Apple, Android Are in a League of Their Own
Recent reports highlight the strengths and weaknesses of mobile device companies.
I’ve been quite bearish on the prospects of anyone other than Apple ( AAPL ) and Android ( GOOG ) when it comes to success with mobile devices. Much of my negativity is based on the belief that independent software developers (ISDs) will be critical to the success of any platform, and that once you’ve fallen behind, you don’t catch up.
Yesterday, Appcelerator, the maker of Titainium — a very popular set of cross-platform development tools for the mobile world — published a survey of mobile ISDs . The development community is voting with their time, resources, and feet. They’re losing interest in BlackBerry ( RIMM ), Windows ( MSFT ), Symbian, Palm ( PALM ), and anybody else you can think of. They’re increasing their interest in Apple and Android. They’re even showing an increasing interest in a product that’s yet to exist, an Android tablet.
One of the most telling survey questions asked the developers what their biggest pain was. The number one answer, cited by 31% of the respondents, is porting applications to multiple platforms.
This is a point I’ve harped on many times. Every operating system (OS) is different and what may take an instruction or two on one OS may take several more to accomplish on another. That can directly impact performance. As an OS changes over time, it may be increasingly difficult to maintain consistent performance as well as the look and feel across platforms.
That’s why I believe the “rumor” that Google will standardize its interface (no more licensee developed “skins”). The developers are repulsed by the idea of having multiple versions within the same platform. And it’s the ISDs who will make Android successful, not the licensees. The licensees have passed the point of no return so they’re along for the ride whether they like it or not.
There’s another bit of information that I stumbled across today that supports my assertion that Google will be forced into regulating its application publishing operations.
A report from Smobile Systems analyzed more than 48,000 Android applications and the conclusions are troubling.
The implementation of “security” on the Android platform is done with the request of permission to do things. The application will declare what permissions it will request and an educated user can determine if those are reasonable or not for the given application. But how about for those whose timers on DVD players, DVRs, and VCRs are still flashing 00:00?
According to Smobile’s analysis, 20% of the applications request access to private or sensitive information. One-in-20 can place a phone call anywhere without approval from or interaction with the user. The ability to read or use authentication credentials of another service or application popped up in nearly 400 apps. The list goes on but you get the idea.
Granted, Smobile wants you to buy its security product so it’s painting an ugly picture. But Google’s approach of allowing the market to identify and weed out malicious software is abrogating its responsibility at the head of the line. Like I said, regulation’s coming!
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