Post by scott on Jan 28, 2011 9:03:26 GMT
Question. As Mac/iPhone users should we/do we care if Android becomes the dominant platform for mobile phones and tablets ?
Personally, I dont have a problem with Android picking up market share. Competition is always a good thing, although so far this seems to be a case of Google, Microsoft, RIM et al simply duplicating what Apple have done ( touch interface, App Stores etc ) so not sure that it really affects what Apple do in the future. I am fairly sure Apple are not really bothered about Market Share and are much more concerned about quality and user experience. If Steve wanted to gain market share there are lots of steps he could have taken ( opening up OS X to third parties ), but he has chosen the path of experience and quality to all of our benefits.
What I have seen of Google phones leaves me somewhat cold to be honest. Friend of mine has a cheap Android and she has had lots of problems with apps not working, having to reinstall to make them work etc ( sound familiar ? Windows ? ). Other concern I would have is the growing rumours of vulnerabilities/potential for viruses etc on the Android platform, another area where Apples insistence on their way of doing things being right seems to be a major benefit to their users.
I suppose the main threat would be if developers started to migrate away from Apple to get their code in front of the larger audience, but so far I think this is probably unlikely. Comments from developer community about the experience of developing for iOS being smoother and easier and the fact that income from selling iOS apps seems lucrative ( at least for the major selling apps... ) seem to suggest this being a distant threat at the moment.
What do you all feel about Android ( assuming that Windows as an alternative is a dwindling threat... ) ?
Personally, I dont have a problem with Android picking up market share. Competition is always a good thing, although so far this seems to be a case of Google, Microsoft, RIM et al simply duplicating what Apple have done ( touch interface, App Stores etc ) so not sure that it really affects what Apple do in the future. I am fairly sure Apple are not really bothered about Market Share and are much more concerned about quality and user experience. If Steve wanted to gain market share there are lots of steps he could have taken ( opening up OS X to third parties ), but he has chosen the path of experience and quality to all of our benefits.
What I have seen of Google phones leaves me somewhat cold to be honest. Friend of mine has a cheap Android and she has had lots of problems with apps not working, having to reinstall to make them work etc ( sound familiar ? Windows ? ). Other concern I would have is the growing rumours of vulnerabilities/potential for viruses etc on the Android platform, another area where Apples insistence on their way of doing things being right seems to be a major benefit to their users.
I suppose the main threat would be if developers started to migrate away from Apple to get their code in front of the larger audience, but so far I think this is probably unlikely. Comments from developer community about the experience of developing for iOS being smoother and easier and the fact that income from selling iOS apps seems lucrative ( at least for the major selling apps... ) seem to suggest this being a distant threat at the moment.
What do you all feel about Android ( assuming that Windows as an alternative is a dwindling threat... ) ?