The looming Google Android vs. Apple iPhone battle could wind up looking a lot like the old Windows vs. Mac OS war from more than a decade ago. Here’s why.
First, let’s look at the current smart phone market: Apple has captured the entire industry’s attention through its iPhone innovations. But those innovations come with some limitations. The iPhone’s software is locked to Apple’s own hardware. And a new iPhone software development kit also has some artificial limitations that aim to ensure Apple maintains platform control.
On the flip side, Good Android (here’s a video demo) is a cross-platform software environment that multiple hardware vendors and service providers are expected to embrace. Although Android isn’t fully baked, Google is aggressively promoting the operating environment to third party developers. The idea is to get developers on board early, so that tons of Android applications are ready when Android-compatible devices finally debut.
By now, you should see some clear parallels between the current Android vs. iPhone battle, and the old Windows vs. Mac OS wars.
While there are some clear differences, it’s clear that Google Android is taking more of a Windows approach (get hardware vendors and developers on board). And Apple continues to stick to its DNA (innovate in private, wow the world with an amazing product launch, then attempt to maintain platform control).
Eventually, The VAR Guy suspects, Android devices will easily leapfrog iPhone’s market share. But that’s not a terrible thing for Apple. Although Apple nearly died on the desktop, Apple’s more recent innovations prove that you can thrive even when you hold less than 10 percent of a technology market.
Tags: Android | Apple | Google | iPhone | Mac OS | smart phones | Windows
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I agree on most of your points. but let’s hope android doesn’t repeat microsoft’s mistakes with bugs, security holes and monopolistic practices that triggered multiple government investigations into the company.
OPEN SOURCE. Innovation and appreciation with Android will be because of its open source model. Ironically, apple is the microsoft of the phone companies, Apple continues to lock down there software and tries to foil the plans of those who try and jailbreak the phone and in the process only hurting and trying to control there customers. Google Android is not the next windows and thankfully is not the next apple either, it is something new entirely.
[...] Is Google Android the Next Windows? Filed under: rss — bob@lxer.com @ 2:26 am The looming Google Android vs. Apple iPhone battle could resemble the old Windows vs. Mac OS war from more than a decade ago. Here?s why. [...]
[...] vs. Apple iPhone battle could resemble the old Windows vs. Mac OS war from more than a decade ago. Here?s why. March 20, 2008 · Linux, News, Open Source [...]
As always, like the console games, Apple is locking applications to HW in order to keep additional revenues in house.
But the reasoning of application publishing being too restricted does not seems to be true. See, for instance, http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/03/18/iphone-20-sdk-how-signing-certificates-work/
where the author claims that similar policies exist for other manufacturers, in values greater than 30%, the value that Apple is charging. Apple sales channel (iTunes) seems to be wider that the competitors.
Google may get to enjoy the benefits of the being the open (for development) platform, much as Microsoft did with Windows–however the similarities should end there. If Google does get a large mobile market share their history thus-far is much more likely to prove them a benevolent dominator in the market; however it will likely also test their principles and their “Don’t be evil” slogan.
Given Google’s behavior in China, I don’t think we need any lessons from Google, Android Developer.
The way I see it, Android will “win” in that it will have much greater market share. The iPhone will “win” because there will always be that core hipster Apple-using fan base that will buy anything with the little white logo on its side.
On Feb 2008, Apple had held more than 10 percent of the desktop market.
If you don’t include the rising power of Blackberry and how quickly it is moving in to the consumer market (now 40% of its sales) and how it is exceeding even its own sales projections, then you are missing a big piece of the puzzle. Blackberry is really beating iPhone to the punch. Google Android will have to deal with Blackberry. Won’t be as easy as many assume.
Quash: You are right, and The VAR Guy confesses he should spend a bit more time covering BlackBerry. It’s the one device that businesses seem to love and consumers are starting to embrace very rapidly.
I agree, Blackberry also means some competition, more serious than iPhone when it comes to developers and a somewhat “open” SDK. After all they are the only ones, who try to succeed in “Hybrid” environments and support both Eclipse (like Android) and Visual Studio.
Their OS is proprietary and closed. Not like (most of;-) Android. So this places them more alongside Microsoft or Apple, but on the Tools front, they try to compete with Nokia or Google and gained quite some momemtum at EclipseCon, too.
Googole’s Android may take market share from others like Apple’s iPhone, Windows Mobile, Symbian . But What and How will be the Android’s Computer version?