In 2007 when the world was first introduced to the Open Handset Alliance and their goal of developing open standards for mobile devices we were thrilled.  Quickly thereafter the OHA’s first product was unveiled, Android, a mobile device platform with the goal of reinventing the smartphone landscape.  Now that Google has been able to develop Android into arguably one of the best mobile platforms on the market we begin to wonder whether they’ll be able to quickly deliver software updates to so many devices across the world.

The worries of Google delaying software updates stems from the release of a single device, the Motorola Droid.  Being the first device to ship with Google’s Android 2.0 OS, existing owners of Android devices immediately wanted to know when their device would see such an update.  Up until Android 2.0, all builds of the mobile platform had been open source and under an Apache License.  At this point Android 2.0 remains a closed source OS and there has been no official word on whether this will change.

Up until this point in the U.S., T-mobile has been the front runner in the Android campaign since they were one of the first members of the OHA in 2007.  Google has done a good job pushing software updates to both devices over the air albeit with a few hiccups.  The reason for this success is that both devices are ‘Google Experience’ phones which basically means Google controls all aspects of the software resulting in a default Android build.  Theoretically this means that ‘Google Experience’ devices will be the first to receive updates and all other Android-powered devices will require customization from their respective manufacturers.

As it stands today, HTC is focused on driving their Sense User Interface into the Android platform.  Motorola has also realized the power of a fresh UI on Android with MOTOBLUR.  This method of unique branding which results in what we consider a superior Android experience comes at the cost of delayed OS updates.   You can see this first hand with the mysterious Android 1.6 update that never hit the HTC Hero which is now reported to receive the Android 2.0 update in the the near future.  Does this mean that non-Google Experience devices will miss smaller Android updates and instead only be updated to major versions?  If Google needs to release and updated build of Android to address security concerns will we really have to wait until Sense UI can be compatible?

These questions are being echoed throughout the Android community, but an even bigger question is on my mind.  Is Google looking to power play Android 2.0 so wireless carriers can lure customers through exclusive devices and first access to OS builds?  Congress is working on eliminating exclusivity deals between manufacturers and wireless carriers so exclusive access to mobile platforms seems to be the likely evolution.  When the Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless was released last week and it became the first and only Android 2.0 device on the market I began to seriously doubt whether Google would be able to deliver timely updates of Android to so many devices.

There are not many reasons to want an iPhone once you have the Motorola Droid, but if there is anything that Google and the OHA can take away from Apple’s strategy it is the consistency and availability of software updates.  All devices receive their updates on the same day world wide and no device is left behind.  The current position of Android is becoming very similar to Windows Mobile where certain devices receive updates and it all ultimately relies on the carrier for your device to deliver that update.  This is not the Android I signed up for two years ago and I hope that this is not the Android of the future.