Android or iPhone development

I attended a BOF on Android and learned more about Apple than Google. The iPhone developers that were at the BOF expressed their unhappiness with the way Apple treats independent developers of the iPhone. First, they were upset with Apple's Apps store and the process and policies to get their applications on the site to be sold. Second, seams that Apple have a "special" group of independent developers that they provide with additional documentation and a SDK with more features such as BlueTooth . For me that is a showstopper because I need Bluetooth for one of my applications. I guess that Apple has not learned their lessons about closed architectures. If they would have open their architecture as Microsoft did in the 80's they would own Microsoft today. I feel Apple is going after the consumer market and might I say are doing a very good job. Have you been in an Apple store lately, they are packed.

Google on the other hand is offering a phone that is positioned to provide more business apps and will take advantage of their own Google Apps. Cloud IT is just coming into mainstream even though it has been around for years and Google understand it and it is the core IP. Many years ago at the first Java One conference; Sun lead by Eric Schmitt at the time who is now the CEO of Google had a slogan "The Network is the computer". At the time it sounded good but today with Google plans it is no longer just a slogan. Now with the addition of Android Google has the complete package.

I feel that both the iPhone and Android phones will have a great place in the market. As for the Blackberry, old technology that need a face lift or a fork lift. I actually use Google Mobile on my Blackberry. MS phone, a non starter.

Since I started this article and now completing it, the iPhone has taken second place in the sales of Smartphones following Symbian. G1 is just getting going and behind in the pack; but not for long.

Android and the future of hand computers

Google is releasing it's first mobile software platform Android, on a T-mobile network, NTC phone in a few weeks. This phone will compeat on many fronts with the Apple iPhone. Like the iPhone independent developers can develop software application to run on the phones. iPhone has made a quantum leap with their phone platform. I would be first to say that the iPhone is one of the best design consumer electronic devices that I have every used.

Google entered the cell phone market after seeing the response to the iPhone. The major difference between the iPhone and Android is that Google is not building or selling phones like Apple. They are producing an open source software platform that will could run on any manufactures produced phone. The other difference is that Google is opening up the entire API (software package) to outside developers all over the world. You may ask, why and who cares. Look at it this way, the more applications that you can get for a computer/smartphones the more value it has for the consumer.

Before selecting a platform to build an application on I looked a both platforms. I also attended a conference where I got to hear from both platform developers. The major complaint from the iPhone developer was that Apple did not open the platform to all developers and that Apple has a select group of programmers that gets preferential treatment which included access to more of the iPhone facility such as BlueTooth. Don't get me wrong I think that Apple is the best product available in the PC market and hands down the iPhone is way ahead of the pack. My main concern is that Apple made this type of mistake before with their closed system architecture. This provided an unknown company named MicroSoft with the opportunity to take their market. Closed systems do not work in our open systems environment. Mash-up is where it is at in the Web 2.0 world.

I got it!! Web 2.0

I have spoken to many people about Web 2.0 in the past year or so. It is a very interesting subject that most people including myself do not get"it" at first glance. It is more of an experience than a entity, subject or thing. I remember the first time that the light bulb went off in my head. That is, the enlightenment of Web 2.0. I was with a friend of mine and her daughter was texting while talking with us, she was also not looking at the keyboard. That is when I got it, this new phenomenon of nonverbal communication; A new medium was happening and I was not a part of it. From then on I was hooked, I participate on all types of social Web 2.0 mediums such as twitter and facebook...

Many of the non-believers out their ask 'what the hell for". I personally have made friends and acquaintances all over the world. Conversation that are more that just TBS (thumb Bull Sh..). Real conversation about important stuff such as medical informatics. I've spoken to doctors in Argentina about ways to communicate with their doctors via twitter and held Open Source Electronic Medical Record Systems discussion with an IT guy in Africa. The world is getting smaller everyday and Web 2.0 is a great way to embrace it.

As for the business proposition there are many. I consult for a company that provide Opt-in text advertising. They are currently working in what I call the "texting world", that is straight forward texting, sign-up by providing your cell phone number and you get special offers. Very cool and they have a huge head start on the market. The next step as I see it is combining straight forward text advertising with social networks. By the way, I am currently working on that. Again the possibilities are limitless and we haven't even began talking about all of the virtual worlds that are out there such as secondLife.com. One world is enough for now.

Welcome In the Beginning

Hello to the world,

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Jeff Brandt I am a technologist and entrepreneur. I have a degree in Computer Science from the Univ of OK and I have been working with leading edge technology for many years. The consistence theme to my career is phones, first terrestrial then mobile.

I started this blog to bring together ideas and thoughts of Web 2.0 communication and uses for mobile devices for the 21 century. One of the most interesting fact that I have noticed is that USA is far behind the rest of the world in Mobile and Web 2.0 use. 70% of all facebook users are from outside of the USA. While working in Asia developing Mobile software for an Indonesian company I observed that everyone in Singapore had cellular phone. You could not even get a cab without a phone, this was 1996. Most people outside of the USA do not have laptops or desktop computers but they do have cellphones. It is becoming the norm in the US that younger people do not have landlines but they have cellphones. So, what does this mean? THE market is huge and oportunities are endless. The tiny screens are here to stay and the growth potential is great.

So join in on my discussions of moblile phone, Web 2.0 and the futureshock of the industry.