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.