A Googler Comments on the Apple iPad
April 6, 2010
I know one Googler does not represent the whole of Google. I did find the observation by Matt Cutts in his article “Mini-Review of the iPad” quite interesting, particularly in view of the comment about the Android online store as a “flea market.” Here’s the passage that caught my attention:
But the iPad isn’t for me. I want the ability to run arbitrary programs without paying extra money or getting permission from the computer manufacturer. Almost the only thing you give up when buying an iPad is a degree of openness, and tons of people could care less about that if they get a better user experience in return. I think that the iPad is a magical device built for consumers, but less for makers or tinkerers. I think the world needs more makers, which is why I don’t intend to buy an iPad. That said, I think the typical consumer will love the iPad.
This distinctions between open – closed, consumer – computer whiz may be the knife edge in which the battle for online revenues will be fought. If online advertising softens, the importance of these distinctions may increase. Google is drawing lines in the digital sand it seems. On one side is Google and the other China and Australia. Now there is a line between Google and Apple. Fascinating strategy. Apple, via its closed platform, has become the inclusionary glue for certain content. Microsoft, via its willingness to find a way to work in other countries and their laws, is emerging as less dogmatic.
Stephen E Arnold, April 6, 2010
No one paid me to write this.
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