Apple is a self-limiting company. They have a superior OS to Microsoft’s, but look at their market share. And they’re following the same strategy with iPhone. Android, on the other hand, is taking the Microsoft strategy: become a platform for hardware vendors.
Evolution beats central planning. Apple is repeating the mistale of holding tightly to a niche and forfeiting the greater market.
May I suggest GeoDefense Jeff. I found it to be a ridiculously deep TD application. Have fun.
@ScottK I don’t need too build my own global marketing and distribution system. We have the internet for that. Its crazy cool! You should try it. You can freely move around and pick and choose what ever app you want. Its a crazy idea I know.
Look, just cause Apple has lock on there users and can filter all those eyes to there app store doesn’t guarantee that those people will buy your app. Actually it makes it worse because since all the apps are centralized, your app will most likely get buried under the 1,000’s and 1,000’s of apps and never reach its full potential.
iPhone 3G is the only Apple product I’ve ever owned and I’m very happy with it. Now I want a MacBook so I can develop apps for it.
I just upgraded from the original 4gb iPhone to a 16gb iPhone 3GS. It’s a huge difference – the performance is substantially better. I never checked out the app store much other than to get Wolfenstein, 21 Pro (blackjack), and Facebook.
I am patiently waiting/hoping for a mature [enough] version of Mono for iPhone development. I have a few ideas.
A well known strategy of Apple (and, to be fair, others) marketing is to concentrate on selling to the “thought leaders” within various “micro-communities”.
The idea is that these people will then be a much more credible influence on selling the product to the rest of the micro-community. This is paricularly effective in intellectual or creative communities.
So, as someone else said Jeff, How much did they pay you?
Apple has never been particularly great at supporting software developers
They haven’t? They ship an excellent IDE and documentation for free with every Mac. Have been for years. They publish loads of tutorials to help you get started. Their GUI editor beats the pants off of any other one out there. The bar to entry for developing on a Mac is practically Zero. Even though that has changed by now, it’s been a lot worse on the Microsoft side.
Care to expand on your point?
Having been part and followed closely (smart) phone industry for several years I agree with several points that Jeff mentioned.
Apple and iPhone has changed game and they are changing the whole industry in many positive ways. Apple had balls to NOT to please operators which was very important power shift allowing innovation to foster in previously very closed and startup-unfriendly industry.
Many people entering mobile at the moment don’t realize this.
As I’m located in Finland, the home of Nokia, we have a bit of a different problem: Nokia’s huge worldwide market share prevents some local industry veterans (both inside and outside of Nokia) to see the shift that is happening.
The fact that indie developers are whining that they don’t make money from AppStore is a good example of the shift: just two years ago they didn’t have a change to get any users, now distribution problem is solved for them. But no one can solve a marketing problem for all of them…
There is a long and very thin tail in web apps and likewise there is similar tail in mobile apps. 40 million iPhone OS devices is not yet enough to make that tail a profitable place to be. But innovating on iPhone OS is a good strategy for a startup: once you get your offering working, you can widen your reach to other platforms. For example in-app purchases are new, fresh possibility to try out some business models that have been quite hard to do in web apps.
You are wrong in so many ways this time, Jeff.
But you are right in one thing, for the US market, the iPhone 3GS is currently the best smartphone you can buy. Sadly, as noted previously, their marketing wants you to believe it is the best damn phone in the entire world. I just hope that Windows Mobile 7 will eventually be released and that Verizon (not that I like them, just that it’s the only carrier that has a high-profile smartphone already) brings a good HTC or Samsung phone to kick the sorry iPhone’s ass.
How profoundly late to the party. Next you’re going to tell us that you predict that the internet is going to be a big thing.
You really are going out on a limb declaring the iPhone the next big thing when it has been a big thing for a couple of years now.
Then again, you did give that Nostradamus-worthy prophecy that electronics will be followed up by even better electronics, which is truly a innovative way to think.
You are wrong in every respect. Apple’s overwhelming success with the iPhone at home is very well documented
I don’t doubt it success at home market for a second. There is also world outside US border, you know? 
With some countries where iPhone was met calmly and forgotten/out of fashion for now. It is succesful niche device, but hardly wordlwide game changer.
Apple only reports actual sales from its own stores, not channel shipments. And considering that every third party store was completely sold out of the iPhone 3GS, that one million 3 day figure was actual sales, not shipments.
Says who? Apple says “sold”, not a word about actual buyer getting device in his hands. I believe sources like mobile-review.com that always pointed out Apple is using “sold” and meaning “shipped”… And backed it up with actual sale figures released months later.
sounds pretty worldwide to me
Present worldwide and matter worldwide are different things. Just take Nokia numbers and put them next to Apple.
PS I really feel that comments kinda split by inside US/outside US factor.
All my possible arguments have been said, but to summarize:
Android rocks!
iPhone sux!
The problem with Android is that although it’s a great platform, HTC as the leading hardware provider is holding it back in the area of “ugly-ass phone toys for hackers”.
Just look at the ridiculous HTC Hero’s chin. On what level can that be comfortable to hold in a pocket?
Oh, iPhone owner here since December, who was an Android fan until G1 was announced.
At least you’re not afraid to tell the world you’re a complete sucker for marketing.
Oh, wait, you actually believe all that crap!? This from the guy who’s posted more than one article about how evil it is for Apple to lock everything down and restrict your EVERY movement on one of their devices?
Wow, okay, nevermind. Apple Marketting Drivel Drone 93881 status: brainwashing complete.
RIP Coding Horror, 2004-2009
Thank you for writing this. Because I’ve been thinking the exact same thing without realizing it. You’ve made me realize it.
Btw, Joel has a Nokia E71 
I have a HTC Magic (aka G2) which is an Android device. I have compared it to an iPhone a friend of mine has. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but for me Android wins.
And yes I also think that in the long run Android devices will take over iPhone.
Apple completely sucks at influencing anything on worldwide scale.
What? Are you actually serious?
I think Rarst is right. How many people use iphone in India? People will start using this kind of device when Microsoft/Nokia introduce it in India.
In OS the story is similar. Windows has localization in Tamil, Malayalam etc. How many international locales does Mac support?
Nokia has devices localized in Tamil, Hindi etc.
Nobody knows Apple in India.
[I am not saying Apple is not innovative or not influential in US or Europe - but that’s not “worldwide scale”]
Welcome aboard. I’ve seen some amazing new software in the last year on this mobile platform and this is just the beginning. I’d say keep an eye on Android and Pre too. Sadly WinMo and Symbian are now a decade behind and I see no sign of them catching up.
A recent seminar by an experienced mobile games company (Popcap) I attended identified that iPhone games take 1 coder and 1 QA only 3 months to create. In comparison, to make it for Symbian/Java/Brew means 6 coders and 7 QA. And despite the difference in market, Popcap say they make 37% of their market out of iPhone and only 2.7% from the Java port.
iPhone is only a revolution because we were previously in an abused and repressive market.
Finally some competition!
i like your passions and many other fellows about iphone (and being iphone user since its inception i might wana two cents). Iphone is great product but being a locked down it is i couldt keep it with me and now it lies my brother’s pocket (who incidently moving to N97 as well).
There are few things which i notes.
i can give more reasons but it supposed to be comment not a blog :).
oh yeah i will give credit where it is due i.e. Apple should get credit for creating a race for niche interfaces , web packages and enhances user experience for mobile phones which everybody is catching now (andriod or Palm are the two great examples).