Analysis - Apple’s Jobs rants at Google, suggests big acquisition

[HEXUS]

The iconic CEO made a surprise appearance at Apple’s earnings call and had a lot to get off his chest.

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[cheesemp]

Apple lost the desktop fight on similar grounds - great ecosystem but sky high prices. Think the same thing is happening this time but on a greater scale. If you can get a android phone for £250 that does 99% of iphone at £400 - people will go for the cheapest option. I know what I've gone for...

[Funkstar]

Never mind £250, you can get a great Android smartphone for £100 (plus £10 top up)

http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...oid-phone.html

can also be unlocked, ROM upgraded and running on any other network in about 15 minutes they recon.

[3dcandy]

I'm with the above...have seen a fair few iphone 3GS users complaining recently that iphone 4 is a tad high for what it does...

[Biscuit]

If you can get a android phone for £250 that does 99% of iphone at £400

The funny thing is, the iphone can only do 80-90% of what an adroid can do

[.havoc]

Unfortunately it normally takes far too long for the hype to die down over the shiny fruit companies new product before people realise they are paying a huge premium for a lesser product.

[hermano pequeño]

Apple lost the desktop fight on similar grounds - great ecosystem but sky high prices. Think the same thing is happening this time but on a greater scale. If you can get a android phone for £250 that does 99% of iphone at £400 - people will go for the cheapest option. I know what I've gone for...

Different people will go for different things. Apple have proven that you do not have to hold the majority market share to make more profit. I imagine Apple users and shareholders would argue that on financial grounds they didn't "loose the desktop fight".

Those, unlike you, who prefer the Apple approach continue to pay a higher premium NOT to suffer the perceived difficulties of Windows. I can't say the same for Android; I have not used it and all reports appear to be very good so far. Let's hope the iOS vs Android rivalry turns out to be a better motivator to excel for both parties than the AppleOS vs Windows rivalry managed.

Vive la différence!

[Percy1983]

Eitherway the Apple loyalists will just buy whatever they make.

One of my mates sister's was telling me how her Macbook was so much beter than the last windows PC she used... I did eventually get out of her that was Windows XP so she was comparing a new Apple OS to a rather old Microsoft OS, I tried to educate her on Windows 7 but I think she is too far gone to be saved.

[usxhe190]

Hmm...the biggest news for me is which company they will buy...

[Spud1]

Hmm...the biggest news for me is which company they will buy...

Indeed - the Apple Vs "the world" will rage on forever more - they have always generally lost on pure volume, but then their business is not geared just for that..they charge a higher price per unit, so even with less % sales they will make more money than most competitors..as the margins are so good.

They have no need to change this either..their current practices work well on the most part, and I agree that for the manufacturer a closed platform is much more preferable than an open anything goes one, the cost of maintenance and support is drastically reduced. Whether its better for end users or not is clearly a debate on personal preference (do you prefer a slightly less reliable but more open/free option, ala windows or Android, or the more stable but restricted approach ala Apple). They key is that it only works if you have enough customers..and luckily Apple do at the moment.

I suspect things will change in the next 10 years however, but we will see...

[cheesemp]

The funny thing is, the iphone can only do 80-90% of what an adroid can do

I actually agree I didn't want to start a flame war!

As for the £100 android phones - I've actually been commenting on that thread quite a bit. I was aware but thought £250 was an average cost for a droid!

[spoon_]

Its only matter of time before Android will go belly up because they want to support every hardware configuration out there... just like Windows...

Manufacturing both hardware and developing software makes a lot of sense in a way you can test against every possibility out there. Only Apple is doing it at the moment (or is big enough to be noticed)

I'm not saying Android will flop, it will become more buggy and unstable that it already is.

I kinda dislike the mess with keeping it all up-to-date. You should really be able to update as soon as the newest version becomes available, as opposed to waiting for Google, your telephone providers etc.

There should be a standard what runs which version and why it's not available (if applicable) I seem to recall someone saying (here?) what certain (game?) wasn't available on one device and was on the other - both running Android but most likely different versions (?)

[Andeh13]

Steve Jobs is such a tit, I find him so irritating!

[Funkstar]

There should be a standard what runs which version and why it's not available (if applicable) I seem to recall someone saying (here?) what certain (game?) wasn't available on one device and was on the other - both running Android but most likely different versions (?)

Yes there is fragmentation in the Android market place, but it is handled fairly well as far as I know. The different OS version have different API levels, so if an app takes advantage of API 2.1, the app won't work on a 1.6 device. Just like iOS. If something is written for iOS4, it isn't going to work on iOS3 devices.

The whole Google -> Manufacturer -> Network thing is a whole other argument. This will become a selling point for handset manufacturers and networks, promising and having a track record of issuing updates promptly will be a reason for many to use those brands and networks.

[chrestomanci]

Its only matter of time before Android will go belly up because they want to support every hardware configuration out there... just like Windows...

Manufacturing both hardware and developing software makes a lot of sense in a way you can test against every possibility out there. Only Apple is doing it at the moment (or is big enough to be noticed)

I'm not saying Android will flop, it will become more buggy and unstable that it already is.

I don't think that will happen.

Unlike iPhone OS, there is not one vendor maintaining all the hardware specific differences for each model of phone out there, there are dozens.

Unlike windows, the hardware manufactures get the source, and can do as much customising as they need to.

A large Android manufacturers like HTC or Samsung might ship 4-6 devices per year. That is a perfectly reasonable and manageable number, and I see no reason why the quality of firmware releases from HTC will suffer just because other manufacturers are entering the market.

Google meanwhile only develop the platform. They are also insulated from the complexity of all the different devices out there, as they can just ignore them, and ship platform releases, and leave all the customisation efforts to the hardware manufacturers.

I am not saying there won't be rubbish android devices shipped from time to time. Some manufacturers are incapable of doing a proper job, or will cut to many corners to keep the costs low, but that should not affect the platform as a whole.

[Biscuit]

I actually agree I didn't want to start a flame war!

As for the £100 android phones - I've actually been commenting on that thread quite a bit. I was aware but thought £250 was an average cost for a droid!

sorry i didnt mean it to come across like i was either... was trying to add to what you said ^^