Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
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Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
1–10 of 38 posts
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#2I wonder whether this is a strategy by Google or simply an organic result of their services spreading to other platforms?
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#3It seems odd to me that so many blogs are commenting that Chrome being the #1 iOS download today is some kind of global indication of the need to open iOS to Android-like levels of user customization.
Not wanting nor willing to get into the merits of that idea overall, but doesn't it strike anyone other than me as obvious that it's the #1 app for iOS today because it came out yesterday with much fanfare, it's free, and it's something most everyone is aware of and would want to play with?
An unofficial poll here in my office shows that everyone who downloaded it here did so to, in so many words, "play with it and see what it's like", though nobody yet has stated that they intend to replace their browser use with it.
While it's nice that you can get as much of the Google ecosystem on your iOS device as you can, I'm really not sure that the availability of that ecosystem on iOS is any sort of indication of the necessity of opening up iOS to embrace that ecosystem.
In other words, "If you want Android, you know where to find it."
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#4Does anyone know how Apple is able to get away with this, when Microsoft was under so much antitrust litigation in the late 90s for simply bundling their internet browser?
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#5It seems odd to me that so many blogs are commenting that Chrome being the #1 iOS download today is some kind of global indication of the need to open iOS to Android-like levels of user customization. Not wanting nor willing to get into the merits of that idea overall, but doesn't it strike anyone other than me as obvious that it's the #1 app for iOS today because it came out yesterday with much fanfare, it's free, a…
I think that the popularity of Chrome and the usage problems that occur because it can't be set to default have merely started the conversation. It isn't just Google apps. Sparrow, for example, is a top notch email client. It's tough to use exclusively because many of the email features embedded within iOS point to the Mail app instead. As third-party applications continue to increase in quality and functionality over the stock apps, users will likely prefer to change default apps. Apple's job is to make users happy.
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#6Does anyone know how Apple is able to get away with this, when Microsoft was under so much antitrust litigation in the late 90s for simply bundling their internet browser?
This is what I thought. Somebody in Congress should hire another Princeton professor for a few million to figure out if a browser is, in fact, a crucial piece of a mobile operating system. After grueling research, I bet I can predict the answer to that.
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#7It seems odd to me that so many blogs are commenting that Chrome being the #1 iOS download today is some kind of global indication of the need to open iOS to Android-like levels of user customization. Not wanting nor willing to get into the merits of that idea overall, but doesn't it strike anyone other than me as obvious that it's the #1 app for iOS today because it came out yesterday with much fanfare, it's free, a…
Being able to set other apps as default is just common sense. It doesn't mean it has to be "like Android".
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#8Does anyone know how Apple is able to get away with this, when Microsoft was under so much antitrust litigation in the late 90s for simply bundling their internet browser?
Can the down voters elaborate?
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#9I don't see why Apple is so reticent on this. They wouldn't lose anything by letting users replace most default apps.
Of course, they can't allow the replacement of the App Store and continue with their current model but a user that already owns an iPhone and replaces the Mail app or web browser doesn't hurt Apple in any way. They'd probably even have more people buy iPhones (and make 30% on the sale of paid replacement apps). I fear it's because of their compulsion to control the experience from A to Z.
(disclaimer: I own an iPhone 4, iPad 2 and MacBook Pro)
I'd wager that some sort of (limited) "intent"-like mechanism is coming in a future iOS down the road, although not 6 and probably not 7.
Re: Google is slowly cracking "open" iOS
#10Does anyone know how Apple is able to get away with this, when Microsoft was under so much antitrust litigation in the late 90s for simply bundling their internet browser?
iOS has a far less than monopoly share of the smartphone market