Why the Google Android Phone Isn't Taking Off

Hugh Pickens writes "Farhad Manjoo writes in Slate that while the iPhone commands nearly 14 percent of smartphone sales and BlackBerry about 21 percent, Android has only 3 percent. And even though Android is far friendlier to developers, it has failed to attract anywhere near the number of apps now clogging the iPhone. Manjoo writes that Google went wrong by giving handset manufacturers and carriers too much control over the design and marketing of Android phones so there is no idealized 'Google phone' — instead, Android devices get names like the T-Mobile G1 or the myTouch 3G, and each is marketed separately and comes with its own distinct capabilities and shortcomings. 'Outside handset manufacturers lack ambition — -none of them even seems to be trying to match the capabilities of the iPhone, let alone to knock us down with features that far surpass those of Apple's device,' writes Manjoo. 'A smart handset manufacturer could build a top-of-the-line Android device that outshines Apple's phone in at least a few areas — better battery life, a much better Web browser, a brighter or bigger screen, faster or more functional controls... something that might help Android inspire gadget lust. But so far, that's not happening.' John Gruber echoes this advice and adds this advice to Android manufacturers: 'If Apple is BMW, you can be Porsche.'"

Comments

The Apple App Store With Cydia Vs. Google

[SuperKendall]

I imagine that Google will have a much more lenient application 'store' or method of downloading applications to your phone.

You can imagine what you like, but they have also blocked some apps. Of course GV is not going to be one of them...

Of course anyone can download and install your app on Android - so you have the freedom to be ignored.

At least with the iPhone there is a viable alternate channel for sales, Cydia - totally outside the realm of Apple's control, the Diagon Alley of apps. They claim over a million devices jailbroken, which places the total size of the market near the viable Android market!

Some people claim Jailbreaking does not count because it's "illegal" or "is not shipped with the phone" or all sorts of other reasons that basically amount to bunk. Any advanced user is going to do things to a computer that were not included in the box. Similarly advanced users can easily jailbreak and thus run all those cool apps Apple would not allow, and at this point it's so simple I wouldn't even balk at recommending it to less technical user if there was a Cydia app compelling enough for what they wanted to do.

As for it being "illegal", come on. It's not even at level of jaywalking it terms of moral questionability and what are they going to write a ticket for? Dangerously wild consumption of mobile resources?

Re:Too Slow!

[binarylarry]

The Android NDK may be what you're looking for:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/1.5_r1/index.html

It allows you to run native code on the phone.

The Dalvik VM for Android is like a Java VM from 10 years ago, so I don't think adequate performance is going to show up in the managed code for a long time.

Re:talk about not understanding the industry!

[mgblst]

The iPhone's success is due to a rabid Apple fanbase...

I love this, comes from the people who really don't understand style. Same people who prefer McDonalds over a proper restaurant, Transformers over District 9, Ford Fiesta over BMW. I understand, the world is a complex place.

Re:Citation needed

[BitZtream]

The iPhone (and iPod Touch) seemed to have a significant number of third-party apps already available at launch,

No, they didn't, there were only apps included on the devices when they first came out. There was no 3rd party SDK when they were originally released, that came over a year later.

It has nothing to do with how easy it is to developer for, the iPhone is a pain in the ass imo, I've been doing professional development for 15 years or so, and the iphone is annoying to deal with due to the whole cocoa being made for retards thing.

What the iPhone has that Android doesn't have, is owners who are fanatics, and lots of them. Android isn't any more impressive than Windows Mobile in any way, sorry to disappoint. They do share a total lack of being unique, special, or attactive in the least, which is why very few people go out of their way to buy such phones. Limiting them to the geek crowd, which is a rather small crowd compared to having every teenager, trendy bastards, a good portion of the geeks out there, and a rapidly growing portion of the general public as well, that the iPhone does.

Developers don't care about it being friendly. Developers care about it being worth their effort to develop for. Its the same reason why you see apps targeting Windows and sometimes OS X, but rarely Linux. With phones you (now) see apps targeting the iPhone/iTouch, then Windows Mobile/Symbian, and eventually, a few GPL fanatics writing Android apps.

There more to life than what Stallman drools over and people who respond to 'Linux' for those same reasons are completely out of touch with the rest of the planet. iPhone fanatics aren't much different, they are hippies too... except iPhone hippies don't mind paying and Linux hippies as a general rule don't pay for anything if they can get a half assed poorly written alternative for no cost (WITH THE SOURCE CODE TOO!).

The problem is that Linux fanatics fail to understand the bottom line is to make money, so they fail utterly and completely any time money in involved.

Re:Too Slow!

[binarylarry]

You clearly know next to nothing about the Android platform.