“So, when I see Apple drop the price of their struggling, lightweight productivity apps, I don’t see a shot across our bow, I see an attempt to play catch up.”
– Frank Shaw, Microsoft VP of communications
I didn’t even think of it this way but he has a point. The Verge also noted:
“Surface and Surface 2 both include Office, the world’s most popular, most powerful productivity software for free and are priced below both the iPad 2 and iPad Air respectively,” Shaw writes. “Making Apple’s decision to build the price of their less popular and less powerful iWork into their tablets not a very big (or very good) deal.”
I’m not a big fan of Office, prefer the better collaborative Google Drive [who would have guessed?], but am definitely not an iWork fan as it is even less collaborative [unless you have friends/collaborators only with Macs] so I don’t have a dog in this fight but it is definitely an interesting perspective.
I initially did take this as a shot at Microsoft but Shaw makes some good points. What say you?
Let the [Apple] media tell it and you’ll believe Samsung copied Apple’s “Hello” commercial but…then again…the original iPhone commercial was a rip off.
So, according to Marclay, Apple “approached us [about using Telephones] and I said no, and then they just went ahead. The way they dealt with the whole thing is pretty sleazy.”
According to Apple, iOS app beta testers who run into crashes are expected to sync their device to iTunes, find a CrashReporter logs folder on their computer, and then email a log file to the developer.
Android testers hit “send” on a popup.
0-60 (asterisks mine):
Android, by comparison, is a breath of fresh air. […] Trying the very first build of your app on real hardware is as easy as hitting “Run.” No provisioning profiles. No developer accounts. No bull**.
Deployment:
While everyone else is building for iOS and wasting weeks in the App Store submit-review-deny-resubmit doldrums, you could be racing ahead on Android, where app burnout hasn’t yet set in.
Yes. Exactly. The beautiful apps desire is strong on Android and it is the right time to build beautiful apps.
Obviously iOS is a great platform but the approaches are literally night and day. I do like what I’m seeing in XCode 5 and iOS 7 dev [posts coming soon] for native dev but 0-60 has changed much.
At a time when most current Android devices — even the ones that will be sold over the holiday shopping season — wont ever have the option to install Android 4.0, Apple is specifically pushing the iOS install base forward. Apple wants all iOS users on iOS 5, not just the ones who buy a brand new device.
I find this post utterly ridiculous. First, he’s speculating and seriously putting himself on a ledge with such a large accusation regarding which devices will get Ice Cream Sandwich [Android 4.0]. Then he goes on to say “Apple wants all iOS users on iOS 5, not just the ones who buy a brand new device.” This is where my ridiculous meter goes off the charts.
There are five versions of the iPhone. Two of those five are getting iOS 5. Now I’m not arguing whether a 3Gs or 3G should get iOS 5 but clearly he’s under a fruit flavored, Kool-aid induced high. Apple in no way wants all iOS users on iOS 5 without them buying an iPhone 4 or 4s [ie – latest hardware]. Furthermore, iOS 5 isn’t the exact same on the 4 and 4s, namely regarding Siri [which could be any number of reasons why it isn’t on the 4]. Let’s return to the article.
iOS 5 is a major turning point for the entire iOS ecosystem. Although Apple has always made it relatively easy — and most often free — to upgrade iOS, users will now be notified of available upgrades and be able to quickly install them right on the device. The 25 million downloads of iOS 5 in the first week of its release will pale in comparison to future upgrades when users won’t even have to plug their device into a computer.
If this is the case, Android has been on this focus for years. Tit-for-tat isn’t my goal in this post but this paragraph seems to be the crux of his statement: OTA updates are the measuring stick of Apple’s relentless focus.
From the sidelines it may look like Android and Windows Phone 7 are quickly catching up — and they are making tremendous strides in the right direction — but the iOS platform is much further ahead than most people realize, and iOS 5 shows that Apple is pushing faster and looking further into the future than ever before.
Catching up? Wow. Even the passionate comments on @tipb aren’t that blind, well…at least not all of them. I’d love to see him break this paragraph down in a separate post showing where Android, specifically, is behind iOS. Each have different features but Android is absolutely not behind iOS, considering this post is about Android 4 [Ice Cream Sandwich].
Recent iPhone commercials have touted; “If you don’t have an iPhone… well, you don’t have an iPhone”. That’s been true since the iPhone was first launched in 2007 and here we are in 2011 with all other mobile platforms still playing from behind. The speed, efficiency, and innovation iOS 5 enables for developers — both 3rd party and Apple’s own software teams — will only widen the gap in 2012.
So the leading smartphone operating system, Android, is playing from behind? Speed [assuming he means hardware] is a win for iOS. It is definitely smooth but it bogs down just like Android. Efficiency is a major win for Android: widgets, quick access to settings, etc. iOS takes more clicks to do similar tasks Android can do in a widget or a with a quick setting. Innovation is subjective. It depends on who you’re asking but I’d give it to Android w/ NFC, cloud features from jump, and the numerous upgrades just announced.
Overall, I utterly disagree with this post. I don’t care to rant too often but this one deserved it. I do my best to call it like I see it and am not blinded by my choice of Android as my mobile OS but enough is enough from Camp Apple. Let’s get real and be objective with our views here people! [I say that after a rant; lol]
Man, Apple is a beast with their marketing. Peep their new ad for the iPad 2. It seriously makes you want one.
I truly believe you could substitute some competitors in the same spot [meaning it isn’t just an iPad that can do these things] but there isn’t another tablet maker doing such emotional spots. Granted, Google did do a great job w/ their Dear Sophie commercial so they are capable but the hardware manufacturers just aren’t doing it this well.
