Will the iPhone remain the king?

[pequeajim]

Someone in another thread was talking about the tons of apps for the iphone and how it will always dominate the marketplace. My mind went back to when Apple first started. I bought the Apple II which was the first commercial computing product from that company and was a HUGE hit. There were tons of programs for it including VisiCalc which was THE major A2 player in offices for financial work. The Apple II was an open architecture that allowed for easy expansion and customization. Then Apple got gun shy and came out with the Mac. Very closed, Apple controlling, and you could only get one from Apple. This gave the IBM PC and subsequent clones the opening they needed and from then on, even after Apple regrouped and tried to develop an open architecture, it was too late; the PC had a stranglehold on the home and business marketplace; Apple lost.

I see the same thing happening with the iPhone; great idea, but closed, closed, closed. Now an open archtecture platform emerges in Android and the iPhone will eventually be displaced as the best platform.

 

[Carl C]

I reckon eventually Android will take over , It's a fantastic OS , theirs plenty of features of it {Google Nav for example} , its Customisable , Phones hardware is improving with handsets coming out with Snapdragon Processors , bigger screens etc. and It's for the masses!

GO ANDROID!

 

[AndroidEd]

Agree'd. It won't be long, Android will take over.

 

[BiGMERF]

if it happens it wont be for some time.. apple has to much of a stranglehold on the market right now

 

[lekky]

You have to consider how long contracts are too, those with iPhones, even if they wanted to switch still have fairly contracts to abide to.

 

[TheNorthernForest]

iPhone is an amazing device, but DROID just renders it obsolete. A lot of products render Apple's products as obsolete, but the majority doesn't care, which is why Apple is still on top. It's all about the marketing - guaranteed.

 

[Crude]

Honestly....what could the iphone do that winmo couldn't do at the time? Nothing really...it has some cool little toys but nothing really useful. So why did it take off? Because it was Apple...and after that because even a 3 year old could use it. To this day winmo beats the iphone for useful programs. I think the iphones legacy will be the innovation it brought us in form of other mobile OS's.

"Apple rose up against MS to give folks “hope”
(choice). As like corrupts like kind of evolution what was the MS of the 90’s,
and some say still is, Apple has become what it is. Much like the unions came to
combat the unfair treatment and now have become as problematic as what it rose
against, Seems Apple has become equal to and/or exceeds MS… "

 

[lekky]

Its the same with iPods and Zune HD. Anyone who has used a HD can see its 10x better, but marketing wins at the end of the day. If the average Joe is told something in such a good way they will believe it.

 

[Crude]

Its the same with iPods and Zune HD. Anyone who has used a HD can see its 10x better, but marketing wins at the end of the day. If the average Joe is told something in such a good way they will believe it.

Which is the basis of politics, am I correct?

 

[bkfist]

You have to consider how long contracts are too, those with iPhones, even if they wanted to switch still have fairly contracts to abide to.

Contract, Schmon-tract. If someone WANTS to get out of a contract, there are ways to do so (without paying an ETF). It might take 2 or 3 months, but it can be done. If you don't believe me, try getting an account on "freeconferencecall.com" and find out just how "unlimited" your "unlimited nights and weekends" are Want to double your fun? Call your free conference call, put it on hold, and dial the number again, effectively using your phone to "conference call" the conference call, double the minutes, double the pleasure... Keeping in mind that these "traffic pumping" exchanges typically charge 5 cents per minute to the phone company to call them... They are *not* 900 numbers, and are very much domestic numbers, so they are "free" to you, and until the FCC changes their policy, the phone companies placing calls to these numbers have no choice but to connect your call and get billed by the "Traffic Pumper" exchanges. - See the AT&T complaint against Google Voice not connecting to a hundred or so of these numbers. --7 hours per night X 20 weeknights (8400 minutes), plus lets say 16 hours per weekend X8 days (7680 minutes) is 16,080 minutes multipled by 5 cents is $804/month, or $1608 if you use the "double your fun" method - If you can get your phone into "roaming mode" while doing this, all the better. Once you start costing your cellular company more than they are making on your monthly bill, you will be getting the "You are using too many minutes, as of next month we will no longer be providing cellular service to you, please find a different cellular phone provider and port your number if you want to keep it" letter... Since *they* canceled your contract, they can not charge you an ETF.

For those who don't have an axe to grind with their current provider: Although a $200 ETF is nothing to sneeze at, in the "grand scheme of things" it's not that much money in comparison to what one spends on cellular service over the life of the contract, were you to want to "get out" immediately Also, most cellular provider's ETF fees decrease at a set rate of $5 to $7/month, so the ETF is likely to be less than $200.

There are a couple of reasons an iphone user isn't going to necessarily jump from an iphone to Android:

1. They drank the koolaid and are now owned by Apple. (The fan-bois, or those who "Want to be unique and individual, *just like all their friends* fall into this category. The really "rabid" supporters, I suspect, had some sort of intimate encounter with either the sales person or their device... Personally, I'd be a bit hesitant to buy a 1 year old "iphone" from someone who was upgrading to the "newest" release on release day... At least without seeing it in person and sniffing it first. )

2. They have an investment in applications, either money, or data. (I don't know if you can "transfer" your purchased programs on iphone like you can on Android or not.)

3. Investment in hardware (docking stations etc.)

4. They are stuck on a family plan with AT&T, and AT&T doesn't *yet* have any Android offerings.

5. They have actually been convinced that styling beats function, and they have also been convinced that the iphone is the "prettiest" cell phone available. (I think this happens from smelling the koolaid, maybe giving it a taste but now swallowing, much like "but I didn't inhale" )

 

[kcx]

The iPhone is simple and most people don't like to think. Also the iPhone is an iPhone. There isn't an android. There are lots of different phones that most people don't know are related. Most people think about phones, not about operating systems. Until I got my mdroid, I had no clue so many HTC's ran android. Android will grow and remain relevant, but it won't dominate unless it's thought of as an android first and as a G1 or MyTouch or Hero or Droid or CLIQ or Passion or Moment or whatever second. For that to happen, google will need to run ads, not the phones and carriers.

 

[jree]

But it is based on how the carrier wants it to be portrayed. Tmobile and Verizon, as we all know, are in direct competition with eachother. Verizon isn't goin to say "you want a phone just as capable as the iphone but you want cheaper service? Well your in luck cause tmobile has several different andoid phones to choose from"

As long as different carriers have different contracts for different phones, google isn't going to get much say on how they are having their phones advertised. If you really want to blame somebody, blame the carriers for how they are portraying the android service.

I can tell you that I had no idea what the hell an android service thingy was. I gave up my unlocked iphone just so I could actually use 3g and not edge. I went into the tmobile store to buy the blackberry bold and walked out with a cliq. I love the phone and I am groing to love it even more every single day but you guys can't deny the capability that the iphone has also.

And as far as the iphone being simple, i think that its more complicated than any other electronic device thats on the market. I hate the fact that everything revolves around itunes. I hated the fact that the ringer was really silent. I especially hate the fact that everybody and their grandmother has one.

No offense to anybody, but have you noticed that every spikey haired d-bag has an iphone.

 

[alostpacket]

Its the same with iPods and Zune HD. Anyone who has used a HD can see its 10x better, but marketing wins at the end of the day. If the average Joe is told something in such a good way they will believe it.

You also have to remember that people are sick and tired of Microsoft.

 

[Crude]

You also have to remember that people are sick and tired of Microsoft.

I think people are tired of not owning their purchase. I for one spend more money on stuff just for the fact that they are as open as possible. Amazon mp3 for one, I haven't purchased a mp3 until I found mp3's without DRM ( I realize mp3's don't support DRM's, I'm trying to simplify ).


Also, I noticed today that when I searched for Pizza on google maps a little banner showed up on my droid....not cool, not cool at all.

 

[ari-free]

AOL: "So easy to use, no wonder it's #1"

iPhone will fail because their base, the people who are first in line for the latest and greatest iPhone, will have to be punished. They use too much data so AT&T will clamp down on them. Apple will also clamp down on Cydia once the # of jailbroken iphones gets too large. It's a security risk and Apple doesn't want the iPhone to be associated with Windows-style viruses and worms. Corps will bar the iPhone if they assume that they are jailbroken.

 

[ari-free]

1. They drank the koolaid and are now owned by Apple. (The fan-bois, or those who "Want to be unique and individual, *just like all their friends* fall into this category. )

quite the contrary. They believe that there must be one phone for everyone and giving all control to Apple is good because Apple knows better than anyone else.

They may be developers with an agenda: their apps were approved by Apple, they are making money and don't want to bother porting to other platforms. Android threatens to complicate their neat and tiny little world that they love.

I saw the same thing with IE. Took a while but eventually firefox won over most of those who were 'in the know' (even windows diehards who despise linux) and is now a pretty mainstream browser.

 

[xmr405o]

I don't think so. I foresee that both Android and Winmo will eventually catch up to the Iphone. There are so many possibilities for both these OS's with great manufacturers like Motorola, HTC, LG, and Samsung finding more ways to dethrone the Iphone. One of these days, one of the manufacturers are gonna get it right. Look at Motorola with the Droid. That's just the beginning of the end of the Iphone unless Apple does something drastic.

 

[ari-free]

WinMo? Microsoft might have a chance if they come up with an Xbox phone but not a Zune or WinMo. Those aren't winning brands.

WinMo lost it when Office ruined your docs if you tried to edit them. It is ironic that MS Office is such a killer Windows app that kills all other platforms that don't support it completely...including WinMo. Corps probably figured that if they aren't going to get their 100% office compatibility from Microsoft anyway, they might as well give BB or iPhone a chance.

 

[xmr405o]

WinMo? Microsoft might have a chance if they come up with an Xbox phone but not a Zune or WinMo. Those aren't winning brands.

WinMo lost it when Office ruined your docs if you tried to edit them. It is ironic that MS Office is such a killer Windows app that kills all other platforms that don't support it completely...including WinMo. Corps probably figured that if they aren't going to get their 100% office compatibility from Microsoft anyway, they might as well give BB or iPhone a chance.

I agree but we'll see what Microsoft does with Winmo 7. I was just referring to how open both of those OS's are compared to the Iphone OS. The potential is there for both Android and Winmo to overtake or aleast compete with the Iphone.

 

[squirrellydw]

The iphone and android are both great phones, it all depends on what you want.
I think the iphone is great but I also really like my droid eris. There are things I like about each one and in two more years when the android OS gets more evolved I think it might be better than the iphone but apple is always one step ahead at least with computers. The next few years will be very interesting and competition is always good.

 

[IOWA]

I agree with the WinMo/Andriod thing. All winmo needs is a better UI and they are rockin. WinMo for the time being has more potential than Andriod, while andriod is easier to use out of the box.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

WinMo? Microsoft might have a chance if they come up with an Xbox phone but not a Zune or WinMo. Those aren't winning brands.

WinMo lost it when Office ruined your docs if you tried to edit them. It is ironic that MS Office is such a killer Windows app that kills all other platforms that don't support it completely...including WinMo. Corps probably figured that if they aren't going to get their 100% office compatibility from Microsoft anyway, they might as well give BB or iPhone a chance.

I have never had any problems editing documents in Word Mobile or Excel Mobile.