Carriers
Android Uprising: Angry developers and users form separate online protests against Google and AT&T
March 2, 2011 | by Andrew Kameka
AT&T, Google
Both Google and AT&T are facing separate incidents of small protests from angry customers. In Google’s case, a group of Android app makers upset about “working conditions” in the Android Market, and a band of customers are upset about data speeds for AT&T 4G phone.
The Android Developers Union alleges that Google treats third-party developers like “sharecroppers on Google’s digital plantation.” It’s a rather dramatic claim, but the unknown number of developers are angry with several Android Market options. Among its seven demands, the Developers Union wants a higher revenue split, more filtering options to highlight new apps by region or popularity, more payment options, and better communication.
Google has already made it possible to buy Android apps through carrier billing, and more payments options are on the way. As for the desire to have a Communication and Engineering Liaison, the Developers Union is absolutely right. Google lacks a clearly defined contact method for addressing market issues – I’ve noticed similar problems in other areas of the company – that often leads to issues languishing in support forum purgatory or not getting resolved unless people pester Google employees on Twitter or contact Android blogs. The Android Market would greatly benefit from an established contact who could help deal with problems related to the Android Market.
Google has a comparatively good track record when it comes to dealing with third-party developers, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the company was already working on addressing most of these issues prior to the Developers Union petition. More information is available at the official ADU website.
“AT&T Fail” Protest
Meanwhile, a group of disappointed AT&T customers claim AT&T unfairly caps data speeds on 4G Android phones. Zack Nebbaki started an online petition to ask why his Motorola Atrix registers slow data speeds yet the iPhone 4 is able to perform at a much higher rate. Motorola Atrix users report that their devices have paltry upload speeds, often ranging between 150kbps to 300kbps. For the sake of comparison, people on Sprint’s 4G WiMax network are capped at 1 Mbps. (Network performance varies greatly according to the user’s location, but 300kbps seems to be the max speed reported.)
The petition demands that AT&T deliver “real 4G” speeds and lift the data caps on its users. For the moment, let’s put aside the “real 4G” talk because HSPA+ is still rolling out in select markets, so AT&T’s service will be questionable in some places. However, the data caps on upload speeds is an undeniable reason for complaint. Only 310 people have signed the Atrix petition since yesterday, but AT&T – certainly no stranger to customers angry with network performance – could have a budding problem on its hands.
We reached out to AT&T for comment on this issue and have yet to hear back.We’ll keep trying to find out more information on data speeds, but affected AT&T customers can get more information about the online petition here.
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As an Atrix 4G owner, in a "4G" area…..I have had an unbelievable speed increase in data in getting this phone coming from a Nexus One. I am getting 3-4mbps when running a speed test. And just downloading applications and surfing webpages is noticeably faster.
Is it true that Google is purposely withholding the Android 3.0 OS (or some boot drivers from that OS) from all of Motorola's competing tablet makers for thirty days?? If so, isn't that kind of like monopolistic or anti-trust or unfair trade practices?? Does anyone know the facts??
You guys in the US get 3-4mbps with 4G?? I get around 3.2mbps with 3G in Hungary!
it's not "real" 4g like lte, just hspa+ so there's not much difference. the speed increase that he percepted is up to the extremely powerful cpu in atrix 4g
This is not regarding 4G. It's about the 4G phones not operating properly on the existing 3G network. For those who say that their 4G (unrooted) device is fast, I challenge you to put up a screen shot of where your upload speed exceeds the dismal 300kbps that they are capped at. And watch as iPhone 4 (not a 4G device) users laugh as they hit 1000+kbps. If you receive 300kbps and lower upload speeds, you are technically being robbed by AT&T and paying for something that you are not getting.
Not a screen shot but i'm not lying either. Just ran a SpeedTest with my AT&T Captivate running Paragon rc6 (which enables HSPA) in Salt Lake City against the Provo server. 3.6 Mbps down/1.4 Mbps up. The range of results within the Salt Lake area is all over the place though: 0.12 to 4.6 Mbps down / 0.12 to 1.6 Mbps up. Within that results set are several different ROMs including stock Eclair (ugh). The cooked ROMs are nice!
Developers Union? What's next? Collective bargaining, union fees? This is getting ridiculous!
US sucks! I have an HTC desire Z in Canada and I download things up to 14 mbps. Hahahaha.
Switch to Sprint for unlimited data! If you port your number over from another carrier, you get a 125.00 port in credit per line, a monthly discount of most plans, and the best deals on equipment when you can be set up as a business account! Call me at1-800-905-0714 for full details – worth a few minutes of your time if you are ready to switch; i may even be able to help with contracts from other carriers!!!