Recently, Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, took issue with the idea that the Android mobile operating system is fragmented, arguing that it's a differentiation between devices rather than a fragmentation. If that's indeed the case, then let's have a new naming system; more on that in a moment.

The difference, as Schmidt explains it, is that differentiation means manufacturers have a choice. They're going to compete on their view of innovation, and try to convince consumers that their innovation is better than somebody else's whereas fragmentation is quite the opposite, he says. Not surprisingly, some company analysts beg to differ, pointing out the ever-increasing incompatibilities between OS and apps across different Android devices and other problems with Android.

So if Schmidt thinks that Android is different for innovation needs, and if the developers/consumers see mounting incompatibilities, then perhaps we need to start talking about a different naming system. Instead of just the Android OS, we need the Verizon-Samsung OS, the AT&t-HTC OS, the Amazon OS, etc.

Now does that sound fragmented to you? (And, yes, that's a rhetorical question.)

-- Dennis Sellers