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> Apple can't hurt Google by undermining it profits because it doesn't make the hardware and it gives the software away. Apple can undermine Google's profits f

> Apple can't hurt Google by undermining it profits because it doesn't make the hardware and it gives the software away. Apple can undermine Google's profits from mobile advertising, by giving the advertising revenue from iAds away (keep a small cut, give the rest to developers.) Google is trying to commoditize hardware, but Apple can do the equivalent with respect to advertising revenues. Apple doesn't need to make money from ads, google does.

ergo98 16y ago
>Google is trying to commoditize hardware This frequent meme is restated by people who don't know what commoditize means. The Android ecosystem is anything but a commoditized market.
- stcredzero 16y ago
  Interesting. I would like to hear more of your take on this.
  - statictype 16y ago
    The phones are expensive. They are not a commodity. Also, when you buy a new phone, you don't get to choose what operating system you want to install on it and then buy that OS. The phone+os ships together as a single entity.
    - natrius 16y ago
      That's not what commodity means. "A commodity is a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it." That is becoming a more accurate description of the Android market by the day. Nexus One, EVO 4G, Droid X... they're all pretty similar.
      - ergo98 16y ago
        >That is becoming a more accurate description of the Android market by the day. Nexus One, EVO 4G, Droid X... they're all pretty similar. So then why buy any specific one of them? Because they aren't similar, your ridiculous statement aside. The whole point of the Android hardware ecosystem is that it's a disparity of often very different phones. Some have fast CPUs some have slow CPUs. Some have great cameras with a Xenon flash, some don't. Some have keyboards, some don't. Some are big, some are small. It is the absolute opposite of commodity, and only the most ludicrous, superficial analysis could even imagine using that word. An iPhone, on the other hand, is a commodity as far as iPhones go. It's an iPhone, you know. Just an iPhone.
        natrius 16y ago
        There is absolutely no confusion when people talk about the commoditization of phone hardware. No one is saying phones will become coffee. You can get pretty much any combination of features from any vendor. Feel free to be frustrated by imprecise usage of technical terms.
        ergo98 16y ago
        It isn't just imprecise -- it's completely the opposite of reality. It's as logical as saying food is a commodity item because ultimately you eat food. Or cars are a commodity item because you use them to drive from a to b. Only an utter moron would use it in such a context.
        natrius 16y ago
        Ok, the car comparison is good. I agree now that phones can't really be a commodity. I still think it's okay to refer to decreasing differentiation in a market as "commoditization". People understand what's being said, and there's no other concise way to say it.
        reeses 16y ago
        Food is pretty much the archetype for commodities. Not because "you eat food," but because it doesn't really matter where your apricots, rice, or baby mice[1] come from. You'll buy the one that is either freshest or least expensive, and rarely focus on the provider unless it happens to have an advantage that relates to those two criteria. [1] What, you don't like three screams?
- sprout 16y ago
  Thus the "trying to" bit, as in, they haven't done it yet, but are getting there.

ergo98 16y ago

>Google is trying to commoditize hardware This frequent meme is restated by people who don't know what commoditize means. The Android ecosystem is anything but a commoditized market.

stcredzero 16y ago
Interesting. I would like to hear more of your take on this.
- statictype 16y ago
  The phones are expensive. They are not a commodity. Also, when you buy a new phone, you don't get to choose what operating system you want to install on it and then buy that OS. The phone+os ships together as a single entity.
  - natrius 16y ago
    That's not what commodity means. "A commodity is a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it." That is becoming a more accurate description of the Android market by the day. Nexus One, EVO 4G, Droid X... they're all pretty similar.
    - ergo98 16y ago
      >That is becoming a more accurate description of the Android market by the day. Nexus One, EVO 4G, Droid X... they're all pretty similar. So then why buy any specific one of them? Because they aren't similar, your ridiculous statement aside. The whole point of the Android hardware ecosystem is that it's a disparity of often very different phones. Some have fast CPUs some have slow CPUs. Some have great cameras with a Xenon flash, some don't. Some have keyboards, some don't. Some are big, some are small. It is the absolute opposite of commodity, and only the most ludicrous, superficial analysis could even imagine using that word. An iPhone, on the other hand, is a commodity as far as iPhones go. It's an iPhone, you know. Just an iPhone.
      - natrius 16y ago
        There is absolutely no confusion when people talk about the commoditization of phone hardware. No one is saying phones will become coffee. You can get pretty much any combination of features from any vendor. Feel free to be frustrated by imprecise usage of technical terms.
        ergo98 16y ago
        It isn't just imprecise -- it's completely the opposite of reality. It's as logical as saying food is a commodity item because ultimately you eat food. Or cars are a commodity item because you use them to drive from a to b. Only an utter moron would use it in such a context.
        natrius 16y ago
        Ok, the car comparison is good. I agree now that phones can't really be a commodity. I still think it's okay to refer to decreasing differentiation in a market as "commoditization". People understand what's being said, and there's no other concise way to say it.
        reeses 16y ago
        Food is pretty much the archetype for commodities. Not because "you eat food," but because it doesn't really matter where your apricots, rice, or baby mice[1] come from. You'll buy the one that is either freshest or least expensive, and rarely focus on the provider unless it happens to have an advantage that relates to those two criteria. [1] What, you don't like three screams?
sprout 16y ago
Thus the "trying to" bit, as in, they haven't done it yet, but are getting there.