Hope You Enjoy the Smell of Napalm in the Morning (Apple vs. Google)

What's interesting to me is how big a shift mobile represents to Apple's strategy.<p>Gruber was first to convince me that Apple didn't care about the business that Dell was in. Dell could have it. No margin.<p>Apple believed they built computers for the "elite" consumer who had taste or money or both and wanted a premium experience. They played there because that's where the margin is.<p>This situation (highlighted by iPhone vs. Android) is a stark departure for Apple, and it probably illustrates one of two things:<p>1. The competition is better, or 2. The switching costs for phones is much lower than for computers, and by costs I mean both money and the hassle of migrating data and applications.<p>Google is doing an amazing job on both fronts. If the iPhone didn't exist, Android would be the clear leader in this market. And when it comes to switching costs, Google is eradicating them: I use Gmail, Google Calendar, and Picasa. All work on both platforms very well. And I use Google Contacts as my primary rolodex.<p>I don't use Mobile Me because Google provides the equivalent for free (Google's services are probably better, really). Apple really doesn't have any hooks into me.<p>If Google can deliver a compelling alternative to iTunes, I could move tomorrow and the only costs I'd incur would be walking away from the $30 in Apps I've purchased.<p>Compare that to my trying to move from OS X to Windows.<p>Apple is rightly terrified of Google.<p>And it probably gets worse when the Chrome OS hits the market.<p>I love love love my MacBook Pro and my iPhone. But increasingly they are delivery vehicles for Google services. The irreplaceable part of that equation is Google, primarily because I'm not interested in Microsoft's or Yahoo's or Apple's alternatives.

<i>"I can’t see Apple building its own search engine, but perhaps they really are building their own maps service — hence their purchase of PlaceBase last July."</i><p>I found this paragraph towards the end interesting: I was thinking recently about how it can sometimes be difficult for two guys in a garage to get traction on their ideas/products, because to really leverage them you might need a whole set of products around it. They're good ideas but would be <i>a part</i> of a big system that you can't build unless you're Google, Microsoft, etc. (e.g. if you want to do something where you access the data of emails, you need to piggyback on other companies' email systems)<p>So, I found this last part interesting because it puts Apple in a similar situation as the two guys in their garage, at a larger scale, where they (might) have to develop their own map service, where they have to get involved more in online services (MobileMe), etc., even though it's not their core competency[1]. The same way I would not use the two guys' product if it doesn't work with my existing email account, some will get an Android phone just because it integrates perfectly with their Gmail and Google Voice account.<p>That's something Apple will need to focus on more IMO. We're heading towards having everything <i>just</i> online (pictures, documents, backups, music…) and Google definitely has the advantage there.<p>[1] I'm not saying they don't know how to build online services. iTunes is a proof that they do, but it doesn't (really) have an online front-end.

"Smart companies try to commoditize their products' complements."<p>--Joel Spolsky, Strategy Letter V<p><a href="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html</a><p>Google is trying its damnedest to commoditize the smart phone business. It would love for Apple, HTC, and everyone else to go down the same road PC manufacturers went down and cut their own throats competing on price. Only instead of taxing the manufacturers with a fat fee for each copy of Android, they will make their money owning the advertising and search business.

It's interesting to see Google is stepping on lots people's toes: Apple (phone), Microsoft (search/apps/mail), Facebook &#38; Twitter (Buzz), Amazon (AppEngine), Yahoo (the fake ad deal). Who else?<p>Sit back and pass the popcorn.

<i>"But the situation has gotten past the usual level of competitive vigor"</i><p>Really, how? And so what? I wouldn't want a mutual advisor or board member either if I was Jobs/Schmidt.<p>Haven't there been rivals (even bitter rivals) since the dawn of capitalism? As long as everyone fights legally/fairly, what's the problem?<p>When I did IT at a UPS call center, managers would take shots at FedEx at least once a week in morning meetings (higher-ups were so pissed that FedEx was in "Cast Away", it was hilarious). People switch sides and take better jobs in any industry. Again, as long as there's no NDAs being violated, what's the problem?<p>Is Apple out of line with the patent issue? Other than maybe that, I don't see what's abnormal.

I'm thankful they agree on HTML 5 at any rate.

Anyone else here remember the scenes from <i>Pirates of Silicon Valley</i> where Steve Jobs is shouting at Bill Gates about ripping off the Mac? A few years from now I bet this will all make for a good sequel.

I haven't seen any evidence that Apple is poaching Google's employees. It's quite possible that the employee in question approached Apple, not the other way around.

I know there are like a million Google Employees here, what do you guys think of the 'competition'? Is it real or just convenient?<p>Any Apple Employees?

I'm going to guess that Apple is in the weaker (or at least more vulnerable) position, given that it was the first to resort to lawsuits. I'm not sure they really have an effective counter to Google entering the smartphone market.

Where is the "large phone" quote from? I heard it before but thought this was Schmitt talking about Android tablets, not dissing the iPad?<p>I'm strangely pleased at how rattled Apple are (by this account at least).

&#62;<i>We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them, he says.</i><p>Looks like someone's still a bit touchy about microsoft. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microso...</a>

Apple seems to be fighting a losing battle here. Google has a larger war chest - that is more products which people find great value in, than Apple and they are fighting on the side of openness which is more in the interests of users. At the same time, I do appreciate the fact that Apple has instilled a sense of aesthetics into the industry.

"Hence the patent suit against HTC. That’s all about Google - about creating a situation where Android is no longer a free operating system for handset makers in the U.S., because the cost of using it is an expensive legal defense against Apple."<p>Spot on.