The day after Google announced its answer to Apple's iPhone App store, it has announced the winners of a contest wherein developers win $275,000 or $100,000 for developing a top app for Google's upcoming Android mobile phone OS. To get an idea of where the trend in mobile computing is heading, all of the top ten use location-based data via GPS. Check out the winners.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:1997-10-01
For me the big question in the iPhone vs Android battle is whether the big money and geek cred that Google brings to the table will be enough to overcome the combination of Apple's head start and what will probably be a rather chaotic hardware situation. (Android's strength, openness, could prove to be a big challenge when it comes to a trouble-free user experience)
Member since:2005-06-29
[cliche alert]
Those who do not understand history, are bound to repeat it.
The last time a closed and controlled computer platform took on an open and uncontrolled platform, the former lost. The open and uncontrolled platform wasn't better, but it was good enough, and it was a platform that allowed competition on price AND quality, not just quality.
I'm of course referring to Apple vs. the IBM PC.
History is repeating itself. Google is offering the IBM PC in the form of Android, and Apple is still offering basically the same thing as 25 years ago.
The similarities are so striking, it's almost sad that no one is really seeing it coming. We had a diverse phone platform market. It started with limited devices - devices that slowly gained features, becoming evermore advanced. There are a lot of players in the phone market, but no one has gained a dominance yet [just like in the early home computing days]. Apple is repeating its past mistake of thinking that people will pay for quality - whereas Google took a long hard look at IBM/Intel/Microsoft, and quickly realised that people are willing to settle for "good enough" as long as it's cheaper.
Mark my words.
Edited 2008-08-30 18:09 UTC
Member since:2005-07-06
Asked what he would do with the cash, his response was 'I guess I could invest it in my software company, but first I want to port PicSay to the iPhone.'"
That quote is both a good and bad reflection on Apple. It indicates that the dev finds the iPhone compelling and would like to develop for it, but it also indicates that Apple has cost themselves a potential third-party dev (temporarily, at least).
Member since:2005-11-21
Asked what he would do with the cash, his response was 'I guess I could invest it in my software company, but first I want to port PicSay to the iPhone.'"
That quote is both a good and bad reflection on Apple. It indicates that the dev finds the iPhone compelling and would like to develop for it, but it also indicates that Apple has cost themselves a potential third-party dev (temporarily, at least). "
How do you figure? The person gets the prize and will focus on the iPhone platform.
Apple's not lacking Developers for the iPhone or OS X platforms.
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-11-18
Except that this quote was a completely wrong translation of the Dutch quote:
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/08/31/wijngaard
Or for those who are lazy:
Then a follow-up question about whatâs next and if there will be an iPhone version. This was my reply:
âRight now, I am focusing on Android and I want to make sure that PicSay will run on the actual Android-based phone when it is launched. It is possible to create an iPhone version of PicSay, and I would like to do that some day, but there is no time for that now.â
Even more miraculous the above ended up as:
âI guess I could invest it in my software company, but first I want to port PicSay to the iPhone.â
Member since:
2005-11-10
"27 year old Frisian developer Eric Wijngaard won $275,000 in Google's Android Developer Challenge for his 'PicSay' application.
In an interview with a Dutch website he says he likes Google's SDK but 'What I really wanted to do was develop an iPhone app. The iPhone SDK wasn't out yet, though.'
Asked what he would do with the cash, his response was 'I guess I could invest it in my software company, but first I want to port PicSay to the iPhone.'"
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/08/29/gratitude
Edited 2008-08-30 16:48 UTC