Comments on: Tim Bray hates the idea that hardware guys can kick software guys around

By: asymco

asymco — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:42:27 +0000

It’s not $300. It’s $300 + $70/mo for 2 years. That works out to about $2000. I think most of the buyers expect the thing to work and if it does not they want somebody to yell at.

One more thing is that iPhone customer satisfaction is through the roof and that does not come from taking a hands-off approach.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/06/apple_tops_magazine_tech_support_survey_rankings.html
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/14/apples_iphone_3gs_has_99_percent_satisfaction_rate.html
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/19/apple_sets_new_standard_in_customer_satisfaction.html
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/18/apple_leads_2009_customer_satisfaction_survey.html

By: M

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:37:40 +0000

The warranty issue is a red herring. We’re talking about a disposable toy, that costs $300, of which there is only one model available (for now),
not a necessary appliance that costs $20,000, of which there are hundreds of different models already available (with the features you want already built in), like a car.
People will replace their Iphone every year or two anyway, like they would any other phone or computer.
It is just a hassle to get around the Apple restrictions. Their strategy is a profitable one since they get a cut of the revenue, but a monopoly that will not last.

By: asymco

asymco — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:33:57 +0000

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/03/15/tim-bray

This is, indeed, the core difference between Android and iPhone: Apple’s tight control over native apps. I think it’s incorrect to call it Apple’s “vision of the mobile Internet’s future”, though. Native apps are not the Internet.

Later on, Bray writes:

“I’m going to have to get savvier about HTML5-based applications, because a lot of smart people think the future’s there, that the “native app” notion will soon seem quaint.”

What’s interesting here is that the iPhone is a better system for HTML5 mobile apps than Android. For all the attention Apple is getting regarding the tight control it maintains over native iPhone apps, I think what they’ve done to enable native-like mobile web apps — with no control — is mostly ignored.

By: asymco

asymco — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:40:30 +0000

It’s your iPhone and you can do anything you want with it. Just like it’s your car and you can do anything you want with it like add a different fuel system. If you do some things however, you might void the warranty. Make your decisions carefully: if you mess around with it you’ve compromised the product’s integrity and the manufacturer cannot be held responsible for it. If you don’t want the manufacturer’s support or responsibility, have at it with a sledgehammer.

By: asymco

asymco — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:34:21 +0000

http://i.engadget.com/2010/03/15/confirmed-marketplace-will-be-the-only-way-to-get-apps-on-windo/

By: M

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:05:00 +0000

Yes, but compare record labels and software companies. One is allowed, another is censored?
I agree that Apple’s store should be run by Apple, but it’s my Iphone, not Apple’s, and I should be allowed to install apps from ANY app store, just like I could buy music from any online store, not just Apple’s Itunes.
The only option is to unlock my phone? It is ludicrous. Apple will have to change this policy and soon. Either the regulators, or the consumers or the market will force it to. Its “apps” software monopoly will not stand.
Btw, not everything Apple does or has done is ultimately successful. Remember that it lost the PC market to IBM and Microsoft, though they were the originators. Likewise with the Iphone and Ipad, they could very well lose to a Google.

By: asymco

asymco — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:46:39 +0000

Not so. Apple relies on the record labels to screen talent. If you wanted to put sounds of your farts on the iTunes music store, well, go ahead and try.

Point is: it’s Apple’s store, and like Wal-Mart is Wal-Mart’s store, they have every right to decide what to put on the shelf.

By: M

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:43:05 +0000

I agree with Tim. Apple’s logic does not stand. Apple would not dream of censoring the Itunes store because the lyrics of some songs are obscene, though they do have the right to do so, the howling regarding the freedom of speech issue would be overwhelming. Yet they’ve done that with the Apps store.

What Apple is trying to do is provide a wholesome image for the Iphone, but in the process they are opening themselves up to loss of market to Android.