Google is leapfrogging Apple • Hacker News Board

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#31

Post by zweben » Sat, May 22, 2010, 4:42 AM UTC

grinich wrote: post #29

grinich wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Their strategy seems dominated by short term market share grabbing in the mobile space, rather than long term product innovation...* Even in light of the iPad?

Actually, I've rethought my comment a bit and I agree with you. I see the way Apple is behaving now very akin to the early PC wars, when a bunch of platforms were trying to become the dominant one. These days, the platform war is the tablet form factor, and the iPad is definitely cheaper than anyone really expected. I have yet to see an actual competitor, in terms of price, software, and retail locations. So sure, it…

"But I wouldn't confuse that with true product innovation. They're just taking it step-by-step."

Iterative improvement and innovation are not mutually exclusive. Just like with the iPhone (which had no app store at launch, and would be boring by today's standards,) most of the iPad's innovations are ahead of it. You don't have to revolutionize a market right off the bat to be innovative.

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#32

Post by warfangle » Sat, May 22, 2010, 4:46 AM UTC

davidedicillo wrote: post #23

tvon wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The tethering issue may not be Apple's fault, but that's fairly irrelevant since you can't get the phone with any other carrier in the U.S.. Point being, no matter whose fault it is, the iPhone just doesn't have tethering in the U.S.. Otherwise I tend to agree, there are no devices shipping with Froyo so saying it has surpassed a shipping and soon-to-be-updated product is a bit silly.

The only Android phone that initially will have that functionality won't be available with AT&T nor T-Mobile... And the Nexus One isn't a pentaband phone either.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll be able to flash froyo to my nexus one, correct?

And the nexus one is available on at&t.

Ergo, I will be able to tether my phone on at&t.

Right?

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#33

Post by warfangle » Sat, May 22, 2010, 4:48 AM UTC

whughes wrote: post #25

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #21

What is more remarkable to me than any Apple vs. Google rivalry is how infrequently the press has mentioned Microsoft in articles on the matter. Is it a given that MSFT has gotten so far behind that it won't ever catch up?

Palm?

s/palm/HP

Just sayin'. ;-)

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#34

Post by papachito » Sat, May 22, 2010, 5:56 AM UTC

davidedicillo wrote: post #19

There are few things that bothers me when people talk about Google taking the lead: 1) They are comparing two different things, an open OS vs an OS tied to one company. 2) Google didn't surpassed anybody. FroYo hasn't been released yet and they are comparing them to a phone that is going to be updated in two weeks. FroYo has tethering, but iPhone has tethering since 3.0, if AT&T doesn't allow it, it isn't Apple's fau…

It's spelled Froyo and it's being released in June http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/droid-users-upgrade-to...

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#35

Post by fuminahara » Sat, May 22, 2010, 6:05 AM UTC

Froyo looks really cool, and I would seriously consider the jump from iPhone to Android, but AT&T has such crap android phones. I want a nexus one or a droid!

http://listeasy.net/

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#36

Post by erikstarck » Sat, May 22, 2010, 6:12 AM UTC

The thing to watch is not the feature list on one phone or platform release but the innovation speed and how fast you can improve the product in a closed environment vs an open one.

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#37

Post by [deleted] » Sat, May 22, 2010, 6:29 AM UTC

warfangle wrote: post #32

davidedicillo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only Android phone that initially will have that functionality won't be available with AT&T nor T-Mobile... And the Nexus One isn't a pentaband phone either.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll be able to flash froyo to my nexus one, correct? And the nexus one is available on at&t. Ergo, I will be able to tether my phone on at&t. Right?

[deleted]

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#38

Post by cubicle67 » Sat, May 22, 2010, 7:30 AM UTC

zweben wrote: post #28

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #21

What is more remarkable to me than any Apple vs. Google rivalry is how infrequently the press has mentioned Microsoft in articles on the matter. Is it a given that MSFT has gotten so far behind that it won't ever catch up?

I don't know if it's a given that they'll never catch up, but at the moment they're not really relevant in the market, so it makes sense to leave them out. What would the articles say about them? Microsoft may regain relevance in the market when the first version of their new smartphone OS is released months from now? That's about all there is to say.

except that WM7 is a subset of iPhone OS features and includes all those that people so dislike on the iPhone (just as controlled, if not more so)

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#39

Post by cubicle67 » Sat, May 22, 2010, 7:31 AM UTC

fuminahara wrote: post #35

Froyo looks really cool, and I would seriously consider the jump from iPhone to Android, but AT&T has such crap android phones. I want a nexus one or a droid! http://listeasy.net/

no spammy links please

Re: Google is leapfrogging Apple

#40

Post by zackola » Sat, May 22, 2010, 9:04 AM UTC

moultano wrote: post #12

zackola wrote: post #10

The whole leapfrogging thing implies (to me) that you are not only doing more things than someone, but also doing them better. Yes, FroYo has added a ton of great features to android, however I still feel that Apple has not yet been leapfrogged in the most basic parts of design for core parts today's mobile experience. The most obvious of these to me is text entry via touch screen. There can be no claims of leapfrogg…

>There can be no claims of leapfrogging until I can use an android device's touch screen to SMS someone without pulling (what little is left of) my hair out. This is almost certainly what you are used to. I haven't had any difficulty with my nexus one. The iphone drove me to insanity everytime I tried to type on it. >Every single android handset I've used has felt like a cheap, disposable piece of junk (G1, Hero, N1)…

It's kind of funny - people seem to be fairly split down the middle between our posts, even with all the up and down voting.

What I was used to before I got the G1 was a Samsung Trace, which could not be considered any sort of "smart phone". No Qwerty keyboard, tiny screen, etc. I did not actually use the original iPhone until about a year ago when a friend gave me an unlocked 2G when she got a 3GS.

I don't know much about the subject of text input, but there are two distinctly different implementations between android and iPhone. Android tends to be more predictive, but less enthusiastic about what it thinks you mean, and hence less corrective. I find the more decisive autocorrect on iPhone OS to work out much better for me. It's less about picking out words from a suggestion list and more about just banging away on the keyboard and trusting the software knows what I mean.