The iPhone vs. Nexus One / Android
I've had an iPhone for years and a Google's Nexus One phone for less than a week so therefore I'm qualified to make the obvious comparison it seems everyone is so eagerly requesting. The Nexus One is really nice but it is no iPhone. Rather than anything major, the reason the iPhone wins this round is the litany of details Apple got right. If "overall cohesiveness" were a measurable quantity, the checks would fall disproportionally in the iPhone's column.
Now I could spend several hours nitpicking but if that isn't already obvious to you, I won't convince you. Instead, I'll mention two major obstacles Google has to overcome with Android if they want to close the gap while retaining control.
1. A completely open codebase invites fragmentation. While this might be the golden ticket for some as yet undiscovered shop launching an impeccably designed phone, it isn't a recipe for Google to keep it's lunch. Maybe this isn't Google's overall intent, but a Google designed phone telegraphs "entire ecosystem" which implies the need to retain control at least somewhere.
2. Fraud in the marketplace is disastrous. Maybe Apple's App Store approval process was a good idea after all. Loss of consumer trust is nearly unrecoverable and my sense is we are just seeing the beginning of this. If not the overtly fraudulent bank app, imagine a developer surreptitiously keeping tabs on you via a background app that spies on you via the camera or microphone at will.
What competitors need to do is make a phone that consumers didn't know they wanted, not try to best the iPhone on the playing field Apple outlined. At the moment, Palm seems to be the only company really cutting new ground outside of Apple's solar system. Its possible Android was initially headed in this direction as well but they stopped short of settling enough of the details.
Instead, Google could position Android as more than just a phone OS. Spearhead it as an in-car entertainment system for example, or the central controller to a home automation solution. I haven't seen many an industry that is crying for an Apple style makeover more than these two markets, and a move here by Google would own the landscape.
So in conclusion, I love my Nexus One. Its open and the hardware is a step above the iPhone in most cases. (notable exception is the speaker) But Android lacks an overwhelming attention to detail. Unless Google sees this as a problem, Android will remain second fiddle. And that vote, my dear friends, is still out.
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To send a trackback, use the URL of this story appending ?page=tb at the end.Comments (1)
Scott B from Raleigh / NC / USA
It's an interesting problem, the one of the platform being open. While Apple ostensibly uses it's club of a closed platform to keep quality up and keep bad guys out, it also uses it to keep it's competition out as well as not allowing you to develop / change basic parts of the core functions. Having a different way to display all activity comes to mind as just an obvious one that Apple won't let you anywhere near.
It seems to me that there needs to be reputation-based enforcement of the applications on the Android application store. Much like Apache has become, there needs to be an open, trusted organization that seeks to give stamps of approval to apps and provides a reputation-based seal of approval that the consumer can trust.
I agree with you that just a few surreptitious applications that steal your bank logins or your email passwords is all it will take to flush the platform.
Aside from the issues of aesthetics, perhaps there is an opportunity to become an Apache-like organization for the Android platform, where code is combed for malicious behavior and a stamp or seal of approval is provided. It could not be an organization that limits access based on preference ( i.e. no porn apps or something ), but rather just pure technical specifications.
It would be a way to solve what you speak of.
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