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High Expectations For Google Android
Several readers have pointed out recent articles discussing the development and features of Google Android. Silicon.com has what is essentially an FAQ for Android, providing the relevant basic information about it. Apcmag questions whether Google can meet the high expectations most enthusiasts have for the platform, and The Register discusses Google's claims that it will be competitive with Apple and worth the wait. We discussed a preview of Android last month. Quoting The Register:
"Google mobile platforms guru Rich Miner acknowledged that for the moment, Apple may have an advantage. After all, Steve Jobs and company have actually shipped a piece of hardware, while the first Android handset won't arrive until 'the second half of this year.' But Miner also told the crowd that Stevo hasn't treated developers as well as they deserve. 'There are certain apps you just can't build on an iPhone,' Miner said. 'Apple doesn't let you do multiprocessing. They don't let your app run in the background after you switch to another. And they don't let you have interpretive language in your iPhone apps.'"
hopefully this will be it. then i can crack a beer, sit back and enjoy the nerd rage as apple fans go into great detail as to why their status symbol is so much better.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
from your description it sounds like the iphone is a fairly limited piece of kit.
well if you actually asked an owner what their experience was, then it might be said that its an overpriced media player, crippled by restrictions placed upon developers. truth is that although it may have some nice eyecandy going on - that soon wears thin. it would be nicer if it was powerful enough for the flash plugin (iphone 2?) the thing other early adopter say to me is its too bulky, especially when you consider it doesn't have a proper keyboard. its another nice apple toy with a lovely screen, but even with complete openness, its fairly unlikely that any number of developers can turn this into a viable work tool, and i'm already looking at the n96.
The iPhone is slickly marketed, does a few things well, and sacrifices a lot of features to get that multi-touch display and maintain a $400-500 price tag.
Any serious phone addict could care less about the admittedly nice intuitive interface and awesome browser. They want PC-level features, and that means HSxPA, a-GPS, BUTTONS, both free AND commercial applications, and (travelers want) removable batteries whether Apple admits it or not.
Business users will still prefer their god-awful blackberries, E-series Nokias, and single-touch + full keyboard WinMo Pro handsets, simply because they are better at fulfilling the need of the user, and already have every app that anybody would want available for download.
Personal/individual users either want a phone that their carrier will subsidize 100%, or at least only make them pay $100 or less for a phone that would be $400-500 if it was unlocked. They still have N-series Nokias, SE walkman, and LG phones to compete at the iPhone price point, not to mention the Samsungs, Motorolas, and Nokias that are at the "a whole helluvalot cheaper" price point, minus the multi-touchscreen and desktop-level browser.
Apple, if anything, shows that you CAN catch up quickly to the competition... if you just aggressively market your sole device and make sure the news reporters catch your employees high-fiving the poor schmucks who coughed up >=$400 for a phone that plays music and video and has a browser, but lets you touch it in more than one place at a time... a kinky phone, in other words. Yes, I'm rooting for Android to lay the smack-down - but not to Apple - to MS, Symbian, Palm, and RIM.
Apple isn't the competition.
Protector of Capitalist views,
Meorah
Will we revisit the days of non-preemptive multitasking in the iphone.
The finder asking for my attention so that apps in the background can have their turn of execution.
Ufff, i'm already sweating!