Android Fragmentation: Bad or Worse?

And this is just last year's phones...

OK, let's get this out in the open right away: Android is fragmented. No joke.

In any phones store, you'll see dozens of Android phone or tablet models. The most recent of these will be running either Android 2.3 ('Gingerbread') or Android 4 ('Ice Cream Sandwich'), but if the shop has any leftover stock from late 2011 those devices could just as likely be loaded with Android 2.2 ('Froyo').

So, yeah, fragmentation's right out in the open. It's so obvious, the only question is a matter of scale;  are we looking at a manageable mess or a crushing impediment? Between model SKUs and OS versions, there are thousands of Android device types...and that looks really bad. Our lead photo (above) doesn't do it justice.

But this one does.:

Flipboard Updates Ripped Android App!

Just our way of saying, "Thanks for stealing our app!"

Official Flipboard app now available! See 22 June update, below.

Less than 48 hours after learning their 'exclusive' new Android application had escaped into the wild, the folks at Flipboard hurriedly rushed to deliver...a free update.

Quelle panache!

For those coming in late, here's the story.:

XDA: Get Any Android App in Any Country

XDA: ...for when an app absolutely, positively has to be there, overnight right now.

A new, modified version of Google's Play Store lets you install any Android app in any country. You read that correctly: get any app, regardless of the country in which your Android phone was sold. No more annoying "This application is not available in your region" messages...

Ripped: Android Flipboard APK ...No Waiting!

(Be sure to read the latest updates, at the end of this article.)

Here it is, the long-awaited Flipboard for Android APK from Samsung's Galaxy S III.

Released in 2010, Flipboard was originally an iPad exclusive but proved so popular it was later developed for iPhone, too. For nearly two years, then, Flipboard has been available only on Apple hardware. So, those of you who don't own an iOS device may be asking yourselves, 'What the heck is it?'