4 ms·

I don't understand. Why would something like this "undercut" other players. Isn't the whole point of Android? Not have a closed platform with a single player?

I don't understand. Why would something like this "undercut" other players. Isn't the whole point of Android? Not have a closed platform with a single player? I frankly think the more devices we get, the better. More competition means better services and lower cost. And on an open platform like the Android, it also gets much better because it allows other uses for the platform(Archos, and netbooks...etc).

the_real_r2d2 17y ago
I am not sure either if this is a good idea for Google. Part of the success of Android is that Google is an independent party (well, I guess). Jumping in the HW probably would scare other manufacturers to look for other platforms such as OpenMoko was.
- ruslan 17y ago
  I liked OpenMOKO project and the overall idea very much. It's sad they were not able to break into the market. Does anybody know what's going on with them right now ? Is there any hope ?
  - the_real_r2d2 17y ago
    Aren't they doing the WikiReader? http://www.thewikireader.com/ http://www.thewikireader.com/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/10/openmoko-offline-reader-puts-wikipedia-in-your-pocket.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/10/openmoko-offline... I do not know if this is just a prototype or actually a real product that they are going to release.
protomyth 17y ago
Think of it this way, if Microsoft came out with the Microsoft PC, how would you feel if you were Dell / HP? Opensource doesn't fix development direction by the project driver. You still need to get your stuff into the main branch to expect decent adoption or keep it separate and pay the delta cost. More devices is cool, but application testing is going to be interesting. If your device is not as popular and has a different form factor / screen size from the dominant devices, then expect some level of non-support from developers.
- eli 17y ago
  It didn't quite work out that way when IBM release the IBM PC
  - protomyth 17y ago
    I'm going to assume (yeah I known) you meant the testing part. The problem is that PC input/output is pretty standard (display, keyboard, mouse) with the added advantage of once the screen size gets past a certain point and you have a windows OS, testing on multiple screen sizes is not a real need. You really need to test on small screen size(s) and check that your program will work on the available input options (keyboard, touch). If a vendor goes outside the box too much then that product becomes a new test case.
    - eli 17y ago
      But IBM created the de facto standard by coming out with a PC that everyone else cloned! And your second point is a challenge for any platform with multiple manufacturers. If anything, that's an argument for an Apple model where only one company makes the hardware.
      - protomyth 17y ago
        Well, Microsoft and Compaq are more responsible then IBM. Yeah, I guess, from a testing and support view, the game console maker's and Apple's model is better. There might actually be a business model for testing other people's apps on a variety of devices.
ruslan 17y ago
For example, if you have two similar (by functionality) Android based devices, one from Motorola and another from Google, which one will you buy ? Obviously it will undercut Motorola's business because Motorola will not be able to sell Android phones due to availability of a better (more feature-rich, more open, not locked to a particualr carrier) device coming directly from Google.
- mechanical_fish 17y ago
  Or, alternatively, perhaps Google will discover that their business interests are better aligned with Motorola/Verizon and will focus on bugfixes and enhancements for that, ignoring their own phone. Which would leave yet another half-assed Android phone on the market, confusing the customers ("which of the 35 brands of similar-looking phone has that feature I saw in the commercial, again?") and dragging down the brand. Android is a younger platform than the iPhone and has already implicitly deprecated an entire generation of hardware. Meanwhile, I can attest that the first generation iPhone still works fine -- runs faster than ever, in fact, thanks to the backward-compatible software updates and consistent UI. This is what people worry about when they worry about too many Android products undercutting each other. And why the arrival of a potential flagship product -- the Droid phone, which even has the right name! -- looks like it could be a good thing for the platform; it could impose some focus. Why on Earth is Google planning to confuse that issue?

the_real_r2d2 17y ago

I am not sure either if this is a good idea for Google. Part of the success of Android is that Google is an independent party (well, I guess). Jumping in the HW probably would scare other manufacturers to look for other platforms such as OpenMoko was.

ruslan 17y ago
I liked OpenMOKO project and the overall idea very much. It's sad they were not able to break into the market. Does anybody know what's going on with them right now ? Is there any hope ?
- the_real_r2d2 17y ago
  Aren't they doing the WikiReader? http://www.thewikireader.com/ http://www.thewikireader.com/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/10/openmoko-offline-reader-puts-wikipedia-in-your-pocket.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/10/openmoko-offline... I do not know if this is just a prototype or actually a real product that they are going to release.

protomyth 17y ago

Think of it this way, if Microsoft came out with the Microsoft PC, how would you feel if you were Dell / HP? Opensource doesn't fix development direction by the project driver. You still need to get your stuff into the main branch to expect decent adoption or keep it separate and pay the delta cost. More devices is cool, but application testing is going to be interesting. If your device is not as popular and has a different form factor / screen size from the dominant devices, then expect some level of non-support from developers.

eli 17y ago
It didn't quite work out that way when IBM release the IBM PC
- protomyth 17y ago
  I'm going to assume (yeah I known) you meant the testing part. The problem is that PC input/output is pretty standard (display, keyboard, mouse) with the added advantage of once the screen size gets past a certain point and you have a windows OS, testing on multiple screen sizes is not a real need. You really need to test on small screen size(s) and check that your program will work on the available input options (keyboard, touch). If a vendor goes outside the box too much then that product becomes a new test case.
  - eli 17y ago
    But IBM created the de facto standard by coming out with a PC that everyone else cloned! And your second point is a challenge for any platform with multiple manufacturers. If anything, that's an argument for an Apple model where only one company makes the hardware.
    - protomyth 17y ago
      Well, Microsoft and Compaq are more responsible then IBM. Yeah, I guess, from a testing and support view, the game console maker's and Apple's model is better. There might actually be a business model for testing other people's apps on a variety of devices.

ruslan 17y ago

For example, if you have two similar (by functionality) Android based devices, one from Motorola and another from Google, which one will you buy ? Obviously it will undercut Motorola's business because Motorola will not be able to sell Android phones due to availability of a better (more feature-rich, more open, not locked to a particualr carrier) device coming directly from Google.

mechanical_fish 17y ago
Or, alternatively, perhaps Google will discover that their business interests are better aligned with Motorola/Verizon and will focus on bugfixes and enhancements for that, ignoring their own phone. Which would leave yet another half-assed Android phone on the market, confusing the customers ("which of the 35 brands of similar-looking phone has that feature I saw in the commercial, again?") and dragging down the brand. Android is a younger platform than the iPhone and has already implicitly deprecated an entire generation of hardware. Meanwhile, I can attest that the first generation iPhone still works fine -- runs faster than ever, in fact, thanks to the backward-compatible software updates and consistent UI. This is what people worry about when they worry about too many Android products undercutting each other. And why the arrival of a potential flagship product -- the Droid phone, which even has the right name! -- looks like it could be a good thing for the platform; it could impose some focus. Why on Earth is Google planning to confuse that issue?