Scobleizer - Latest Comments in 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

SG — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:17:46 -0000

Well said. Aside from the obvious issue of the AT&T network being one of the iPhone's biggest Achilles' heels, the other major trump card this article seems to ignore (odd since it's about the apps) is that the Droid apps are all FREE. You know, just like the open-source updates that one can download to change any non-hardware limited features you don't like? Free.

Big difference.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

folkesonin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:40:25 -0000

Actually:

I bought a Mac mini and learned Objective-C (Which is a strict superset of C and a lot like SmallTalk) just to write iPhone applications. Total cost out of pocket was under 700$ and most of that was the computer. To do anything with Nokia or Microsoft was thousands of dollars. I plan on using the revenue from my iPhone applications to pay off my house. I am being empowered by Apple's iPhone and see absolutely no reason at the present time to try and write any applications for Android 2.0

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

folkesonin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:19:31 -0000

Actually:

DEC was done in by the IBM AS/400 as well as a horrible 32bit to 64bit transition that vaporized most applications that ran using COBOL. The AS/400 had over 6000 business applications when debuted in 1981. DEC may have survived in the engineering department, but for back office applications like payroll and warehousing the AS/400 reigned supreme until the rise of Windows NT.

The iPhone or any other platform lives and dies based on the applications that are available. This weekend I helped my 61 year old father buy an iPhone 3GS after 7 years of Nokia smart phones because of one single application that was available for the iPhone and he wanted for when he was flying his private plane.

When major insurance companies make applications for an Android instead of the iPhone, I will worry about Apple's iPhone application dominance. Until then, every time my father shows one of his flying buddies what he can do with his phone now; there will be that much more draw to the iPhone and away from the current flavor of the day.

Folke Sonin

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Droid Forums — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:06:10 -0000

I don't think anyone realistically expects the Android/Droid platform to take significant marketshare away from the iPhone... especially in the short term. However, I do expect to see Palm and Blackberry take a hit.

http://www.droidforums.net

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Nicolas — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:59:06 -0000

I do agree that the only thing that makes the iPhone attractive vs other OS like Symbian, Androïd or Windows mobile are its 80K++ apps. However, let's be honest: how many of those apps are REALLY useful to help you be productive when you're away from your desktop/laptop? 10? 15? Honestly, 15 apps are well enough to let you edit a document, don't get lost (GPS), listen to some music/watch movies (why would I need 6 different Internet radio apps?!), sync your contacts, access your PC remotely, turn your cellphone into a hot spot for your PC/Mac, stay in touch with your online community, call using VoIP, keep an eye on the weather, read RSS, send/receive emails... and actually use your phone to give calls!

And OS like Symbian, Androïd, Windows Mobile, RIM and Maemo devices also provide those necessary apps for free!

And the best of all: at the end of the day you'll discover that you can do plenty of things with the time you'll have spend installing, testing and finally deleting some of those hundred new iPhone apps. Isn't that wonderful?

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Chuck Reynolds — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:06:14 -0000

I switched from Android and the crappy G1 to iPhone and ate the cost because it had the apps I needed and use on a daily basis.
I have faith that Android 2 and beyond will be there eventually... but the developement on android apps has been slow, very slow. The G1 sucked so hard.... the new Droid deal looks cool but that OS and the apps on it have a lot of growing up to do before I'd consider it again.
My story: http://rynoweb.com/android-...

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

bradley — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:05:23 -0000

You are probably right that people become attached to the apps they have invested in on the iPhone. Except you wrongly assume that these developers wont be making exact copies for any other App store. Whats better than having a successful app on the iPhone? Having the exact same success by developing a copy for Android, Blackberry Maemo, etc ! And with all the push behind Android right now plus the exclusivity of the iPhone price range(we not just talking US here) compared to the cheaper cost of upcoming smartphones , its just a little more time beofre htere will be enough eyes on that Android market to attract enough attention. I have compared the Apple iPhone and Android so many times to buying a car: Imagine going to buy a car, but the only option you have is the colour(yes, colour with a "u") , oh and you cant open the bonnet and you only use one brand of gas.

Total lack of choice. Why would anyone want this? iPhone users, it is time to move on...

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

guanaman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:47:00 -0000

Consider this from TechCrunch: The Problem With iPhone Killers… http://bit.ly/TUoKv - Android is a problem for WinMob and Symbian, not iPhone.
With only a fraction of the global handphone population owning smartphones, and with only a fraction of the WORLD population owning phones, I think there's enough of a market to support a few good competitors.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Bob O'Brien — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:01:59 -0000

I'm not convinced that iPhone dominates its market yet. I think in about ten days it's going to have its first real competition. Real, that is, from my own personal point of view. Droid appears to have what I'd want. I might already have an iPhone, but for a number of sticking points, just one of which is carrier lock-in. I simply don't want ATT. And up to this point I have been dragging my feet about getting any phone which does much more than calls. I'm pretty sure there's a significant number like me, and /maybe/ Droid will convince us. Predictions made right now are quite the gamble.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

garethp2 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:25:04 -0000

The iphone certainly is changing everything, the photoshop app is pure quality.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

garethp2 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:24:10 -0000

the iPhone is without changing everthing, the Photoshop app looks crazy. I've event stopped playing my xbox to play iPhone games.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Apostol Apostolov — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:28:40 -0000

So called "iTunes compatibility" isn't so far off for Android OS phones. Double Twist (www.doubletwist.com) will serve as a mediator between your iTunes and your non-iDevices, both syncing normal/smart playlists to any type of device (Androis phones, Symbian, Windows Mobile, PSP, PS3, so on and so forth), and will convert Video so that your videos (including videos from watch folders) get automatically transcoded to the exact device's screen resolution and installed. I expect torrent-to-device transcoding bitTorrent client Vuze to allow torrent-to-Android real time transcoding and uploading in soon versions, as it supports iPhone and PSP MPEG-4 pretty well.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

BrianJBurgess — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:31:23 -0000

Oh wow. Excellent point about GPS apps now costing $50/$100 more on iPhone, and compared to Android's native Google Nav app, they suck on top of that.

Ouch. Take that, Apple. Sorry, but I'm not seeing 85,000 reasons at all. I see only a few:

1) iPhone experience is superior (so far)
2) Minor investment in a small handful of apps ($2.99 on average is not enough to keep people from switching, though).
3) iTunes library compatibility

Android can (and will) easily compete with iPhone in all of those areas though. There is simply no way that apps create "lock-in."

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Apostol Apostolov — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:22:12 -0000

Scoble, Google is actively shaking the tree as we speak, and apps (and stocks) are falling. TomTom and Garmin bite the wood as Google released Google Navigation for Android 2.0, and god knows how long its gonna take before this appears (if ever) on the iPhone to drive away those GPS software makers. So right now, iPhone became 50-100-200$ more expensive for GPS-requiring folk than an Android phone. And this is a beginning of a trend. Most apps for iPhone already have alternatives for Android. BUT what's available to Android (keyboard replacements, contact app replacements, Home UI replacements) can't be dreamed by even the most avid jailbroken app developers. The bottom line is - yes, people who've invested money in App Store will feel the need to stay and use what they paid for, but eventually what they are missing out outweights that investment (unless investment is in the 5-digit segment, then its just sad).

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

sundoggy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:15:47 -0000

I'd love to see Google play for real here. But they're taking a psuedo MS approach on this thing and need to lead it more if they really want it to succeed. For example, how about a really rewarding ap development program? Certainly, there are 10s of 1,000s if not more sw engineers out there who would die for a chance to impress Google. The model will have to change somewhat, because no one is going to duplicate the iphone/itunes/app store thing overnight. However, this industry can probably on take one real game changer every 10 years or so (the mainstream users certainly can only digest so much).

Google has done some good stuff (and a lot of sucky, unfinished stuff), even though they have the resources to take this on with probably another 5 big categories. But they need to be in it 200%. Not sure they're there yet.

Good news is we have Google/Android and Palm is still here to give it another go. Having lived with the limited Mac sw offerings for years (before that changed) I could certainly support an underdog, if they can make up for those other things in more compelling ways. However, nothing in the Android or WebOS camp has compelled me to even consider yet, and I am waiting.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

sundoggy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:05:17 -0000

Wow, not only have you made a substantially misinformed comment, but you've completely discredited VentureDeal (you really should take that out of your name if you want to protect your business). In 2007, there were a lot of early adopters. By summer 2008, iPhone was already becoming mainstream (more mainstream than any smartphone in the US at least, where most smartphone users USED TO BE business users. The iPhone has turned that on its nose. These days, I go out with friends, and half of them are using iPhones (the tech savvy and their spouses, and now in some cases, their children). Maybe it caught you by surprise, because certainly the rise of the iPhone has been meteoric compared to PCs, or Windows.

Today, you still see most of the early adopters on iPhones and those willing to make a few sacrafices (primarily in ap availability) using Android or WebOS--In fact, I am a major early adopter, but no way would I trade my main device for one of the others, because I rely on a variety of aps (and they do change--because...there's ALWAYS "ANOTHER ap for that".

Credibility ruined buddy.

Interesting article, Robert. Still want to read more about the Prius gadgetry.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Dashland — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:26:48 -0000

What's a smartphone without smartphone websites. They work across the board. http://dashland.com/

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Swift2 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:24:58 -0000

Sounds like Apple fans sounded when Windows had whole categories of apps that the Mac didn't have. Oh, it doesn't matter, you'd say, but you knew you were on thin ice.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Scott — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:35:25 -0000

But they AREN'T being made available and that's the point! Are you going to do it? Well then who is?

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

willcole — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:54:53 -0000

Or if one of these other phone companies came up with a browsing experience more capable than any out there, you may not need apps anymore at all.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

tychoish — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:43:50 -0000

how long till someone clones the iPhone API? What about porting MonoTouch to Android?

Software lockin is an unstable strategy and is eminitly disruptable. It took Apple 18 months to build an app ecosystem, or there abouts? And they made (and continue) to make app developers do the Objective-C thing, which is probably earning them no great love.

We shall see...

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Georgi Simeonov — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:31:46 -0000

First let me introduce myself, I am mobile user, have used and tested almost all smartphone making brands including some worldwide unknown ones, i am iPhone and HTC user at the moment.

iPhone is a cute toy indeed (the power lies in unix core) it works fast it is comfortable i like it a lot too, but i will just say it once - Dont underestimate Microsoft (and all windows mobile powered devices) and Google (android powered devices). You will ask why, and i will explain: Microsoft now has Marketplace and gaining more developers there, also they have something more in their sleeves - Windows Mobile 7 which will be the mobile OS of 2010; Google with their OS made impressive progress for a short time if they continiue this way they may be the dominant mobile OS in few years. I am just skipping Simbyan (IMO far from touchscreen friendly in evry asspect) WebOS (cute but still needs time to develop on it) and Blackberry OS(the one of the most useless OS on the smartphone market) because they do nothing impressive which can attract the smartphone users to their OS.

So the point of my post is that you are not correct to judge all other mobile OS players this way because IMO iphone will loose users in the next couple of years.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

theboots — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:09:09 -0000

Since we are all talking about the Android, iPhone, winMob etc. I would like to share this artcile found in the NY Times. The Bear story is cute. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.c...

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

Khürt L. Williams — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:54:09 -0000

I think there are enough people who don't have iPhones for Android based phones to thrive. However, I think Robert has a point. iPhone users with an investment in apps are not going to suddenly dump all that and switch. At least not without a way to move all my data with me.

Re: 85,000 reasons why Apple’s iPhone isn’t going to be disrupted

richr — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:42:50 -0000

The popularity of a platform relies on app developer interest. It may be trending down for the iPhone.

See http://appexplorer.com/stats/ and click on 'Line Chart' and 'Developers'.