The “D” is for “Different,” silly people. Back to the real purpose of this article: there are several issues with different UIs for Android. The first of these being the confusion it creates for the uneducated user. The second is the wait for these custom UIs to be updated to include changes made to the Android platform. And the last issue is the difficulty that carriers and communities will experience in attempting to support all of these custom UIs.

The default (or development) Android platform, as seen on the G1 and myTouch3G, is very easy to spot. Most users who familiarized themselves with the G1’s desktop(s) can readily tell that the myTouch3G is running the same OS. However, with Motorola introducing MOTOBLUR and HTC with its Sense UI, spotting an Android device can be a bit more difficult. Perhaps these changes are considered necessary by some companies when they think about moving forward in today’s market to attract the average consumer. If every phone offers the same stock OS, then the big decision for the consumer is the hardware. If hardware becomes the focus, then the price point for the device usually rises. Remember when flipphones first hit the market? The two big decision-making factors for the consumer were the style of the phone and the way the menus worked. It is hard to build excitement for a certain product when different variations of it are continually being released. This is especially difficult when the product is actually an OS, and not a tangible object.

In recent weeks, users just barely finished getting their Android 1.6 update. Then, on October 27, 2009, the Android 2.0 SDK was announced, which means that the users will be experiencing another update in the near future. With so many updates rolling out, how will companies with custom UIs keep up? The answer is pretty simple: it’s going to take a lot of focus on Android. Every time a new version of Android rolls out, the custom tweaks that a manufacturer has added to their version of the UI will have to be adjusted to incorporate the new native app and “behind-the-scenes” features. However, there is little evidence that all companies with custom UIs are allowing this much focus on Android just yet. Why does this matter? Well, the user will not have access to certain apps that are only supported on a newer platform. This also means more work for devs, because they totally need more things to battle in all their massive free time. And lastly, users have no control over how fast their phone can get updated and have to wait on the creators of these custom UIs to update, which leads to a lot of unhappiness (read: whining, complaining, CAPS LOCK on carrier/manufacturer forums). No one wants unhappiness.

Carriers and Android communities are desperately trying to keep up with all of the different UIs being released for Android-based phones. With a handful of different UIs already seen by the public eye, it is becoming more and more clear that this fragmentation could be a nightmare for both carriers and communities. For a tech savvy user, switching from one Android device to another, no matter the UI, will most likely be a snap. But then there’s your non-tech savvy user, the one who often calls into Customer Service or stops by their local carrier’s retail stores for help operating their device. In the case of Android, user manuals aren’t too helpful; most of them focus on hardware, not what Android can do for the user. Therefore, any confused customer is likely to use the real-person resources they have to figure out how to work their device. This means that reps for their companies will need to be trained across all UIs that their devices offer. Hopefully this isn’t too much to ask, but where does that leave communities? It seems that communities will need to fragment their existence, as well. Meaning, they will have to add sub categories to their forums and websites, relating to the different UIs available. The introduction of these different UIs won’t bother the news sites too much (if at all), but will definitely make an impact on the way that sites offering support will function.

So tell us what you think: Will these custom UIs lead to the popularity of Android growing at a slower pace? Will we see tons of unhappiness concerning updates to the custom UI tweaks to stay in line with Android’s advancement? And how do you think these custom UIs will weigh in on the carriers and communities? All that’s left for me is to sit back and watch as things continue to chug along or break out into utter chaos.

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