An Inside Look at Google's Reaction to the Original iPhone Introduction

[InfernoShade]

The Sooner development device was actually a version of an HTC Windows Mobile phone:

View attachment 452564

Wondering when you'd chime in.

See, people kept comparing it to the BB, because BB was the hottest/coolest phone. Again, that depends where you are. But in the US, and other places, the BB was top of mind and the HTC Windows phone was not.

Seems convenient that some people at Google knew about the iPhone and others didn't. But anything is possible within a corporation. Even if they did not know and were developing something similar - which there seems to be limited evidence - in the grand scheme of things the iPhone made them change their approach. It effected their plans.

Once again, while Apple was not the first to invent all these technologies, it was the first to the pull them together in a new way. Also Apple was the first to break the stranglehold of the carriers but dictating what was on the phone and how it operated. So this helped Google, and others, because the iPhone changed the industry in ways other phones never had.

 

[OLDCODGER]

For me, the most important difference between the two formats is the lock-down, or lack thereof. All else is mere bling.

 

[BornAgainApple]

I still have my iPhone 2G. It was passed down to my daughter when I upgraded to the iPhone 4. It's slow as hell compared to my iPhone 5, but it still looks almost as good as the day I bought it and everything still works! I will continue to hang onto to it, not just for nostalgic purposes, but as a reminder of just how revolutionary it was.

 

[teknikal90]

Just speaks to how competent Google's engineering team is.
Sees a change is required, does it and does it well.

 

[zbarvian]

I still think that the Microsoft Courier project was kinda cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI

Ironically enough, the creators of that concept left Microsoft and are now running a successful start-up focused on the Apple ecosystem. Really talented dudes.

 

[kdarling]

For the millionth time, Android was NOT targeted at the Blackberry.

(It was targeted at Microsoft.)

You'll have to say this many many more times to come.

Sigh. I know, even though I've been pointing it out for years, with evidence about hardware, development. and especially the market forces at the time. So instead, let me just quote from the same book about why Google bought Android:

Google executives were convinced that if Windows on mobile devices caught on, Microsoft would interfere with users’ access to Google search on those devices in favor of its own search engine.

The government’s successful antitrust trial against Microsoft in the 1990s made it difficult for the company to use its monopoly on desktops and laptops to bully competitors. It could not, for example, make Microsoft’s the default search engine in Windows without giving users a choice between its search engine and those from Google, Yahoo, and others.

However, on smartphones, few rules governed how fiercely Microsoft could compete. It didn’t have a monopoly there.

Google worried that if Microsoft made it hard enough to use Google search on its mobile devices and easy enough to use Microsoft search, many users would just switch search engines. This was the way Microsoft killed Netscape with Internet Explorer in the 1990s. If users stopped using Google’s search engine and began using a competitor’s such as Microsoft’s, Google’s business would quickly run aground.

Google made all its money back then from the search ads that appeared next to its search results. “It’s hard to relate to that [fear of Microsoft] now, but at the time we were very concerned that Microsoft’s mobile strategy would be successful,”

Vogelstein, Fred (2013-11-12). Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution (p. 51). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

 

[Digital Skunk]

There's a lot of outrageous things said on this forum. I don't believe your hyperbole is as widespread as you make it out to be.

Say that to the poster I originally quoted and I'll agree. Otherwise you're just ignoring a common cause.

 

[osofast240sx]

So Steve Jobs is happy that Android/Google is winning? Can't live in the past.

what are they winning?

 

[elev8d]

I think that might have been there original reaction, but I think apple should be having that reaction to new Android devices now.

I was playing with my friend's note 03, and was impressed. I found many of the features gimmicky and useless, but a lot of useful and fun stuff.

I'm not too impressed with my iphone 5s. It's what the iphone 5 should have been. It's a solid phone, but no wow factor. Was it Schiller who said "can't innovate my ass, I just feel like my iphone is too simple (with a screen size too small - 4 inch screen size reminds me of the one button mouse debacle). More frustrating is that most of the features in iOS7 were available YEARS before in the jail break community.

Argg.... When I see articles like this, I can't but think we are still living in the past as the glory days are over. Hopefully Timmy can prove me wrong.

P.s. I played with his wife's iphone 5c and was like... this should be a starter phone at $250 max (off contract). Reminds me of Nintendo's desperation, keep releasing different form factors in different colours. I would love to see the sales figures on it....



frustrated apple customer
Iphone 5s
Mini Ipad (1 gen)
Mac book Air (2013)
Apple TV

As a somewhat loyal Apple customer, I agree the 5 and 5S were disappointing releases and have not prompted me to upgrade my 4. I've also been waiting for the Apple TV to get a UI overhaul before I jump on that wagon because that OS seems behind Roku IMO. On the other hand, I think they are continuing to do a great job with their iPad and Mac models and hope they continue to develop on those fronts.

 

[Bilbo63]

So Steve Jobs is happy that Android/Google is winning? Can't live in the past.

That depends on your definition of "winning".

 

[elev8d]

Wondering when you'd chime in.

See, people kept comparing it to the BB, because BB was the hottest/coolest phone. Again, that depends where you are. But in the US, and other places, the BB was top of mind and the HTC Windows phone was not.

Seems convenient that some people at Google knew about the iPhone and others didn't. But anything is possible within a corporation. Even if they did not know and were developing something similar - which there seems to be limited evidence - in the grand scheme of things the iPhone made them change their approach. It effected their plans.

Once again, while Apple was not the first to invent all these technologies, it was the first to the pull them together in a new way. Also Apple was the first to break the stranglehold of the carriers but dictating what was on the phone and how it operated. So this helped Google, and others, because the iPhone changed the industry in ways other phones never had.

My company has tons of vendor partners that work with competitors as well. They all sign NDAs, and if they shared any information with people in their company they would liable for a very large fine.

 

[GoldenJoe]

We all know Android intended to copy Blackberry before something better came along. We've known this for a while. It made sense for them to do so. It does not matter.

Android has become successful by positioning itself as the only decent alternative to iOS, and making its devices as successful as possible. If RIM were not asleep at the wheel, it would never have gotten far (and even Apple would have had more trouble). RIM did fall asleep though, and Android was able to achieve huge numbers of sold units by releasing swaths of cheap, inferior devices. For some people, that's enough, and that is also fine and does not matter.

Today, Android is basically Samsung, who also famously copied Apple pixel-for-pixel. The successes of their way of doing business have nearly reached the limit. Who knows if Samsung will start the demise of Android, or if they will find a new way to continue growth. Unless you're trading, you shouldn't care. Your preferred device will around for a long time.

 

[marioguarneros]

Think Different

"THINK DIFFERENT" it was really more than an ad campaign slogan in 1997, they have really revolutionised everything they have produced ever since.

iPods against Walkman minidiscs, iPhones against Nokia handsets and Palm pilot organisers, Macintosh against IBM, iPads making tablets a success and redefining what now everyone expects from a portable all-day device, most recently with a new uncharted design for a workstation…

Whether you love them or hate them there is no arguing that they have changed the game once and for all in many categories.

They have had flops you said? For sure! But i love the fact that they moved on and kept trying. All I hope is that they never stop developing products that they want to use themselves because that has always been the key to their success.

I see many more start ups in the photography field following this mantra and there is definitely no substitute for the care and devotion that goes into something you design and build to be used by yourself.

Bash this comment all you want and label me whatever, I grew up with PC's and Macs and I really have to appreciate what both companies have achieved, back in 2005 I fully migrated to Apple after having a million issues with my very expensive Vaio's running Windows.

If tomorrow someone comes with a better product for my particular needs I will definitely give them a go, I respect whoever prefers Windows or Linux or any other OS or Architecture but there's no denying that Apple has caused a huge change in how we look at, consume and crave for technology.

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
― George Bernard Shaw

 

[kdarling]

I still have my iPhone 2G. ...

That aluminum back brings up another great quote from the book:

The second iPhone prototype in early 2006 was much closer to what Jobs would ultimately unveil. It incorporated a touchscreen and OS X, but it was made entirely of brushed aluminum. Jobs and Ive were exceedingly proud of it. But since neither of them were experts in the physics of radio waves, they hadn’t realized they’d created a beautiful brick. Radio waves don’t travel through metal well.

“I and Ruben Caballero [Apple’s antenna expert] had to go up to the boardroom and explain to Steve and Ive that you cannot put radio waves through metal,” said Phil Kearney, one of Bell’s deputies, who left in 2008. “And it was not an easy explanation. Most of the designers are artists. The last science class they took was in eighth grade. But they have a lot of power at Apple. So they ask, ‘Why can’t we just make a little seam for the radio waves to escape through?’ And you have to explain to them why you just can’t.”

Vogelstein, Fred (2013-11-12). Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution (pp. 35-36). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition.

 

[KdParker]

As a long time iPhone user and having dabbled in a couple of Androids recently.. (just got an Gold iPhone 5S, btw).. I am going to buy this book.

Would be interesting to see what transpired to bring these wonderful devices to the consumers hands....

I will wait for the mini series to watch (maybe) someday when I am home sick or snowed in.

 

[beosound3200]

So Steve Jobs is happy that Android/Google is winning? Can't live in the past.

winning? android is leaking money, OEMs and unhappy costumers on all sides

samsung is the only one making money, although QoQ samsung premium segment is flat. guess what apples is?

microsoft makes more money of android than google itself.

and all those people buying cheap crap android devices are flocking to iphone because of the great gingerbread experience on a 2012 phone.

if apple did anything right its the complete control. as tim cook said, they are not in the junk business and thats helping their brand immensely. you need to protect the costumer from their cheapness. its how you preserve your brand and quality.

android is just another windows. crap generic hardware with ugly and laggy os desperately in need of costumisation, setting up and mantainance.

a have nothing against android, to each his own. but saying that android is winning when every other datapoint except marketshare is saying otherwise? i just had to react. and ill be more than happy to prove my point if need be.

 

[2298754]

Just speaks to how competent Google's engineering team is.
Sees a change is required, does it and does it well.

Bingo. Any other company (like RIM for example) would have released the phone and then shrugged it off, even if it is sold poorly.

This proves that Google isn't a company that screws around.

 

[mk_in_mke]

Unbelievable!

Sure, if you want to live in the dark.

...

In the end, it's all moot, because it's just perspective.

There was so much junk in your post I needed to cut... You will have to tell us what planet you are from and what spice you smoke to come with so many false, unfounded, specious arguments. You literally went from 0 to BS in one post!

Who gives a d@mnm r@t's A$$! a phone is a phone and let people savour their experience with the device they chose. It has been proven over and over again that Android is a rip off, whether you agree or not is your freedom of choice. But do not come here and p.. on our parade.

Fed up with comments like "IOs copies Android" or better, comments like "I can build a better machine than the new mac Pro". All comments made by nerdies, like you, who like to tweak and alter the behavior or purpose of a device or computer just to prove themselves they are better than average Joe user. We are "Apple" users and we favor the experience and the consistency of a solid, evolving ecosystem. Apple's ecosystem... When Google and Android can provide such a comfort, come and see us... So far, the only thing I see with Android OS is not very appealing to me. I simply do not go forum to forum claiming this system is BS... Some users may enjoy it, I don't and that's fine for all!

Now, I am just waiting for the next revolutionary tool Apple will market, be it a TV or a computer or a watch and I will read the same damn uninformed, uneducated, nerdie comments "Google did it before on Android". What a joke!

Just remember one thing though: look again at the video of S. Jobs Iphone announcement. He stated "We would be happy with 1% of the market share"... Well, i guess Apple has delivered...

Now, time for me to clean my desk... My new mac pro is coming soon

 

[2298754]

And I still remember when I was watching the keynote. I ended up dropping $750 on a Nokia N95 2 months before iPhone release. I was so excited.

Then Apple comes out with the iPhone with its sick touchscreen/iOS. Needless to say, I felt like an idiot spending that kind of money on it

 

[Bilbo63]

As a somewhat loyal Apple customer, I agree the 5 and 5S were disappointing releases and have not prompted me to upgrade my 4. I've also been waiting for the Apple TV to get a UI overhaul before I jump on that wagon because that OS seems behind Roku IMO. On the other hand, I think they are continuing to do a great job with their iPad and Mac models and hope they continue to develop on those fronts.

My daughter has my old iPhone 4. Still works great, although I'll need to swap in a new battery for her soon which is no big deal. My iPhone 5 works great. The only reason I upgraded was for a slightly larger screen as my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. Apple is leaving a lot of money on the table by not going to at least a 4.75" screen in my opinion. I have no desire for a Note-sized device.

I have two Apple TVs and one Roku that collects dust. I don't care for the Roku at all. Giving it to a friend to use as a means of streaming Plex to his TV.

I have an iPad 2 that is still going strong. No lag. Good battery life. Plays Real Racing 3 without any trouble. It has done all I've asked it to do and then some... no need to upgrade.

 

[Rogifan]

That aluminum back brings up another great quote from the book:

Does anybody really buy this story? We're supposed to believe Steve Jobs got all the way to the Apple board with a prototype that wouldn't work? Even if one believes that Jobs (and Ive) we're clueless about aluminum and antennas we're supposed to believe no one in Apple's engineering ranks clued them in until they were showing the device off to the board? Seriously? I'm not buying it.

 

[Soccertess]

Using my macbook air at home, then going to work and using my windows 7 PC, made me feel like I was traveling back in time to 1998.

But now that almost every laptop looks like a macbook, and with windows 8's look, the lines are a bit more blurred.

I agree... The lines are blurred. It's weird to see Macbook air imitations to the point where I can't tell the different unless I see the apple symbol on the back (or look close up or put on my glasses)

 

[KdParker]

As a somewhat loyal Apple customer, I agree the 5 and 5S were disappointing releases and have not prompted me to upgrade my 4. I've also been waiting for the Apple TV to get a UI overhaul before I jump on that wagon because that OS seems behind Roku IMO. On the other hand, I think they are continuing to do a great job with their iPad and Mac models and hope they continue to develop on those fronts.

I wouldn't call the 5/5s disappointing releases, but I do agree that Apple will need to step up with the iPhone 6. It is about time for another form factor.

We are so used to having some revolutionary change that anything else seems to be a let down.

 

[i.mac]

Just speaks to how competent Google's engineering team is.
Sees a change is required, does it and does it well.

I'll correct this for you:

Sees a change is required, steals it and copies it we'll...

...then gives it 'free' to every one, and uses proxies to sue apple for apple's original creation.

 

[yellowtruck]

Activate Sammy the CopyCat

I can’t remember Samsung before the IPhone now that I think of it. Immediately Samsung copied the iPhone and successfully as they have a devoted smart phone base now - but only after the iphone. Copy and steal works for them so they will continue, especially when the cost is the lowest in its class. This is exactly what happened to Zenith Television in the 90’s only they did not survive.