“Forgive my flippancy, but I’m trying hard not to bust into giggles after reading about Rich Miner’s [group manager for mobile platforms at Google] prediction that sales of Android-based devices will outstrip sales of the iPhone,” Charles Cooper writes for CNET.
“‘Once you have devices out there from Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and so on, there’s a much larger potential market on Android than for the iPhone,’ he said during a conference held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.,” Cooper reports. “He later added, ‘There are things I saw people doing with the first version of the Android SDK that it seems like you can’t do with the iPhone at least at the moment.’
“All of which may be true and yet totally beside the point,” Cooper writes.
“Let’s call Google on what this really is: Considering how there are currently ZERO Android devices in the market, Miner is engaging in (pardon the pun) major trash talking,” Cooper writes. “Maybe Microsoft became such an easy target that Eric Schmidt decided it was the right time to pump up the volume at Apple’s expense. I don’t think Steve Jobs is sweating any.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Back in mid-January, The New York Times’ John Markoff spent a half-hour with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and reported that Jobs “was equally skeptical about Google’s decision to develop smartphone software. ‘Having created a phone its a lot harder than it looks,’ he said. ‘We’ll see how good their software is and we’ll see how consumers like it and how quickly it is adopted. I actually think Google has achieved their goal [of seeking not to get locked out of the mobile phone world] without Android, and I now think Android hurts them more than it helps them. It’s just going to divide them and people who want to be their partners.'”
It’s all more than a little bit incestuous:
• Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt is a member of Apple’s Board of Directors.
• Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr is a member of Google’s Board of Directors and just launched the $100 million iFund for Apple iPhone.
• Avon CEO Andrea Jung is a member of Apple’s Board of Directors and Google’s Rich Miner puts Avon lipstick on his pig.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews reader “DizzyD” for contributing his comedy stylings to the last bullet point.]
“it will sure dull relationships between Apple and Google though.”
I doubt that. Android bound phones and the iPhone are suited for different markets.
Apple could use some good competition.
And people should have a less expensive alternative to the iPhone that doesn’t suck.
I hope Android does well.
“Apple could use some good competition.”
You’re missing the point.
If Android is really anything of interest – Google and Apple could both have large shares of the market for years and do very well. (possibly squelching any MS offering)
Me – I not waiting for the Android to be released – I’m not interested at all.
Ampar gets it:
“… Android bound phones and the iPhone are suited for different markets.”
The market is huge, a billion or so mobile phones? Does anyone really think Android will not show up on any of the other 990,000,000 sold, taking into consideration the 10-12 million phones sold by Apple? Android has any network and any phone open for it’s software, that’s huge potential. Doesn’t make Android better, but the available market is tremendous. Unless Apple enters the lower end market, there is a huge untapped market waiting for better software/hardware, hear that Apple? I’m waiting for a cheaper, less feature rich phone. Just want a simple Apple phone/ipod for cheap money.
@ TinTin
Nice one. I’m sure Google need help from you, last I heard they were doing a lot better than Apple.
And if you want look for useful open source software you should have a look at http://webkit.org/ . They created the rendering software you use in Safari!!! Just because you can’t see a big bouncing icon in your dock saying open source doesn’t mean it isn’t being used by a lot of programs you use every day.