5 ms·

Lots of people talk about how the iPhone is closed and you can't control what's on it, but look how "open" platforms have worked out in practice.

pilif 16y ago
they AREN'T open. That's the problem. The underlying OS might be mostly open. But the hardware you buy is as closed as it gets. You as the paying customer are at the mercy of your carriers ideas about how they can increase their revenue. That's what we get from that crazy model of handsets being subsidized by carriers. If people didn't expect a (mostly) free phone every year or two, with some likelihood, this would stop as people would want to demand to get what they pay for.
- orangecat 16y ago
  That's what we get from that crazy model of handsets being subsidized by carriers. Exactly, and unfortunately that's what "we" want. Google tried to break that dysfunctional model with the Nexus One, but most people can't get past the initial $529 price. I wish they at least tried to explain how you can end up saving a lot by using T-Mobile's contract-free plans.
  - cheald 16y ago
    > but most people can't get past the initial $529 price. Sadly, this is very true. I bought an unlocked Nexus One, and people ooh and ahh over it, but when they ask me how much I paid for it, they blanch. At that point, they stop listening, even though I go on to explain that it ends up costing me less over time than if I'd bought a cheaper-up-front subsidized phone. It's really a reflection of our credit card culture. Many people consider $600 over 12 months (Only $50/month!) to be cheaper than $500 all at once (OMG, my bank account!).
    - omaranto 16y ago
      Stop saying How much you paid for it, instead say X over 3 years of owning it, compared to Y for an iPhone over 3 years. After that, if they ask, say how much the phone itself costs.
- isleyaardvark 16y ago
  That's why I put "open" in quotation marks. I'd like open platforms to succeed, but I think there are some inherent problems - namely at the hardware level any platform will likely tend to get closed off. The carriers are to blame this time, but we saw a similar thing happen with computer manufacturers putting all sorts of crap on the desktop.
cookiecaper 16y ago
Wow, one manufacturer put a dubious bootloader on one of its phones! A true failure for open platforms. Just avoid the troublesome phones and let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- SandB0x 16y ago
  Buying a phone shouldn't be a minefield. People get iPhones because they know that they're solid, simple and stress free (putting aside the signal issue for now). These things are as important as the shininess and cool factor. Google should have enough clout to tell the carriers and manufacturers where to stick their crapware and dodgy interfaces if they want a Google branded phone. I really hope someone's paying attention.
  - cookiecaper 16y ago
    People could know _any_ phone was solid and stress-free, you just have to teach them. Do you think there is something inherent in the iPhone that makes it intuitively obvious that they are "solid and stress-free"? People think that about one model of phone because they were taught to think that. People could be taught to think the same about the Droid or the G1 or whatever else; just tell your friends "Get an EVO" instead of "Get an iPhone", and the problem is solved, right?
    - SandB0x 16y ago
      Look, I'm as big an Android fan as anyone, but I've seen several people really regret their decisions. For example, some of my friends have the HTC Hero. It's slow, runs Sense on top of Android 1.5 (still!) and the battery life is awful. I don't really know anyone who's regretted getting an iPhone, even though they know there might be a handful of better Android phones out there. The overall impression is that Android is a mixed bag, and that you have to watch your step. Not everyone wants to spend days reading Engadget reviews and trawling through forums, and the iPhone is rightly seen as the safe choice.
      - 16y ago

pilif 16y ago

they AREN'T open. That's the problem. The underlying OS might be mostly open. But the hardware you buy is as closed as it gets. You as the paying customer are at the mercy of your carriers ideas about how they can increase their revenue. That's what we get from that crazy model of handsets being subsidized by carriers. If people didn't expect a (mostly) free phone every year or two, with some likelihood, this would stop as people would want to demand to get what they pay for.

orangecat 16y ago
That's what we get from that crazy model of handsets being subsidized by carriers. Exactly, and unfortunately that's what "we" want. Google tried to break that dysfunctional model with the Nexus One, but most people can't get past the initial $529 price. I wish they at least tried to explain how you can end up saving a lot by using T-Mobile's contract-free plans.
- cheald 16y ago
  > but most people can't get past the initial $529 price. Sadly, this is very true. I bought an unlocked Nexus One, and people ooh and ahh over it, but when they ask me how much I paid for it, they blanch. At that point, they stop listening, even though I go on to explain that it ends up costing me less over time than if I'd bought a cheaper-up-front subsidized phone. It's really a reflection of our credit card culture. Many people consider $600 over 12 months (Only $50/month!) to be cheaper than $500 all at once (OMG, my bank account!).
  - omaranto 16y ago
    Stop saying How much you paid for it, instead say X over 3 years of owning it, compared to Y for an iPhone over 3 years. After that, if they ask, say how much the phone itself costs.
isleyaardvark 16y ago
That's why I put "open" in quotation marks. I'd like open platforms to succeed, but I think there are some inherent problems - namely at the hardware level any platform will likely tend to get closed off. The carriers are to blame this time, but we saw a similar thing happen with computer manufacturers putting all sorts of crap on the desktop.

cookiecaper 16y ago

Wow, one manufacturer put a dubious bootloader on one of its phones! A true failure for open platforms. Just avoid the troublesome phones and let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

SandB0x 16y ago
Buying a phone shouldn't be a minefield. People get iPhones because they know that they're solid, simple and stress free (putting aside the signal issue for now). These things are as important as the shininess and cool factor. Google should have enough clout to tell the carriers and manufacturers where to stick their crapware and dodgy interfaces if they want a Google branded phone. I really hope someone's paying attention.
- cookiecaper 16y ago
  People could know _any_ phone was solid and stress-free, you just have to teach them. Do you think there is something inherent in the iPhone that makes it intuitively obvious that they are "solid and stress-free"? People think that about one model of phone because they were taught to think that. People could be taught to think the same about the Droid or the G1 or whatever else; just tell your friends "Get an EVO" instead of "Get an iPhone", and the problem is solved, right?
  - SandB0x 16y ago
    Look, I'm as big an Android fan as anyone, but I've seen several people really regret their decisions. For example, some of my friends have the HTC Hero. It's slow, runs Sense on top of Android 1.5 (still!) and the battery life is awful. I don't really know anyone who's regretted getting an iPhone, even though they know there might be a handful of better Android phones out there. The overall impression is that Android is a mixed bag, and that you have to watch your step. Not everyone wants to spend days reading Engadget reviews and trawling through forums, and the iPhone is rightly seen as the safe choice.
    - 16y ago