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Apple and Google's awkward mobile marriage: Why Apple needs Google

8 points by fromedome 18y ago

walterk 18y ago
Everyone forgets about iTunes lock-in. If someone (in North America, Europe) is in the market to buy a smartphone, there's a good chance they're looking for a non-shuffle iPod replacement as well, and if enough of their library is in m4p format, the iPhone is their only option. Secondly, while the Street View thing is neat, I can only imagine how horribly stupid it would look if you were standing on a street corner and rotating in place. People are just going to use the touch interface instead. The only real application for this sort of Street View interface is pervasive gaming.
dbreunig 18y ago
Google gets the importance of mapping, and location will be the crux of mobile data aggregation going forward. That being said, I don't think Apple doesn't get mapping. But I think only they can execute it smoothly and relevantly. Google, if given all the data in the world would still execute the UI like an engineer. That's great for the technorati, not so great for the mass. Apple gets UI and leans on Google for the back-end. Google still gets data, therfore: Google is still happy. No need for a merger, and the fact that Android is still vaporwear shows that Apple has the advantage and doesn't need Google by any means. Google needs Apple to execute the front-end.
- mlinsey 18y ago
  You don't think that all of Google's web properties have good UI's? At minimum they are certainly quite clean and non-intimidating, which is the opposite of what I think you would expect from a company which "executed [their] UI like an engineer" In terms of mobile I would agree that the Android demos don't look quite as slick as the iPhone, but give it some time before it is released.
jorgeortiz85 18y ago
What struck me the most, when reading this article, is how thoroughly Microsoft has lost in the mobile space. Aside from mobile phones needing to interact with Exchange Server, Microsoft is increasingly irrelevant in the mobile space. At best they'll get to develop apps for the Android or iPhone platforms, but that must be a huge ego blow for a company that's used to being the platform-maker and not just another software vendor.
- josefresco 18y ago
  Market Share Q4 2007: Windows Mobile: 12% iPhone OS: 7% With years of past sales of Windows Mobile the overall market share gap between MS and Apple must be huge.
  - natrius 18y ago
    How long do people use one phone? The gap won't be very large once a replacement cycle has passed.
  - jorgeortiz85 18y ago
    My point exaactly. How long has Microsoft been trying to corner the mobile OS market? Even with an entrenched desktop monopoly and control of pretty much every corporate mail server ever, the best they could do was 12%? Both the iPhone and Android are individually more exciting than anything Microsoft has done in mobile in the last 5 years. In combination, they are a perfect storm. Windows Mobile is dead. (The iPhone release this month includes support for Exchange Server. Expect their numbers vis-à-vis Windows Mobile to skyrocket.)
- j2d2 18y ago
  Kinda reminds me of Sega...

8 points by fromedome 18y ago

Everyone forgets about iTunes lock-in. If someone (in North America, Europe) is in the market to buy a smartphone, there's a good chance they're looking for a non-shuffle iPod replacement as well, and if enough of their library is in m4p format, the iPhone is their only option. Secondly, while the Street View thing is neat, I can only imagine how horribly stupid it would look if you were standing on a street corner and rotating in place. People are just going to use the touch interface instead. The only real application for this sort of Street View interface is pervasive gaming.

dbreunig 18y ago

Google gets the importance of mapping, and location will be the crux of mobile data aggregation going forward. That being said, I don't think Apple doesn't get mapping. But I think only they can execute it smoothly and relevantly. Google, if given all the data in the world would still execute the UI like an engineer. That's great for the technorati, not so great for the mass. Apple gets UI and leans on Google for the back-end. Google still gets data, therfore: Google is still happy. No need for a merger, and the fact that Android is still vaporwear shows that Apple has the advantage and doesn't need Google by any means. Google needs Apple to execute the front-end.

mlinsey 18y ago
You don't think that all of Google's web properties have good UI's? At minimum they are certainly quite clean and non-intimidating, which is the opposite of what I think you would expect from a company which "executed [their] UI like an engineer" In terms of mobile I would agree that the Android demos don't look quite as slick as the iPhone, but give it some time before it is released.

jorgeortiz85 18y ago

What struck me the most, when reading this article, is how thoroughly Microsoft has lost in the mobile space. Aside from mobile phones needing to interact with Exchange Server, Microsoft is increasingly irrelevant in the mobile space. At best they'll get to develop apps for the Android or iPhone platforms, but that must be a huge ego blow for a company that's used to being the platform-maker and not just another software vendor.

josefresco 18y ago
Market Share Q4 2007: Windows Mobile: 12% iPhone OS: 7% With years of past sales of Windows Mobile the overall market share gap between MS and Apple must be huge.
- natrius 18y ago
  How long do people use one phone? The gap won't be very large once a replacement cycle has passed.
- jorgeortiz85 18y ago
  My point exaactly. How long has Microsoft been trying to corner the mobile OS market? Even with an entrenched desktop monopoly and control of pretty much every corporate mail server ever, the best they could do was 12%? Both the iPhone and Android are individually more exciting than anything Microsoft has done in mobile in the last 5 years. In combination, they are a perfect storm. Windows Mobile is dead. (The iPhone release this month includes support for Exchange Server. Expect their numbers vis-à-vis Windows Mobile to skyrocket.)
j2d2 18y ago
Kinda reminds me of Sega...