With the rapid release of new Android versions in the past year, the platform has become fragmented, causing frustration among developers and users - only aggravated by many operators' slow response to support new iterations.
However, Google does appear to be streamlining the process and reducing the problem somewhat, and is promising more unification with the third generation of its OS.
According to its latest figures, about 70% of the Android installed base now runs version 2.1 (Éclair) or 2.2 (Froyo), though release 3.0 or Gingerbread may be only a couple of months away.
For now, the market is coagulating nicely around 2.x, with Froyo on about 29% of active devices and Éclair on 41.7% as of September 1. This is a change from July figures of 55% for Éclair and just 3% for Froyo, which was very new at the time and only supported on the Google Nexus One phone.
Google is expected to try to harmonize the Android platform with release 3.x, though it has not released details beyond vague hints of taking a more dictatorial line on user interfaces and other features.
This would help address one of Apple's key competitive advantages over Android, its unity, but given the open source nature of the Google OS, and the fact that many key supporters differentiate their products via their own user experiences, it could face an uphill battle.