3 secrets I've learned about Android

I've been covering Android for a long time — since somewhere around the mid-1700s, I think. I actually wrote my first Android article back when Android itself was more concept than reality, and I started my Android column in an era when having Flash in your browser was groundbreaking and having Froyo on your phone was a badge of honor. (Mmm...Froyo.) Even in those prehistoric times, I always found Android to be interesting — interesting for the huge amount of customization it allowed, interesting for the massive amount of potential it possessed, and even interesting for the striking amount of imperfections it had. All of that stuff still holds true today. And having closely observed Android all this time, I've learned a few big-picture realities about the software, the platform, and the elements around it. They're themes that come up time and time again in the newsletter, my columns, and everywhere else I yammer on these days. So as we make our way through this journey together, keep these three truths at the back of your mind. It won't take you long to see just how much they inform almost every Android-related story that comes along — and how frequently folks who talk about this stuff fail to notice. 1. Every Android player has its own motivation. And you'd better believe that includes Google. Google, at its core, is an ad company, and most everything it does in some way ties back to serving that advertising business. (That isn't a bad thing!) Samsung, on the other hand, wants you to spend money on shiny new hardware as often as possible — and wants to do anything it can to keep you connected to its ecosystem over Google's. Finally, almost every company that talks about scaaaaaary Android malware ultimately wants to sell you expensive security software you don't actually need (how 'bout that?!). The list goes on, but you get the idea. Once you figure out a company's underlying motivation — what it's really about and what makes it tick — you see almost everything it does through a very different and much clearer light. 2. Google's always gonna Google. Every year, Google manages to infuriate a fair number of us with some of its silly-seeming tactics. From ruthlessly killing off beloved services to senselessly flip-flopping around on Android design standards or messaging apps (for Schmidt's sake, the messaging apps!), being a Google user can certainly be frustrating sometimes. But it can also be fantastic sometimes. For all of its faults (and you'd better believe there are plenty of 'em), Google isn't afraid to experiment and go out on the occasional limb to try something crazy, something new, something that has the potential to break the mold and make our lives a little bit easier in some way we'd never considered. Using Google products is kind of like playing with fire, in a sense. There's always the risk that you're gonna get burned and that a service or feature you love might go up in flames — but man, is it a rush when you tap into some clever new feature and figure out how it can save you precious time. 3. Phones themselves have become less important than what we do with 'em. In the early days of Android, hardware was everything. Practically every new device represented a monumental leap forward from the last and made an immeasurable difference in what we were able to do with the technology. Nowadays, that's hardly the case: New phones can be fun, sure — and every now and then, you come across one that really speaks to you — but by and large, there's little genuine need to upgrade often and little that you gain, in terms of meaningful real-world benefit, from doing so. Our phones have become mere vessels in our mobile-tech adventures — frameworks for the more important and impactful software, ecosystem, and overall user experiences that exist inside. So, yeah: Getting a new phone is exciting, for a few days. But it's after you have the device in your hand that things really start to get interesting. And that, I think, sets the tone for much of what we'll talk about in this cozy little inbox conversation of ours. Let me know what you think of the newsletter when you get a chance, and I'll talk with ya more soon. JR You received this email because your address was signed up for Android Intelligence. If you didn't mean to sign up or no longer wish to be subscribed, you can [unsubscribe or update your preferences here](=).