
T-Mobile Is Dreaming Of Android Riches. And It Might Have To Keep Dreaming. - terpua
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/15/t-mobile-is-dreaming-of-android-riches/
======
ajross
_If there are no compelling apps for Android, nobody will buy the phones._

This is just wrong. It's personal computer thinking from the 80's, and it just
doesn't hold in the consumer electronics space. The phone _is_ the killer app.
Developers _want_ it to be a "platform" because they want to be the next
killer app vendor. But there are _very_ , _very_ few cases I can think of
where we've seen 3rd party applications drive significant phone sales. It's
certainly not true for the iPhone, which was selling like hotcakes for months
before a (non-jailbreak) SDK was even available. The "killer app" is the
browser, screen size, and touch interface.

I'm not saying people will never buy 3rd party apps, or that a great one won't
arrive. But the idea that you _have_ to have developer buy-in to have a
successful phone product is just silly, and disproved by pretty much every
successful phone over the past decade of consumer experience.

------
mattmaroon
He's dead wrong. Apple's micromanagement of their platform makes it somewhat
unappealing to developers. With Android, I'm not subject to some corporation's
whims. If both phones had an equal install base, everyone would choose
Android.

And with Android being available for any carrier in presumably all sorts of
form factors (from cheap clamshell to blackberryish smartphone to full
touchscreen iPhone-like) even just the base OS with a few killer apps (Google
Maps, good browser, media player) will sell like hotcakes. Most of the
iPhone's install base came before there were any sanctioned third party apps.

------
SwellJoe
I guess I'm an anomaly, as I've opted not to buy an iPhone. I simply don't
find closed platforms interesting. The PC industry has already shown us that
open is dramatically better for consumers...why go backward?

The mobile industry is already atrocious, with regard to how it handles
contracts and services and how it treats consumers, due to its close ties to
the old telcos--the only way they know how to do business is abusively. Why
make it even worse by choosing a device that enforces even more restrictions
and costs?

I'm looking forward to a pay-as-you-go smart phone with Android (or Symbian,
since it's now open source). That'll be my next phone.

I'm not an Open Source fanatic...but even Windows Mobile is more open than
iPhone, which is pretty tragic.

------
stcredzero
The chicken/egg problem could be solved by simply supplying a few apps &
features of the first phone that everyone wants. If you can hook consumers
with one or two apps, then you will attract developers. More openness will
also attract developers.

~~~
notauser
Android seems* to be attracting people who write apps for themselves, while
the iPhone seems to be attracting people who write apps to sell.

It isn't yet known if having enough Type A developers will kickstart a pool of
Type B developers. But if you are the kind of person who likes Type A
applications (for example Firefox/mplayer rather than IE/iTunes - apps by
developers for developers) then you are likley to be really happy with Android
apps from the start.

*Based on an unscientific survey.

