At 23 Sep 2008 20:50:35 -0700 4phun wrote:
> http://www.alleyinsider.com/
>
> Bottom Line: Apple's iPhone Still Beats Google's G1 Android GPhone
> Dan Frommer | September 23, 2008 1:50 PM
>
> ...But right now, Apple still has an edge. Why?
>
> More polished, intuitive user interface. Google's Android OS is
> powerful and looks attractive, but it's a bit too Windows-like.
Some of us consider that a plus rather than a minus! ;-)
> Apple's iPhone user interface is simpler, cleaner, and just makes more
> sense.
I have to agree that so far I'm fairly unimpressed. (Though I was
expecting to be unimpressed, so I certainly wasn't disappointed!)
> We're spoiled by multi-touch. We tried "pinching" Google Maps to zoom
> out on Google's own phone, and were shot down. It'd be easy for Apple
> to add Street View maps -- very slick on the G1 -- to their Maps app
> with a software update; but HTC and Google simply can't have multi-
> touch on this phone.
Sure- Apple CAN update their map software, but why after fifteen months
haven't they? For free server-based GPS/Nav software, WinMo's Live Search,
with turn-by-turn directions, speech input (and Microsoft's patented clunky
UI!) is still the software to beat. It's matured into being WinMo's
"killer app."
> The G1's keyboard is nice, but what are you really going to be typing
> on a phone? (Especially one that can't access Exchange/BlackBerry
> email accounts.)
Two words: text messaging. A hard keyboard, regardless of how small and
akward is still the fastest and least error prone way to bang out a text or
a quick email.
> Is it worth making the phone almost twice as thick as
> the iPhone? Maybe not.
Maybe not, but if Apple offered an iPhone with a slide out keyboard, even
if twice as thick as the current iPhone, I'd bet you a hundred shares of
AAPL it'd outsell the current model. As much as iPhoners love their iPhones,
a real keyboard still ranks at the top of their wish lists.
> Apple's App Store is a year ahead of Google's. We're surprised by how
> many apps we've downloaded, especially professionally produced games,
> and how much time we spend using them. At Google's launch event today,
> we heard about two geeky apps for the G1, but nothing about
> partnerships with Electronic Arts or other big gaming shops. Google's
> Android App Store will be sparse at the beginning, and will take a
> while to fill out.
Of course- among Google's many blunders was delaying the release of the
Android SDK- only a few dozen of Google's special partners received early
versions of it, so most developers are starting late and from scratch. And
(Google Blunder #32) at first, the app store will be limited to free apps
only, so the developers' efforts won't even be rewarded, probably so Google
can reinforce the "open source" philosophy of Andriod (or perhaps because,
in a classic bit of irony, the store's shopping cart software is as
unfinished as Android itself!)
> Syncing the iPhone to your computer is a breeze. Music comes from
> iTunes, photos from iPhoto, etc. Google won't have an iTunes-like
> desktop syncing app, and instead will sync up with Google's various
> Internet-based services.
And right there is the fundamental difference between the phones- the
iPhone is just another weapon in Apple's nefarious plan of acheiving world
domination through iTunes, while the G1 is just another weapon in Google's
nefarious plan of acheiving world domination through Google's web-based
services.
>We still don't know how we'll be able to move
> music from our computer to our phone, but we're betting it won't be
> nearly as simple and seamless as Apple's made it.
Probably not- on the other hand, I'll bet it's less restrictive. I suspect
you'll be able to both email and/or drag-and-drop songs to the G1- two
things you can't do with the iPhone.
> We're not nearly as hung up about stats as some of our blogging
> brethren. But Google's G1 comes with a tiny percentage of the memory
> -- 1 GB -- that Apple's iPhone comes with -- 8 GB. Sure, you can buy
> an 8-gig card for $50, but there goes any cost savings over the
> iPhone.
Same old argument- generous amount of fixed memory vs. virtually unlimited
memory with the hassle of interchangable cards- six of one, half dozen of
the other. I prefer cards, because loading them via a card reader is less
hassle than syncing several GBs of media files, but both methods have
advantages and disadvantages.
> Nothing against Google: The G1 is a fine phone, and we see a
> potentially bright future for Android. But so far, our money's still
> with Apple.
As an overall marketing success, yes, Apple will win for now. Personally,
however, although I'm not interested in buying either one, if one were to
fall from the sky in front of me as a gift from the gods, I'd rather it be
the G1, just because I'm a tinkerer by nature, and the G1 has more
"tinkability" than the far more closed iPhone.
Besides, I already have a collection of 2.5mm to 3.5mm headphone adapters
left over from a prior HTC phone collecting dust! ;-)
Bottom Line: Apple's iPhone Still Beats Google's G1 Android GPhone 
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