Game Developers Scaling Back Android Efforts as iPhone Continues to Dominate

[Goona]

Let me guess so it's Apple's fault that the other platforms can't provide competition?

Neither did I claim such thing. I always was clear and always was talking about the bunk of Market growth. RIM and Nokia do have more market share.



If the iPhone didn't have competition, it wouldn't be 3rd in sales, growth, share, whatever. It would be 1st. Except it isn't.

But HTC sure doesn't have more hardware sales than Apple as you alluded here:

"And last quarter, Apple got beat by both HTC and RIM as far as hardware sales go."

Or I guess I just made that up?

 

[marold280]

Im going with Android because im bored of the iPhone and all it can do.

It may not have many games but thats not what i need.

 

[cmaier]

Im going with Android because im bored of the iPhone and all it can do.

It may not have many games but thats not what i need.

So what do you need?

 

[DMann]

So what do you need?

Apparently, not system-wide search, calendar search, voice over IP, peer to peer bluetooth connectivity, video recording, (as of now) or accessory application support.

 

[KnightWRX]

But HTC sure doesn't have more hardware sales than Apple as you alluded here:

"And last quarter, Apple got beat by both HTC and RIM as far as hardware sales go."

Or I guess I just made that up?

That's not from one of my posts genius.

 

[Surklyn]

NO, I just don't want to remember the atrocity that was the 2G.

Hey! I still have a my 2G.. It's a paper weight, but I still have it for "sentimental" value! LOL!! My shiny 3GS is what the original should have been.. but hey.. I still love my paperweight!!

 

[Goona]

That's not from one of my posts genius.

So this line from post number 224 isn't yours?

"Market growth means jack squat, especially in the first few years a company enters a market. Of course their growth will be "phenomenal", they had none to begin with. And last quarter, Apple got beat by both HTC and RIM as far as hardware sales go :"

Unbelievable, are you denying that you wrote that?

 

[KnightWRX]

So this line from post number 224 isn't yours?

"Market growth means jack squat, especially in the first few years a company enters a market. Of course their growth will be "phenomenal", they had none to begin with. And last quarter, Apple got beat by both HTC and RIM as far as hardware sales go :"

Unbelievable, are you denying that you wrote that?

Yes, I even just corrected it. I had the same brain fart. I meant Nokia and RIM.

 

[schwell]

Nothing wrong with that. Not every phone has to be an iPhone, designed for the lowest user denominator.

(Personally, I need to check out the HTC Eris. A lot of my friends' wives have gotten one lately and love it.)

Another dishonest post. It is obvious you don't have alot of friends and the few you do have don't have wives.

 

[cumanzor]

Another dishonest post. It is obvious you don't have alot of friends and the few you do have don't have wives.

Oh god, I hope you are joking.

 

[CQd44]

Another dishonest post. It is obvious you don't have alot of friends and the few you do have don't have wives.

lol'd. Real smooth.

 

[cumanzor]

Apparently, not system-wide search, calendar search, voice over IP, peer to peer bluetooth connectivity, video recording, (as of now) or accessory application support.

Here is what shocks me.... why do you care if that guy chooses a different phone? Do you have some sort of complex that you need to hide with a gadget?

 

[DMann]

Here is what shocks me.... why do you care if that guy chooses a different phone? Do you have some sort of complex that you need to hide with a gadget?

Actually, I don't care at all.

Does listing some of the things that the Droid iDoesn't do bother you somehow?

 

[BVeritas]

It surprises me that nobody is willing to read a quite well written article that explains the Apple and Google approach to their phones. Oh well, maybe these boards are more about putting down one another than true discussions. BTW, I'd love to have an actual discussion on this article.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...and_apples_iphone_os_as_software_markets.html

 

[*LTD*]

Tim Bray on Android Market Fragmentation
Tim Bray:

Here’s what I think: First of all, Android is still one of the most important platforms out there for the next few years. Second, we still haven’t seen a truly great Android phone (the Droid’s not it). It’s going to be interesting.

I don’t disagree with Bray’s conclusion. And I haven’t used a Droid so I won’t judge it, and there are definitely others who would argue that the Droid is the first great Android phone. I’ll just say that if the general consensus winds up that the Droid isn’t a great Android phone, this is the sort of attitude that’ll sink Android. It’s the same attitude desktop Linux has always had, that the future is going to be great, so don’t worry about the present.

Like a sports team that’s always saying “Wait until next year”, meanwhile, Apple has won another championship this year.

★
Daring Fireball 09-11-22 4:41 PM John Gruber http://daringfireball.net/

 

[cmaier]

It surprises me that nobody is willing to read a quite well written article that explains the Apple and Google approach to their phones. Oh well, maybe these boards are more about putting down one another than true discussions. BTW, I'd love to have an actual discussion on this article.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...and_apples_iphone_os_as_software_markets.html

As someone who thoroughly prefers Macs to PCs (mostly because I can't live without a good tcsh or gvim , even I have to say that Prince McClean is not exactly a neutral source. He's about a degree more rational than Daniel Ergan, but that doesn't say much.

 

[DMann]

As someone who thoroughly prefers Macs to PCs (mostly because I can't live without a good tcsh or gvim , even I have to say that Prince McClean is not exactly a neutral source. He's about a degree more rational than Daniel Ergan, but that doesn't say much.

Good call, actually, as Daniel Eran Dilger just happens to be Prince McClean.

 

[BVeritas]

As someone who thoroughly prefers Macs to PCs (mostly because I can't live without a good tcsh or gvim , even I have to say that Prince McClean is not exactly a neutral source. He's about a degree more rational than Daniel Ergan, but that doesn't say much.

So rather than criticizing the author, try analyzing the article. It's like the exposed global warming crew calling everyone who disagreed with them 'prats' without even looking at the arguments.

But, your response is what I expected. And I expect to see more of them.

 

[cmaier]

So rather than criticizing the author, try analyzing the article. It's like the exposed global warming crew calling everyone who disagreed with them 'prats' without even looking at the arguments.

But, your response is what I expected. And I expect to see more of them.

I merely cite the source of the article because it helps to establish any biases. The article, itself, is little more than a puff piece. It's just all opinions. No facts. What's to respond to?

 

[DMann]

It surprises me that nobody is willing to read a quite well written article that explains the Apple and Google approach to their phones. Oh well, maybe these boards are more about putting down one another than true discussions. BTW, I'd love to have an actual discussion on this article.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...and_apples_iphone_os_as_software_markets.html

Biased, or not, the article does clarify differences between the two platforms, as well as elaborates upon the foundations on which their built.

In regard to Apple's iPhone App Store and Google's Android Marketplace, Apple seems to have the advantage here, as it's been built on its previous success of the iTunes model.

Furthermore, Apple's integrated 'ecosystem' of the iPhone/OSX/Appstore enables them to have an open SDK while maintaining control, thus overseeing that the operation of apps remain streamlined with the OS while keeping malware at bay.

His point about the Android Market being analogous to a free rummage sale rather than an actual retail store, at this stage, seems accurate.

The comparative charts illustrate their differences effectively:

Having up to 16GB of storage for apps would seem a significant advantage for anything competing in the 'App Phone' market.

Google's Android solution seems destined to be more successful at taking market share from WinMobile, than anything else.

 

[kdarling]

The first experience block is incomplete, as is some of the others. For one thing, we don't know the backgrounds of the Android designers. (Innovation comes from people, not the companies they work for.)

We do, however, know that Andy Rubin created the Android group. Andy started at Apple, then went to General Magic and worked on Magic Cap. Then, amongst other things, he founded Danger Inc, who created the rather successful Sidekick phone.

 

[DMann]

We do, however, know that Andy Rubin created the Android group. Andy started at Apple, then went to General Magic and worked on Magic Cap. Then, amongst other things, he founded Danger Inc, who created the rather successful Sidekick phone.

Ah, the Danger 'HipTop.'

Wasn't Danger sucked up by MS and placed into suspended animation?

To his credit, Andy's Danger did deploy the first viable "App Store.'

 

[schwell]

The first experience block is incomplete, as is some of the others. For one thing, we don't know the backgrounds of the Android designers. (Innovation comes from people, not the companies they work for.)

We do, however, know that Andy Rubin created the Android group. Andy started at Apple, then went to General Magic and worked on Magic Cap. Then, amongst other things, he founded Danger Inc, who created the rather successful Sidekick phone.

Ah yes the sidekick and danger inc......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8303952.stm

 

[rdlink]

Huh?

Google's problem is that they want everything to run "in the cloud" which means you access their system to get to the internet. kind of like the old AOL and mainframes.

i downloaded Chrome OS to play with it and couldn't do anything without internet access. i've been using computers since before there was an internet and in 2009 someone is going to sell a computer with no functionality unless you have internet access. now that's progress

with Android there is a 256MB limit for all app installations. if you have a monster game like Monkey Island which is 350MB than you have to code it for the binaries to sit in the main app area and the data on the flash card. very clunky and almost exactly like the Danger Sidekick.

That's perhaps the dumbest statement, or group thereof, that I've ever seen on this forum. What, exactly, is a smartphone if not just a portal to the cloud? I, too, used a computer before the internet became popular. Their usefulness was limited by that. Anyone who doesn't understand that we are in an age where the network IS the computer has the vision of a bat.

Dumb terminals were great, except that the experience was a little less than "rich." Along comes the GUI. But both network and hardware limitations make the necessity to work locally a reality for many, many years. Now, hardware and connectivity are catching up, and the innovations of companies like Google are going to make the cloud the reality of computing. The web has just been a precursor to that. Apple understands this. Microsoft understands this (and it scares them to death). But Google has built the framework of their business model around this. This, my friends, is why they are already ahead of the game.

 

[wonderbread57]

Nov 23rd, 2009
GAMELOFT SUPPORTS THE 2ND GENERATION OF ANDROID PHONES

Paris – Gameloft®, a world leader in the publishing and development of downloadable video games, plans to launch High Definition games on next generation Android phones like the Motorola Droid and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

"The arrival of this new generation of phones will allow the development of High Definition games that make the most of the technological capacity and the speed of execution offered by the new Android phones. Consumers will benefit from a top quality gaming experience," says Gonzague de Vallois, vice-president of Publishing at Gameloft.

Gameloft also continues to support the current generation of Android phones and announces the imminent arrival of titles such as Assassin’s Creed. These titles will be accessible on the Android Marketplace and Gameloft internet sites and will further strengthen our catalogue of Android games already available.

source: http://www.gameloft.com/download-games/news/gameloft-supports-the-2nd-generation-of-android-phones/

Not exactly the tone of a company reported to be dramatically scaling back android efforts.