Netflix Nov. 13 said it will release an instant streaming app for Android on specific smartphones next year, delaying the launch because of content protection hurdles caused by fragmentation in the open source platform.

Apple and Microsoft both have strict control over the iPhone and Windows Phone 7 platforms they offer, making it easier to build secure apps for devices using those platforms.

This isn't the first complaint about the difficulty in writing software for the platform. More than 200,000 Android handsets ship daily and devices floating around are powered by Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, and soon, version 2.3.

Because not every build offers the same protections, this makes it difficult to write one unifying app that won't break across the builds

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