Cupertino’s super hero made a rare appearance on Apple’s conference call yesterday, giving the world his opinion about rumors and rivals, the former which centered around why iPad Nano will never see the light of day.
While Steve Jobs was correct about highlighting RIM’s failure in the mobile space (which truth be told isn’t surprising to anyone unless you’re AT&T or RIM), he did go off on a rant regarding Android’s “fragmented mess.”
Ignoring the TweetDeck citation (which even TweetDeck’s own blog refutes), Steve Jobs claims of multiple app stores as a burden for consumers rather than a blessing can be summed up in three letters: FUD (aka “fear, uncertainty and doubt”).
The fact that Verizon and Amazon are launching app stores is a plus as it means that apps will be curated for quality (just like Apple) which will make it easier (not harder) for consumers to find great applications.
It will also give Android developers more ways to make money, as carriers and manufactures can integrate carrier billing (or another means) that are catered to the customers preferences, instead of forcing them to sign up with yet another payment system.
As far as Android’s fragmentation goes, last I checked TweetDeck wasn’t put off by what they considered variety, as their latest Android promo goes to show.
Before the iFanboys jump on the “yes, but beta testing upon all these devices can be a pain,” last I checked developers often ask their users to help beta test applications across the Android ecosystem, which can allow them to catch problems “live” rather than after the product is released.
While I personally love my iPhone and have no desire to trade it in for an Android device (despite the fact that most of my friends are sporting Android), I think Steve Jobs needs to use real arguments for why people should purchase an iPhone (retina display, high number of quality apps, developers making millions, etc.) instead of getting dirty by using FUD
(Note: Hat tip to TechCrunch for finding the audio)
Originally posted on October 19, 2010 @ 1:04 pm
I doubt that Jobs actually wrote that speech himself…but notice how his “smokescreen” comment could actually be turned right back around on Apple.
He’s probably just concerned that someone else is starting to make more money. But so what, doesn’t Jobs have enough by now anyway FFS?
PS: When is he going to change his clothes? Must smell awful by now…