Android vs. iPhone III

In truth, the headline is a bit misleading. iOs runs on only one set of hardware, where Android runs on many. The problems I've blogged about wifi on my HTC Desire HD, for example, don't apply at all on my Motorola Xoom nor the Samsung Galaxy Pad I gave to my partners when I got the Xoom. So it's probably just an HD thing. Or HTC.

So let's talk about what distinguishes Android, the OS, regardless of platform, from iOS.

Some of this may well be the way I interact with machines. I know there are many people out there who know loads more about iPhone than I do, who get more out of their iOS devices than I do. There's a reason for that. I found the iOS devices incredibly easy to adopt. Turn the thing on, plug into iTunes and off you go. And that's just the problem. The ease of use, the controlled, safe environment that Apple creates for you lulls me to sleep while also, subtly, discouraging me from exploration.

Again, this may just be me. But from the moment I got hold of an Android device, I was off in a way I never was on the iPhone. Just touching the file system, on the device itself gave me the sense I was interacting with a small computer rather than a closed system. Yes, of course, I know that Android is not really open source. I've heard all of that and I know Google controls it, but they don't control it the way Apple does.

In this war, Google is playing the Microsoft position while Apple is still Apple. I don't know what is in their minds, but they appear content to head off to 15% market share and high margins leveraged from sales to their cult members while they presumably develop whatever comes next.

Google, even if they don't fully open-source Android, open themselves to far more innovation. Developing apps is free and you don't need to submit a novel to get approval. Will the apps all meet with the high standard we see on iPhone Apps? Doubtless many will not. But many will and many others will exceed those standards and most important, there will be many, many more apps written to support a platform that encourages innovation more broadly.

We'll see where things go. 6 months is a long time in this space and there are years to go before Smart phones even get near their potential growth.