I am use to my iPhone as and recognize that
switching carriers or even phones would be a
huge undertaking for me (apps I've built up,
notes, etc.). I am deeply entrenced in the
Apple ecosystem and cannot easily jump ship but
I am also equally entrenced and enamored by the
Google ecosystem and the path these two
companies are heading could ultimately force us
all to take sides.
It is has not fell on deaf ears with Apple that
Google is becoming a competitor, not only to
AT&T and the other telcos with Google Voice but
to Apple themselves with Android and Android
Market. In addition to the upcoming Chrome OS,
I think Apple recognizes, stock board be damn,
that the once cozy Google/Apple relationship is
coming to an end.
Google is taking the internet anywhere approach
and thus are building their services based on
this model. This approach is wonderful for
innovation and overall lower pricing but most
telcos realize this has the potential to do to
the telco industry what peer to peer
downloading and bit torrent did to the music
game. Anything that can be digitize is
susceptible to this trend and the only way to
stop it is with the kind of strong arming
tactics that Apple and AT&T are employing right
now with the App Store.
It will not end until there is a black swan
(i.e. what Facebook did to Myspace). Google
will not gain the kind of market share with
Android until they slick up that ugly user
interface. The HTC Hero has the potential to
compete with the iPhone but since the UI is not
standard across all Android devices it will not
be able to compete. Factor in iTunes
integration and Exchange support by default,
then you see why Android has a ways to go.
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