3 ms·

I actually don't look at this through the narrow lens of an Apple shareholder. Who wins--iphone or android--matters a great deal for the future of the smartphon

by btmorex 16y ago

I actually don't look at this through the narrow lens of an Apple shareholder. Who wins--iphone or android--matters a great deal for the future of the smartphone ecosystem. I have no doubt that Apple can turn a nice profit while controlling 5-10% market share just like in the PC market. To me though, that doesn't matter. What matters is that the dominant smartphone platform will be available on many devices from many carriers and will be reasonably open.

semanticist 16y ago
Talking about 'winning' or 'losing' is STILL foolish, even from the broader viewpoint. No one product will win. Some products will fail. This is as true for smartphones as it is for games consoles, cars, and soft drinks. People do this all the time, and it's so needlessly divisive and tribalist. When the current generation of games consoles came out (as with every generation before) there was raging debates over which one would 'win' - and look, they're all selling, all have games, and all are popular. Sometimes an individual product or company will fail (Sega, in the games console market), but you very rarely really see a single dominant 'winner'.
- alex_c 16y ago
  Windows was a clear dominant 'winner' for a long time. Still is, even though it's becoming less relevant. I agree that identifying with a side or a company is usually counter-productive, but having a strong preference for a specific technology to 'win' for practical or ideological reasons seems fair.
- natrius 16y ago
  Market share determines what platforms people choose to develop for. "Winning" and "losing" is why I don't recommend the Palm Pre to anyone. It matters, and all other things being equal, I want to own a phone that runs the "winning" platform.
  - semanticist 16y ago
    I propose that you don't get 'winning' platforms, just 'losing' ones. (Windows aside, that is - I think that's an anomaly that hasn't been and won't be repeated.) Arguing for any particular platform 'to lose', if it's not clearly already lost, is just baiting. Arguing for a platform 'to win', when it's already shown that it's not lost, is about the same. Advising avoiding a platform that's lost is a different matter - I wouldn't recommend the Palm Pre, the Sega Dreamcast, or the Atari ST.

by btmorex 16y ago

semanticist 16y ago

Talking about 'winning' or 'losing' is STILL foolish, even from the broader viewpoint. No one product will win. Some products will fail. This is as true for smartphones as it is for games consoles, cars, and soft drinks. People do this all the time, and it's so needlessly divisive and tribalist. When the current generation of games consoles came out (as with every generation before) there was raging debates over which one would 'win' - and look, they're all selling, all have games, and all are popular. Sometimes an individual product or company will fail (Sega, in the games console market), but you very rarely really see a single dominant 'winner'.

alex_c 16y ago
Windows was a clear dominant 'winner' for a long time. Still is, even though it's becoming less relevant. I agree that identifying with a side or a company is usually counter-productive, but having a strong preference for a specific technology to 'win' for practical or ideological reasons seems fair.
natrius 16y ago
Market share determines what platforms people choose to develop for. "Winning" and "losing" is why I don't recommend the Palm Pre to anyone. It matters, and all other things being equal, I want to own a phone that runs the "winning" platform.
- semanticist 16y ago
  I propose that you don't get 'winning' platforms, just 'losing' ones. (Windows aside, that is - I think that's an anomaly that hasn't been and won't be repeated.) Arguing for any particular platform 'to lose', if it's not clearly already lost, is just baiting. Arguing for a platform 'to win', when it's already shown that it's not lost, is about the same. Advising avoiding a platform that's lost is a different matter - I wouldn't recommend the Palm Pre, the Sega Dreamcast, or the Atari ST.