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An Android Tablet Victory May Be Problematic For Free Software
An anonymous reader writes "Glyn Moody writes at The H that Google's Nexus 7 tablet seems to be in a good position to shake up the market and pave the way for serious Android competition to the iPad. That said, he's worried about the potential downsides to a market full of mostly 'open' devices: 'Such customised systems are likely to be as locked down as they can be – the last thing either manufacturers or companies want is for users to start fiddling with the settings or installing their own software. As a result, the apps that run on such systems are likely to be closed source, since that's the way vertical markets tend to work. Such systems will also expose a persistent problem with the open source development methodology. While big and general projects find it relatively easy to attract interested developers, smaller, more targeted solutions tend not to thrive as free software.'"
The author pretty much lost me as soon as he said it wasn't clear whether people weren't buying iPads due to size. Really? 7" vs. 9.7"? Is that 2.7" size difference _really_ a make or break feature for people that otherwise might buy an iPad if they're not already turned completely off due to walled gardens, pricing, vendor lock-in and Apple's increasingly frightening track record? Every time I read that argument put out there, I wonder whether the writer is seeking some kind of "balance" where there really isn't any.
If you want the Apple ecosystem, you buy an iPad.
If you don't really care about, or care for, Apple's ecosystem, you buy something else.
That is all there is to it.
My own pointless vanity vintage computing page
Looking at the version history for android (and a few other sources), they contradict you.
I couldn't be bothered to go back before eclair but I'm pretty sure it follows a similar pattern:
Eclair - Release date: October 26, 2009. Source code release date: Nov 16th 2009 (source)
Froyo - Release date: May 20, 2010. Source code release date: Jun 23rd 2010 (source)
Ice Cream Sandwich - Release date: October 19, 2011. Source code release date: November 14, 2011
Jelly Bean - Release Date: not available on a shipping device yet. Source code release date: July 9, 2012
Now I know they didn't release Honeycomb in a timely fashion but gave reasons in advance for that. As that code forms part of the version history for Ice Cream Sandwhich you still have it available to you. However, I don't think you can say that they are particularly slow in releasing their code. And let's look at the definite positive here: they are releasing the source code!.
Kommander Liz, first posting on Wednesday July 11, @05:08PM. Three anti-Google posts since then.
Prognosis: yet another Buston Marsteller shill from the same stable that brought you Bonch, Sharklaser Tech* etc etc.
Apple: 50+% of the phone industry by revenue, 80+% of the phone industry by profit, and the tablet industry?
But a minority of the market by volume, and declining, and as volume share continues to drop, revenue and profit shares will follow. The problem with owning the high end and letting others own the low end is that as low-end device capabilities improve the high end gets squeezed out.
the tablet industry? hell, let's just call a spade a spade and call it the iPad industry.
The Nexus 7 hasn't even started shipping yet, but there's every reason to expect that it will significantly change the tablet market. Apple doesn't want to sell $200 devices with basically no profit margin, but it's very likely that huge numbers of people will want to buy a powerful tablet for $200. There really hasn't been a low end of the tablet market for Apple to worry about, because all of the cheap tablets sucked. The Nexus 7 is very likely to change that, sparking a fierce competition that Apple doesn't want to play in. It's very likely that the result will be that Apple will again find itself owning the lower-volume, higher-value part of the space.
Unlike the late 80s and early 90s, I think there is room today for more than one winner, because the big, complex apps tend to be based in the cloud, with phone and tablet apps primarily being small, simple pieces of software, so it's not unreasonable for software makers to implement their mobile apps twice (I'm not sure they're going to want to do it three times, though; sorry, Microsoft). Even in the PC era, Apple was largely able to hold onto a high-end, profitable niche, and it seems likely that they'll be able to do that even better today.
But Apple's single-manufacturer model is pretty much guaranteed to end up getting squeezed out of most of the market in the long run. I predict they'll be able to maintain around 25%.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
I have a 7" tablet and yes it is a big enough improvement over a cell phone.
A 7" tablet is about as small I want to watch movies and TV on. I can do on my phone but the tablet is much nicer. Also bigger device == bigger battery == longer runtime. I do not want run my phone to zero ever if for no other reason than safety. A second device means that I can keep by phone for communications and my tablet none essential uses.
I also find the 7" more portable than a 10" and the lower cost makes it less risky to use. If a $199 device gets broken or stolen it is far less tragic than if a $499 device does. Heck at replace cost the Nexus 7 is cheaper than my smartphone.
For example since the Nexus 7 has a GPS I am thinking about building a mount for my motorcycle for it. I could use it as a nav device as well as for music on long rides. Another option is a car mount.
I have a Kindle fire right now and it works great as an e reader, media player , and for games.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.