Timothy Lee’s article on “How I learned to stop worrying and love the App Store” compares the closed and open systems of the Iphone and Android OS platforms. In his article, “Princeton computer scientist Ed Felten compared the iPad to Disneyland. ‘I like to visit Disneyland,’ he wrote at the time, ‘but I wouldn't want to live there.’(Lee, 1).
This is a great analogy. The ground soil of an open system allows developers to plant and grow seeds of innovation but in the sanitized world of Disneyland their plants are made of premanufactured plastic that can’t be changed. I recommend taking Lee’s advice and not worrying about the app store because just like the PC revolution, Apple’s innovations will once again be taken, developed further in a more open system like the Android and eventually dominate the market.
The business insider shows history repeating itself. The diagram is very similar to the Macintosh and PC war of the late 80’s and 90’s. Apple who always tried to maintain a closed system was quickly overshadowed by IBM clone computers made by a variety of different manufacturers. Of course Apple tried to make an official Macintosh cloning program to expand the market for Apple computers but it was too little too late. The IBM clones (PC’s) along with Microsoft quickly dominated personal and business computer markets. This regulated Apple to a niche market of graphic designers and Apple loyalists. Even though most people prefer an open system, especially computer geeks, the difference today is there is no Bill Gates for the Android.
Even with Androids increasing percentage of market share developers still prefer to program for the Iphone. The Christian Science monitor states, “developers that create apps for both platforms make an average of 24 cents on Android devices for every dollar on iOS devices….Developers who want to make a game for iOS only have a few devices to worry about…Developers who want to make a game for Android, however, have to consider a vast range of tablets and phones, optimizing graphics to fit different screen sizes and resolutions and adjusting features to take advantage of different hardware.”
Androids also fall short of consumer advantages. There is absolutely no Itunes equivalent for the Android and the Android App store continues to be considered embarrassingly chaotic. If these consumer needs were fulfilled it’s not hard to imagine the Iphone once again be regulated to niche markets and brand loyalists. No available music management and less attractive games force Android owners to purchase alternatives like the Apple Itouch as their primary entertainment device. This is outside of the generative, closed system argument but the game has switched and Apple is providing more advantages to consumers than Google has been able to give with the Android but Google has never been a marketing powerhouse like Microsoft or Apple.
Devices like the Android and Iphone will unlikely replace the processing power and efficiency of the personal computer but their ability to replace and enhance entertainment devices has arrived. Apple tv, Roku, Xbox, Playstation and a variety of other platforms will dominate everything outside of the office. Google has the potential to dominate this industry as well but Logitech’s $100 million loss on Google TV once again illustrates Google’s lack of a Bill Gates like marketing genius. Fontunately Timothy Lee points out the web is extremely generative. HTML 5 and cloud development may fill the gaping holes for the Android but until then Apple will continue to hold a large share of the market.
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