Due to security concerns and fragmentation of the market, Netflix has opted to postpone the release of its Android app until next year. This fear is something discussed here in prior posts as well; reliability of a marketplace with the current hurdles in place for Android. While stats are changing constantly, currently 22.9% of the Android phones don’t have a 2x OS on the phone. Past that, the remaining phones are split roughly evenly between 2.1 and 2.2; slanting by about 4% towards the 2.1. From a development point of view this can be frustrating.
To quote them directly:
Apple and Microsoft both have strict control over the iPhone and Windows Phone 7 platforms they offer, making it easier to build secure apps for devices using those platforms.
No kidding. When anyone with a computer and a bit of knowledge can post an Android app in a matter of minutes free to compromise your phone, it certainly raises concerns. To date, Android is also the only one with an actual virus on the phone. This also should be a red flag. While it is almost certain this will have some solution in the future, it is not making anyone’s job any easier for the time being.
This is the first news from a major company of this kind and will likely not be the last. While there is tremendous potential market for the Android, these basic concerns are not able to simply be overlooked.
