Android has been a run-away success for Google, expanding the company's footprint beyond the computer to include smartphones, tablets and even televisions.

But the success has also been its downfall.

Like the city of Los Angeles, the Android landscape has rapidly expanded into an mess, with vendors getting different versions of software depending on a number of variables.

More than 310 types of devices made by 36 manufacturers run on the Android system, and 100 million have been activated, making matters complicated.

But today, Google has finally addressed this fracturing, announcing an update slated for later this year dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich.

The new software will unify all the free-roaming Android code into one super-set, usable on phones, televisions and tablets.

That means that developers can build one app that works on all three devices, and the app will adjust accordingly. Google's new Web-based music player, announced Monday night, is an example.

We want one OS that runs everywhere, said Hugo Barra, product management director for Android, during a presentation for developers.

The old Android confused both consumers and software developers by offering different versions of Android for phones and tablets.

A variant of Android, called Honeycomb was tightly guarded for instance, irking open-source stalwarts, and confusing an eco-system that expected it to be freely distributed.

Speaking in San Francisco Barra told developers that there was a distinction between offering open-source code, which Android does, and being a community-driven project.

Honeycomb could have gotten into the hands of phone manufacturers and made for a low-quality user-experience, Rubin explained. Google's job is to be the shepherd of this ecosystem.

Google's conferences is expected to run through Wednesday.

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