch, a strong marketing push and sales that were record breaking. Samsung was always chided for slow software updates (yeah I know you guys in the US still suffered from slower updates we on the outside did not) yet they were able to push out Jellybean in record time and launch new phones on Jellybean while their competitors were still rolling out ICS (now they just need to pass on the love to the S2 and the note).

 

3. Google Play,  developer guidelines, Google Plus. I see these as a unified strategy of Android showing they are getting serious about how Android is presented and creating that sticky ecosystem that Apple has.

 

4. Nexus 7 and the unavailability of nexus 4. This I see as two sides of the same coin, The nexus 7 changed the way we looked at Android tablets so much so that it created a huge demand when the Nexus family came out that Google couldn't fill.

 

5. Its all about the software baby. JellyBean Google Now, Field Trip, Ingress, Google Plus, Google Currents, Maps for iOS. You never used to hear words like beautiful and elegant being applied to a Google made app now that is commonplace, look at all of the iterations and design changes the G+ app went through over this year (I count  4), or how just last week Google Currents became an app I want to use, or the "butter" that Jelly Bean" brought. Android software and the apps just got better this year because Google "thought differently" and made apps and software "that just work" #seewhatididthere  

 

I didn't include things like the Kindle and the nook because they didn't have a big impact for me outside of the US, the five above though had more of an impact on a global scale. 

[G+_Ray L Jackson Sr (2WYCE]

I think Google Now gets overlooked, but it's actually a great tool.  It drastically cuts down my active searches and steps I need to take to do things.  

 

For example, it pretty much knows where I want to go, so lots of times, I just pull up Google Now and the place I want to go is on a card.  I tap the card and hit Navigate and I'm on my way.  

 

Sure beats starting the nav app (maps), searching, picking the result I want, etc.  And as they add new cards, it gets better and better.

[G+_Emil “opi” Oppeln-Broni]

Agreed, Google Now is Siri without the hype.

[G+_Geoffrey Maugham]

Nexus family is big and positive. Unfortunately, I think the lack of timely updates by most networks and manufacturers should also be included. Would Google have bothered with Nexus of this issue didn't exist?