iPhone Pains for Android…

Well, Google finally managed to get their first Android phone, the G1, out of the bag (Now they just have to get it out the door…). At first glance, it doesn’t look like the kind of phone that would compete with the iPhone; it certainly doesn’t have the Apple “coolness” design factor going for it. Another thing that media critics pointed out immediately was its apparent lack of a video player. The only thing is, they missed the entire point of Google’s open platform – The idea is to spur 3rd-party development, so that people have a choice of different video players and can choose the best one and the one that they like the most. That’s Apple’s biggest problem with the App Store. By rejecting applications because they duplicate functionality of Apple’s apps is an incredibly poor decision on Apple’s part. (Not to mention it’s bound to bring out some anti-competitive lawsuits.) By not allowing competition, they are holding back the entire platform from having the innovative applications that it could. Google, on the other hand, hit that issue spot on. They want third-party developers to compete and improve on their existing apps. In fact, they even allow plug-ins and add-ons to improve even their most basic applications.

But apart from Android’s open development platform, they don’t really have much going for them. Sure the G1 has a slightly better camera, but nobody really cares about those extra 1.1 megapixels. About the only other thing that’s a plus for Android is the Amazon MP3 integration because it’s generally less expensive than the iTunes Music Store and (most of all) it’s DRM-free! The things that are going to hurt Android are much greater, though, (at least initially with the G1) such as the proprietary mini-USB plug for a headphone jack (that was just plain stupid); the fact that T-Mobile only has 3G in 21 markets (compared with iPhone 3G’s 200+ markets with AT&T); and also the fact that the phone only comes with 1GB (of removable) storage. That’s expandable to possibly as much as 16GB, but for that, you’re gonna have to shell out an extra $99. Another downside to Android is the fact that it’s essentially centered around a Google lifestyle – Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, etc. Certainly, Apple offers you their own lifestyle with the interoperability between iPhone, iTunes, Mac, and MobileMe, but they make it much easier, and offer more options, to use other services as well. Finally, the last thing that Apple has and Google doesn’t is the fact that Apple is already on the second-generation of the iPhone and has an install base of about 11 million units, as well as an application download store that’s based on a  5 1/2 year-old digital content store. Compare that with Google’s first generation product, which is accompanied by an application download store that’s not even really a store yet. (There will be no way to charge for apps, initially.)

I think that iPhone will continue to dominate the cell phone industry for quite a while, however Android will manage to put some pressure on Apple. Although, I think that pressure will just push Apple to further improve the iPhone. Eventually I think Google will manage to compete with Apple, but it’s going to take a while. The iPhone, or the iPod or even iTunes for that matter, didn’t get to where they are overnight (Ok, well maybe the iPhone kinda did, but nevertheless.); neither did Google Search or Gmail. The iPhone has had time to mature, and Apple has had many opportunities to learn about making it better, and I think they’ll use that information to push even further ahead of the competition. Even though Apple had the better operating system back in the 1980s, Microsoft managed to become the operating system that still over 20 years later would be used by 90% of computer users worldwide. This time, I think that Apple is gonna be the mobile Microsoft/Windows. No one has been able to touch them, and their share of the smartphone market is almost certainly going to surpass Windows Mobile for 3Q 2008, with potential to pass even RIM’s Blackberry. iPhone is going to be king of the mobile market for quite some time.