Developers unhappy with Google’s Android

40 Comments

1. @Mac+

   Windows mobile being eliminated from the scene a bad thing? Not necessarily. I would like MS eliminated from the scene because they make bad products and stagnate progress. I would like android to replace MS mobile in the marketplace. Remember in my post above I wanted android to keep Apple on their toes. I think the two would compliment each other in the marketplace. Of course competition is good….and necessary.

   Its just that MS compliments nothing. And they are not good for competition. Its a giant sick beast that needs to be put out of its misery.

   Reply

2. Well I say that open source can work. And it is still possible to come out with a great invention from a garage. Don’t under estimate people with great vision and great motivation.
   Thats all besides the point though. Cause Google is messing their opportunity up.

   Reply

3. “I think Brew-ha-ha would be a good name for a bar.”

   Microbrewery and comedy club.
   (But then, I said that here many months ago.)

   Reply

4. Microsoft what’s to beat Google in On-Line Advertising which is Google’s space.
   Google therefore should be looking to Knock some Window out of Microsoft by beating them in a small market of what MS considers it there space the Smart Phone OS space. Google needs to knock Microsoft down that peg to show that Microsoft is not the end all, be all OS provider for any space or platform. Google needs to kick-in the Microsoft door by just beating the snot out of Windows Mobile in the open Market place for the smart phone platforms.

   With Apple continuing to erode Microsoft consumer mindshare Linux Guru need to step it up and start grabbing from some of that old Windows user-base that would use Windows ME to not use an Apple system. This will open the door even more to help drive Linux in general into a more mainstream user acceptance. The greater Linux community though will need to do a lot of work and even consider merging some of the distributions, or even abandoning some of them to consolidate the Linux Brain Trust as it were into just few distributions.

   Beating Microsoft doesn’t mean killing them it just mean pruning them back to a position were they are not in the dominate position and are no longer able to dictate the terms to hardware and software developers. It would be a win for everyone if in the wash Windows ended up with just 33% of the OS market, Apple had 33% of the OS market and a Linux distribution or two had the 33% share of the OS market. I’m sure we’d all be happy if Windows had 49.5% of the Market and Apple and a Linux Distribution or two combined had the other 49.5% of the market.

   Wishful thinking perhaps but, I think Vista is a good indicator of the directions MS is headed. Unable to deliver a complex new OS on time, with the promised feature set, at the minimum system specs promised and maintain it’s backward compatibility legacy.

   Reply

5. Funny how many quotes there are from our friend, Enderle, and yet no comment from MDN.

   Actually, it’s quite funny how Rob, in order to criticise Google’s handling of the Android SDK, praises Apple.

   Here are a few choice bits:
   <<But Rob Enderle, an independent technology analyst, says he understands why Google chose to restrict access to the latest Android SDK. “It’s the very same reason why Apple didn’t do third-party developers first, and that’s to assure the process and the program and the quality that’s initially being offered,” he says. “They’re pretty sure they can get 50 quality applications.”>>

   So, it is logical for Android’s open-OS to take the same approach as Apple’s oft-criticised closed OS?

   Then Enderle had this to say:
   <<Enderle agrees. “If you develop for Apple, you’ve got a ready market,” he says. “If you develop for Android, it’s a crapshoot because there’s no assurance that the Android platform is even going to sell.”>>

   Oh, did he just realize he praised Apple?

   And some more Enderle praise for Apple:
   <<“While Google does simple well, this is Google’s first device, as opposed to Apple, which clearly has been doing devices for a while.”>>

   Not really praise, but stating a fact. I guess Rob can recognize a fact every once in a while.

   Reply

6. Google stuff is always free, but people must realize you are locked in to Google ware, just like you get locked into any other ‘platform’ – WinMo, Symbian, BB, Apple. JME was the only really cross-platform option but since Google invented their own Delvik VM and API it skirted the Java committee headache but also means it’s controlled by Google, and instead of 200,000 developers they get 2000. Come on, just look at everything Google built. Do we really expect a Porche to come out of a Volvo plant?

   Reply

7. “…a sense of disappointment and disillusionment among many in the tightly knit Android development community, which numbers perhaps 2,000, according to an estimate by AndroidGuys, an independent Android blog site.”

   Android doesn’t exist, yet. So, right now this is only a *potential* (and rapidly shrinking) Android development community.

   Reply

8. Gold believes that Google’s fundamental problem is that it has managed to put the cart before the horse,”

   Anonymous©: Funny how many quotes there are from our friend, Enderle, and yet no comment from MDN.

   Hah, in Enderle’s case, he manages to get Dell and the media to put the (Master)Card before the (quote)whores.

   Reply

9. Developers unhappy with something.

   In other news windows users frustrated.

   Reply

10. “Some developers have threatened to shift their attention to other mobile platforms…”

    Hmmm… I wonder which mobile platform they are shifting their attention to… ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

11. I never could quite understand the notion that Apple needs “competition to keep them on their toes”. If anything, it has to date been the other way around; it’s Apple keeping the competition on it’s toes! In almost every market that it’s competing in, Apple has not only set the standard, but has always come out a few steps ahead when it comes to combination of price-features (that people actually use)-usability. Sure, with the iPhone 3G they’re starting to add a few features that other smartphones have had for a while, but it has indeed revolutionized how consumers think about smartphones, and really brought the internet to people in a way few other mobile devices has, and that all within a year of being on the market.

    Reply

12. I agree with most of you guys. The main purpose of Android is to fill the gap for mobile hardware manufacturers with a somewhat open, iPhone-like OS to remove the dependency on Microsoft. Customers that opt for other-than-iPhone devices can get a phone that will be better supported with updates and an organized developer community. Of course, as the success of the iPhone continues, all other phones will be judged against it. Perhaps Android will help Palm and Motorola stay in the industry without having the MS Mafia over their shoulders.

    Reply

13. I agree with eon. Steve Jobs said it himself, mobile phones have a lot of neat features, but people have a hard time getting to them. It’s all about the User Interface. The problem with the iPhone is that you only get it on Apple hardware and that isn’t going to ever change. If you like the Motorola or Nokia hardware, you might be screwed.

    Candy bar phones aren’t my style. I would prefer a nice thin clam shell cell phone, and the idea of an easier to use UI that’s customizable is very appealing to me. I don’t like being stuck using a Verizon, or AT & T services either. If I can simply iSync to my phone and drag and drop songs and software onto it, I’d be happy.

    Reply

14. @TowerTone

    “So close, R5D4.
    So close….”

    Ummm, that was my joke you were riffing off, not vice versa, Mr. Bereft of Original Quips.

    Reply

15. R54D
    I was speaking of the time frame that we both submitted, and that I was ‘so close’ to beating you.

    Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.