By now, you’re no doubt familiar with the closed platform of Apple’s OS X available on the iPhone, which prevents third-party software from being created for the device. In fact, he can take heart that the device will offer future software titles through the easy-to-use iTunes stores. However, he also may not realize that Apple is closing the door in terms of a varied and diverse software landscape for his tech darling.
Apple is dealing a heavy blow to the mobile software industry as a whole. By promoting software as a feature of hardware, the company could perpetuate the assumption that software is no longer a separate entity from a mobile device, leaving consumers with the perception that hardware manufacturers are the only providers of titles. compatible and of high quality. It almost takes you back to the good old days of Mac vs. Windows.
While Mac vs. Windows on the PC platform was partially eased when Apple allowed MS Office titles and windows to run concurrently with OS X, there is no foreseeable end in sight to Apple’s accumulation of software development rights. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that “iPhone is the most sophisticated software platform ever created for a mobile device.” He adding: “We believe the software features will be where the action will be for years to come.”
This “action” will no doubt mean more revenue for Apple and less choice for consumers. Did I also mention something called Microsoft Exchange? Because without it, you won’t be able to effectively perform work tasks alongside the Microsoft-based software your office probably runs on. And as for your emails and phone calls only to people, good luck getting IT to let you use IMAP for confidential company emails.
The actual cost of Apple’s closed platform won’t be immediately apparent. In fact, it may not have an immediate impact. However, the mobile software industry will suffer a significant setback if Apple is able to shift consumer perception towards software being a unique component of the hardware it runs on. When in reality mobile software is, and should be, its own entity separate from any particular product line or hardware.
If this is allowed to happen, the diversity and number of software titles available will slowly dwindle until once again, just like the early Mac and Windows wars, we are locked into a specific and solitary set of apps depending on the device. that is bought If I remember correctly, Mac was on the short end of the stick in terms of apps and software in those days. And while Apple’s forecast 10 million unit sales sounds like a lot, it’s still just a fraction of the mobile device market with Blackberry and Windows Mobile smartphones both eclipsing Apple’s sales goal by several times. Therefore, Apple will have to create some very robust applications to compete with the thousands of developers around the world working to create software for the Windows Mobile platform.
