

Ask YC: Buy the iPhone or wait for Android? - agotterer

The new iPhone becomes available in a few weeks. Is everyone rushing out to get it or waiting to see what Google does with Android? Why?
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hcho
Android still has some way to go. Google was talking about delays to Q1 2009.
After that they have to convince a manufacturer to produce an Android device;
customization will surely take some time and it might not be as good as iPhone
UIwise. After that comes acceptance tests. And then they have to find
operators to subsidize the device. Then comes the sales and penetaration into
market.

I know Google has the power to push these things but they still take time. So
don't hold your breath for an Android device yet.

~~~
agotterer
Thanks for your comments, very interesting. I was under the impression that
Google would be all set by end of summer, but I have no idea why I thought
that. iPhone it is! It's too bad, cause I really like Verizon.

------
ichverstehe
HTC, LG, Samsung and Motorola are members of the Open Handset Alliance
(<http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/>) so the manufacturers should be there
already.

A HTC Dream (the rumoured Android-phone, supposedly the one used in the
Android-video below) + Android combo would be my iPhone killer. The Android
interface seems good and the HTC Touch Diamond is just as slick as the iPhone.
And with Android being much more open than the iPhone, that's more or less a
strike!

Android: [http://www.everythingdream.com/android-demoed-all-sorts-
of-i...](http://www.everythingdream.com/android-demoed-all-sorts-of-
information-and-videos-20080528/)

HTC Touch Diamond: [http://www.everythingdream.com/htc-diamond-videos-from-
htc-p...](http://www.everythingdream.com/htc-diamond-videos-from-htc-press-
event-in-london-20080509/) – it is running Windows Mobile, yes, but the
interface, TouchFLU 3D, is largely a work of HTC.

~~~
hcho
HTC, LG, Samsung and Motorola are members of other Linux alliances as well.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that they will commit to a product.
Productization needs a big investment and giant manufacturers take a bit of
time to decide. HTC seems most likely to jump the gun.

Demo and real life products are light years apart in handset business.

------
clb22
I think Mr. Jobs choose to sell the Iphone cheaper this time, because he knows
that Google Android will be a very stronger competition to Iphone, so it was
pretty clever in that way. I will definitely wait for the release of the HTC
android mobile system.

~~~
agotterer
Actually I think they subsidized it to compete with the Blackberry and Palm
phones. Most phones are subsidized to entice users to sign plans. With this
price decrease it will be easier then ever for people to justify getting an
iPhone. Apple is going to capture a huge chunk of the smart phone market
because of this.

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frankus
Unless you're stuck with an early termination fee to switch to AT&T, I'd say
at $199 you can't go wrong with an iPhone.

Even if you're not developing software for it, it's a damned good phone
(easily the best I've ever used in terms of sound quality, reception, and
battery life).

AFAIK the development environment blows away that of any other mobile
platform.

But there _is_ that bit about forking out $99 for a signing key to use your
own code on your own phone, unless you go the jailbreak route.

~~~
allenbrunson
... and even if you are willing to fork out 100 bucks for the key, Apple
probably won't give you one. According to their own numbers, 25k people asked
for one, they handed out only 4k keys, and won't be giving out anymore until
some unspecified point in the future.

ALSO, I've heard from other parties that if you use the key to install apps on
an iPhone, you can't make calls with it anymore. A current limitation of the
SDK development process that will likely be fixed in the future, I bet.

In other words, you don't want to buy an iPhone because you think you're going
to use Xcode to whip yourself up some simple apps and install them on your
phone. The situation right now is suitable only to hardcore types.

------
breck
I'd go with the iPhone. I think Android could be the next Vista. Or it could
be a smash hit.

The point is, any prediction of Android's success will have a wide margin of
error. I think the chances that Android will be better than the iPhone in the
next 2 years to be very slim.

------
mattdennewitz
i want an iphone, but am waiting for android for one reason: adding my wife to
my tmobile plan = contract += 2 years.

~~~
mattdennewitz
and i pretend that the poor reception i see everyone else get (t-mobile rules
in chicago) matter, too ;)

------
alaskamiller
Here's how to solve your problem:

Get both. iPhone now and/or in July and Android whenever they come out in
2009, 2010, or 2011.

