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Apple as the incumbent against open source G1

Apple's reaction to the G1 so far, even its more extreme manifestations, is that of an incumbent politician facing a no-hope reformer.
Written by Dana Blankenhorn, Inactive

Apple's reaction to the G1 so far, even its more extreme manifestations, is that of an incumbent politician facing a no-hope reformer. (Picture from our fabulous Apple blog.)

Despite all the hullaballoo, Google's got a phone that doesn't ship until next month, on America's modern equivalent of the Dumont network

Apple's response to its channel is, in essence, who's your daddy? The support from potential G1 partners has been tepid, just the usual suspects. Most have been silent.

In a political race, when an underfunded underdog challenges an entrenched incumbent, this is the right move. Don't pay any attention, don't engage in debate.

Trouble is this is not politics.

This is business, where you can change your financial vote at any time. The trailing candidate goes away after the election, but a big-pockets developer with real allies does not.

It's true that the financial meltdown gives Apple an even stronger position. But Google's stock remains strong enough to finance its planned network build-out.

And if the race gets closer, Apple's current actions will come back to haunt it.

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