Comments on: Symbian: Android for the rest of us?

By: mathewi

mathewi — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:45:07 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Peter — those are definitely aspects of the
Symbian world that will hold things back, I agree. And someone else
mentioned how integrated the iPhone is with the Mac OS, so that
programming for one can be leveraged to make apps for the other.
That's something Symbian doesn't really have at all, I don't think,
which is going to be a detraction as well.

By: Peter Cranstone

Peter Cranstone — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:48:50 +0000

>> it is going to draw developers in just because of its sheer mass and size.

Nope. Not necessarily. The key for developers hearts and minds center around a couple of things - is it cool, is it hard to program (and thirdly - can I make money).

Symbian phones are not cool, they are bloody hard to program (multiple platforms and other integration issues) plus right now how do I make money? What's the killer app?

Nobody knows.

Cheers,

Peter

By: mathewi

mathewi — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:27:06 +0000

Those are both good points. The upgrade cycle is definitely shorter
(and easier) when it comes to a phone compared to a desktop or laptop
– and I think you're also right that Apple made a smart move by
effectively tying the iPhone and the existing Apple developer base
together like that. Speeds up the process of development, and lowers
the cost as well.

By: seemsArtless

seemsArtless — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:21:54 +0000

I agree that the sheer number of smart phones using a given OS is very relevant in the short to mid term, but moving forward it will be ease-of-development that will make or break things.

I don't know how often people around the world upgrade their phones - every 24 months perhaps on average? If so, the existing user base is a real moving target, and doesn't really have that much invested in remaining with their existing OS when it is time to get a new phone. Changing to a new OS on a phone is way easier than changing OS on a desktop/laptop computer, and way cheaper than replacing all your DVDs with the latest and greatest technology.

So when it is time to replace an old phone people will go with the snazziest looking phone with the most applications they think they'll need. So the faster developers can create/clone those apps the more successful they'll be.

Sure the iPhone is pretty and has an interesting UI, but arguably the best thing Apple did was base iPhone development on existing OS X development -- they've lowered the bar for developers that already develop in OS X which got the momentum going early.

By: mathewi

mathewi — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:45:07 +0000