Google begins fight against Android fragmentation

tripleevenfall writes: Starting with Android 4.0, support for the "Holo" theme will be mandatory for phones and tablets that have the Android Market installed. Holo is the stock Android theme, known for its sharp angles, thin lines and blue hue. Third-party developers can now create apps and widgets using the default Android aesthetic, knowing that's how it'll look on every major Ice Cream Sandwich device that has the Android Market.

A blog post by Google's Tim Bray announcing the changes illustrates the trouble Google faces in fighting fragmentation. As in this case, Google can use Android Market access as a bargaining chip with device makers and wireless carriers, but Google also has to keep these parties happy by letting them futz with the stock Android experience. As we've seen with Android phones that use Bing instead of Google search, phone makers and wireless carriers have bargaining chips of their own.