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KenC's Comments Stream Stats
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The Downside to iPhone Success
Uhm, wasn't your original thesis that "The most widespread iPhone application in 2009 will be a virus." The question is HOW?
Your second stab at that seems to point to "unlocked phones". A 3G iPhone ver2.2 only JUST came out, and how many people will unlock? There's no financial advantage as 99% of iPhones sold must come with a contract. The only unlockers are people who need a different carrier.
Did you actually mean jailbreakers? That's a different group of people you know, and hurts your credibility if you don't know the difference between them. Jailbroken iPhones is also a tiny fraction of iPhones, and still doesn't explain how that could be the vector for the "most widespread iPhone application in 2009 [being] a virus".
If people are thin-skinned, you have to know the context. There have been tons of critical stories saying this or that, which have all been pretty much rubbish. Your commentary is coming after all of that.
Rewriting your story by saying there will be viruses, goes without saying, and is NOT what you wrote initially. Some responses have already pointed out why viruses won't get too far in the official App Store, as that is the largest population of users, your most widespread app being a virus seems highly suspect.
Google 'Violates' Apple's Rules - Unwarranted Hysteria Ensues
Each Time I See Google's Android Pitch I Like It Less and Less
On Google's finance forums, the level of spam is horrific. Try searching for some of Sumer's posts. They are vile, and yet, Google keeps letting this person post. I understand 1st Amendment rights, but this person is seriously deranged. Is anyone monitoring Google's finance forums?
Gmail goes offline every once in a while, with little comment from Google.
Does the fact that everything they release is "beta" give them carte blanche to not provide any customer support?
If they take this hands-off approach to Android apps, they are going to have a big problem.
Is iPhone Leading the Way in Smartphone Evolution?
Buy, Sell or Hold: Apple's Cohesive Strategy to Survive and Thrive
Question, your Chart 1, is that the installed base market share figure or is it the one year sales figures? Cause you state that Apple sold more than Rimm, and yet, Rimm is at 12% and Apple at 7%. A little disconnect between the chart and what you are talking about.
Data security - unless Apple is doing something different than what they announced in March at their press conference, I'm quite sure there is a "remote wipe" feature for IT departments. And, Apple announced a special program for corporations to allow custom app solutions. How is the cost, "lower"? You don't say. Is it because Apple's email server is more expensive than Blackberries? Oops, Apple doesn't sell a email server.
WalMart? You do know that WalMart has tried to sell music before, at 88 cents, and failed. What makes you think they'll succeed now?
Nokia's Ovi? It only comes on a couple of their handsets.
Google's G1 comes thru T-Mobile. They are #4 in a 3 carrier market. They have 3G service in how many cities? 20? AT&T has 3G in something like 280 cities. No matter how good the G1 is, the sellable market is virtually nil. How is the G1, "revolutionary&qu... Because it mimics the iPhone? You do realize that Android is built around a browser that uses WebKit. Who developed WebKit? Apple. As for "location services", you do realize that the iPhone has it, and many more apps that use it.
Open source means nothing to the consumer. If it did, Linux would sell better. It is just as easy for anyone to develop for the iPhone and the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The iPhone has over 5500 apps already. The G1? 50? More?
You mention the Tube, Bold and Instinct. The Tube is a joke, it doesn't use a capacitance touchscreen. The Bold's screen is too small. Did you see Sprint's latest numbers? I don't think people are buying the Instinct.
The Nuvifone was "launched" where? In a vacuum? I love Garmin, but the last I heard the Nuvifone was delayed until next year. And, turn-by-turn directions, apparently, TomTom and Garmin have developed apps for the iPhone, but are waiting for Apple to lift their restrictions on it.
In other words, you don't really know your products very well, otherwise, you wouldn't have cited a whole slew of criticisms that just don't hold very much water.
For an analysis that recommends buying, your conclusion is rather negative. Read some of Andy Zaky's analysis on SA for comparison. Also, read Roughlydrafted.com for some insight into the actual product side.
Share of Online Searches by Engine, Sept. 2008
Initial Thoughts on Android and the G1 Smartphone
Google Phone: "Dream Phone" Might Be a Little Strong
I like the idea of Android, but as long as the cell carriers act as gatekeepers, then Android is hamstrung. It's great if a developer writes a tethering app or a Voip app, but if the cell carrier does not allow tethering or Voip, what good does that do you?
There are 3 players involved here. The hardware manufacturer, the OS, and the cell carrier. For the most part, the cell carrier dictated to the manufacturer what features would be allowed, I don't see how Android will change that.
Crop of New Smartphones Will Compete With iPhone
9 Feature Comparisons: G1 vs. iPhone
It doesn't matter what specs the G1 has, if the carrier's 3G coverage is only just rolling out.
Jonathan Ive: More Valuable to Apple than Steve Jobs?
As for the nonsense about Ives being CEO, that's silly. Everyone knows that while Ives is chief designer, Steve is the Chief Arbiter of the design aesthetic to be followed, from the first Mac, to the last iPhone.
The next CEO has to have vision and be charismatic. That's not Cook or Shiller or any of the other competent execs. It's Bertrand Serlet.
The Google Phone: Blockbuster or Bust?
You wrote, "Google is positioning itself against Apple, which has bet on the iPhone's "locked" handset model -- available only through AT&T (T). In contrast, Google has championed an "open" model, not only by basing Android on open-source technology, but also in its successful effort to open up the 700Mhz wireless spectrum auctioned off by the F.C.C."
This is so wrong. Google is aligning with Apple in a loose WebKit alliance supporting webstandards, against MS and proprietary ones. You do realize that Android and Chrome are built on WebKit. Adobe Air is also built on WebKit. Nokia's S60 is also built on WebKit. Safari is also built on WebKit. Guess who makes WebKit?
Yep, you guessed it, Apple. Apple makes the rendering engine, powering all of those browsers and browser-based Apps. Apple released WebKit back to the open-source community.
Don't Close the Line on Nokia Just Yet
Like write a piece on emerging smartphone trends, and then in 6 months when your points come true, then you can pat yourself on the back, and link to what you had written previously. Then you look smart.
Then you said, "The problem is that companies like Apple and RIM are selling their phones at break-even prices for the shear purpose of snatching market share from Nokia, which announced that it would not stoop to their level." Where is the evidence that Apple and RIM are selling their phones at "break-even prices"? Have you looked at their margins? Nokia didn't mention any companies by name, and the odd thing is that Nokia is the company that has been gaining market share by flooding developing markets with low prices. Besides, what I've heard is the Nokia comments were referring to Sony Ericcson, not Apple or RIM.
Then you said, "This aggressive approach from its competitors cannot last long and is purely a marketing scheme that will end." Please explain. How do you know that this is a marketing scheme that will not last long, if you don't even know who Nokia are talking about? We KNOW that Apple can't be the one, since they are making great margins on their product, so they can continue ad nauseum. I don't think anyone following RIM thinks their company is selling product at "break-even" so tell us, who is?
Then you said ,"Nokia’s new Symbian operating system is on par with the iPhone and Android, and will be able to compete with the best of them." How do you know Symbian is on par with OS X and Android? You do realize that Symbian is NOT "new". And, if Symbian were so great, why then, did they use Linux in their handheld device the N800 and N810? One would think that it would be an ideal platform for the power of Symbian if it were "on par" with OS X or Android.
Now, I can't say whether Nokia is a good buy or not, superficially it looks good to me, but your above reasoning for doing so, is sorely lacking in due diligence.
Complete Web Browsing On Your Cell Phone? Not Yet
There's no doubt that ubiquity often drives standards adoption, much like language. What's slang today, is in Webster's tomorrow. I think the writing was on the wall for PDFs that it would become an adopted standard sooner or later. As for Flash, the jury is still out.
What I think you are missing is the movement, outside of MS, towards web standards. That's why I referenced a loose alliance of WebKit-based browsers and apps. There's alot of momentum on that side of the ball, and even MS has been forced to respond.
I think it's not a given that something like Flash will become a standard. In fact, you've got large players like Google moving away from Flash and re-encoding all their Youtube videos in standards-compliant H.264.
Complete Web Browsing On Your Cell Phone? Not Yet
I'm not sure whether the author knows the difference between JAVA and javascript. The iPhone browser allows JavaScript, but doesn't run JAVA. I haven't heard too many people complain about not having JAVA other than Sun Microsystems.
Further, WebKit on your S60 browser, is from Apple. Apple developed the rendering engine WebKit and gave it back to the open-source community, that's how Nokia can use it, as does Adobe for Adobe AIR, as does Google for Android and Chrome. And, there are literally a dozen other browsers or browser-based apps built on the frameworks of WebKit. This is the real story, the story of the rise of WebKit. A loose WebKit alliance between all the non-MS companies.
It's just funny to read the comments comparing Safari to S60 to Chrome, when they are all built on the same rendering engine. Sure there'll be some small differences in performance as Safari 4.0 uses SquirrelFish as its JavaScript engine, while Chrome uses V8 as its.
If the author wants to keep tabs on how the real internet is progressing into the mobile world, all he need do is go to:
webkit.org
And, you can read all about WebKit and the SurfinSafari Blog, and how WebKit was the first to pass all 100 of the Acid3 tests back in March. Of course, the Acid3 test was the acid test of meeting web standards. WebKit scored 100%. I believe Gecko which powers Mozilla scored 100% as well.
My recollection is that desktop MS IE 6 or 7, scored about a 12 of 100 on the Acid3 test. I just tested my Mobile Safari and got a score of 72. So, my Mobile Safari meets more web standards as defined by Acid3 than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
I think history will show that Safari qualifies as the Real Internet, regardless of what the British advertising board thinks. If you read their statement, it has more to do with public expectations than published standards. Of course, since Flash is not installed by default, I really wonder what they are talking about.