4 ms·

IMHO, for the "average" consumer, there's very little difference between the either the capabilities or the ease of use of either and Android phone or an iPhone

• piguy314 16y ago
  That's because innovation is a positive externality, people don't consider innovation when they buy an electronic device, but their choices do have consequences (which of course is the definition of an externality). Econtalk did a great show about this and net neutrality: Relevant excerpt from show: What is worrisome--because the Apple iPad is not as open as the cloud? As the PC. That's a market response. That assumes the market response incorporates all externalities. It doesn't. Classic externality for the consumer to prefer the fantastic interface of the iPhone to the long-term innovation. You wouldn't anticipate consumers making buying decisions today incorporating the long-term value of a more innovative platform. No reason for them to do it. http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/04/benkler_on_net.html http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/04/benkler_on_net.html