The Android Gingerbread Dilemma
There is no doubt that Android is more popular than Google expected it to become, and it is one of the top products from the company today. They have been putting a lot of effort into developing newer versions of the operating system and the latest one is the version 4.1 which is codenamed ‘Jelly Bean’.
Many of the latest Android phones and tablets are running on Android versions 4.x. These include devices running on the ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ and ‘Jelly Bean’.
But there is an apparent lack of interest that developers are showing towards the earlier version of android. More than 40% of Android users are running on Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread.
But Google seems to be okay with that and is concentrating on the next versions of Android only. This is not a very good move by the search engine pioneer and it might have adverse effect on the fortunes of the company in the long run.
Google Play Store Shows 42% Android Devices Use Gingerbread
Google Play store can collect statistics on the number of handsets that access the store and the version of software that is installed on the handsets. This is because the store has an algorithm that displays apps that are only the compatible with the OS version that is on the device. The latest figures from this database show some very interesting trends. 42% of the devices use the 2.3 version of Android, or Gingerbread. You can almost say that this is the ‘year of the Gingerbread’ and it is understandable since the 4.x versions started rolling out this year only.
Gingerbread Is Not Declining As It Should Be
When we look at the previous versions of Android such as Foryo, Éclair, Donut, Cupcake, etc, they were replaced when their time was up. The same Google Play store, which was known as the Android marketplace then, had collected statistics as mentioned above. When Gingerbread was released, the transition was smooth. Google seemed to be very intent on pushing users from the lower versions to the next version of the software and the timeline of this transition was very small.
Entry Level Smartphones Still Running On Gingerbread
One of the reasons why the number of Gingerbread users is not falling as it should be is because the manufacturers are still very comfortable with it. While people in developed countries prefer high configuration gadgets that can support ICS and Jellybean, developing countries have a huge market for entry level Android devices. This is where Gingerbread comes in. By looking at the numbers, we come to the conclusion that the decline is not as steady as it was supposed to be. The numbers gathered are on a global scale, and obviously, all the people in the world cannot own smartphones that are compatible with the latest versions of Android.
ICS and Jellybean Are On The Right Track
In case you have not already checked the graph that depicts the number of users for different versions of Android over the past few years, you must look it up now. This can be especially helpful if you have enrolled for Android training classes. What the graph shows is the rapid rise of ICS and Jellybean users. We will call the two versions 4.x for the sake of convenience.
ICS or the Android 4.0 version was introduced in November 2011. Jellybean came on later this year. Today, there are 122.4 million users who are on Android 4.x. But Gingerbread users also amount to 268 million. This is expected as Gingerbread has had a head start over Android 4.x and it still continues to be one of the sought after Android operating systems by mobile phone manufacturers.
Gingerbread Is Here To Stay
The conclusion that we can draw from all these numbers is that Google is totally helpless in this respect. There is nothing the company can do to make Gingerbread go away like the older versions of Android. That version of Android is still meeting the requirements of the smartphone users.
You will be surprised to see that Gingerbread can hold its own. In days to come, Gingerbread might fade away but those days are very far. We can safely say that this version of Android will last for another couple of years at least, if not more.
Please Share This Knowledge With Others!
Victoria says
I have been trying to find some kind of training that my parents could take to teach them how to use their computers, new cell phones etc. I don’t have time to do it myself so I have been researching this…
John says
It is interesting to me that they keep naming their phones after food. I am going to have to check some of these out because mine is so old. I was already talking about the droid so maybe I should look at these first. How do you rate the Iphone compared to this one? Friends have the Iphone five and do nothing but rave about it.
Patricia says
I think having a training class for this stuff is a great thing to do. Often times people go to the store and they get the latest phone that everyone has and they don’t have a clue how to use it once they get it home. You have a great idea here and I am glad that someone besides myself feels this way, maybe they should offer that when they sell specific phones.
Matt says
So all of the food names like ice cream sandwich, jelly bean and gingerbread, these are all just versions of the Android correct? Why does it need so many versions? I understand the concept of upgrading but I don’t understand the concept of creating new phones etc. what about doing it just like an app. and do a simple upgrade? It does make me hungry though…