3 ms·

If by Windows you mean the platform that is still so dominant that many regard it as a monopoly then you just could be right. I'd say it could be like the 80s a

by dejb 17y ago

If by Windows you mean the platform that is still so dominant that many regard it as a monopoly then you just could be right. I'd say it could be like the 80s all over again were Android does indeed represent Microsoft / IBM compats and the iPhone is the Mac.

stanleydrew 17y ago
I was convinced of this too, i.e. that Apple again is trying to control the user experience to their own detriment just as they did in the PC wars where they also had a major first-mover's advantage. I saw Android as the "IBM-compatible" OS for phones. But then I had a very interesting conversation wherein I was reminded of one important reason that a flexible OS like Windows (i.e. an OS that was built to run on many varied hardware configurations) ended up winning. And that was the speed of hardware innovation. When hardware upgrades are popular, it pays to give people an OS that will run on almost anything. When differences in processor speed and RAM actually mattered, Windows gave people the ability to choose. Apple's Mac hardware often wasn't the fastest or newest thing, and that brought them down. Contrast that with today, where I would argue that hardware innovation in the mobile phone market is almost irrelevant. The iPhone hardware is just as good as any other 3G phone, and in fact millions of people (apparently) prefer it. But more important is that people feel their phones are good enough, and they don't feel the need to upgrade components of their hardware. I'm not saying I think Apple will win this time. In fact I hope they don't since they treat developers pretty poorly. I'm just saying the analogy to the PC wars breaks down in a pretty big way.
- dejb 17y ago
  I think you are falling into the 'nobody will ever need more than 640K' fallacy. New applications will come along that demand hardware improvements. In fact I'd say hardware feature innovation is partly responsible for the iPhone's success - the accelerometer and the finger-touchable screen (granted this was also software). Having one of the largest screens also helped. I think we are just at the cusp of hardware innovation in mobiles.

by dejb 17y ago

stanleydrew 17y ago

I was convinced of this too, i.e. that Apple again is trying to control the user experience to their own detriment just as they did in the PC wars where they also had a major first-mover's advantage. I saw Android as the "IBM-compatible" OS for phones. But then I had a very interesting conversation wherein I was reminded of one important reason that a flexible OS like Windows (i.e. an OS that was built to run on many varied hardware configurations) ended up winning. And that was the speed of hardware innovation. When hardware upgrades are popular, it pays to give people an OS that will run on almost anything. When differences in processor speed and RAM actually mattered, Windows gave people the ability to choose. Apple's Mac hardware often wasn't the fastest or newest thing, and that brought them down. Contrast that with today, where I would argue that hardware innovation in the mobile phone market is almost irrelevant. The iPhone hardware is just as good as any other 3G phone, and in fact millions of people (apparently) prefer it. But more important is that people feel their phones are good enough, and they don't feel the need to upgrade components of their hardware. I'm not saying I think Apple will win this time. In fact I hope they don't since they treat developers pretty poorly. I'm just saying the analogy to the PC wars breaks down in a pretty big way.

dejb 17y ago
I think you are falling into the 'nobody will ever need more than 640K' fallacy. New applications will come along that demand hardware improvements. In fact I'd say hardware feature innovation is partly responsible for the iPhone's success - the accelerometer and the finger-touchable screen (granted this was also software). Having one of the largest screens also helped. I think we are just at the cusp of hardware innovation in mobiles.