Android News
Steve Jobs questions Google’s openness, Andy Rubin counters in comical tweet
October 19, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Android, Android OS
Steve Jobs is running scared because of Android. We’ve always known that Jobs wasn’t a fan of Google’s mobile operating system, but he typically took a dismissive tone, patting Android on the head and shooing away the silly competitor. Now that Android has proven to be a more than credible threat to Apple’s iPhone/iOS, Jobs has been a bit more catty.
Listen to the five-minute anti-Android tirade that Jobs delivered during yesterday’s Apple earnings call. Sounding like a nervous high-schooler delivering a book report in front of the class (dramatic license), Jobs says that iOS devices are activated more often than Android devices and the 300,000 apps in the App Store greatly outpace that of the 90,000-strong Android Market.
I expected Jobs to use those hard numbers to support his belief that Android is no threat to Apple, but then he got into the discussion of Google’s “disingenuous” open talk. Jobs then said that when “Most people think of open, they think of Windows, which is available on a variety of different devices.”
Jobs cites TweetDeck’s recent stats that show the app has to “contend” with more than 100 different versions of Android (Ed note: they’re actually contending with more than 100 different custom ROM’s, not versions of Android), showing Apple’s model is better because developers only have to support two versions of software. That’s one way to frame the conversation, but it actually proves the point that Android is open since people have choice and are not limited to picking between two identical experiences. I would never purchase a MOTOBLUR phone, but plenty of people love it. Options are good.
And what does Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin, the Godfather of Android, have to say about this? Just one funny tweet explaining open by writing a few lines of code that represent making a directory that contains Android’s source code. Note: This is not a verified Twitter account, but TechCrunch claims to have confirmed that it is Rubin’s account.
the definition of open: “mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make”
Andy Rubin
Arubin
via [Gizmodo]
Why is it when this tool talks, Kim Jong-il comes to mind??
Options are good for many people. Many others just want stuff that works. I have no doubt Android will be the best tool for many niches. I'm particularly interested to see how it makes its way into new markets, like home appliances. But Jobs' point is that in today's market, this customizability comes at a price, which is fragmentation. Today, Apple's model serves 90% of the needs of 90% of smartphone customers and serves them extremely well. We'll see what happens in the long run. I don't pretend to know which will win out in the end.
No one wins, its options.
While, I don't really like Steve Jobs that much any more and I am a HUGE Android fan, he does have a significant point. If Google doesn't figure out some way to deal with all the fragmentation, Android will just become the next Windows—bloated and unable to evolve on par with Apple or other systems even. The idea of open is something that is really wonderful, but the reality of open is that sometimes you end up having to deal with competing goals and methodologies. It will be interesting to watch everything unfold over the coming years.
I agree. It wasn't much of a "rant". He didn't was "shooing away the silly competitor". He presented some good points especially in regards to app development. I'll never ever buy an iPhone but I can concede when someone is right.
Perish the thought that Android might become “the next Windows,” the world’s most successful operating system with, according to Wikipedia, “91% of the market share of the client operating systems for usage on the Internet.”
Andy's response is cute, but does that really matter to the end-user having to deal with handsets with poor battery life and bogged down by carrier bloat-ware? Choice is great tho, and Android is the best thing that happened to competition in the marketplace.
People are so weird, they get choice and call it fragmentation, they buy a product they have no control over and call it stuff that works, lets all buy the same car in the same color and wear the same clothes. i am in love with my android phone, i have so many many choices of operating systems, features, i have a HTC magic that other devices can tether to, i have a spare battery, i just flashed T-mobile official rom, and even overclocked my cpu, and i use windows, lol
Hearing him talk really makes one realize how scared the man is of Android, it is quickly taking over all mobile markets. I can't wait till the Android Tablets really start to hit the streets. As always Android Rules.