Blind Guardian: Wacken 2011 (6) Imaginations From The Other Side

Blind Guardian: Wacken 2011 (6) Imaginations From The Other Side
The Other Side Of Open | TechCrunch
@Andrew Mager
I think Amazon has done a way better job than Google marketing Android.
@Michael C Butler
Technically they're not marketing Android, they're marketing their system of content and apps. Much like what Apple does.
@Carlos Solis
agreed, maybe that's why they're having such a success
@Peach Collar
Hell, Ive done a better job marketing android to my friends and colleagues than Google does to the public.
@Conrad Barrett
@[116101705124404:274:Peach Collar] and look how big it is - 500k activations a day.
@Mahmoud Hossam
MG hating on Google and Android, nothing to see here, folks.
@Brandon C. Hall
Haha, so true about MG, although he makes a valid point in the article.
@Jason Diaz
Brandon C. Hall "Because sometimes the truth isn't good enough." - The Dark Knight
@Hugh Isaacs II
Brandon C. Hall I don't see how the point is valid. Google clearly did this on purpose. If Amazon becomes successful in pushing their version of Android (which isn't much of a change from the OS itself other than looks), this just means more Android developers. Google is better off with opponents supporting Android than opponents supporting WebOS, iOS, Windows Phone, etc...
@Brandon C. Hall
Hugh Isaacs II Well said. You're exactly right
@Philip Frick
I think MG is just pissed that Gruber is way out fanboying him. As to the article, the missing cog that makes the whole thing fit together is MS. Android is not a product that Google wants to do, it is product they have to do. Apples' business model is to sell high margin devices. It is a very good business model. What it isn't is a 50% market share model. If not for android the majority of handsets would be running some for of windows now. Google can't permit that, they have not choice but to throw whatever resources they have at it. Before android Apple and Google worked very well together, hell Schmidt was on Apples' board. Apple and Google can both coexist, and in fact compliment each other very well. Google had no desire to compete with Apple but Apple was willing to cede the low end market to MS.
@Shannon Clarke
I like MG's writing. His own blog is proof that he has skill and boy does he know to argue a point. But I don't understand why he wanted to write this post. I mean, GigaOM reported this change on the KindleFire more than 12 hours before the first version of this post was created which promptly had to be updated with the change. What was the point of writing this then? To beat an old horse? We all know that Amazon is going to provide a curated app store to Kindle Fire owners, so what if they block Android market? It's like making news of the fact that some html5 apps are becoming more attractive to businesses than iOS apps especially the businesses without the resources/knowledge to make an iOS app work for them. In the end, once Android is being used in some form or fashion and especially in successful devices (and devices outside of mobile devices like cars, fridges, etc which is possible) then Google wins. It's not the same model as Apple's own but it never was.
@Ronald DeSilva
agree... MG just hating!
@Zorlac Realm
MG moved from Apple Resident Enthusiast to Apple Resident Kiss-Ass. Any of the so called "analysis" from this iSheep is deemed to be fart that needs to be release. MG from time to time again fail to understand what open-source means. He mixed up community driven projects to open-source, making this bullcrap analysis without really participating in an open source community or even researching about is a joke.
@Daniel Jones
I have a Kindle Fire and I like it, however I really don't like the limitation of not being able to use the Android Market. I understand why Amazon did it, but I think anytime you limit a products ability for business reasons you are doing a disservice to your user base. I find myself using my Asus Transformer much more thank the Kindle, mainly because it has all the apps I want. For reading boo, s, I think the Kindle is great.
@Bruce A. Sarte
Dan -- It is a Kindle that happens to be a tablet, not a tablet that runs a Kindle app. This is what Amazon intended. Nothing more than that. Amazon delivers exactly what they promise. They didn't promise a fully functioning Android tablet at all. Think of the Kindle Fire as a media entertainment device...
@Michael C Butler
Bruce A. Sarte hmmm sounds like a poor man's iPad. Amazon limits what you put on it, the user is restricted.
@Bruce A. Sarte
Michael C Butler No, I disagree. I think you have to look at the market that Apple was going after and the market that Amazon was going after. Apple was innovating and trying to create a market -- Amazon's market already existed (I mean, they created it years ago). Amazon was shooting to expand their existing market so people didn't feel like they needed to have one device to listen to music, check email, watch movies and read books. The iPad is geared more towards a "Personal Assistant and Media Device" more than anything else. I would love to say that Apple wants the iPad to be the one device you use, but their actions say otherwise.
@Daniel Jones
Bruce A. Sarte I agree that Amazon delivered a product pretty much as described, and they have made a really nice product. My view however, is that if the Kindle Fire can run the Facebook app, it could run the Google Currents App or the Google Search App just as well. The reason it is restricted is more about Amazon's business goals. I would like to see Amazon not block and redirect visitors to the Android Market as I think it would make the Kindle Fire that much better.
@Aakar Anil
Hey! MG Com'on! Why are you hating Google so much? :O Google must have some moves in their mind.
@Josh K Willuhn
We all drive cars (or don't), they all do things different, some people don't care if its a Boxer 4 engine or an inline 4, independent suspension or axle, they just know its 4 something and smooth not a fast v8. some people swear by the v8 one brand one type, some just want fast who cares about a badge? its all just competition. it started off just a few different things get a new ford back in the day "in any color so long as its black" now its so many options and things nobody thought of back then. innovation and competition is the key to advancing any industry. google should be happy. we are just at the start of things I would hope.
@Thomas McGuire
Thought MG was only going to write about Apple? I remember it like it was 2.5 months ago... http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/03/mg-siegler-will-become-our-apple-columnist-and-join-crunchfund-as-a-vc/ "The scope of what he will write about will be very narrow: Apple... Apple is a big enough company and a big enough story to keep him busy as a columnist." Apparently not.
@Noel Wan
well the 2nd law of apple fanboyism states that writing about apple = bashing non apple stuff. the first is of course apple's strategy is always the best today and not so good yesterday!
@
Siegler and friends have gone down this path quite a few times -- some bizarre belief that Google has been caught off guard by Amazon et al. Hardly, dear friend. Such a scenario has been obvious and inevitable since the early days of Android. Here's the thing -- the Android alliance is a tenuous one. Samsung has no interest in being Google's bitch. Neither does HTC. Neither does LG, or Sony, or Huwei or any other maker. They were all drawn into the Android alliance based upon the premise that if Google got too arrogant, they could part ways without having to completely undermine the platform they relied upon. Samsung has been idling their own market for years, as have some of the other makers. So long as they all work to each other's goals, they stay together, but good organizations plan for the future. Further the notion that the Fire undermines Android is laughable. It is adding *millions* of Android 2.3.x clients for developers to target. Millions. There are no special tricks or different tools to target the Amazon Market for Android developers -- it is simply submitting to a different location. The benefit to Android is incredible, and is already evidences by the activity on the market and the hordes of incoming developers. Or maybe Google just really didn't think this all through, and Sielger is the one setting them straight...
@Hugh Isaacs II
You need to be voted to the top here. Nobody seems to realize that spin-offs like this were apart of Googles goal. Supporting Android is like supporting HTML5 to them, it's a platform that anyone can support and Google can profit off of. The openness part is to attract developers which is the same reason why they chose to use Java instead of another programming language. Android being open means I can code an Android app and know that if Google falls apart, there'll be a hoard of other companies that I could send my app to without having to rewrite it.
@Jim Renaud
That's not entirely true. The code does have to be at least modified for all the flavors of Android. And then if you want an exceptional app, it needs to be modified for tablet dimensions, screen resolutions, hard keys, soft keys. It can be a major pain.
@Hugh Isaacs II
Jim Renaud code your app to be responsive. How do you think developers that make applications for Windows XP, Vista and 7 work?
@Casey Rosengren
Signed in using Hotmail.... how is this guy commenting from 1998?
@Checks Balances
Casey Rosengren That his is one of the top-rated comments must speak about his experience. That you think he is from 1998 is just a testimony to this experience.
@Casey Rosengren
Checks Balances Sarcasm, my friend. Sarcasm.
@Nicolas Cerveaux
"It is adding *millions* of Android 2.3.x clients for developers to target. Millions." Yay it's adding more old device to a Market already endangered by fragmentation. Plus you miss the point that and I quote "the Kindle Fire redirects all Android Market requests to Amazon’s Appstore." so it's not adding anybody really... Today I would recommend to Android developers to move all their application to the Amazon Store in the long run they would make more cash. Content is king, and Amazon is winning this part. Like iPhone owner tends to spend 4x more than Android, I think Amazon owner tend to spend more than Android as well.
@Mathieu Méa
You're all forgetting that THE main reason why Google did Android is having more people capable of browsing the web and therefore more people capable of clicking on Google ads, and the Kindle Fire displays Google ads just fine. This is also THE main reason why Google is doing Google TV.
@Jason E Perkins
"Plus you miss the point that and I quote "the Kindle Fire redirects all Android Market requests to Amazon’s Appstore." so it's not adding anybody really..." Nicolas Cerveaux, please re-read what Dennis Forbes said. He's saying that the Kindle Fire helps Google because every Kindle Fire sold is just another reason for developers to target Android as a platform when building their apps. "Today I would recommend to Android developers to move all their application to the Amazon Store in the long run they would make more cash." Why would any developer move his app off Google's Market to put it on Amazon's App Store? Why wouldn't he just have it on both?
@Moiz Ali
I have to imagine that hardware manufacturers will not sign search deals with Bing (i) for fear of pissing Google off and thus, having Google charge for Android and (ii) because users will think the manufacturers are sell outs for putting a crappy default search engine (see Dell, HP, Gateway, etc). More than that, I imagine smartphone and tablet owners are more tech savvy than the general population and would change to Google search, making the default search less lucrative than on desktops... Still agree that Google has something to fear with hardware manufacturers trying to own the phone/tablet; there are just some mitigating factors out there, I think.
@Brand James
There are actually android powered phones in which the defaulted search engine is BING.
@Jason Diaz
MG is also highlighting Google's track record. The facts are self evident.
@Bruce A. Sarte
Google makes money every time an Android device ships. Open Source does not mean free. Amazon still has to license the OS. I know, I know, that's not Google's business model but hey, it's the breaks sometimes.
@Hugh Isaacs II
Untrue. Those Android licenses are for Google integration and the Android Market. The OS itself is free to be used in devices without such.
@Bruce A. Sarte
Hugh Isaacs II Hm. That's interesting. That wasn't my understanding. If you are correct Hugh, then Google shot themselves in the foot for not requiring device makers to license Android itself -- and they should simply include Market with it. These devices that come without Market are misleading to consumers and generate a bad taste in the mouths of the people that think they can get a cheap Android tablet and end up with a brick that surfs the web.
@Kervin Pierre
MG are you even trying anymore?
@Arhen Richmond P. Nuguid
If Google created and developed Android, then Amazon has to pay Google for what they have done! Android is open-source, but you should also consider that you should also give credit to the developer of the OS that you are modifying. Samsung and HTC created their own with their TouchWiz and HTC's Sense, but they included the Google Mobile Suite.
@Hugh Isaacs II
Uh no. Android is open as in open source, Amazon is free to do what they want with the code. The only thing they have to do is state somewhere that it's Android and who it was made by (and also provide some source code at some point). Google shouldn't force anyone to pre-install their content. Imagine if Linus Torvalds (maker of Linux) forced everyone to install an app that made him money on every Linux build. That means every WebOS device, Android phone, Chumby, Google TV, Chromebook, Kindle, Nook, almost every Nokia smartphone, and TiVo box would come with his app. That's not the type of company Google is trying to position themselves as. They profit from being open in every sense of the word (good or bad).
@Abhijeet Kumar
There are two obvious flaws in this article. 1) The android marketplace redirecting thing on Fire has been fixed by the latest update, 2) Amazon has not closed down Android technically, they released as open-source the modified code (excluding proprietary in-built apps).
@Abhijeet Kumar
Google would atleast publicly (check Andy Rubin's reaction) have no problems with the use of android, the way it is in Fire. It only explains Google's word of openness on android is not just a marketing gimmick.
@Noel Wan
Abhijeet Kumar nooo mg is the genius. he knows everything. including how to run google. and the whole world, as a matter of fact.
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
If Google really was worried about the platform they would release the Proprietary Apps that MG says is not on the device and considering just how popular they are Amazon would probably include them in future Fire's or at least in their market place, thus Google is not worried...
@Miad Hoque
Google needs to drop the open and start licensing to manufacturers and make a minimum specifications requirement.
@Bryan Miller
This is the smartest thing said on this whole page The openness of android can be a good thing for some devs but is kinda confusing some and now companies like amazon are using androids openness to their advantage by basically making their own operating system using android and purposely hiding the normal android experience so google is screwing themselves by allowing android OS to be that open, apps from amazon market don't pat google at all I personally think that amazon should buy webOS to have as their tablet and phone OS and say hell to android And then google needs to then lock down the OS more so you don't get the tons of bloat where from cellular carriers , different skins like touch wiz, and you can actually have consistent firmware updates across phones that aren't even a year old yet, as of November 40.7% of android devices still hadn't got gingerbread yet
@Mark Sigal
What's interesting to me is that for all of the platitudes Google has uttered about "open this," "open that," they have said zero about what Amazon is doing (to the best of my knowledge). Am I wrong on this? Either this is the genius of open, and they should verbally acknowledge it as kosher, and gain the badge of honor for fully walking the talk. Or, they should raise their hand, and say that it's not cool, and embrace their 'open-ish'-ness. To sit silent, as they are, is to let others define the narrative, IMHO.
@Barry Lance Leo
nothing new here! One of the worst articles of MG.
@Joshua Rogner
Even if that happens it will probably benefit Google.
@Michael C Butler
Amazon is doing what it wants with the Android system on the Kindle Fire thanks to the "Apache License". Google knew years ago what it was getting into with open source and the Apache License. It says that you can make derivatives of it and close the source. That is what Amazon is doing here and you know what? They're going to fail if they do stuff like this. This is just Amazon being stupid, thanks to this behavior I won't buy a Kindle Fire and I hope more consumers will look to tablets with open systems such as those made by Samsung (if they haven't been banned yet).
@Abhijeet Kumar
Technically speaking Amazon hasn't closed the source code. They released as open-source, the bare-bones android (fire) source after modification without the proprietary Amazon apps. This is just like how Google distribute android without the proprietary Google apps.
@Michael C Butler
Abhijeet Kumar OK so the outlook is not as bad as I thought. The bad part is not letting users use the Android market *even if they want to*. This is an Apple-ism, and is bad for users.
@Abhijeet Kumar
From what I have read, this is again a licensing issue. Amazon is not working with Google as a part of the open handset alliance, that explains the lack of Android marketplace and the Google apps, which I think they would have had to license, as these are not available with the free distribution of android.
@Michael C Butler
Abhijeet Kumar Interesting...but isn't the Android Market just an app itself? I don't think I or anyone else has a problem with not including apps with an OS due to legal problems, but why couldn't a user install the Android Market APK -- without root access -- and then go from there?
@Hugh Isaacs II
You'd think that MG would've got it by now that Google made Android open to competition from other companies on purpose. Next we'll hear that Apple is in danger because WebKit is used in their competitors browsers.
@Felix Mak
there're different degress of openness, open doesn't have to mean open source, even though windows isn't open source, it's still way more open than apple's shit.
@Felix Mak
android is built on linux, so it couldn't have costed google to make android as much as it did microsoft to make windows.
@Somy Andriyanto
it's a beautiful risk of open sourced software, every body could to modify or even rewrite it totally. I think Google know what they do. Innovation will win at last.
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
Seriously why does Tech Crunch allow to an iOS fanboy to write an article about Android? It's like asking a Democrat about Republican policy or asking an Obese person to write about why diets don't work. MG should leave the Android commentaries to those who use the platform and know what the hell their talking about...
@Michael C Butler
Because it creates controversy and page hits
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
Michael C Butler This doesn't seem like reporting but rather an attempt to make iOS look some kind of fruit of the God's brought down to mortal man and if you haven't tasted of it you won't live forever in their technological heaven. That's just bullshit, Google knew what Amazon was doing and was okay with it, if Amazon creates a hit with their new version of Android, guess what it's open source which means they have to release the code which means Google can copy and use on their own newer versions. That's the beauty of open, one can steal from another and vice versa without any lawsuits or drama unlike her majesty Apple...
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
PS - I have removed my like button from Tech Crunch until they get their shit together...
@Richard Grossman
Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos: Removed your like button? How many sarcastic comments can I make in 60 seconds: 1 Gosh I'm sure you can expect a retraction and an apology from TC ASAP ! 2 NORAD is going to DEFCON 2 ! 3 And 30 days later AOL filed for bankruptcy! 4 No please not the like button! Anything but removing your like button! 5 Aye these be dark days indeed when a even a poor old software developer must remove his like button... :)
@Felix Sulla
Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos, yes, iOS is the mobile OS like God wanted it. Android comes straight from Hell.
@Glenn Norris Lau
Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos Did I miss the part about Godly iOS fruit? Because nowhere in the article does even mention or even imply iOS, let alone spin it to be superior. I think you're seeing things.
@Chris Wyatt
I thought I read somewhere that MG was going to be the Apple columnist? It's amazing how often I start reading a column and can realize who wrote it a couple sentences in on TC....If it's snarky, it's MG; if it's random, craziness it's definitely Steve Gilmore.
@Wilhem Pujar
The old "fork you" opensource debate. Well, I don't think the ability to fork Android represents such a risk for Google. The PC-like hardware distribution model and the long-tail pricing strategy have proven quite useful until now. I believe they will continue to do so. No... The issue here is clearly about apps mediocrity. And that's probably what Eric Schmidt meant at LeWeb : "Talented developers, come leverage our dominant position and build actually beautiful apps with maximum reach". Your bet?
@Jared R. Byer
Google does not make android as tool to push its app store. It uses its app store as a tool to push android. Amazon is creating their own system and reasons to use android on their devices. I think google is happy. More people using the internet means google gets what it wants. The only thing google probably misses in amazon's device is mobile advertising revenue.
@Nick Fleker Felker
Don't forget about developers and the benefit from that. If everyone uses the same essential code base, then an app runs on the Kindle Fire, the normal Android marketplace, and any other Android flavor. Developers could easily create apps and add them to Google's marketplace for regular Android users to buy.
@Luis Fernando Franco
I don't know who is more annoying the original MG Siegler or his clone… what was her name? Crook-something?
@Sudhakar Vemuri
In my Opinion, Google has long seen this coming and hence the Motorola Buy off, so that they can still stay in the game.
@Hua Zhong
I am not sure Google is too upset about it. Yes it's open and it's expected. This is how it works.
@Anurag Kalia
Haha! Though I have nothing against the author. But here is an alternate industry in comment sections where people ignore content and write about the author. "Typical MG", "You are not even trying" etc. My heart goes out to the author who writes an article hoping for some breakthrough, but can he do if his name is synonymous with shame! MG seems to be a dirty word now. It is funny but very cruel. Now I suddenly know why there are no "dislike" buttons on facebook. :D
@Hugh Isaacs II
Breakthrough? Google made an OS open for even competitors to take it and create versions of it to cater to themselves on purpose, and MG complains about it as if Google wasn't aware that they did this. And you think he's trying?
@Anurag Kalia
Hugh Isaacs II No! I didn't say anything like that. I don't actually like him. I cringe when I see the author's name. But as I said, it's cruel as well as funny. I myself can't do it; I don't believe in taking an eye for an eye. :) And I am taking your word because I don't know anything about all these open source licenses. And so I couldn't comment on it. i was just passing by and seeing an odd but interesting observation. :D
@Manrique Fernandez
Seriously he is proposing a scenario where companies are going to close search to one provider... And choosing Bing as there only provider over Google for money... Doesn't sound like a smart move. And Google will collapse and burn to ashes... MG really dislikes google. Not even Windows based systems use Bing as there only search provider. It is the case with facebook but facebook search sucks indeed. More than a threat to Google I see a threat to amazon or other hardware makers to keep their costumers happy while they try to impose their app store to consumers. As a user I want freedom to download available content. Amazon's app store is weak, it feels like you can only shop in the small shopping center and you have a huge mall next to it, you know it's there but you're not allowed to shop in it. One thing is true Google will have to work harder to keep their app store as the most desirable and keep improving and adding more Google apps.
@Ashutosh Mishra
And I thought MG was TC's "part time Apple columnist".
@Ashutosh Mishra
Dear Closed MG, #1. Google Wallet is on the Galaxy Nexus. But since Google has zero leverage on crappy Verizon, they can't include it in the US version (just so you know, there is a world outside the US where the carrier situation is much better and the Galaxy Nexuses are overflowing with Wallet goodness). Add to the fact that Wallet has presently little to no usage, and I don't see why you have to be whining. And if you really want Wallet on the Verizon Nexus, you have to run a simple APK file without rooting or jailbreaking the pone. Open. #2. The Fire will fuel the growth of apps for vanilla Android as well. When someone makes a Kindle Fire app, they're basically making an app that can run on over 200 million Android phones (and growing at 0.7 million a day) with the slightest modification. The developers would have to be really stupid to stay put in the Amazon Appstore and not eventually jump over to the Android Market. Btw, if you're in the US (again, there's a world outside the US and both Google and Apple are thriving in it; Amazon, not so much yet), you can already load the Appstore on your Android device and use those Kindle Fire specific apps. Open.
@Sojo Varughese
"Never mind the fact that a good percentage of the time it’s pure marketing bullshit" - "Amazon’s Kindle Fire runs on Android, but nothing about it is Google’s Android" - Is it Google's fault that the writer does not know what it means when poeple call a platform open?
@Will Paccione
Ha, I just wrote the same comment. MG is a contradiction machine.
@Sojo Varughese
True :)
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
Yet we read this bullshit, what got me was this comment of "Never mind the fact that a good percentage of the time it’s pure marketing bullshit" that's anything but starting off objective, and he puts it on the very first paragraph of his article... Not to MG, Google has released all versions of Android including 3.1 and 3.2 with the 4.0 release so tell me what's bullshit?
@Sojo Varughese
MG is!
@Ashish Hablani
I think I should read the comments section before reading the article. At least they are entertaining and informative unlike the article!
@Jürg Rinaldi
actually that's whay i'm doing on MG's articles :) it's quiet funny. and to be honest: it's not even necessary to read the article. :D
@Dave Allen
The fact is that open source changes the way we, and the companies, are used to deal with the products. Yes, Microsoft has dominated the market with Windows. But now a lot have change since and now sharing and collaboration seem to be a more modern and smart way to work in the technology market. Dave Allen Miracle Technologies
@Sankar McMoonlander
The kindle fire now let's you browse the Google app market but not download. I think Amazon has done this just to regulate their apps for support purposes, not to cut Google's business. As a developer, you can still put your apps on the Amazon Market, under their contract. I don't think Google are too fussed about this whole ordeal. From Google's perspective, it could be a strategy to increase its market share over iOS.
@Ana Fernandez
nosvemos el sabado en la casa de beiha. trae unplato decomida bebida y un regalito de no mas de 10 $ para el secret Santa......
@Ana Fernandez
nosvemos el sabado en la casa de beiha. trae unplato decomida bebida y un regalito de no mas de 10 $ para el secret Santa......
@Will Paccione
The better Android does, the more negative spin MG does. It's his defensive mechanism when he feels iOS is up against the wall. It's no coincidence that this just came out after Rubin's tweet of 700,000 Android devices being activated/day. "Amazon’s Kindle Fire runs on Android, but nothing about it is Google’s Android. It doesn’t look like Android and it doesn’t feature Google’s own apps." ---umm, yeah that's what Open means. "But what happens if the rumors are true and Facebook releases a phone with an OS built on top of Android?" ---Yeah... open. Google won't sue, unlike your beloved Apple who is now suing on patents on phone cases. "And what if they do the exact same things that Amazon is doing? Say they create their own app store, bake in their own payment and content services, and eventually cut a deal with Microsoft to make Bing the default search engine." ---Yeah, once again, your proving that open isn't BS... much like this article.
@Michael Cabral Poubel Bastos
It's a win for consumers, what Seigler doesn't see is that what is a win for consumers is a win for Google, they've always been user first even if that means cutting into their own bottom line or have we forgotten why very little has changed about Google's front page?
@Preeth Kp
THE ANDROID AND IOS STORY CONTINUES HERE http://techplugged.com/apple/android-following-the-same-success-story-of-what-windows-did-to-mac/.
@Matthäus Krzykowski
Hmm. Then we also have, straight from the horse's mouth, Rich Miner's presentation at the MWC 2009 in Barcelona on the meaning of "open" for mobile platforms: http://www.slideshare.net/MobileFacts/2009-2-19-rich-miner-open-your-open-your-network.
@Raveesh Bhalla
I thought you're just an Apple correspondent? Let's keep it that way, please (preferably not even that).
@Adam Kubalica
Google is killing itself, they own the OS, Social Network(G+), hardware(Motorola), browser(Chrome) and still they want to spread their open products...MAKE A CLOSED LINE! Integrate as much as you can all these platforms, nobody has so much in their pocket (Apple has browser, hardware+OS, but they don't have a social network). And besides that play along with this OPEN PR. http://baretech.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/the-mighty-will-fall-google-isnt-innovative-in-mobile/
@Rick Anderson
I find the comment section on MG Siegler's articles on TechCrunch to be one of the most unbelievable things on the Web. Most of you are commenting on the author, not the content of the article. If you disagree with him, explain why. Attacking the messenger just looks petty. Still, it's amusing to read comments by people who took the time to come here and claim Siegler's articles aren't worth their time.
@Ken Gjøran Leren
You are taking time to read comments and complain about other users reading articles and complaining about authors? That doesn't really make sense now does it. Are you: a) cooler than everyone else, or b) just yet another hypocritical fan-boy?
@Simran Gee
Ken Gjøran Leren @[109640085728235:274:Rick Anderson] haha... love it :) rick, people are attacking the author because of a constant barge of rubbish... the quality of TC has gone down the drain in recent months - time to unsubscribe... what you are noting is the comments that come prior to an unsubscribe... he should be thankful people are complaining... that means there is still a chance if content improves... if not, the next step is obvious... first MG becomes irrelevant, and because Alexia (who had at least got me to the stage where i look at the author and any post by her i ignore and move on) and others are even worse, TC becomes irrelevant... mashable, gigaom... they give you all you need now...
@Rick Anderson
Ken Gjøran Leren Don't really understand the definition of "hypocritical," do you?
@Rick Anderson
Simran Gee Your explanation is a tad convoluted. I'm going with my theory that TC is overrun with fanboys of all stripes and they're more interested in crapping on the author instead of debating his viewpoint.
@Fredi Merkiuri
MG, thanx for sharing your observations! Good points. I am curious to see how Google will make business out of this 'open'. Sorry for the folks who can't catch the meaning of the article, obviously they don't run business. In the end of the day the blood of the economy are money.
@Archit Joshi
@MG : Are you even aware of the fact that there is a a world outside the US? Entire countries where the iPhone does not have a significant market share *gasp!*? Once you are able to wrap your head around this notion (take your time, there is no rush) maybe you'd realize that without something like Android being open source, its pretty much impossible for anyone to make a smartphone that they can sell profitably for less than 100 USD, off contract. Apple does not do it. Microsoft is unable to. Nokia, RIM...yeah well. Google creates a specification for device manufacturers that their devices must comply with before the device is given access to the Google app suite and the Android Market. Beyond that, pretty much whatever the manufacturer does, Google is okay with. Best case, they comply fully with Google and more customers come to its services and content. Worst case, customers go elsewhere for content and services, but still come online using a mobile device, where Google is most likely to be their search provider, who serves them with more ads. App developers who use Admob are still driving traffic to Google's services, regardless of what platform/app store they're using to deliver the app to customers. Either which way, Google wins. Google wins every time a new user starts using the mobile web, and that is a pretty unique distinction. Nobody else, not Microsoft, not Apple, not Amazon, is able to pull that off. Apple follows their business model because it works. For Apple. And they do a phenomenal job of it. But please, have the sense to give credit where its due. Google does a pretty good job with Android, but to see that, you just might have to pull your head out of wherever you've got it stuck currently. Again, take your time, no rush.
@Archit Joshi
Oh and to the people in the comments complaining about Android's device sizes and resolutions and "fragmentation" . Boo-frickin-hoo. Go read the developer documentation. It takes half an hour to understand how to build apps that work across every conceivable screen size and resolution. If you're a game developer or use OpenGL and what not extensively, I agree, Android's not particularly great. But for most developers, quit whining. There is NO platform that lets you target every kind of screen out there without having a learning curve.
@Sojo Varughese
This side of open: http://techedin.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-side-of-open.html.
@Ciarán Norris
There are some good points here, but also plenty of valid rebuttals in the comments. If Amazon is using an Android app store of any sort, it means that the apps placed there are open to AdMob ads (owned by Google). What I'd love to see is the same sort of thought go into an article by MG actually analysing Apple, rather than slavishly worshipping it. Being a fanboy (whether Apple, Android, Nike or Addidas) is not cool, geeky or interesting. It's weird and, frankly, kind of unnatural.
@Vernon Morris
"Despite what they may have you believe sometimes, Google is not a pro bono company" awesome quote!
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@Vivek Iyer
Brutal. Google scratches too hard to get past apple only to get beaten up by its own product. Sent f from an open device.
@Phil Simon
The Age of the Platform is here. Expect these frenemies to battle in 2012 and beyond. I can't wait to see what happens.
@Eric Yao
So you are basically saying Google needs to be like MS or Apple, but the thing is Google is neither of them, not even close. What if the Kindle Fire scenario was exactly what Google wanted to see in the beginning of Android? Everything needs a balance. You lose some, you gain some. Some company greedy like Apple won't last too long.
@Horace Nelson
Dude. You are officially stupid. You so obviously try to stir up Android controversy... it's painful to even read your stuff anymore. If Google didn't want this to happen, they could've easily protected their interests with different licensing. As if Google went and decided to make Android open source, and then were like "Oh my god, no way, somebody's actually using it... whatta we do now?" The success of the Kindle Fire is such a positive (and an intended one) for Google. It's not just about Google's Android ecosystem, but about the Greater Android ecosystem unseating iOS. Scares ya, don't it, fanboy?
@Bryan Miller
Its not a success for google at all, the kindle fire is more of a big FU to androids, the more people buy kindle fires the less reason people have to buy google android tablets thus screwing them out of their own profits with the openness that's their own fault
@Ryan O. Hicks
"why exactly isn’t Google Wallet on Google’s own Galaxy Nexus device?" hey if you're going to post an article at least do your research before posting it. Within the first paragraph I knew this article was a joke. The above quote is due strictly because of Verizon not wanting it on the device; has nothing to do with google. As it is with any phone, the carrier decides a lot of what it ships with, and has the final say in a number of other things. And you can put google wallet on the gNex. &_& http://www.droid-life.com/2011/12/17/download-google-wallet-apk-for-galaxy-nexus-lte-all-users-no-root-or-zip-flashing-required/
@Abbas Shanmugaiah
I won't be surprised, if TechCrunch turns off commenting feature altogether! I've been able to see this sort of posts (and comments, of course! I personally believe Comments always reflect the quality of the post) and I'm sure, Techcrunch isn't happy about it.
@Tundey Akinsanya
after reading this, you have 2 options of what to believe: Google has been blindsided by Amazon even though they created this open source platform and MG is smarter than them all. Or you can believe the truth i.e. MG is an Apple fanboy/apologist that's bent on using any and every thing to prove that Apple's approach is better, even if he has to give a back handed compliment to Microsoft. It's your choice.
@Carlos Lu
"Open. Open. Open. Open. Open. Open. Open. Open. Open." This guy, what a great writer...
@Jim Danz
As the legend has it, overheard in SFO (~20 years ago): A: "Know what it means when a company says 'we're open'?" B: "No, what?" A: "It means they're in second place."
@Ahmed Adel
The first article from Siegler that make sense...
@Oladele Ayuba
And when google releases the next major upgrade of the android? What would amazon do?
@Katelyn Maguire
This practice is not new in open source. Open Source community been debating this for years, not just in Android world. I'm sure Google have thought about it when they made Android an open source. Whatever happens, Customers win.
@Richard Grossman
Android does not advance Google's business, it's a (successful) defensive move against Microsoft. IOS was never going to get licensed and Apple will therefore never own the market, just a very profitable niche. Android prevents Microsoft from being the only multi-manufacturer OS standard. As we now know, Microsoft did not "beat" Apple at all. But Microsoft crushed Unix. Siegler's article shows how Android may go the way of Unix, becoming hopelessly splintered in terms of presenting a big common platform market for developers. Every breathless angry comment here actually supports this viewpoint; the more angry and indignant the more clearly the writer makes the opposing viewpoint. WTF difference does it make if the article's author usually covers tunafish? Look up "ad hominem" attack - its the last refuge of the loser.
@Onlinestrategies OnlineStrategies
Can we expect an Amazon Android SDK?