Google has killed Android (the brand)

There are days where a trend you noticed becomes absolutely visible. Today is one of those days.

I have seen the Android brand disappear over time. First, it was the Nexus, then Samsung came with the Galaxy brand, who made Android less relevant. Now, Android is just invisible.

I thought Google was losing a war against its partners, but I finally concluded that it cannot be just a coincidence. It is not just a trend. It is a deliberate effort. By Google.

At Mobile World Congress last year, Android was everywhere. The Android space was the biggest of all. It was all about Android and a bit about the hardware manufacturers.

This year (BTW, if you are going to Barcelona and you want to meet, just let me know), Android will be absent at MWC 2013. No space, no booth. Gone.

If you read about the new HTC One, you'll have a hard time finding Android anywhere. HTC is trying to promote its brand, Android is way in the background. Gone.

Of course, Android is dominant. So much that saying you sell an "Android phone" makes you a cheap commodity play. Nobody wants that, they all want to be cool and different. Leave Android to the Chinese knock-offs.

However, it is not just the device manufacturers. It is Google killing the brand. They moved away from it when Android Market became Google Play, and they are distancing themselves even more now.

They want Google to be the brand, not Android.

Risky business? I am not sure. Who cares about Android? Developers. Only developers.

Even if you water down the brand, developers will know it ;-) It does not make a difference. You are not going to lose developers because you are de-emphasizing the brand.

However, having two brands confuses consumers. Google is planning to open flagship stores. They bought a hardware manufacturer. They are changing, and they want Google front and central.

Who knows the word iOS? Nobody (oh, you do, but you are a geek).

People out there know Apple. They know iPhone and iPad. iOS is for geeks. It is hidden inside. For those who can tell the difference between a V12 and a V6 engine (see, maybe you are not a geek after all).

Android is now so dominant, it can be killed. Because it is just what's inside. What matters, it is the outside.

Gone is Android. Killed by its own father.

Believe me, you want to buy a Google.

About drinking (and defense) during the Super Bowl

During the Super Bowl yesterday, we had an explosion of downloads and users for TOK Football.

The systems responded very well, and I was pleased with the way we set up the app infrastructure. The app worked flawlessly, with peaks during the lights-out moment, and the only thing that actually suffered was the web site, which is funny (and a lesson learned for the future)...

I do not really remember the result of the game (ehm), so I decided to do a check of some stats to figure it out.

What I found is the chart below.

What the chart shows is how many times the users clicked on a particular noise in the app. 

The focus is on two noises: burp (you might imagine what the sound is) and defense (which is the D# chant).

I plotted them over time, from the Wild Card to the Super Bowl.

What I found out is that DEFENSE was less and less a concern. Apparently, during the Wild Card, offense does not count much, while in the Super Bowl it is all that matters (and the MVP is usually a quarterback).

What is interesting is that BURP grew over time. That tells me people do not drink much during the Wild Card, but they go nuts as games progress. I am not sure if it is due to celebrations or to forget the result of the game.

For me, it was definitely the latter...