This post caught my eye on Moconews.  Netflix product guy explains why their app is limited to a small number of Android phones.  Fragmentation among Android OS handsets is already rearing its ugly head for developers who must now make tough decisions about which handsets to support.

Streaming video on handsets has some specific challenges, so I’m not surprised that Neflix ran into this issue.  Porting apps to a new handsets made Java and Brew app development painful in the past and I understand the challenge:  Will porting to this next handset provide good return on investment?

For many publishers, fragmentation will (and should) motivate them to create compelling mobile and tablet experiences using these devices’ web browsers.  HTML5 will make this easier for many.  In fact, HTML 5 in common browsers can already rival many of the native apps created by publishers.

I recommend that publishers start planning and building this way today.  Why?  Because the inevitable penetration of Android across so many different handsets and tablets means the handwriting is on the wall:

Fragmentation will get worse before it gets better.