The Wall Street Journal reports today that Verizon and Google are working on an Android based device to challenge the iPad. Good for them. #AdobeCP
I also read that, according to the NPD Group, Android-based smartphones have very quickly overtaken the iPhone in terms of units sold. While the actual numbers in this report are debatable, it is clear that Apple needs to pay attention to Google in the smartphone market. Why the big jump in Android sales? Some say it's Verizon, who offers a buy one, get one promotion that includes the Android devices. Others say it's frustration with iPhone and the corresponding coolness of the Android OS. The Android marketing blitz (HTC, Verizon, others) must also be credited.
For me, though, I am interested in the deployment numbers. When it comes time to develop an application for mobile, I want to be sure I am not spending a lot of effort to cater to a minority share in the market. Apple knows this pain well when reflecting on its marginalization in the 1990s. Developers wouldn't expend the resources on Mac apps for a tiny marketshare. In the mobile marketplace, Apple enjoys robust sales numbers due to the sexiness factor as well as its App store paradigm.
Apple stands to lose those attracting features very quickly, though, as Android phones gain ground. While strong sales now translate to eventual significant deployments, it will be a while before the Android platform can catch up to iPhone in terms of units actually in service. In the mean time, developers need to consider where to expend their efforts on application development.
Now, HTC, a Google ally and maker of innovative smartphones, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. While I don't think it will have an immediate impact on Apple's ability to sell its iPhone and iPad, it certainly must add to the general level of annoyance felt by Steve Jobs.
I know that since Apple shut the door to third party developers, many have complained. I look at the Android SDK and its impending ability to use the Flash Player 10.1 and AIR apps. I already know how to make an AIR app and a Flash app, so for me, the learning curve is just about zero to make an Android app. To make an iPhone app now, I have to learn a new IDE and a new language.
I hope that these developments prompt Apple to rethink two if its business decisions. First, reopen application development. Second, let me use the phone where I want to use the phone and not decide for me that AT&T is the best choice. Where I live in Maine, coverage is abysmal, so I am forever losing calls and unable to use the 3G features of my iPhone.
Apple doesn't forbid me from tricking out my Mac, and running whatever apps I want on it. I can even change the look and feel of the interface without retribution. I can develop apps in a wide array of environments and deploy them where and how I wish. I wonder if MacOS 11 will be as closed as the iPhone and iPad.
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