5 ms·

They also usually fail the "Runs my software." criterium. The most smartphones still have gatekeepers on what software you can install on them (with the iPhone

They also usually fail the "Runs my software." criterium. The most smartphones still have gatekeepers on what software you can install on them (with the iPhone being the primest example). And even the ones that let you install any software don't usually let you install software that can do anything because of security concerns. Hopefully Android will win and this won't be an issue, but for now it definitely is.

rimantas 17y ago
General population does not have this problem. They do not care about feature lists, MHzs of CPU, they do not count watts and do not carry replaceable batteries. They do not give a damn how open or how closed the ecosystem is. Either device works for them or it does not. I guess very few geeks get that, and Jeff is sure not one of them. And it would be a mistake to think that Apple is going to release something along the lines of the slate MS presented at CES. The rumor goes, that Jobs has asked, what good the the new tablet device could do besides browsing internet in the restroom. I guess they are not going to release one if it does not have an answer to this question.
- waterlesscloud 17y ago
  The general population cares about being able to do what they want to do on their machines. If there's software people really want they they aren't "allowed" to run on their machine by the gatekeepers, they will, as they have countless times in the past, vote with their wallets.
- jrockway 17y ago
  Users don't care about whether the platform is open directly. But they do benefit from the openness. An example that has been beaten to death; Google Voice. On my open phone, I dial with the normal dialer and my call is connected via Google Voice. On the iPhone, that is not possible. You have to go to a web page, dial a number, and wait for Google to call you. Not a good "user experience".
iuguy 17y ago
Symbian, the most popular OS on handsets of 2009 (according to http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/27/comparing-smartphone-market-share-by-operating-system http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/27/comparing-smart...) lets you run any software you want (unless specifically locked down, which I've never seen) and even allows you to install Python with a built in on-phone interpreter. A lot of people seem to act as though the iPhone is the second coming but it's not. The main reason the iPhone does better on the net seems to be more about the quality of the built-in browser than anything else.

rimantas 17y ago

General population does not have this problem. They do not care about feature lists, MHzs of CPU, they do not count watts and do not carry replaceable batteries. They do not give a damn how open or how closed the ecosystem is. Either device works for them or it does not. I guess very few geeks get that, and Jeff is sure not one of them. And it would be a mistake to think that Apple is going to release something along the lines of the slate MS presented at CES. The rumor goes, that Jobs has asked, what good the the new tablet device could do besides browsing internet in the restroom. I guess they are not going to release one if it does not have an answer to this question.

waterlesscloud 17y ago
The general population cares about being able to do what they want to do on their machines. If there's software people really want they they aren't "allowed" to run on their machine by the gatekeepers, they will, as they have countless times in the past, vote with their wallets.
jrockway 17y ago
Users don't care about whether the platform is open directly. But they do benefit from the openness. An example that has been beaten to death; Google Voice. On my open phone, I dial with the normal dialer and my call is connected via Google Voice. On the iPhone, that is not possible. You have to go to a web page, dial a number, and wait for Google to call you. Not a good "user experience".

iuguy 17y ago

Symbian, the most popular OS on handsets of 2009 (according to http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/27/comparing-smartphone-market-share-by-operating-system http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/27/comparing-smart...) lets you run any software you want (unless specifically locked down, which I've never seen) and even allows you to install Python with a built in on-phone interpreter. A lot of people seem to act as though the iPhone is the second coming but it's not. The main reason the iPhone does better on the net seems to be more about the quality of the built-in browser than anything else.