Why I (mostly) gave up on Android Pt. 1

I have been a big Android fanboy for a while.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  Then when I did, I couldn't wait to customize it.  Then when I hit the ceiling there I couldn't wait to unlock it, root it, ROM it and go nuts.  Once I was a pro at that I realized how much I didn't like the feel of anything but the stock experience.  They hire a bunch of people to make sure that they get it right and for some of the stuff... they do.

Fragmentation
I have been fighting this argument for a long time and now I totally get it.  There are still people in contacts that are NOT EVEN RUNNING 2.0!  There are still people using 1.6 IN A FUCKING CONTRACT!  There are still loads of people stuck on 2.1.  The advances from 2.1 to 2.3 were massive and changed a lot of the experience and things that the OS could do.  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of awesome available, just a whole lot less.  The fact that so many people are still sitting on phones that are stuck at 2.3 is sad enough, the 1.6 guys really tug at my heart.  I understand that not every phone can utilize these new features and I'd never hope that Android took such a closed approach as Apple, but we have to find a middle ground.

El Cheap Sucks-a-dick brand Android phones are ruining the experience.  The basement bargain phones aren't good.  At all.  There are still bad Android phones.  There are still people locked into contracts using Thunderbolts, Charges and Galaxy Stellars.  Those are all 4G devices... and they are bad.  By letting so many makers make phones they can get them into more hands.  More makers means more small customized bits of the device.  A switch here in settings.  A UI tweak there.  One Android to the next can seem completely alien.  This is NO BUENO!

Google needs to put on the big boy pants and tell the carriers to fuck off and the phone makers to invest more into the devices.  A good phone is worth it and once the market is filled with good phones, the negative stigma might life AND they might manage to get everyone upgraded.  Every phone can't be a Galaxy S (insert number) branded device of a Nexus.  Those seem to be some of the more popular and better selling devices, also some that seem to stack up well against Apple.  But... when you're pumping out year old garbage Android phones that won't ever run the best software you are crippling yourself.  2.3 was awesome compared to 1.5, but is hilarious compared to the leaps made in 4.2.

Good hardware.  Good software.  Upgrades for your phone.  Without these things, the brand is going to begin to stagnate.  People have heard of it and think it looks cool, but it won't continue to flex it's dominance if it can't continue to do well as people move to second and third contracts since the phone has been out.