This is my second guest post for GigaOM (my first, The Social Map is All About Me, looked at the need for better models for personal information aggregation as we move beyond Web 2.0).
In this post, I look at Android vs. iPhone, asking the question whether openness is an absolute. Here is an excerpt:
Open or perish. It’s a meme that’s been embraced as fact ever since Eric Raymond published his seminal essay, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar.” If you are not “open,” (i.e., open source or open APIs), you don’t get it, and you’re destined for obsolescence. But while there is an appealing logic to this premise, the reality just isn’t that black and white, especially when it comes to the mobile arena.
Consider the different approaches to openness taken by the two companies with (arguably) the greatest product differentiation, most thriving ecosystems and potent cash-flow generation engines in the business: Apple and Google. The former (Apple) is more proprietary, with an integrated approach to hardware, software and service. The latter (Google) is generally perceived to be more open, taking a “loosely coupled” approach to systems and services. Both are breakout businesses, with legions of devoted followers. So which approach is better?
Read the rest of the post at GigaOM by clicking HERE.
UPDATE 1: There are now over 90 comments on this post, and with Google's recent muddying of the waters between being open to all, and rolling out there own Google branded (and HTC built) Nexus One phone, the topic is as rich as ever.
UPDATE 2: The Register is reporting that a rogue phishing app was smuggled onto Google's Android Marketplace, underscoring, once again the trade-offs between "open at all costs" and "governed with proprietary" framings: A phisher hoping to harvest bank login details managed to smuggle his app onto the Android app store. Malicious apps posted by Droid09 were quickly identified, prompting a warning to legitimate users and a ban for the VXer. The incident raises questions about whether a tighter vetting process is needed for the Android Marketplace.
Related Posts of Note:
- Holy Shit! Apple's Halo Effect: how Apple has turned gravity into its friend.
- The Chess Masters: Google versus Apple
- Ringing Up Apple's Earnings Call: analysis of last quarter's earnings call.
- iPhone 2.0 - What it Means to be Mobile: a detailed summary of my experience to date with the iPhone 2.0 platform.
- Innovation, Inevitability and Why R&D is So Hard
