5 ms·

>Android was bought two years before the iPhone came out. obligatory http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/google/android/android-before-and-after-the-iphone/

by dmishe 15y ago

>Android was bought two years before the iPhone came out. obligatory http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/google/android/android-before-and-after-the-iphone/ http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/google/android/androi...

untog 15y ago
Not really relevant in this case, though. Clearly, Google was planning to get involved in the mobile space before the iPhone. The physical form of that involvement may have changed, but that doesn't qualify Android as a "knee-jerk reaction". In any case, since then the iPhone notification tray has clearly copied Android, etc. etc. All to the benefit of the end user, IMO.
- beatle 15y ago
  >The physical form of that involvement may have changed, but that doesn't qualify Android as a "knee-jerk reaction". Android copying the iPhone's user interface, touch screen, form factor, ecosystem, etc. is a knee-jerk reaction to iOS.
  - dpritchett 15y ago
    Considering the relative growth curves of RIM and Android since 2007, I think switching from "Linux/Java Blackberry clone" to "Linux/Java iPhone clone" was a solid decision.
    - beatle 15y ago
      doesn't change the fact that Android is an inferior product.
      - untog 15y ago
        Largely depends on what you want to do with it, no? Android is rougher around the edges, but lets you do more. It's matter of personal choice.
        rbarooah 15y ago
        In a theoretical world you might in principle be able to do more with Android, but given the "iOS First" approach that major developers take, it's hard to argue that it lets regular users "do more" in the real world.
        untog 15y ago
        I don't know about that. Can I: - click a button on my desktop web browser and have the current page appear on my phone - flash a totally new ROM onto my phone - give apps root access and let them directly access hardware etc. etc. I agree that iOS has far more app capability, but Android has far more OS-level capability to take advantage of.
        rbarooah 15y ago
        You certainly can do #1 - there are apps for that. (e.g. Handoff - which I use sometimes) 2 and 3 are theoretical ways to let software do more that are no more available to Android end-users than Jailbreaking is available to iOS users. You've basically confirmed my point. Android's ability to 'do more' is theoretical. Given that there are lots of things that everyday users want to do that come to Android much later, I just don't see a valid argument here. "App Capacity" is what lets people do things.
        shuzchen 15y ago
        Here's what I can do in Android that I can't do in iOS: * develop an app on my own machine - you can't develop iOS on anything but AAPL hardware, android dev can be done on the big 3. * without having to pay anything - how much does dev license in iOS cost? don't need to pay for android SDK and tools * without having to jump through any loops to distribute it - I can just pack up the .apk and email it to you, provide a dropbox public link (when I used to use k9mail, I got my updates at http://code.google.com/p/k9mail/downloads/list http://code.google.com/p/k9mail/downloads/list rather than the android app store), or put it up in my own app store for it (look at amazon app store, or http://f-droid.org/ http://f-droid.org/, or that adult themed one that came out some time ago).
  - duaneb 15y ago
    It may be a knee-jerk reaction, but it was also the best decision. The iPhone represented a gigantic leap in usability on phones, and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If Google didn't come out with Android, Apple would own even more of the market than they do today.

by dmishe 15y ago

untog 15y ago

Not really relevant in this case, though. Clearly, Google was planning to get involved in the mobile space before the iPhone. The physical form of that involvement may have changed, but that doesn't qualify Android as a "knee-jerk reaction". In any case, since then the iPhone notification tray has clearly copied Android, etc. etc. All to the benefit of the end user, IMO.

beatle 15y ago
>The physical form of that involvement may have changed, but that doesn't qualify Android as a "knee-jerk reaction". Android copying the iPhone's user interface, touch screen, form factor, ecosystem, etc. is a knee-jerk reaction to iOS.
- dpritchett 15y ago
  Considering the relative growth curves of RIM and Android since 2007, I think switching from "Linux/Java Blackberry clone" to "Linux/Java iPhone clone" was a solid decision.
  - beatle 15y ago
    doesn't change the fact that Android is an inferior product.
    - untog 15y ago
      Largely depends on what you want to do with it, no? Android is rougher around the edges, but lets you do more. It's matter of personal choice.
      - rbarooah 15y ago
        In a theoretical world you might in principle be able to do more with Android, but given the "iOS First" approach that major developers take, it's hard to argue that it lets regular users "do more" in the real world.
        untog 15y ago
        I don't know about that. Can I: - click a button on my desktop web browser and have the current page appear on my phone - flash a totally new ROM onto my phone - give apps root access and let them directly access hardware etc. etc. I agree that iOS has far more app capability, but Android has far more OS-level capability to take advantage of.
        rbarooah 15y ago
        You certainly can do #1 - there are apps for that. (e.g. Handoff - which I use sometimes) 2 and 3 are theoretical ways to let software do more that are no more available to Android end-users than Jailbreaking is available to iOS users. You've basically confirmed my point. Android's ability to 'do more' is theoretical. Given that there are lots of things that everyday users want to do that come to Android much later, I just don't see a valid argument here. "App Capacity" is what lets people do things.
        shuzchen 15y ago
        Here's what I can do in Android that I can't do in iOS: * develop an app on my own machine - you can't develop iOS on anything but AAPL hardware, android dev can be done on the big 3. * without having to pay anything - how much does dev license in iOS cost? don't need to pay for android SDK and tools * without having to jump through any loops to distribute it - I can just pack up the .apk and email it to you, provide a dropbox public link (when I used to use k9mail, I got my updates at http://code.google.com/p/k9mail/downloads/list http://code.google.com/p/k9mail/downloads/list rather than the android app store), or put it up in my own app store for it (look at amazon app store, or http://f-droid.org/ http://f-droid.org/, or that adult themed one that came out some time ago).
- duaneb 15y ago
  It may be a knee-jerk reaction, but it was also the best decision. The iPhone represented a gigantic leap in usability on phones, and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If Google didn't come out with Android, Apple would own even more of the market than they do today.