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Apple Google

That doesn’t sell me

Watch out! It's a blog fly!Gigaom: “Again, Android is far from perfect, but it offers developers some pleasantries that iOS, and more to the point, Apple, doesn’t provide. Android development is done in Java, as opposed to Apple’s once-obscure Objective C. Java may be old-school, but it’s still a primary development platform for a wide swath of developers, particularly in enterprise IT, which does a great deal of the world’s application development.”

Wow, you’re selling Java as a good reason to switch to Android? Strike one, two, and three. Java? Really? I’d rather use Go to be perfectly honest, or how about C#/.NET (via Mono), that would go a long way toward selling the platform for me. Ok, ok, Java isn’t really that bad, but there are better choices today.

I also love that you mention Joe Hewitt, I’m sure Joe is a nice guy, but he has a strange sense of what “Big Brother” means. Doesn’t he work for Facebook? The worlds biggest “Big Brother.”

Seriously, no offense to Joe, I just don’t agree with him, that’s all. I love the iOS platform and wish I could make a living doing nothing but applications for it. In fact, I’d jump at the chance. Mobile is too much fun!

Categories
Google

Google pulls App from Market

Aulia Masna“Just like Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Market has policies. Any app that violates those policies or receives complaints from significant enough parties will be removed.”

This is pretty interesting. Google bowing to the demands of the wireless provider, sound familiar iPhone users? It would appear the “openness” of the Android is a bit of a fallacy. It’s obvious the carriers are in control of the devices, thus the Verizon/Google backed crusade to regulate wireless.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have cheap wireless, with everything being equal, but the reality of it is this, these guys are in business to make money and they’re going to do what they have to to differentiate themselves from the other. Multi-tiered pay plans is one way to do it, not just based on the amount of data you can move per month, bit how fast that data moves and where.

Get used to the idea, it’s the American way!

Categories
Apple Google Microsoft

Ballmer on Tablets

CNN Money: “The CEO claimed that Microsoft needs to take its time to get its products just right to compete in the intensely scrutinized tablet space. He said that chipmaker Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) will be coming out next year with a tablet-specific processor called “Oak Trail” that will help manufacturers make better tablets that run Windows 7.”

I find it interesting that Intel is now making tablet specific chip sets, after Apple ships a highly successful device. Ballmer also states that the Windows based devices will likely be cheaper than the iPad.

I guess we’ll see. I hope they’re good because that’ll just push Apple and others to make better devices, which makes things better for all of us.

I’d also expect to see some Android based devices hitting the market pretty soon.

Categories
Apple Google Uncategorized

Pogue on Android

New York Times: “Last November, you might have been tempted by the Motorola Droid, “the best Android phone on the market.” A month later, the HTC Hero was “the best Android phone on the market.” By January, “the best Android phone yet” was the Nexus One. In April, “the best Android device that you can purchase” was the HTC Incredible. In May, “the best Android phone on the market” was the Sprint Evo.”

Go read the entire article, it’s a good read, too many quotable paragraphs to include here. He makes some great points about the choice between Android based phones and the iPhone. The bottom line: iPhone is a better choice, and experience, for everyday folks. Android is a good choice if you’re more technically inclined.

Categories
Google iPhone Mobile

Torn, which smart phone?

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to goof around with my cousin’s Droid Incredible by HTC. Oh my! It’s a beautiful phone, I love the sense UI. The iPhone definitely has big competition and since you can get this phone on Verizon it makes purchasing it quite easy for those looking for something close enough to an iPhone.

I’m very tempted by it and I have an iPhone app for heavens sake!

Bravo HTC for upping the ante. This is good for the smart phone market, no matter how you slice it.

Categories
Apple Google iPhone

Marco on Android and Verizon

RibbitMarco Arment: “Droid isn’t actually “close enough” to the iPhone in most important ways, but in marketing and customer perception, it doesn’t matter. Apple can’t win this fight on quality and overall experience because most of these customers have never owned iPhones. They don’t know what they’re missing. They just know what the Verizon marketing told them: Droid phones are pretty much like the iPhone. When they encounter all of Android’s rough edges, they assume that all smartphones are like that, and grow to generally dislike using them. (Much like the computer market.)”

I’m finding that most folks, of the geeky variety, that have Android based phones tend to have them for philosophical reasons. “They’re more open”, “Apple is EVIL”, “I can’t make the app I want”, “AT&T sucks.” Typical geek reasoning. The normal folks mainly don’t care if the phone is iOS or Android or Symbian or Windows Mobile. They mainly care about the User Experience(UX) of the thing, and that they can find an application for locating their favorite restaurant and make reservations at the touch of a button, or they can check Facebook or Twitter and update their location on Four Square and Gowalla.

Another thing most people do care about is call quality and not dropping calls. If you follow Marco, he lives in New York, you should note that he has issues with Verizon as a carrier. Dropped calls, lack of signal, etc. It’s just like AT&T, it just depends on where you live as to the experience. In Fresno, where my brother lives, Verizon has a great network. There was a time when a Verizon based phone wouldn’t work inside my house, but an AT&T phone would. It’s all about where you are. Hopefully AT&T gets their act together and expands their network with all the cold hard cash they’re making from Apple fans. Heaven knows they’re only going to get more subscribers that use more data. Trust me, data usage is only going to go up now that they have tethering. If they don’t improve their network there could be a massive rush to Verizon at some point, at which time we’ll discover if Verizon can really offer a better experience with the iPhone. Something tells me, it’ll be about the same.

And, yes, I’m well aware of the major differences between AT&T and Verizon’s network. AT&T’s is much better for a couple of different use cases. One: Using the internet while on the phone. Two: Using your phone outside of the US, on Verizon if you went to Europe you’d have a paperweight in your pocket. Not so with AT&T.

And Marco’s closing statement of “I’m guessing a CDMA Verizon iPhone will be available within 6 months. If it isn’t, I might need to start learning Java.” tells you where he’s leaning.

Categories
Apple Google

Nexus One vs. iPhone

Justin Williams: “After a week of using Android, I’m conflicted. If you had asked me last Wednesday what phone i’d be using a week from now I’d without a doubt say the iPhone. Now that we’re here, however, I am sticking with Android until the new iPhone ships. Widgets, home screen customization, background processes and the notification system are things that I’ve grown incredibly fond of and would miss if I went back to the iPhone today. I’m also eagerly waiting the release of Froyo for my Nexus One, which will offer a lot of new features I’d like to toy with in the near term.”

Go read the entire post, it’s very good. Justin actually likes some of the stuff I find interesting about Android, home screen customization and the notification system in particular.

Parting shot, from the post: “Where Android shines in some areas, it really falls apart in others. Things that are ridiculously simple on the iPhone such as taking a screenshot involves installing an SDK and going through a 15 step tutorial to do on Android.”