Comments on: Google Android success: I'll believe it when I see it

Don Reisinger isn't sure Android will be a success. Will it?

[SRobertRoberts]

There is far more to the mobile phone market than just the carriers in the good ol' US of A. I'm not surprised that Google are more interested in T-Mobile, seeing as they come from Europe and have a far more global outlook than the likes of AT&T and Sprint. I expect Android to be released a lot further faster than the iPhone was.

Also, Android's targeting more demographics than the iPhone - one of Androids strengths will be bringing smart phone levels of features to lower end phones, which is not something Apple will be doing. Nor RIM - sorry, but the blackberry isn't "the solution for all phones on all carriers for all people". While I doubt there will ever be a single solution, I think Google Android will be a lot closer than what Apple, RIM or Microsoft currently offer.

"Just because Google creates it, we shouldn't expect it to succeed"

Change Apple for Google and you have what a lot of people wrote about the iPhone before it was released. You can't call a product a success or a failure until it's actually been released and failed/succeeded.

One last point "According to most developers, Android is a disgustingly horrible platform to create apps" - where did you get this from? "According to most developers" is a pretty strong statement and I'd love to know what backs this statement up. What I find funny is that you bemoan Android's SDK as part of the reason why Android will probably be DOA and compare it to the iPhone SDK- which came out how long after the iPhone was released? At least there will be third party Android apps from day one. And don't forget that Android development is multi-platform - that iPhone SDK still only runs on Mac.

[Igiveup2]

We have to be patient with young Donald. He has a compulsive need to trash everything that could compete with his beloved Mac platform, regardless of the facts.

[chuckp123]

Yup. I'm by no means a Google apologist, but if Don is going to bash this by comparing it to the iPhone, then I think he might need to take a step back and re-evaluate the precious iPhone. Without even having played with an Android yet, I already know it has the following advantages on the iPhone: it's open, more than one carrier, you won't have to pay money to get YOUR apps on YOUR phone, and it's Linux. Everyone looks to Apple to be the savior to shove the much-hated Microsoft out of the picture, but the iPhone is proof in the pudding that Apple will simply replace Microsoft with another Microsoft. If we truly want to get out from under these self-centered, proprietary software corporations, we need to look to openness. We need to look to companies who back Linux, and that includes Google!

[superpatty]

I'm sorry, but this:
"Apple understood that -- AT&T is the prime reason the iPhone is so popular "

is complete crap. One of the biggest complaints about the iPhone is that it is only officially available on AT&T.

[Composer_1777]

@ Superpatty - ATT has the biggest market share; so a few people complain (on forums) that the I phone is on ATT that doesn;t u can't stipulate that it is a problem. Without proper marketing research that statement you made becomes assumption, and you know what they say about "assume."

My opinion - Of course Apple only leads in the U.S. market so google and android might wind up like Nokia , Sony , samsung, HTC and windows, making more money globally.

The U.S. Cell phone market is garbage, just like the airline industry, too much capitalism mixed with too much socialism. Two extremes never work well together; especialy when one is socialistic regulation and the other extreme capitalistic competition.

[gerrrg]

Here's the benefit of Android: it gives developers an alternative that may unify into the primary alternative to the iPhone platform. Verizon balked at Apple's terms to carry the iPhone, but Android presents an open environment for Verizon to work with. There is no incentive for AT&T to latch onto the alternative to the iPhone, so you wouldn't expect them to express interest. So be it. Let Apple be closed, let Android be open, and we'll find out whether a closed or open system works best.