Google's Eric Schmidt throws down the gauntlet

[endlessmike133]

"Whether you like Android or not, you will develop for it."

Oh man. What happened to "Don't be evil."?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

"Whether you like Android or not, you will develop for it."

Oh man. What happened to "Don't be evil."?

How is that evil? I'm sure plenty of people who don't like Windows still develop for it since it's the market leader.

 

[ponyo]

He also said most new TV by next summer will have Google TV. The man is obviously smoking something strong.

 

[pm]

pretty sure on all versions after 2.2 there is an update all button as well as the ability to let them auto update

however depending on the phone you have the edits to it may have changed things

Anytime there's more than one app to be updated, there's an Update All option from Market, its been there since one of the Market updates that came with 2.2.

I understand now. I'm mistaken. I'd been using the Amazon appstore for everything. And I don't see an "update all" on the Amazon appstore.

Thanks for the explanation though.

If buying iOS apps is comparable to buying apps on the Mac App Store, then Android Market's method of tap 'Buy', tap 'Accept', app downloads, run app is far better, quicker, and easier. Provided you've got a VISA/MC attached to your account.

Ok, then I must be doing something wrong. On an iOS device, I can touch "Buy" and that's it. Worst case, I may have to type in my password if I hadn't done so earlier. On Android, there's like 5 boxes. I thought that maybe it's easier on the web, but it was about the same. If you think I'm way wrong, I'm willing to post screenshots.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

He also said most new TV by next summer will have Google TV. The man is obviously smoking something strong.

While most sounds very optimistic the number of manufacturers planning on using Google TV has increased quite a bit recently.

 

[QueBert]

If i am not mistaken that study ignored add revenue making it's conclusions just about worthless.

Just about worthless? iOS has just as many if not more free app's downloaded than Android, and the numbers I quoted don't factor in either developers revenues from ads. So by your logic the ad revenue would more than likely skew the numbers even more in iOS's favor. I don't think Android users really understand just how many free app's there are in the App Store.

 

[theeedude]

I got ad-free TripIt app yesterday from Amazon Appstore. I guess I should be pissed I didn't add $3.99 of app revenue for Google to brag about

 

[Anubis]

I understand now. I'm mistaken. I'd been using the Amazon appstore for everything. And I don't see an "update all" on the Amazon appstore.
)

yea not sure amazon has that option, however i bet if you email them and suggest it they will give you 5$ credit, they did that to me every time ive emailed them about their ap store

 

[Pliablemoose]

Schmidt is a billionaire internet troll.

 

[MrX8503]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jJcBrJ4970&feature=related

Here's a video comparing The App Store and the Marketplace. It doesn't go through the process of buying, but Apple has the giftcard advantage. Maybe that's something Google will incorporate.

Another thing is that Apple basically automatically has your CC when you sign up for iTunes, where Android takes a little bit more legwork to get set up. Most people have owned some kind of iPod device prior, so Apple already had this huge database of credit cards.

 

[endlessmike133]

How is that evil? I'm sure plenty of people who don't like Windows still develop for it since it's the market leader.

Instead of focusing on why developers don't like Android and making strides to fix it, he's saying it doesn't matter if they don't like it because they will be forced to develop for it anyways.

Pretty evil if you ask me.

 

[sciwizam]

"Whether you like Android or not, you will develop for it."

Oh man. What happened to "Don't be evil."?

IIRC, the actual quote was "Whether you like Android or not, you will want to develop for it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=t02iJn5Ypio#t=2595s

 

[tfinch2]

Ok, then I must be doing something wrong. On an iOS device, I can touch "Buy" and that's it. Worst case, I may have to type in my password if I hadn't done so earlier. On Android, there's like 5 boxes. I thought that maybe it's easier on the web, but it was about the same. If you think I'm way wrong, I'm willing to post screenshots.

When I had an iPad, what drove me crazy is that almost every other day they had a new TOS agreement for the app store. So you would click buy, type your password, then it would say agree to the new TOS, and you would have to start over again.

I like using my PC to pick my apps, and they magically show up on my tablet.

 

[JD50]

People think it's difficult to buy an Android app? Tapping the screen twice is now considered "difficult?" Wow.

 

[JD50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jJcBrJ4970&feature=related

Here's a video comparing The App Store and the Marketplace. It doesn't go through the process of buying, but Apple has the giftcard advantage. Maybe that's something Google will incorporate.

Another thing is that Apple basically automatically has your CC when you sign up for iTunes, where Android takes a little bit more legwork to get set up. Most people have owned some kind of iPod device prior, so Apple already had this huge database of credit cards.

Please explain how Apple automatically has someone's credit card.

I know what you're trying to say, but it's a pretty ridiculous point. At some point, with either Apple or Android, you have to enter your credit card info, so that's not a positive or negative for either platform.

 

[akugami]

Eric Schmidt is right. Android is clearly winning. In most major metrics, Android is winning.

Eric Schmidt is wrong. Application vendors are not driven by volume. They are driven by money. Most of the "free" apps on Android are advertisement driven. They are not sold by a price but there is still a method to make money on them. It's probably beating a dead horse to say so but developers have a greater chance to make money on an iOS device than an Android device. It's why some developers still have not taken their mobile software onto Android.

I do hope that Android ends up beating iOS. It just isn't good for consumers for one company to have the best stuff.

Android is a better OS just because more then one company can use it.

No offense but just because a product/idea has more people selling it doesn't make it better. Not that I'm saying iOS or Android is better. Just that your premise on why Android is better is flawed.

Another thing is that Apple basically automatically has your CC when you sign up for iTunes, where Android takes a little bit more legwork to get set up. Most people have owned some kind of iPod device prior, so Apple already had this huge database of credit cards.

PSA: You don't need to enter your credit card number to create an iTunes account. I've gotten plenty of free quality apps and all of my purchases are done via gift cards so Apple has never had my credit card number.

 

[McWatt]

Just about worthless? iOS has just as many if not more free app's downloaded than Android, and the numbers I quoted don't factor in either developers revenues from ads. So by your logic the ad revenue would more than likely skew the numbers even more in iOS's favor. I don't think Android users really understand just how many free app's there are in the App Store.

Oops! That's not how math works. Let's assume iOS and Android have equal numbers of ad-supported free app downloads, since it's the first thing you suggest in the post I quote above. Let's also assume average revenue from ads is equivalent between free Android and iOS apps. I believe your original source stated that Android only makes 7% of Apple's app sale revenue from direct sales.

In order to demonstrate the arithmetic, let's make up some numbers. It's been reported that ad-revenue tends to be greater than app sale revenue, at least on Android. Let's run with that and assume Android's

Given that, if Android made $240MM on app sales, then it made $480MM overall. Similarly, iOS's $3400MM of sales implies $3640MM of total revenue based on our first assumption. Now Android is making 13% of iOS's revenue. Whatever the specific numbers are, ad revenue will bring the OS revenues closer together unless Android ad revenue is less than 7% of iOS ad revenue, which isn't at all likely to be the case. This is the opposite of your statement in terms of percentages, and you were the one who decided to use percentages.

You maybe just made the mistake because you got a little emotionally overstimulated, but I have trouble passing up an opportunity to correct poor arithmetic.

 

[lothar]

I will agree with the comment that buying Android apps is more annoying than buying iOS apps. I'm participating in the 10 for 10 days for $0.10 thing and buying an Android app on either my Asus Transformer, or through the web takes 4 or more clicks to buy and then an announcement when it's installed, and each purchase generates a receipt. On iOS, you click once, type in your password and then you can go on a crazy spree and everything after that is 1-2 clicks/touches and when you are done you get one receipt for your entire shopping spree. This is not a FAIL sort of thing, but it's definitely a "ok, this is getting annoying even though these 9 apps just cost me $0.90". I can't figure out how to update apps en masse as well... on iOS, you touch "update all" but I don't see the similar button on Android and updating requires that I revisit the permissions list again, and accept and download, and then it's got all of these announcements about how it's downloaded and now I have to install. Is this better on ICS?

It only takes me 3 clicks on the web. I don't have a problem with having different receipts or installation notices.
Click 1: After searching for app, click Buy.
Click 2: Send to "whatever" default device, review App permissions and Android refund policy. click OK.
Click 3: Click complete purchase.

"Update all" has always been available for me since I've had my phone.
The only time Google makes an app do a "manual" update is when app permissions has changed in the new update, and it allows you to click it and see what permissions changed. Then you can go ahead and click the install button.

 

[ew915]

I've pretty much used about 20 different android phones, i have to say everytime i get a new phone is always the same ordeal. Root delete the crapware yes even the nexus one which had the lame amazon mp3. After that experiment with all the kernels and roms just so i could get a smoother phone and squeeze more battery. I'm sick of this so i said Fuck it and i got an iphone 4s.
I don't know if the world must feel compelled to develop for android then at least android should watch what carriers do because i will not get another phone and go through all the rooting process to delete the bloat and CIQ stuff. I feel the average user deserve better, yes iOS is not the solution but at least can keep the carriers away when it comes to adding stuff to the phones.
Even the G Nexus had to bend over and remove the google wallet.

 

[pm]

People think it's difficult to buy an Android app? Tapping the screen twice is now considered "difficult?" Wow.

I'm not saying it's difficult, I'm saying it's annoying. I wasn't just talking about the buying - that's tapping twice, it's the buying plus the installing. This morning buying and installing 9 apps took so long that I finally gave up and left for work. But... I tried to get it to do now -with a camera to prove that I am not a crank - and what it was doing this morning and now it didn't do tonight...

So tomorrow there will be 10 more apps and I'll try again but for now... I have no idea.

I'll concede that I'm crazy... until I have photographic proof.

It only takes me 3 clicks on the web. I don't have a problem with having different receipts or installation notices.
Click 1: After searching for app, click Buy.
Click 2: Send to "whatever" default device, review App permissions and Android refund policy. click OK.
Click 3: Click complete purchase.

"Update all" has always been available for me since I've had my phone.
The only time Google makes an app do a "manual" update is when app permissions has changed in the new update, and it allows you to click it and see what permissions changed. Then you can go ahead and click the install button.

Yeah, it was mistake. My comment was for the Amazon Appstore. Find me an "update all" there for my 100+ Amazon apps and I'll hug you virtually.

As far as this buying thing... yeah, comment above. I have no idea what the problem was this morning but it was like 20 minutes to buy and install 8 apps. It was, click, check payment, accept payment, wait, wait, check permissions, wait, install, and then a little box came up to tell me it was installed and do I want to open it. And I was thinking "I need to get to work... let me buy, buy, buy and get out of here".

If you guys are saying it's not like this for you, then I must have my payment system set up wrong, or I did something funny with the security. I don't know. But I can't seem to buy 10 apps in 5 minutes or less on my Transformer. Is there way to buy something while it's installing the last thing that you bought?

 

[Zaap]

The Android gift card idea is a great one.

 

[Aikouka]

Click 2: Send to "whatever" default device, review App permissions and Android refund policy. click OK.

If I send it to some random device, is it available to any device registered under that Google account? Might as well buy a few games for the future (for 10 cents... why not?), but I have an Android-equipped AT&T Tilt (old Windows Mobile 6.1 phone) listed as "AT&T Phone".

 

[Mopetar]

Why is this even news?

Would anyone be any more surprised if they asked the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys who is going to win the game next week and he said it was going to be the Cowboys. Even if Schmidt turns out to be horribly wrong it doesn't matter as he's pretty unlikely to make any predictions that don't look good for his company. Why people are bickering over this is beyond me.

 

[QueBert]

Why is this even news?

Would anyone be any more surprised if they asked the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys who is going to win the game next week and he said it was going to be the Cowboys. Even if Schmidt turns out to be horribly wrong it doesn't matter as he's pretty unlikely to make any predictions that don't look good for his company. Why people are bickering over this is beyond me.

The football analogy's different imho, any given Sunday any team could beat another. The Cowboy coach saying that would be absolutely resonable, it's 50/50. What Eric Schmidt said would be about in line with me making a prediction that in 6 months I'll have sex with Halle Berry. He could have made a ton of Android related predictions that actually had merit. But he decided to go with the 1 thing that's not even in the realm of being realistic. Hell he could have still hyped up the Market without flat out lying "In the next 6 months you're going to see huge improvement in the Market app wise." would have sounded perfect, and even been doable. If Apple was asked about market share do you think they'd say "oh give us 6 months and we'll be close to neck and neck with Google" doubtful...

 

[Sloper]

Oops! That's not how math works. Let's assume iOS and Android have equal numbers of ad-supported free app downloads, since it's the first thing you suggest in the post I quote above. Let's also assume average revenue from ads is equivalent between free Android and iOS apps. I believe your original source stated that Android only makes 7% of Apple's app sale revenue from direct sales.

In order to demonstrate the arithmetic, let's make up some numbers. It's been reported that ad-revenue tends to be greater than app sale revenue, at least on Android. Let's run with that and assume Android's

Given that, if Android made $240MM on app sales, then it made $480MM overall. Similarly, iOS's $3400MM of sales implies $3640MM of total revenue based on our first assumption. Now Android is making 13% of iOS's revenue. Whatever the specific numbers are, ad revenue will bring the OS revenues closer together unless Android ad revenue is less than 7% of iOS ad revenue, which isn't at all likely to be the case. This is the opposite of your statement in terms of percentages, and you were the one who decided to use percentages.

You maybe just made the mistake because you got a little emotionally overstimulated, but I have trouble passing up an opportunity to correct poor arithmetic.

That still leaves Apple with an order of magnitude dominance on Android.

6 months to flip it around? Way off base.