You can put out only so many iterations of the iPhone and the iPad. And I don't think an iTV is in the works. So what's next? Is there no next? Has Apple reached its pinnacle? Is Apple going to now see a lost decade?
I'd not count out Apple so fast. It is an amazing company, it has been. And the iPhone and the iPad still have a few years' of air in their sails. But it is hard for me to see what fundamental product it might bring out in, say, three years that might be as much a departure as the iPhone was when it came out.
Everyone knew that those growth rates simply had to come down, but the speed of the slowdown is a shock. .... not only is Apple falling off its March quarter growth faster than expected, the rapid cooling is evident simultaneously in North America, Europe and Asia — all major regions .... Perhaps the phenomenal strength of the Samsung Galaxy S III in June and July finally dented Apple’s smartphone momentum measurably. Samsung hit the 10 million unit sales mark in two months this summer ... Apple is now facing the Skylla and Charybdis of the European debt crisis and Samsung’s emergence as a real rival. We may well finally see some real iPhone price aggression from Apple in emerging markets come next winter
In the long run it will not be an issue of first and second. Right now I am talking to a client who has this iPhone app in mind that I think would be great on all three platforms: iPhone, Android, web. I think I have convinced him, but now it is just a matter of money. If the money is tight he will start with iPhone only. My team will build him an iPhone app first.
I wish there were a few top tech entrepreneurs who blogged like Fred Wilson and Mark Suster do. As in, regularly, or at all. Where is Sean Parker when you need him?
Image via CrunchBaseAndroid used to be in sorry shape while the iPhone was raging, but there were people, myself included, who thought it was only a matter of time. And now the two platforms are neck and neck, Android might even have a lead, a growing lead.
New York Times: Bits: Chinese Company Aims Big With Android Smartphone: a “$150 smartphone that is similar to an iPhone user experience.” The company said it wanted to show that it could create a technologically advanced smartphone at a more affordable price.
It is ridiculous that an iPhone costs as much as a low end Delllaptop. This Chinese entry into the smartphone market reminds me of the $35 tablet to come out of India. ($35 PC)
The Ideos seems to have global ambitions. It runs on Android, predictably.
This is not really news. By now China has a track record. It was only a matter of time before some Chinese company entered the Android market.
It is the PC, Mac thing all over again. Android is PC and Android is poised to take over the iPhone in sheer volume.
Verizon Droid competes with the iPhone and Amazon's Kindle faces competition in the Barnes Noble product. For now the newcomers seem to have the buzz. Mashable thinks iPhone is the superior phone. TechCrunch thinks it is Droid. My bias is for Droid. I have a feeling the iPhone is the Mac and the Droid is the PC, poised for a wider adoption. We will see.
All your stuff is saved. Contacts you add on your Android phone are automatically saved in your Gmail account that you are used to accessing over your laptop. So you can lose that mobile phone and not lose anything. Get a new phone, sign in, pick up where you last left.
You can take your photos and videos from your mobile device straight to your online destinations, in Google's case Picassa and YouTube. You don't have to download them to your desktop and then upload them online. That right there is further liberation from the desktop. And of course the editing happens online.
Many human beings come with a pair of legs. We move around. A lot. The mobile space was always very important. Technology is catching up. But it would have been a minor disaster to realize the mobile space was a whole different silo from the big rectangle of your laptop.
That seamlessness from the mobile space to, what will we call it, the immobile space is key. It has to feel like one continuum. When mobile and not so mobile, we are still dealing with the same ecosystem of information and people.
The Android architecture has that seamlessness in mind. That seamlessness is at the heart of the Android vision. That is also why the architecture is open. You have the Open Handset Alliance. Android is open source. It is free. Just like Google search is free. The business model perhaps is to create a vibrant mobile space, get people to start using the basic services like Gmail and calendar, and then cash in in the mobile ad space which promises to be huge measured by any yardstick.
Sturdier build, richer experience, is that where we are headed with donut? I have been scouring for details, not many are forthcoming.
We don't seem to know when either. But the anticipation level is very high.
For me it is not just about the mobile phones, although Android seems to really want to open up the territory, for me it is even more about the Netbook space. I am eager to see how Android will reshape the Netbook space.
In The News
Sony Ericsson baking Donut Android phonesReg Hardware several Android phones based on the GoogleOS’ Donut edition ..... little’s yet known about the Donut update’s features. ..... Donut will feature greater multimedia support .... strong contenders in the entertainment category.
Android 2.0 “Donut”Android Phone Fans - Phandroid.com not only are these rumors, but they were Russian rumors translated into English and then went through my rough deciphering capabilities after a spin through the Google Translate machine ..... This would be hilarious if true considering the current version (1.5) has gained incredible popularity with the Cupcake name. ..... The radical difference, which is why everything is silent, that the new machines are built on the Android OS 2.0 code-named Donut. ..... “Acer” is mentioned as launching a Donut based Android Phone. Google Groups: Android Platform
Samsung Prepping Two Smartphones Running Android 2.0Brighthand The Spica ..... 3-inch QVGA touchscreens, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, 3 MPx cameras, and microSD card slots ...... The release of the next version of Google's OS isn't going to happen for about 6 months ...... support for additional screen resolutions: WVGA and QVGA ....... Only HVGA displays are supported by Android 1.5, while both of Samsung's upcoming models will reportedly have QVGA ones. T-Mobile Delays Android 1.5 Update, Android 2.0 SpottedInformationWeeka first look at Android 2.0 will make you want to skip 1.5 altogether. ...... Android is trading cupcakes for donuts. ...... an HTC-customized version of Android, and its very slick.
T-Mobile USA: G1 Cupcake Update Delayed 1 WeekAndroid Phone Fans - Phandroid.com Updates on Acer, Sony Ericsson, and Panasonic HandsetsAndroidGuys “We are seriously considering developing an Android-based handset and entering overseas mobile phone markets in fiscal 2010.” ..... The term ‘near’ future is subjective so don’t go thinking 2.0 is right around the corner just yet. ..... With 9 out of 10 upcoming handset running Windows Mobile, the smartest phone they’ll release in 2009 will be Android. Motorola Morrison Android handset T-Mobile-boundT3 a Motorola Android phone, the Motorola Morrison. .... the scheduled launch date is down as the start of November ..... the version most phone makers have been gearing their handsets to using. ....... Motorola has promised Android phones before the year is out and has been reported as seeing Android as its last shot at sticking with the big boys. ....... the Morrison looks to be phone equivalent of its supermarket namesake, solid and dependable and possibly a little cheaper than the competition. But we'll reserve judgement until we see the full details, a bigger picture and ideally, get hands-on with it. HTC Hero's Android Build Caught on VideoSoftpedia Android Cupcake, Donut, Eclair and Beyond…Android Phone Fans - Phandroid.com
The beauty of going public and going big is, if you are a truly visionary company, you can start zapping up small startups that might fit into your vision. Android was not Google's in-house creation.
Android: Versions
Cupcake was a phase not a release.
Android: Functionality
It is revolutionizing the mobile space, and it is spilling over into the Netbook space.
Many have talked of 2009 as being Android's year. I guess we will just have to watch the drama unfold and see if Android will truly see a 900% growth. Even the naysayers say 400%. Once it takes off, the growth rate might hit four figures. Why not?
The Android Vision
There is openness and there is mobility. Those two values stand at the core of the vision.
Android Future: Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom
Once the genie is out of the bottle, who knows what all that will lead up to. This is the new wild, wild west.
Open Handset Alliancebuilt to be truly open ...... an application can call upon any of the phone's core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel........ Android is open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. ...... Android does not differentiate between the phone's core applications and third-party applications. .... a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual's mobile phone ...... allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications. Welcome (Android Open Source Project)Android is the first free, open source, and fully customizable mobile platform. ...contains a rich set of APIs that allows third-party developers to develop great applications.
Android Company Profile Google Buys Android for Its Mobile ArsenalThe search giant quietly acquires the startup, netting possibly a key player in its push into wireless, "the next frontier in search" ........ 22-month-old startup .... brings to Google a wealth of talent, including co-founder Andy Rubin, who previously started mobile-device maker Danger Inc. ..... In a 2003 interview with BusinessWeek, just two months before incorporating Android, Rubin said there was tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences. ....... Rubin isn't the only well-known Silicon Valley veteran joining Google via Android. Others coming over include Andy McFadden, who worked with Rubin at WebTV before helping develop the all-in-one set-top box for Moxi Digital; Richard Miner, former vice-president of technology and innovation at telecom outfit Orange before joining Android; and Chris White, who spearheaded the design and interface for WebTV in the late 1990s, before helping to found Android. Android (1982) Android Developers Blog: Android Market: a user-driven content ... Android -- Engadget Mobile you can now part with some cash and cobble together a bunch of modules to create a do-it-yourself Android phone called FLOW Android News - Android Google Phone Forums Official Google Blog: Where's my Gphone?Posted by Andy Rubin, Director of Mobile Platforms ...... Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we're not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing -- the Open Handset Alliance and Android -- is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. .......... new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today. ....... all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation ...... the Open Handset Alliance, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile leaders including Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile. Through deep partnerships with carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and others, we hope to enable an open ecosystem for the mobile world by creating a standard, open mobile software platform. .......... partnerships with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world. ....... some of our partners are targeting the second half of 2008 to ship phones based on the Android platform
Analysts clash over android growth figures - The Inquirer a whopping 900 per cent ...... Apple's Iphone operating system will be the next fastest-growing smartphone OS in 2009, citing a predicted 79 per cent growth rate. ........ buffed up support from telco operators, developers and retailers alike ....... seeping through Europe and Asia ...... puts Android "in a good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years." ....... Android based smartphone shipments will perk up dramatically once Motorola, HTC, Samsung and T-Mobile have all released their promised devices ......... "IDC expects Android to grow around 420 per cent to a total of 3.6m units worldwide in 2009" ........ the industry is looking for a way to alleviate Symbian - and by proxy, Nokia - dominance ........ IDC believes the market will consolidate around six major operating systems over the next three years, namely Symbian, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile, Mac OS X, Android and Linux. Android: Google's Dream, Apple's Nightmare? - TIMEwhile it won't look as sleek as the iPhone, it promises to give mobile-phone users a lot more freedom and flexibility. ...... run multiple applications at once and more easily share contacts and data among them ....... mobile-phone users will finally be able to cut and paste text in e-mails — a function that's frustratingly absent on the iPhone. ......... The sweetest part of the Dream is the Android Market — Google's answer to the Apple App Store. ........ at launch all Android Market apps will be free. ...... Android is better than the iPhone at running multiple programs at once ........ While Apple takes a top-down approach to app development — the company must approve every program that makes it into its App Store — Google will allow creators to upload any application to the Android Market without its review. ........ users will not be limited to a single phone or carrier for long. ........ Google is inviting all carriers to develop handsets for the platform ..... other features are expected to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone, including built-in GPS, a tilt sensor for gaming and a camera .....no one can turn on the hype machine quite as well as Steve Jobs
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