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The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

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Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#11

Post by nonane »

Where is the hardware angle in this? One of the reasons that Macs lost the battle was because they couldn't compete with the latest and greatest hardware that that Intel churned out. Through most of the 90s Apple stuck with unpowered hardware while being clobbered by Dell and HP's prices (due to higher volumes and probably better supply chain management). This is no longer the case - in fact, because of Apple's massive iOS device volumes they can probably beat the bigger manufacturers on price this time around.

All they need to do is keep up with the hardware trends and keep refreshing their product line. So far they've done this (retina, dual core on iPad 2, cameras etc).

So, it's not like the old Win vs Mac battle since the hardware playing field is almost neutral (or perhaps there is a slight Apple advantage here).

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#12

Post by trezor »

dominostars wrote: post #10
trezor wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how long iOS was almost strictly superior to Android. Having had both a iPhone (3G) and an Android-phone (since 2.1) I have to ask in what ways you would argue this position, since IMO its seems strictly a matter of preference. Right now I would actually say at least my opinion is the exact opposite. To me iOS seems utterly stagnant and my Android phone surpassed my iPhone in every way from the second I got it. Not t…

If you have an iPhone 3G then your hardware is over two years old, and your iOS version, if updated, is still feature limited. Maybe that's why it feels so stagnant?

I fired up my old iPhone 3G to use as a gaming-device and MP3-player not too long back. I updated to latest iOS it would support, which iirc is iOS 4.2.1.

Interested in seeing how the iOS-development had been, I decided to enable all the features Apple had decided to disable. Basically a quick rooting with redsn0w where I only re-enabled the official features and I didn't add any 3rd-party hackware to compensate or otherwise distort the experience.

I still feel it is stagnant, but like I said, I realize this may be a personal preference. Just thought I'd clear up any confusion regarding my ability (and inability) to use iOS-features as they are available as per today.

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#13

Post by d_r »

trezor wrote: post #12
dominostars wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have an iPhone 3G then your hardware is over two years old, and your iOS version, if updated, is still feature limited. Maybe that's why it feels so stagnant?

I fired up my old iPhone 3G to use as a gaming-device and MP3-player not too long back. I updated to latest iOS it would support, which iirc is iOS 4.2.1. Interested in seeing how the iOS-development had been, I decided to enable all the features Apple had decided to disable. Basically a quick rooting with redsn0w where I only re-enabled the official features and I didn't add any 3rd-party hackware to compensate or o…

I know you're talking about features more so than specific models, but I was tired of my iPhone 3G after using it for a couple of years. It was sufficient to me feature-wise, but the sluggish response time on every screen was just frustrating. However, after upgrading, iPhone 4 speed and retina display have been game-changing to me as a user.

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#15

Post by demallien »

Any comparison of the Microsoft / Apple wars to the iOS / Android wars needs to take into account one major difference: the presence of Steve Jobs.

Jobs left Apple in 1987, after which the company quickly became a stodgy computer company, a Dell wannabe. They lost their design mojo - anyone else here remember the dark days of all of the performas, and quadros and powermacs with impenetrable model numbers after the names? Beige boxes without any style running an increasingly creaky OS.

Jobs returned in 1997, and immediately the design chops came back, and the Mac's marketshare has been steadily climbing ever since, until today the Mac has enough presence in the US market that the platform is once again well supported by software and hardware vendors.

This time around, with the battle between iOS and Android, Apple is not as likely to drop the ball, like they did in the late 80s, early 90s. The end result, in my opinion, will be a market with two dominant platforms. Over time I would expect Android to become the budget choice with Apple picking off the high margin segment of the market. Indeed, this is the current market configuration that we see in the PC / Mac market.

Of course, the day is coming when Steve Jobs will no longer be at the helm of Apple. I would hope that the board has understood the lesson from the first Jobs-less period, by choosing a successor that understands the primacy of design for Apple.

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#16

Post by halo »

DaveMebs wrote: post #8

The biggest problem with articles such as these is that the author willfully ignores all of the other mobile platforms currently on the market (Windows Phone, Blackberry, WebOS (note: ignoring Nokia due the the expected retirement of their platforms in favor of WP7)). These platforms are much more compelling than any other OS was during the PC/Mac wars, and dramatically affect the overall market. Especially when you…

>These platforms are much more compelling than any other OS was during the PC/Mac wars

Seems a bit like historical revisionism to me. RISC OS, Amiga OS and NeXTSTEP were all pretty compelling at the time.

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#17

Post by queenOfEngland »

demallien wrote: post #15

Any comparison of the Microsoft / Apple wars to the iOS / Android wars needs to take into account one major difference: the presence of Steve Jobs. Jobs left Apple in 1987, after which the company quickly became a stodgy computer company, a Dell wannabe. They lost their design mojo - anyone else here remember the dark days of all of the performas, and quadros and powermacs with impenetrable model numbers after the na…

Over time I would expect Android to become the budget choice with Apple picking off the high margin segment of the market. Indeed, this is the current market configuration that we see in the PC / Mac market.

The PC market covers from "budget" choices to the high margin segment, as it always has. That Apple is limited to one small segment of the market in no way implies that they own it.

Which is exactly the case with smartphones. There are many cheaper devices running Android, yet there are many hot-selling Android devices that are as expensive as the iPhone. I expect that balance to remain, as there will always be makers like HTC trying to cover all their bases.

Re: The Android and iOS War Is Not Mac vs Windows Part 2

#18

Post by theclay »

nonane wrote: post #11

Where is the hardware angle in this? One of the reasons that Macs lost the battle was because they couldn't compete with the latest and greatest hardware that that Intel churned out. Through most of the 90s Apple stuck with unpowered hardware while being clobbered by Dell and HP's prices (due to higher volumes and probably better supply chain management). This is no longer the case - in fact, because of Apple's massi…

So basically, all Mac has to do is never fall behind in any way to the rest of the world. I think back to the days of my Apple IIGS.

It was awesome. It showed the way. And then the clones destroyed it.

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