Russell Holly, writing for Geek.com:

Android is not a household brand. Google is but, despite having a significant portion of the global marketshare, their smartphone OS is not. And as long as hardware manufacturers are allowed to design their own user interfaces for Android, it’s going to be very difficult for the average consumer to look at a Nexus 5, an HTC One M8, and a Samsung Galaxy S5 and know that they are all running the exact same operating system. Google is hoping to change that, and one method the company has started to use is mandating that the phrase “Powered by Android” be present during the boot animation on new phones.

Android isn’t looking any better to me. And, I can’t imagine Android is looking any better to smartphone manufacturers. Google continues to enact new policies that don’t seem to fall in line with the way Google wants users and manufacturers to perceive their brand. Stuff like this doesn’t make me want to buy an Android phone, it makes me want to avoid them.

On a side note, why do websites like Geek.com think it’s a good idea to have these floating navigation bars along the top and/or bottom of their webpage? It doesn’t look good and I see less and less of your actual content — content that I came to your website to see. And, it’s especially annoying on smaller screened devices like tablets, smartphones, and smaller-screened laptops. Cut it out.

(Via Daring Fireball.)