Android at this place and Time

You can ask almost anyone on the street; what is an iPhone? In most cases they can tell you. But when asking if they are familiar with the Android Phone, most likely they are not. They might have heard of the Google phone or G1 but not in most cases. This is the first problem with the platform, name recognition. I read articles about smartphones every week in publications like the Wall Street Journal. They always mention the iPhone and Blackberry but almost never the Google/Android/G1 phone. If consumers don't know what it is they surely will not buy it.

As for the platform itself, it is young and Open Source. I have a love hate relationship with Open Source. I have developed many enterprise projects with Open Source and I can tell you this, it is not for free. I have a nickname for it, "Open Sore". But if a company like SUN or IBM gets behind the Android project like they did with Java, Android will be a great platform to build a business upon. Motorola, the developer are listening.

Google produced a really cool platform, Android, and they turned it over to Open Source, which I commend them and think it was in their best interest a smart thing to do. Developing smartphone OS is not Google's primary business. It will take a company/s to lead Android to the next level of acceptance. I still do not understand why Microsoft didn't use Android as the base in their latest release of MSMobile, but I don't understand why they didn't build MS 7 on Linux, oh whatever, I shouldn't get started on that.

As for the Android platform itself, it still has a ways to go before reaching maturity, both in the OS and Tools. As for the Android OS on the phone as a consumer, I love it. I carry both the iPhone and Android phones, both have some great features and Apps. Android Apps have the potential to be much more powerful and feature rich then the iPhone because the features in the SDK, Open Source and Apples heavy restrictions. I mention the word potential because most of the apps to date on the Android are ok at best.

Currently, there is not a good App store for Android on the web that has a reasonable pricing stucture. iTunes blows Google Market away. Google Market doesn't even have a real web store to purchase Apps. Secondary Web stores like Handango want 40% of the profit leaving little for the developer. Low price point expectation and noise from the crowded market has made Enterprise applications simply out of the question. Businesses normally do not buy Enterprise software at the same place that sell iFart Apps and games. I expect these problems will be worked out in time.

I see the same thing happening in the Apps market that happened in the late 1990's Internet Boom/Bust. A lot of people were in the business that new nothing about business or creating Web apps. It will just take a bit of time to flush out the market.

I envision three real players in the near future, Blackberry, they have the business market for now because they can communicate with Outlook, iPhone, they have the entertainment market and Apple like it that way. They also have the coolness factor Android, they have a chance to take the Enterprise and business market for verticals such as financial and health care. But who knows, there may be ten more OS platforms next year, only time will tell.

Jeff
motionPHR.com
mymedbox.com

Starting to see where Android could take the Market

Motorola is betting the farm on Android which is great for Android manufacture and developers. Motorola like Apple need to make a profit off of their Smartphone production. Motorola is just the type of company that Android needs to move up the ladder of recognition and sales.

iPhone is a great platform but Apple has had many stumbles on the way to the top, especially with the development community. What I have learn from the early days at CyberCash it is not alway best to be first. Most non-proprietary developers (java, open source) want to have the freedom to express their art in there development. A tightly closed environment such as Apple stifles developers ideas and best products. On the other side of the coin, Apples closed environment has help them to produce good stable products. Motorola may have the blend of both worlds. Motorola has the tools an oportunity to lead the smartphone market. It will depend on if they can get back to their roots, building good products, with good support. I hope they also learned their lessons with the Iridium Project that you cannot move all of your development offshore and keep control. It will also depend on their marketing, Apple hands down has the marketing down.

We will have to wait and see what happens. As a developer of products for both the iPhone and Android, May the better phone win. As a developer of both platforms I will have to go with Android.

Apps stores everywhere

It's a landslide of apps store that are new to the market a consumer has so much to choose from. To much. The app stores all have visions of overtaking the Apple Apps store. With 25,000 app on the iStore the competition has a lot of catching up to do. One advantage that several phones have over the iPhone is a much more open architecture. That means the apps developer can build more powerful apps for other smart phones. Many developers are moving away from the iPhone to build these applications. Apple will have to rethink their policies if they want to keep their lead. To date, Apple has continued to update some of their policies in attempt to retain developers.

To catch Apple the other stores will have to invest in marketing. Apple runs full page ads in the WSJ several times a week. They now have television commercial touting their apps. Google on the other had does not really believe in advertising. A bit strange for a company that makes the majority of their profits from advertising. Sometimes you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Jeff Brandt
CTO
www.motionPHR.com

Is Google focused on Android?

The following is my response on a Android blog.
My thoughts on Android success lies with the Manufactures and Developers. Android is just another OS. The difference is it is open source. But open source is far from free and takes a major investment for manufactures to back it. What android need is a major backer and I don't think it is Google because it is not a revenue source for them; It is a cost center. MS is the one we have to look out for, their profit centers are diminishing with the desktop and they are looking for a direction. For them, I think that wireless is it.

Jeff Brandt

Google Android not much of a Show at GSMA

Google doesn't have much to say or show at the GSMA show in Barcelona. MicroSoft is stealling the show. What's up? Traction for Android is slipping to say the least. No new phones for the US market, that was a surprise. No announcement about a "for profit" Market. Without a "for Profit" store their will not be a business model for anyone to create applications. That just leave Android with poor non-professional Apps. Without the apps there will be no driving force to purchase the phone.

Is mobile really a sure thing for Google? Is the cNet headline.
http://news.cnet.com/Is-mobile-really-a-sure-thing-for-Google/2100-1039_3-6229619.html?tag=txt

I hope that someone at Google will chime in to let us know the roadmap for the Android venture.

Jeff Brandt
www.motionPHR.com

Android ready for Primetime?

I recently read the title headline in a published article; "Android not ready for primetime". At first I was put back; I love the phone and the software. But like most of Google's products such as gmail, earth... they are in a semi perminant status of "Beta". They do this so users do not complain to much while they work our their business model. But a beta Operating System that has customer purchasing phones and developer producing apps is a bit of a problem. When apps don't work, most of the time the user blames the developer. Though this is not alway true, Microsoft is blamed constantly about problem that they had no part in. That is, badly designed or untested apps that cause MS machines to behave poorly.

The Android OS is a great system with a lot of potental if handled correctly. My hopes are high that once companies such as Motorola get involved the OS will come out of beta and become production quality. If not it will fall by the wayside like so many "science projects".

One of the most overlooked mobile marketing opportunities is application branding.  Each time a customer looks at their phone they see a application if the application is associated with a brand the brand is enforced.  Even it the customer does not use the application, the impression is still there.

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