5 ms·

"However, you also need a healthy ecosystem of consumers who love the product, and at the end of the day, I really think most developers will go to the platform

by srbloom 16y ago

"However, you also need a healthy ecosystem of consumers who love the product, and at the end of the day, I really think most developers will go to the platform where they can reach the widest audience." This is exactly what I was thinking. It is an interesting question- do consumers follow developers or do developers follow consumers? It seems that those agreeing with the OP would argue the former while those disagreeing would argue the latter.

steadicat 16y ago
Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. The iPhone was a huge success before it got any developers. The Wii had very few games on launch compared to competing platforms. And the recent resurgence of the Mac seems to have been led by consumers. There were not that many Mac apps in 1998 when the iMac came out. History seems to suggest that developers (especially those who want to get paid) go where the consumers are. The only exception is, perhaps, DOS/Windows? I'm not sure I remember the history right though. It could be that consumers switched to Windows because of the cheaper hardware, and developers followed.
- stanleydrew 16y ago
  > Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. What? 160,000 new Android phones are now activated each day I thought?
  - masklinn 16y ago
    Versus how many iPhones + iPod Touch + iPad?
    - stanleydrew 16y ago
      The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you?
      - masklinn 16y ago
        > The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. It's always a comparison. > But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you? No, which is why I'm asking. If I knew I wouldn't have to ask.
- DrJokepu 16y ago
  I think it works the other way around as well. It's not a coincidence that Apple marketed the 3G and 3GS models with the "There's an app for that" line - the sheer number of (useful) applications in the App Store is a huge selling point for the iPhone and a real asset for Apple.
- enjo 16y ago
  Android has no customers? Seriously? There are thousands of Android devices shipping every day. I still see no way that this doesn't end with Android in a (far and away) market dominant position. They're already well on their way.
  - gamble 16y ago
    Do Android users buy even a tenth of the apps that iOS users do? If simply having the greatest number of handsets in circulation supporting a particular platform equalled victory, Java-based feature phones or Symbian handsets would have trounced the iPhone years ago.
    - moe 16y ago
      Do Android users buy even a tenth of the apps that iOS users do? Probably not yet. I'd blame this mostly on the low number of "killer" apps in the android market. Many good apps have arrived, but the number is nowhere near the appstore, yet. Here's the kicker, though: This will inevitably change. It is already changing. When you compare the android market today versus a few months ago then you'll notice quite a number of high-profile apps have appeared. As a developer you can't ignore android anymore. You're not building an iPhone app nowadays, you're building an iPhone app and an android app. And it won't be long before the priorities reverse. Once android devices outnumber iPhones by 10:1 the question will be whether you build an iPhone app along with your Android app - not the other way round. Remember Apple is at its absolute peak today. There's nowhere to go from here in terms of features or polish. Sure, they can add voice recognition, brush up the hardware even more and perhaps they'll even find another killer-feature or two to add. But HTC and Google are breathing in their neck now, the gap in user experience is closing. From there the primary differentiating factor becomes price. And competing with HTC on price will be tough[1]. [1] http://moconews.net/article/419-android-sales-exceed-iphone-but-not-blackberry-in-q1/ http://moconews.net/article/419-android-sales-exceed-iphone-...
      - jodrellblank 16y ago
        Remember Apple is at its absolute peak today. There's nowhere to go from here in terms of features or polish. Sure, they can add voice recognition, brush up the hardware even more and perhaps they'll even find another killer-feature or two to add. There's nowhere to go in features or polish unless they add more features or polish more - what kind of argument is that? From there the primary differentiating factor becomes price. Because Apple have always been driven out of markets by competitors with lower prices...

by srbloom 16y ago

steadicat 16y ago

Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. The iPhone was a huge success before it got any developers. The Wii had very few games on launch compared to competing platforms. And the recent resurgence of the Mac seems to have been led by consumers. There were not that many Mac apps in 1998 when the iMac came out. History seems to suggest that developers (especially those who want to get paid) go where the consumers are. The only exception is, perhaps, DOS/Windows? I'm not sure I remember the history right though. It could be that consumers switched to Windows because of the cheaper hardware, and developers followed.

stanleydrew 16y ago
> Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. What? 160,000 new Android phones are now activated each day I thought?
- masklinn 16y ago
  Versus how many iPhones + iPod Touch + iPad?
  - stanleydrew 16y ago
    The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you?
    - masklinn 16y ago
      > The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. It's always a comparison. > But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you? No, which is why I'm asking. If I knew I wouldn't have to ask.
DrJokepu 16y ago
I think it works the other way around as well. It's not a coincidence that Apple marketed the 3G and 3GS models with the "There's an app for that" line - the sheer number of (useful) applications in the App Store is a huge selling point for the iPhone and a real asset for Apple.
enjo 16y ago
Android has no customers? Seriously? There are thousands of Android devices shipping every day. I still see no way that this doesn't end with Android in a (far and away) market dominant position. They're already well on their way.
- gamble 16y ago
  Do Android users buy even a tenth of the apps that iOS users do? If simply having the greatest number of handsets in circulation supporting a particular platform equalled victory, Java-based feature phones or Symbian handsets would have trounced the iPhone years ago.
  - moe 16y ago
    Do Android users buy even a tenth of the apps that iOS users do? Probably not yet. I'd blame this mostly on the low number of "killer" apps in the android market. Many good apps have arrived, but the number is nowhere near the appstore, yet. Here's the kicker, though: This will inevitably change. It is already changing. When you compare the android market today versus a few months ago then you'll notice quite a number of high-profile apps have appeared. As a developer you can't ignore android anymore. You're not building an iPhone app nowadays, you're building an iPhone app and an android app. And it won't be long before the priorities reverse. Once android devices outnumber iPhones by 10:1 the question will be whether you build an iPhone app along with your Android app - not the other way round. Remember Apple is at its absolute peak today. There's nowhere to go from here in terms of features or polish. Sure, they can add voice recognition, brush up the hardware even more and perhaps they'll even find another killer-feature or two to add. But HTC and Google are breathing in their neck now, the gap in user experience is closing. From there the primary differentiating factor becomes price. And competing with HTC on price will be tough[1]. [1] http://moconews.net/article/419-android-sales-exceed-iphone-but-not-blackberry-in-q1/ http://moconews.net/article/419-android-sales-exceed-iphone-...
    - jodrellblank 16y ago
      Remember Apple is at its absolute peak today. There's nowhere to go from here in terms of features or polish. Sure, they can add voice recognition, brush up the hardware even more and perhaps they'll even find another killer-feature or two to add. There's nowhere to go in features or polish unless they add more features or polish more - what kind of argument is that? From there the primary differentiating factor becomes price. Because Apple have always been driven out of markets by competitors with lower prices...