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Android is just now catching up with where Windows Mobile was years ago. Execution wasn't the problem. The problem remains that Gmail and YouTube are monopolies

Android is just now catching up with where Windows Mobile was years ago. Execution wasn't the problem. The problem remains that Gmail and YouTube are monopolies and Google aggressively interfered with them working on WinMo because it was Android's only real competitor (an OS licensed to phone OEMs). Microsoft obviously has it's own monopolies but it failed to leverage them on mobile. Shockingly, a great experience using Excel on a 4" screen isn't a huge selling point.

fidgewidge 4y ago
YouTube hardly mattered on mobile at the time we're talking about, iPhone 1 didn't even do 3G. Gmail isn't a monopoly and never has been. iPhone came out just a few years after Gmail did, whilst Microsoft had Outlook/Exchange in the enterprise which practically was a monopoly. The Windows team didn't really care about slick UI until long after Apple beat them on that. And the reason they scrapped CE and tried to do UWP is because the Windows API was long ago on its last legs but they hadn't been able to upgrade it properly. Whereas Apple had managed the evolution of nextstep much better, and Android was free / a clean slate design with proper sandboxing, and better consumer apps.
shp0ngle 4y ago
This is a very weird take. Complaining that Google is monopolistic compared to Microsoft, of all companies.
- ocdtrekkie 4y ago
  Microsoft never came close to the level of intersecting monopolies Google has. Also, Google learned from Microsoft's mistake: It spread political money early and often to ensure it wouldn't get regulated nearly as quickly. Google aggressively paid off Democrats and Republicans alike, and despite bipartisan support for dealing with them, regulation work is still slow and ineffective. Now that's not to say Microsoft doesn't hold any monopolistic positions or engage in monopolistic behavior, most large companies eventually do and Microsoft still does where opportunity presents. But if you think Microsoft is a monopoly and Google isn't, you have a view of the industry that is two decades out of date.
  - BakeInBeens 4y ago
    I think the most monopolistic portion of Google besides search would be their hold on the ad tech industry (and even then you have other online giants Meta, Tiktok, Amazon, etc.) but I don't necessarily understand how you can say they have a monopoly on consumer products large enough to drive adoption of Android especially 15 years ago. Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Chrome and Android either have direct competitors in other ecosystem or are open source. YouTube and search are the only ones I can think of without direct competition. And the competition for these products come from Apple and Microsoft who are more/just as entrenched in owning and growing their entire platform.
    - ocdtrekkie 4y ago
      Something like 70% of email is controlled by Google, and you cannot operate an email service if you do not meet Google's demands. If your business isn't listed in Google Maps, it doesn't matter what industry you are in, Google has killed you. Chrome and Android aren't open source (at least, not the version running on 99.9% of their respective install bases), and both operate as near complete monopolies. Chrome has used its position to reshape the very standards of the web to meet Google's business need and try to block competitors. Android has no competition at all, as I explained above: For manufacturers building devices it's the only OS in town. While ignoring all these huge monopolies, you claim search has no competition. Ironically, about a third of global search queries are serviced by Bing! I would go so far as to say the monopolies above are as powerful, or moreso, than Google's grip on search.
      - scarface74 4y ago
        Gmail has a 23% market share https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/most-used-email-clients https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/most-used-email-clients And “email is for old people”. How much important personal communication even goes over email?
        ocdtrekkie 4y ago
        That statistic does not mean what you think it means, it's about clients. That ignores the fact that people open their Gmail with Samsung, Apple, and Windows mail apps. 66% of folks are not running around with icloud.com addresses.
kevinventullo 4y ago
“Windows Mobile lost to Android because of Gmail and YouTube” is an absolutely wild take.

fidgewidge 4y ago

YouTube hardly mattered on mobile at the time we're talking about, iPhone 1 didn't even do 3G. Gmail isn't a monopoly and never has been. iPhone came out just a few years after Gmail did, whilst Microsoft had Outlook/Exchange in the enterprise which practically was a monopoly. The Windows team didn't really care about slick UI until long after Apple beat them on that. And the reason they scrapped CE and tried to do UWP is because the Windows API was long ago on its last legs but they hadn't been able to upgrade it properly. Whereas Apple had managed the evolution of nextstep much better, and Android was free / a clean slate design with proper sandboxing, and better consumer apps.

shp0ngle 4y ago

This is a very weird take. Complaining that Google is monopolistic compared to Microsoft, of all companies.

ocdtrekkie 4y ago
Microsoft never came close to the level of intersecting monopolies Google has. Also, Google learned from Microsoft's mistake: It spread political money early and often to ensure it wouldn't get regulated nearly as quickly. Google aggressively paid off Democrats and Republicans alike, and despite bipartisan support for dealing with them, regulation work is still slow and ineffective. Now that's not to say Microsoft doesn't hold any monopolistic positions or engage in monopolistic behavior, most large companies eventually do and Microsoft still does where opportunity presents. But if you think Microsoft is a monopoly and Google isn't, you have a view of the industry that is two decades out of date.
- BakeInBeens 4y ago
  I think the most monopolistic portion of Google besides search would be their hold on the ad tech industry (and even then you have other online giants Meta, Tiktok, Amazon, etc.) but I don't necessarily understand how you can say they have a monopoly on consumer products large enough to drive adoption of Android especially 15 years ago. Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Chrome and Android either have direct competitors in other ecosystem or are open source. YouTube and search are the only ones I can think of without direct competition. And the competition for these products come from Apple and Microsoft who are more/just as entrenched in owning and growing their entire platform.
  - ocdtrekkie 4y ago
    Something like 70% of email is controlled by Google, and you cannot operate an email service if you do not meet Google's demands. If your business isn't listed in Google Maps, it doesn't matter what industry you are in, Google has killed you. Chrome and Android aren't open source (at least, not the version running on 99.9% of their respective install bases), and both operate as near complete monopolies. Chrome has used its position to reshape the very standards of the web to meet Google's business need and try to block competitors. Android has no competition at all, as I explained above: For manufacturers building devices it's the only OS in town. While ignoring all these huge monopolies, you claim search has no competition. Ironically, about a third of global search queries are serviced by Bing! I would go so far as to say the monopolies above are as powerful, or moreso, than Google's grip on search.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      Gmail has a 23% market share https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/most-used-email-clients https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/most-used-email-clients And “email is for old people”. How much important personal communication even goes over email?
      - ocdtrekkie 4y ago
        That statistic does not mean what you think it means, it's about clients. That ignores the fact that people open their Gmail with Samsung, Apple, and Windows mail apps. 66% of folks are not running around with icloud.com addresses.

kevinventullo 4y ago

“Windows Mobile lost to Android because of Gmail and YouTube” is an absolutely wild take.