We are liveblogging Google's announcement of Froyo right and and while the new features have us very excited, what has us most intrigued is the rate of potshots taken at the iPhone: it's nearly one every three minutes so far. From...
- pointing out that they have more web usage
- to tweaking the fact that Apple's App Store is limited
- to showing their new mobile browser literally lapping the iPad for speed
- to pointing out that people actually want to use Flash on the web
- to mocking the iTunes app and music desktop experience that requires you to tether over USB to transfer your new purchases
- to talking about a "draconian" future where "one company" and "one man" controlled the mobile space...
...Google is clearly not afraid to thumb their nose at Steve Jobs & Co.
Reader comments
Google takes plenty of shots at Apple at Google IO
Well, of course. Apple and Steve Jobs deserve it. A lot of people think that Apple is so amazing and more deserving companies like Google will expose them. Android FTW.
And Google needs to show what is better about Android than iPhone.
Google just kicked steve jobs in the nuts repeatedly.
LOL, I agree and it's great! I look at Steve B(Blow) Jobs and the first word that comes to mind is...douchebag. I'm so glad Google isn't afraid to directly attack.
Some of this may be out of context, but I'm not sure everyone agrees with all of their points. I do like my Incredible, but no phone or OS is perfect.
* pointing out that they have more web usage
okay
* to tweaking the fact that Apple's App Store is limited
I find the Market limited too. Plus, I've found apps like a craigslist one that were later deemed to be malware by reviewers. People who want to go beyond the limits can jailbreak or root their phones
* to showing their new mobile browser literally lapping the iPad for speed
okay, my Incredible browser seems faster than my iPad too
* to pointing out that people actually want to use Flash on the web
I don't think people really give a rip about Flash vs. HTML5. They want webpages to display "normally," whether it is through Flash or HTML5. Developers caring I can understand.
* to mocking the iTunes app and music desktop experience that requires you to tether over USB to transfer your new purchases
I wish Android had a desktop backup system like Apple and Blackberry have. Wireless syncing will probably be in the next iPhone OS. I'd like the Android music player to be better. It is pretty lame.
* to talking about a "draconian" future where "one company" and "one man" controlled the mobile space...
Isn't what they're trying to do as well? Control the web from an advertising standpoint? Plus, if they're promoting choice, why do their phones have to be rooted (I realize the carriers are involved too)? I'd love to be able to get rid of crapware apps on my phone
Really though, google gives their OS, coding, and much much much much more to the people and devs without charging them or making them sign licensing fees and so on. Also by allowing anyone to do this you are not becoming 1 company with 1 man to rule the mobile space... they are become the platform of choice by giving the freedom out. It seems like a monopoly because it is too sweet to avoid by choice.
Apple needs a good kick in the ass. Apple IS draconian.
So many thing are available only in iTunes, music, TV shows, podcasts etc... they have the largest store out there, then they never allow any other devices to attach to it to get content, even non-DRM. So they lock it down so only they control it then complain that flash is not open and controlled by one company. I mean come on now, you cannot have it both ways! I remember when the Palm Pre came out Apple went out of their way to close the loop that allowed Pre owners to sync to iTunes. What did it hurt really?
Screw Apple! Go Google!
I for one love choice and I'm glad the world isn't stuck with just Android. That would be bad anyway you look at it. I love the fact that I can choose my iPhone and you can choose your Android device. I love Apple's closed and gated ecosystem. I don't like, what I consider, Android's risky, disordered and so called opened approach. Android's openness bespeaks something evil lying below the surface. We just don't know what it is, but it ain't good. But that's just me! You may feel differently. I don't want to deal with Android problems, I'd rather deal with iPhone problems. I love iTunes and the wealth of content it provides so very conveniently. The iPhone is more than just hardware, it also comes standard with a simple and convenient way to get to the content you want. Movies, music, apps, books, podcasts, itunes university... are available right on the device out of the box. I have more choices than Android can provide.
Google is really showing their fear of Apple. Wow! When you direct such attention to a competitor you only expose your own weakness. Openness on any platform carries some risks to the user. It's not all sunshine and roses. I'd rather deal with Steve Jobs' closed system than being left open in this sea of sharks that are about to strike the Android platform. Keep in mind Windows and it's malware issues. I don't want any part of that future.
Android's open approach doesn't "bespeak something evil" at all. It is giving people a choice on how they want to do things. Don't like our keyboard? Install a new one! Want more memory? Our phones support microSD storage! Want to shake things up? Our code is open source so feel free to modify it however you want! It's that kind of choice that I love.
I respect your opinion, but not all of us can swim in the shallow end of the pool our whole lives. I do admit that there are a lot of choices out there for somebody who can hook their device into iTunes, but even when I was an iPhone user I never used them! iTunes is sluggish and a major pain in the butt, and who wants to manage all the firmware on your device from a computer? I much prefer the Android way of loading a file on your SD card and being able to boot into recovery and flash it whenever you want, whether you're hooked to a computer or not.
I hate not having a choice and being told what to do, which is why I hate homeowners associations, overprotective parents, politicians trying to protect us from our video games, and Apple. Open source FTMFW!
Think about this. Google sends your private information from your Android phone to third parties without you knowing. All while you're busy playing with your shiny new phone. I mean think about it...Really think about it! That is why Android is so called free and open. It's not to promote real freedom and openness the way you envision it, but instead it's used to lure handset makers into using Android. And the more devices means more advertising dollars for Google. Plain, simple and truly EVIL.
On the iPhone there is freedom from that kind of violation of my privacy. I can do more without worrying about malware and viruses. I can openly surf the Web and download apps and music... Do whatever I want and feel safe.
In my mind that's real freedom. I know you feel that being able to change wallpaper, your battery and store files on an SD card, among others, as freedom. Maybe we disagree, because we define freedom and openness differently and that's cool. No hard feelings. The iPhone is still the best phone and iPhone 4 is going to blow away the competition. Put June 7 on your calendar. Again, that's how I and about 50 million of us feel. You may feel differently:)
Spoken like a true iFool. You all repeat the nonsense you learn without thinking one bit for yourselves. What malware is going to hit Android? Didn't iPhone get hacked at pwn2own. Do you even know what that is? Didn't the iPhone get hacked with a simple text message? Didn't all the folk rotting their iPhone because of all its limitations find themselves completely vulnerable to attack? And your talking about comin malware for android while the iPhone already has problems? Then ok top of that both systems are *nix based so if one is open so is the other roughly.
And since Apple just created their own ad system they are doing the same thing with your data now as Google.
Wow! I know I got under your skin, but doesn't that bother you? For example, your location data being sent to a third party so they can serve up ads based on where you are. What else are they sending to these third parties? I think it's a gross violation of your privacy. Apple won't let third parties have access to this data, and they've included an indicator to inform the user when data is being sent from the phone and will ask for user permission. A much better implementation, don't you think?
Google says Android is free, but there are a lot of strings attached. Carriers have to agree to Googles terms before they can use it on their networks, user private data is up for grabs, etc. It's really sinister the price you have to pay for all this freedom and openness.
While it makes sense to jailbreak an iPhone, why would an open platform such as Android and WebOS need rooting? Why is it only in Froyo that you can you save to an SD card? Why all these limitations
Yes, I'm aware of the iPhone hack, but you would be a FOOL to think Android won't be a prime target for virus and malware attacks. I seem to remember hearing about an app in the Android market place that collected users banking information. That was a real threat and out in the wild. It is by its openness going to be a much, much easier target. Eventually, Google will have to adapt Apple type control because of the upcoming attacks. They've already copied the the iPhone features and technology, they might as well go all the way. Microsoft has done it in Windows 7 Mobile. They've learned their lesson from their past experience.
Renee from TIPB.com sounds so butthurt that Android is actually starting to put much needed pressure on the Apple ironglove.
Read his whole article.. sounds like a little kid who's pretty much saying "I'm taking my ball and going home!!!"
Ahhh, Apple and its iPhone finally getting the PWNING we've all been waiting for. It really shows when you have salty iFanatic slaves like this guy above trolling an Android site talking about how Google just pwnd Apple at its conference. iPhone 4 is going to blow away the competition?! LMFAO! You Apple slaves are all in the dark, and that proves it. "We're going to blow away the competition by adding features that Android has had for almost 2 years!" Right. Talk about copying. Android has always been, and is now officially, > iPhone OS. Watching the iFanatics' typical immature inability to deal with this is priceless.
You Fandroid types are so unaware of Google's evil that you mindlessly fall for their fodder. Continue in your delusion as the iPhone, iPod and iPad continue to innovate and dominate. Google will always be a follower and you Fandroids will continue to be clueless. This Google IO hype thingy is a conversation compared to the conference that's about to occur on June 7.
What you don't get is those feature only matter when they hit the iPhone. Your copy cat devices are just that- poor copies of the real thing. Talk about having features...like the ones every device copies from the iPhone. Pathetic bunch. The nearly one year old iPhone 3GS still outshines and outsells your newer devices hands down. Puleeese.
Your store has already been invaded by a real threat and there's more to come.
I thought, despite our difference of what constitutes freedom both in a practical and philosophical sense, that you had an ounce of maturity in you. Then you start throwing "fandroid" around, and pathetic bunch, and puleeese... I lost a deal of credibility in you.
I'd like to highlight our philosophical differences in freedom, at least what I perceive them to be. You propose that true freedom is being controlled to some extent, even if is for our own good. How is that? Religious flaming aside, I am thankful God gave me free will to screw up AND succeed. I would not be very happy if he made us all worship Him and act Christ-like.
Is Android vulnerable to attacks due to its open nature, why certainly, but it's a risk that we take to get more out of the phone. You can disagree that is unpractical that's fine, just a difference of opinion.
Benjamin Franklin once said something along the lines that it is a terrible thing to replace liberty for protection. I don't know if I agree that entirely, but I do agree that to hold someone back from their potential for the risk involved *can* be detrimental in the least. Microsoft implemented security measures with its mobile OS as did Apple with its mobile, which is perfectly fine. But the Android folks choose to live a bit riskier, which is also perfectly fine as long as they don't impose that risk into other people, in which case they are not, even if they do get malware and their identity stolen, it was their decision.
Now let's talk phone. I myself am an iphone 3gs user and have been for about a year after being with sprint for about 5 years, although I will be going to Sprint for the EVO on June 4th. I like with the iphone how you can download media like songs, ebooks, live casts, etc. I also like how there is a back up for contacts, files, and apps on your computer.
What I don't like about the iphone is how it has a problem freezing up in calls and media streaming, or how every so often when I sync with my laptop the apps will have a restriction put on them that can only be taken off if I wipe clean the iphone and load all my data from my back up. Also it's a slight bother how it took up til 3gs to have a copy and paste feature and percentage of battery life shown feature.
It is true the Android phones are all highly customizable and make it an over all great experience. But the iphone's quality standards of apps is also great in that you only get the ones that passed the test. That means some otherwise great apps might not have had face time, but over all is ensures safety.
Both iphone and Android phones offer great things, but the Android simply offers more *freedom*, and that is why I am going to the EVO in June. Plus the EVO itself has a lot more features than the iphone 4 so that's another reason I'm not sticking with Apple. It's just practical to me.
While you boast that Apple is superior to Android in every way, I propose they both offer different services and that everyone will choose the phone that is best suited to them.
Good day
I don't know about some of the comments on here, but I can say one thing, everything that accesses the web and has ports and ways to get in is vulnerable. Just like with desktop/laptops, it depends on what you install in your device.
I currently use a Sprint Blackberry Tour, own an iPod touch (which I will be fitting wiu OS4 when it's released) and am pretty proud to say I'll be moving to the EVO 4G when it is available.
The thing about apps is if you don't know the company, or look up the app on one of many blog/tech sites, they will inform you of any dangers. I think Android is an adult platform, giving the user the choice they deserve. It's our money. Do research about an app if your weary. I mean, if you have a Chase acct, the "official app" is a pretty safe bet on saftey. Now a third party one I wouldn't trust, but if a review is done on it an it's found to be safe, go for it.
My point is Android is a small computer on your hip, literally now with Froyo.
Oh and about that comment on "you can't even load apps on your SD card without Froyo". Um, yeah, it's called "new features" and Froyo is an "update". But the fact they are opening this feature up is a big thing in a world where apps are growing so fast.
Oh and just a thought. I've been thinkig and laughing about this for awhile. The reason I think Steve Jobs hates Flash so much is because if you have it on your phone and can watch ABC or Hulu, then why would you need to buy that same "free" content from iTunes? Make sense?
Remember It's all business and Google makes their money from ads. They aren't going to give away all your private info. Just if you surf tech sites, or flower sites etc, thy will cater ads more suitable to you. Come on people. Lol.
What do you all think? Please expand.
WCM
Yes it's like you said and like I was pointing out to darkatone before me, there are obvious risks to the less inspected apps for Android, but if you do your research on something that looks fishy then you can't go wrong. There is always the chance an app can get into your private info, any app can do that if it manages to slip by the system, an email/text message hacked an iphone so anything is possible. It's all about ORM, operational risk management.
As far as Google being evil, a lot in modern day business practice can be taken as evil if you let your mind wonder a bit. Look at greed, it alone is responsible for some of the most horrible failures, take overs, and so forth in business history. Unchecked greed is a horrible thing in my opinion, but if it means teaming up with a business to put another business out of business, it just means "good business"... so it's all crooked in my book, but I digress.
If google wants to give me ads tailored to my interest I don't mind, as long as they don't tell every dick tom and harry who I am and where I live and work.
Android offers the freedom I want in a device, so I will be careful with what I download but will exercise my ability to do so. I don't like how all files go thru your computer's itunes, I like being able to manage my files independent of a program on the computer or even without a computer. Itunes is handy for downloading music and such but soon with Froyo, Androids would be able to do as well.
All in all I like both the iphone and the Android phones, but the latter gives me more freedom and in particular the EVO has so many features and being with sprint offers a lot more service for a lot less money than ATT charges.