By Nicholas Bonsack - Fri Nov 20, 2009 Though you may think us to be iPhone fans all the time, we really do want to root for the underdog. Whether it's Google's Android or Palm's webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone's Goliath to promote competition and better products all around. So it comes as a bit of a downer when we hear that Android development isn't going so well. Gameloft, whom you may know for making dozens of well-designed mobile games that look an<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11g6ld3iv;_ylt=AsKCb.cDNR6GqoHaBxU1IvriS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/iphone/dungeon-hunter/> awful<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11qpk9l16;_ylt=AnZ7F57xykGBp0D5EwL391ziS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/mobile-games/guitar-rock-tour-2/> lot<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11g5001tb;_ylt=AsR2iFjXA7C3XyuOkeDsveTiS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/iphone/hero-of-sparta/>like certain other popular games, has told Reuters<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=16vav0r7i;_ylt=An49hwrhfSvSx.IJhVq0UkTiS5A5/*http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AJ1EU20091120?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology%29>that it (among others) has decided to invest less in developing for the Android platform. Gameloft's finance director Alexandre de Rochefort states that the problem is that “[the Android's application store] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone,” resulting in a market that doesn't encourage Android customers to buy applications for their phone. Rochefort further goes on to explain that “on Android, nobody is making significant revenue” because Google hasn't done a very good job of promoting software on the Android. iPhone games alone have made for a very generous 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. By comparison, Android games only make for about 0.0325 percent of that revenue—*400 times* less. We've reported on a steady<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=12amsaljq;_ylt=Ap_ZYUi1iaq4WdIErO5px4HiS5A5/*http://www.macworld.com/article/143847/2009/11/rogueamoeba_appstore.html> exodus<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=125g90prk;_ylt=AuBjj.JoewowJfPEk93LZb3iS5A5/*http://www.macworld.com/article/143812/2009/11/approval_status.html>of smaller developers from the iPhone platform, thanks to the App Store's often murky policies. If Gameloft's claims are true, we may see more of the larger developers start to move away from Android—or continue to stay away—thanks to a lack of marketing. In the past, Google has largely relied on viral marketing, its partners, and word of mouth to promote its own products. Perhaps Google could stand to learn a thing or two from Apple's marketing? “Hi, I'm an Android app.” “And I'm a rejected iPhone app.
Ohh yeah, I forgot Android was from Google. In that case, I think Google has not given Android the justice it deserves. Last time I checked, Android's store needs quite some work in order to be taken seriously by companies that develop commercial software that sells on the AppStore. However I think this is a general problem with Google. They seem to be getting into lots of projects which have lots of promises. Some of the projects have come through very well but some are just there... The lattest one is the programming language. Specifically with the Android, I believe Google was hoping for device manufacturers to take it up and push it through. However this approach doesn't seem to work so well nowadays. It seems like if a company has an idea, they have to see it through completely, and I think this is why Apple has been successful with their products. Come to think of it this is the same issue that plagues open source software. OSS depends on a community to build it until it can be useful to the end consumer but that process can be slow. Even though the OSS software can be more beneficial than an equivalent proprietary software, the proprietary will beat it coz the company building it will see it through from start to finish without depending on an external party to add value to it to the point of making it end-usable. o_O --- On Sun, 11/22/09, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote: From: aki <aki275@googlemail.com> Subject: [Skunkworks] “Hi, I'm an Android app.” “And I'm a rejected iPhone app.” To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 7:07 AM By Nicholas Bonsack - Fri Nov 20, 2009 Though you may think us to be iPhone fans all the time, we really do want to root for the underdog. Whether it's Google's Android or Palm's webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone's Goliath to promote competition and better products all around. So it comes as a bit of a downer when we hear that Android development isn't going so well. Gameloft, whom you may know for making dozens of well-designed mobile games that look an awful lot like certain other popular games, has told Reuters that it (among others) has decided to invest less in developing for the Android platform. Gameloft's finance director Alexandre de Rochefort states that the problem is that “[the Android's application store] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone,” resulting in a market that doesn't encourage Android customers to buy applications for their phone. Rochefort further goes on to explain that “on Android, nobody is making significant revenue” because Google hasn't done a very good job of promoting software on the Android. iPhone games alone have made for a very generous 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. By comparison, Android games only make for about 0.0325 percent of that revenue—400 times less. We've reported on a steady exodus of smaller developers from the iPhone platform, thanks to the App Store's often murky policies. If Gameloft's claims are true, we may see more of the larger developers start to move away from Android—or continue to stay away—thanks to a lack of marketing. In the past, Google has largely relied on viral marketing, its partners, and word of mouth to promote its own products. Perhaps Google could stand to learn a thing or two from Apple's marketing? “Hi, I'm an Android app.” “And I'm a rejected iPhone app. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general
Google doesn't care about Android, nor about Chrome (the browser and OS), Picasa, VoIP (Google Voice), IM/Twitter/Facebook (via Google Wave). They don't give a rat's ass. They only care about search ("organizing information") as they would say. So why release so much for free? It's all about strategy my friend. If you listen to Peter Norvig's (Google's Director of Research) talks or read his articles you will realise that Google's approach to search is *entirely* based on having gabaquintrillion loads of data and using the sheer volume of data to their advantage. Some phrases Peter Norvig has used: - "data is more agile than you" (video @ http://www.omnisio.com/startupschool08/peter-norvig-at-startup-school-08) - "it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data" (video @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU8DcBF-qo4) - "the unreasonable effectiveness of data" (beautiful article: more info and a link to the PDF here http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2009/03/unreasonable-effectiveness-of-dat... ). This guy is brilliant! I highly recommend watching the videos above and reading his articles. Regardless of your feelings on Google, his research (and results) are absolutely fascinating (if you're interested in data-mining/machine-learning/pattern-recognition/artificial-intelligence etc etc etc). Back to Google's strategy. All they want from the user, in return for free (and useful) stuff, is your data (A huge impediment in this field is lack of adequate data to train one's models). They want it so they can use it to train and improve their search algorithms. So that they can use it so sell ads. That is why: - Google doesn't care about the ads on Gmail. The real meat-and-vegetables is being able to train their code on enormous amounts of text. - Google doesn't care about Picasa as a business. They want all your images on their servers so they can train their image-recognition algorithms on all kinds of images. Notice how good Picasaweb's face-recognition algorithms are? They'll only get better as more people take up Google's offer of 20G-for-$5. - Google Voice (and their previous 1-800-*GOOG-411)* is there simply to collect your voice data and train their speech recognition-and-synthesis engines. Notice how good voice recognition is on Android 2.0's free turn-by-turn navigation? By the way, this last feature marked the beginning of the end for GPS-navigation companies (Tomtom, Garmin etc etc) - Same story for Google Maps.. etc etc Chrome (the browser and the OS) fit that same model: Google wants you online as much as possible. That's where their money is. Someone said that the iPhone is to Apple what search is to Google. It is clear that Apple stands no chance. Google has incredible reach and can leverage *way* more than Apple can. Steve Jobs knows it, and that is why a native Google Voice client was rejected on the iPhone. But is a losing battle. Google is like cancer: by the time you realise you have a problem, it's probably too late. Apple/Microsoft/Yahoo may still be lucky but it would require aggressive chemotherapy. That's part of the reason Microsoft aggressively went after Yahoo (I still don't understand why Yahoo refused the offer). The wildcard in this is Facebook. They are a force to reckon with, for sure. If Microsoft buys them entirely, and also manages to jump into bed with Yahoo, then that chemotherapy just might work. Apple? The iPhone is great, but they need Microsoft to rescue them again, this time by buying the *entire* company (not just minority stock like they did last time). What amazes me is how, in the span of 10 years or so, things turned out this way. After Microsoft vanguished Netscape, they seemed invincible. Life is strange, holy cow! saidi On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 12:44 PM, wesley kirinya <kiriinya2000@yahoo.com>wrote:
Ohh yeah, I forgot Android was from Google. In that case, I think Google has not given Android the justice it deserves. Last time I checked, Android's store needs quite some work in order to be taken seriously by companies that develop commercial software that sells on the AppStore.
However I think this is a general problem with Google. They seem to be getting into lots of projects which have lots of promises. Some of the projects have come through very well but some are just there... The lattest one is the programming language.
Specifically with the Android, I believe Google was hoping for device manufacturers to take it up and push it through. However this approach doesn't seem to work so well nowadays. It seems like if a company has an idea, they have to see it through completely, and I think this is why Apple has been successful with their products.
Come to think of it this is the same issue that plagues open source software. OSS depends on a community to build it until it can be useful to the end consumer but that process can be slow. Even though the OSS software can be more beneficial than an equivalent proprietary software, the proprietary will beat it coz the company building it will see it through from start to finish without depending on an external party to add value to it to the point of making it end-usable.
o_O
--- On *Sun, 11/22/09, aki <aki275@googlemail.com>* wrote:
From: aki <aki275@googlemail.com> Subject: [Skunkworks] “Hi, I'm an Android app.” “And I'm a rejected iPhone app.” To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009, 7:07 AM
By Nicholas Bonsack - Fri Nov 20, 2009
Though you may think us to be iPhone fans all the time, we really do want to root for the underdog. Whether it's Google's Android or Palm's webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone's Goliath to promote competition and better products all around. So it comes as a bit of a downer when we hear that Android development isn't going so well. Gameloft, whom you may know for making dozens of well-designed mobile games that look an<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11g6ld3iv;_ylt=AsKCb.cDNR6GqoHaBxU1IvriS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/iphone/dungeon-hunter/> awful<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11qpk9l16;_ylt=AnZ7F57xykGBp0D5EwL391ziS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/mobile-games/guitar-rock-tour-2/> lot<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=11g5001tb;_ylt=AsR2iFjXA7C3XyuOkeDsveTiS5A5/*http://www.gameloft.com/iphone/hero-of-sparta/>like certain other popular games, has told Reuters<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=16vav0r7i;_ylt=An49hwrhfSvSx.IJhVq0UkTiS5A5/*http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AJ1EU20091120?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology%29>that it (among others) has decided to invest less in developing for the Android platform. Gameloft's finance director Alexandre de Rochefort states that the problem is that “[the Android's application store] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone,” resulting in a market that doesn't encourage Android customers to buy applications for their phone. Rochefort further goes on to explain that “on Android, nobody is making significant revenue” because Google hasn't done a very good job of promoting software on the Android. iPhone games alone have made for a very generous 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. By comparison, Android games only make for about 0.0325 percent of that revenue—*400 times* less. We've reported on a steady<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=12amsaljq;_ylt=Ap_ZYUi1iaq4WdIErO5px4HiS5A5/*http://www.macworld.com/article/143847/2009/11/rogueamoeba_appstore.html> exodus<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/macworld/tc_macworld/storytext/gamelofttocutbackonandroiddevelopment/34159681/SIG=125g90prk;_ylt=AuBjj.JoewowJfPEk93LZb3iS5A5/*http://www.macworld.com/article/143812/2009/11/approval_status.html>of smaller developers from the iPhone platform, thanks to the App Store's often murky policies. If Gameloft's claims are true, we may see more of the larger developers start to move away from Android—or continue to stay away—thanks to a lack of marketing. In the past, Google has largely relied on viral marketing, its partners, and word of mouth to promote its own products. Perhaps Google could stand to learn a thing or two from Apple's marketing? “Hi, I'm an Android app.” “And I'm a rejected iPhone app.
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On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 7:41 PM, saidimu apale <saidimu@gmail.com> wrote: [snip]
- Google Voice (and their previous 1-800-*GOOG-411)* is there simply to collect your voice data and train their speech recognition-and-synthesis engines. Notice how good voice recognition is on Android 2.0's free turn-by-turn navigation? By the way, this last feature marked the beginning of the end for GPS-navigation companies (Tomtom, Garmin etc etc)
Hi Saidi, Having looked at some Garmin GPS products, I feel greatly tempted to request you to elaborate on your judgement on Google's Andriod 2.0 vs Tomtom, Garmin, etc etc. How does Android 2.0 pose a threat to them? -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube
With a smartphone and Android 2.0 (and now apparently Android 1.6 as well), you get everything a dedicated GPS product gives you (and more), all for free: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_maps_navigation_the_killer_app_f... Tomtom and Garmin stocks plunged on the day of the announcement: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auEoMU5e2zTA Saidi On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 3:44 AM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com>wrote:
On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 7:41 PM, saidimu apale <saidimu@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]
- Google Voice (and their previous 1-800-*GOOG-411)* is there simply to collect your voice data and train their speech recognition-and-synthesis engines. Notice how good voice recognition is on Android 2.0's free turn-by-turn navigation? By the way, this last feature marked the beginning of the end for GPS-navigation companies (Tomtom, Garmin etc etc)
Hi Saidi,
Having looked at some Garmin GPS products, I feel greatly tempted to request you to elaborate on your judgement on Google's Andriod 2.0 vs Tomtom, Garmin, etc etc. How does Android 2.0 pose a threat to them?
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube
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participants (4)
-
aki -
Odhiambo Washington -
saidimu apale -
wesley kirinya