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The integration point for Google's stuff is the cloud, not physical devices That may be part of the problem with loyalty to Android. If everything is in the c

by byoung2 16y ago

The integration point for Google's stuff is the cloud, not physical devices That may be part of the problem with loyalty to Android. If everything is in the cloud, there is nothing tying me to a Google device. When I got my Android phone, I put in my Google account and got all of my contacts from Gmail and Google Voice, etc., but that is nothing new, as I had the same thing on Windows Mobile, and I could get the same thing on iPhone. When you get an iPhone, on the other hand, you have to create an iTunes account, and all the apps you buy, and all the backups for your phone happen there. It makes it easy to get another iPhone, or iPad, or iPod Touch, but it is harder to switch to Android or another platform.

billybob 16y ago
"That may be part of the problem with loyalty to Android. If everything is in the cloud, there is nothing tying me to a Google device." ...Which is exactly why I'd like to get a Google device. And to the loyalty point: you don't HAVE to keep all of your users if you're getting more by the boatload. If the lack of lock-in draws more users than your competitor's lock-in keeps from leaving, hooray! The whole concept of lock-in is misguided. If people are loyal because, even though they DON'T LIKE your product, it's too hard to switch, that means that a lot of your users are out there griping about you. Plus it can't feel good to know that you have to tie your customers down to keep them. At some point, the dislike reaches a critical mass and people start leaving in droves. That's what's happening to BlackBerry now. And it's going to be hard to undo the harm to their reputation that years of frustrated users have done. Whereas if people could have left more easily, they would have seen the problem sooner.
- billybob 16y ago
  Or to put this in HN terms: lack of lockin = "fail faster."
cageface 16y ago
It's been pointed out before but it bears repeating: the stakes in this game are totally different for Google. Google doesn't need to dominate in this market, it just needs to keep it open enough that the client is commoditized. If clients are commoditized and communicate via open standards Google wins on the strength of its superior systems engineering. History suggests that Apple will fare poorly in a commoditized market. I suspect Google is actually a lot more worried about Facebook right now than Apple though.

by byoung2 16y ago

billybob 16y ago

"That may be part of the problem with loyalty to Android. If everything is in the cloud, there is nothing tying me to a Google device." ...Which is exactly why I'd like to get a Google device. And to the loyalty point: you don't HAVE to keep all of your users if you're getting more by the boatload. If the lack of lock-in draws more users than your competitor's lock-in keeps from leaving, hooray! The whole concept of lock-in is misguided. If people are loyal because, even though they DON'T LIKE your product, it's too hard to switch, that means that a lot of your users are out there griping about you. Plus it can't feel good to know that you have to tie your customers down to keep them. At some point, the dislike reaches a critical mass and people start leaving in droves. That's what's happening to BlackBerry now. And it's going to be hard to undo the harm to their reputation that years of frustrated users have done. Whereas if people could have left more easily, they would have seen the problem sooner.

billybob 16y ago
Or to put this in HN terms: lack of lockin = "fail faster."

cageface 16y ago

It's been pointed out before but it bears repeating: the stakes in this game are totally different for Google. Google doesn't need to dominate in this market, it just needs to keep it open enough that the client is commoditized. If clients are commoditized and communicate via open standards Google wins on the strength of its superior systems engineering. History suggests that Apple will fare poorly in a commoditized market. I suspect Google is actually a lot more worried about Facebook right now than Apple though.