What happens when it's all glass?

The "cheaper phones" bit has never been Android's advantage, though it always gets brought up as if Android is the poor man's iPhones.

It isn't.

The Droid isn't less expensive than the iPhone was. Neither was even the miserable G1. The Galaxy S isn't a cheap phone. The Evo 4G isn't a cheap phone.

My Nexus One cost me $550. How much did your iPhone cost you?

Kids with part-time McJobs have iPhones that they paid for with their own income.

Android's advantage is that there are a lot of vendors aligning and running in the same direction, and the innovation is reaching an extraordinary pace: Android has gone from a bit of a joke that some of us held onto purely for philosophical reasons a mere 12 months ago, to now undoubtedly being the #1 hardware platform, and is becoming a strong contender for the #1 software platform.

No, it really is. The improvements to the quality of software across the board is incredible.

Which, I suppose, is exactly how Windows succeeded: Microsoft set up a system where a lot of very capable, very energetic companies were motivated to help Microsoft succeed, and it worked dramatically, from storage system vendors to graphics card companies.

Compare that to Apple whose only real partners are media outlets who think it'll save old media (though that provides tremendous free advertising), along with lots of 1-man software shops who, at least for a time, were singing the Apple song on sites like HN.

- Apple is pushing the boundaries of minimalism with their industrial design (to absurd levels in cases like the control-free iPod Shuffle). This is not necessarily better design, but it is the currently fashionable design. I would argue that the single button interface on the iPhone/iPad is an example of moving too far towards minimalism (from a purely functional perspective). The same button now performs different functions depending on how many times you press it and where you are when you press it, yet there is plenty of room for a second button.

- In my opinion, Apple's software is a mixed bag. I love the user experience in iOS, and OSX is my favorite desktop operating system, but I think iTunes is among the worst commonly used desktop applications available.

- All of these devices will be judged on categories beyond hardware/software in the future. For example, I expect a phone's ability to connect with important services to become increasingly scrutinized. It seems like it will only be a matter of time before we're all using something like Google Voice to manage our phone numbers. A device's ability to interface with these types of critical services could very easily become the killer app.

- A small point, but I think the comparison between a MacBook Pro an a Lenovo is a bit odd. ThinkPads are not far off from Apple in terms of build quality and are certainly more durable.

Take iChat, for example. So limited, even the supposed features it has do not work (Bonjour for iChat fails to work to let me and my wife chat via her MBP and my iMac). Indeed, the entire Bonjour system and file sharing is so annoying and cumbersome. Finder can see the other computer, but it can't actually go there, even when they are sitting next to each other.

Then you have iTunes. iTunes loves to create duplicate music files. The best part is, when I tell iTunes "Yes, control the management of my music" I suddenly end up with three copies of every song. Then there is the disappearing devices. Why, my iPhone/iPad/AppleTV where there a minute ago. My iPad/iPhone are still plugged in. Why can't I access them anymore?

Then their is iPhoto. Which controls movies. And photos. Sort of. Movies!? In iPhoto? iMovie uses iPhoto to import movies? And then outputting movies is so confusing. So many different options, and then you can't just have iTunes pick it up, you have to load up iTunes, tell it to import the movie, and going through numerous other steps to get it onto your Apple TV.

But back to iPhoto. You ever create a slide show with iPhoto? I did. iPhoto is the only application I know that showed me a preview of the movie it was going to create, and then the output changed the complete order of the pictures. How does this happen?

Let's not forget the harassment iPhoto inflicts on users by default whenever you plug anything in. It snatches focus away, loads up, just to import. Oh, sure, you can set your iPhone to import quietly, but even having done it, I forget where the setting is buried.

And then there is the default way you install software. Now, I know, it's simple enough, right? No, it's annoying. I have to drag an icon into a folder? And then I have to dig through that folder and find a generic icon just to find the application, and then launch it. Why not just let me click a button to install, and then be like "Hey, you just installed this app, which means, you probably want to run it, well, do you?"

And that's just the beginning. Let's not forget Time Machine randomly barfing because your Time Machine drive suddenly lost power, or not importing pictures as events by default properly, or just countless other problems.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a Mac user. My house hold is filled with Apple products (1 iMac, 1MBP, original AppleTV, iPhones, iPods, iPad). But if Apple wants to compete on the software end, they need to up their game and really focus on finishing their half-complete products.

Edit: To be fair, I think Apple can do it. They don't have to do everything, but what they do, they have to do well. And that means not abandoning projects simply because they lose interest.

Nonsense.

> My Nexus One cost me $550. How much did your iPhone cost you?

The iPhone is $599 or $699, depending on model.

In the UK it is £499 to £599, equates to $780 or $950.

In the UK the Nexus One was just under $550, though VAT could take another bite out of the wallet.

Right now in Europe the Galaxy S is €500 ($615), less than either iPhone.