Open wont work in a mobile market
There is a divide in the mobile market between Open and Closed systems. Apple is ofcourse the first example of a closed system in the mobile market while Android boasts about being open. RIM is also another player with a closed system controlling hardware, software and user experience. Now everyone is quick to compare the mobile market to what happened between Apple and Microsoft when Windows dominated the PC market making it the way it is today.
The problem here is that there is no comparison since it is two very different situations that have a few simularities. It is akin to comparing Apples to oranges. Windows is not open, the fact that it runs on all computers is because of compatability. The manufacturers can’t take the Windows OS and change elements within it for their own look. They can load it with their own brand of bloatware, but it only takes about five minutes to uninstall and you’ve got the same Windows as your neighbour. Windows and software can run on any configuration of computer because they are written for a few generic specifications that most computers have. You can run software on a 15″, 17″, or 24″ monitor and it looks the same. You can even run the software on a computer that isn’t powerful enough, it will still run just horribly.
The difference in the mobile space right now is trying the same thing results in fragmentation. This is a nightmare for developers of apps and accessories. The apps are the real value to smartphones, try using your smartphone with only the stock set of applications for a week. The Android platform has a million and one devices, all from different manufacturers, different screen sizes, different resolutions, different button placements. Just one of the many manufacturers has a different feel and experience between different models of their own devices. The same devices between two users in different parts of the world or on different carriers might have different OS versions, it is such a mess. So the software aka apps don’t look the same as software does on different computers, the OS doesn’t look the same as it does on a computer.
So to just jump to the conclussion that the open system is better, better for who, the user, the manufacturer, the carriers, the developers, the platform? Then jumping to the conclussion that this will turn out like the Microsoft vs Apple scenario is the biggest mistake of all.
