Muppets On Tour: And now for something completely different

Did another quick trip to Sydney. Nothing special here. Waiting till next weekend, when we start our India trip. There will be some interesting stuff there, hopefully not involving the whole Delhi Belhi thing.

Anyway, while in Sydney, I noticed something. Something completely unrelated to travel, and probably to humour. By all means, if you are not into geek shit, skip over this one.
For the other 3 of us, here goes... What? Only me then, huh?

It will be no big surprise to those who know me to hear that I like Apple products. iPhone, iPad, iMacbook, iMac. Stuff like that.

I read the geek blogs from time to time, and it's entertaining to see the ferocity that some people have when they take sides. Android vs Apple. Apple vs Android. Ridiculous.

There are so many people out there who are desperate for Apple to make a misstep, and crash and burn.

And So It Begins
I think it all started with the people who were offended that you couldn't write buy and install apps that weren't approved by apple.

"How dare Apple not let us fiddle with the OS code! How oppressive!"
"Get an Android phone. You can do anything you want with one of those. You can rewrite the code to do anything you want. Awesome!"

Personally, I have yet to meet someone who either can or wants to fiddle with the operating system of their phone. My old Nokia brick couldn't be reprogrammed, and everybody was fine with that. There was no rebellion in cyberspace about the ridiculous font they had. Nobody cared, so why should they now? No idea. It was a phone, for god's sake!

While everybody cheered that Android was an open system, free to the people, it was completely chaotic. Every manufacturer put out a range of phones, but not all with the same version of the OS. Better phones had the newer OS, while the budget ones had the older, less hungry OS.

But it gets worse. Each carrier set it's own rules. They would tailor the OS to suit and advertise their products. No 2 phones looked the same. No 2 phones worked the same way.

But it gets worse. The carrier seems to dictate when any OS updates will be passed on. So the top phone on AT&T might get the latest OS only a few weeks after release, but their cheap ones are still 2 versions ago, with no intention to upgrade. Then of course, Virozon will have the same top end phone available, but the interface looks different because of their tweeks, and they may get the new software weeks or months later than AT&T. Or sooner.

Same phone. Three different carriers. Three different versions of the OS. Three different looks to the screen. Three different upgrade timetables.

And then there is Apple. One phone. One OS. One upgrade path. Carriers can't touch it.

The rebel alliance is winning!

The other group of Apple bashers are constantly trawling for stats to prove that Android is selling more phones than Apple. That will be the beginning of the end that we are all waiting for. Waiting with hope in our hearts and a rejoicing cry on our lips. Absurd!

When Apple introduced the iPhone, I don't know what the pundits expected. I certainly didn't expect much. Nokia ruled the world, and Blackberry had the geek alliance. That was all. No Android. No Apple. It took a year for the App Store to appear, and suddenly there was somewhere for apps to be gathered.The thing gained momentum.

But I still didn't expect much the first 2-3 years. Apple put out one phone a year, while Nokia was introducing a new model everytime they opened their factory for a new day's work. How could they compete?

Anyway, fast forward a while, and Apple is gaining ground. The Android party was just starting, presumably as a reaction to Apple, and the restrictions they put on things getting into the App store. Once the big companies like Samsung got onboard, they were off and running.

And still I didn't expect Apple to have much market share. They were still only dropping a new phone once a year, and the various Android makers were doing like Nokia did. Always a new model. Multiply that by the number of manufacturers, and Apple wouldn't stand a chance. But they did. They actually took the lead in smartphones, against all odds.

But the juggernaught could not be stopped. Eventually those dozens of available models started to make some headway, and today Android accounts for the vast majority of smart phones being purchased. Not surprised. I think the anly reason that Apple got such a foothold, is that the others were caught with their pants down. The iPhone hit the market with nothing comparable out there. Nothing even close.

They did the same again with the iPad. Caught the opposition completely napping. Took months for anything else to hit the streets, and then they were rubbish.

And then there are the Court Cases.

Boy are people dark on this one.

"Apple is going to ruin competition"
"They can't innovate, so they just try to litigate everybody else out of the market"
"How can you patent a curve?"
"They didn't invent it"
"They deserve to be bankrupted by the failure of these offensive actions"

Boy, oh boy!

These people have no sense of business. At All!

The point of a patent is to say "this is my ball, you get your own ball". It doesn't matter how simple or how obvious it is. I'm sure the safety pin looks so obvious. Now!

There are some fascinating articles floating around cyberspace about something called trade dress, relating to the 'look' of a product. One of the most famous examples is the Coca Cola bottle design. Anybody comes close to a similar look, and Coke sues their corporate arses off. But let Apple do it, and they are undermining the fabric of society.

These people clearly do not follow business. Businesses all over the world buy up other businesses, simply to get their hands on the patents held by the acquired company. They are all doing it. Apple,
Google, Microsoft, everyone. So who cares if somebody at Apple invented anything at all. They own the patent, so have the right to protect it.

"They shouldn't be allowed a patent for that!" Fine. Have a crack at the Patent Office. Don't blame the guy that owns the patent.

Sheesh!

So What did I notice in Sydney?

Oh that's right. That's where I started this tirade.

What I noticed was this. Everywhere you look, you see an iPhone. Oh, sure, there is the occasional Samsung. Not much else. Maybe Blackberry will be back soon. The reviews for their reboot seem to be very encouraging.

So if iPhones are everywhere, how come there are more Samsungs being sold? How come there are more Android phones being sold? Where do they all go?

I think the answer lies in some stats I saw recently.

There are many time more apps downloaded from the Apple App Store than from the Android one. Surprised? I was. But apparently it's true.

What I think that this shows, is that more people are using their iPhones. Sure, there might be more androids sold, but I reckon that Android owners have a wee collection of them. Why? Don't know.

Maybe they keep buying the latest one because they are looking for one that feels right for them.

Apple is Apple. Don't like it, don't buy it. The next one will be pretty much the same, just faster.

Maybe the better questions are;