

Apple and Google's awkward mobile marriage: Why Apple needs Google - fromedome
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/apple_and_googles_awkward_mobile_marriage_aapl_goog

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jorgeortiz85
What struck me the most, when reading this article, is how thoroughly
Microsoft has lost in the mobile space. Aside from mobile phones needing to
interact with Exchange Server, Microsoft is increasingly irrelevant in the
mobile space. At best they'll get to develop apps for the Android or iPhone
platforms, but that must be a huge ego blow for a company that's used to being
the platform-maker and not just another software vendor.

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josefresco
Market Share Q4 2007:

Windows Mobile: 12% iPhone OS: 7%

With years of past sales of Windows Mobile the overall market share gap
between MS and Apple must be huge.

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jorgeortiz85
My point exaactly. How long has Microsoft been trying to corner the mobile OS
market? Even with an entrenched desktop monopoly and control of pretty much
every corporate mail server ever, the best they could do was 12%? Both the
iPhone and Android are individually more exciting than anything Microsoft has
done in mobile in the last 5 years. In combination, they are a perfect storm.
Windows Mobile is dead.

(The iPhone release this month includes support for Exchange Server. Expect
their numbers vis-à-vis Windows Mobile to skyrocket.)

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dbreunig
Google gets the importance of mapping, and location will be the crux of mobile
data aggregation going forward. That being said, I don't think Apple _doesn't_
get mapping. But I think only they can execute it smoothly and relevantly.
Google, if given all the data in the world would still execute the UI like an
engineer. That's great for the technorati, not so great for the mass. Apple
gets UI and leans on Google for the back-end. Google still gets data,
therfore: Google is still happy.

No need for a merger, and the fact that Android is still vaporwear shows that
Apple has the advantage and doesn't need Google by any means. Google needs
Apple to execute the front-end.

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mlinsey
You don't think that all of Google's web properties have good UI's? At minimum
they are certainly quite clean and non-intimidating, which is the opposite of
what I think you would expect from a company which "executed [their] UI like
an engineer"

In terms of mobile I would agree that the Android demos don't look quite as
slick as the iPhone, but give it some time before it is released.

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walterk
Everyone forgets about iTunes lock-in. If someone (in North America, Europe)
is in the market to buy a smartphone, there's a good chance they're looking
for a non-shuffle iPod replacement as well, and if enough of their library is
in m4p format, the iPhone is their only option.

Secondly, while the Street View thing is neat, I can only imagine how horribly
stupid it would look if you were standing on a street corner and rotating in
place. People are just going to use the touch interface instead. The only real
application for this sort of Street View interface is pervasive gaming.

