It seems odd to me that so many blogs are commenting that Chrome being the #1 iOS download today is some kind of global indication of the need to open iOS to Android-like levels of user customization.
Not wanting nor willing to get into the merits of that idea overall, but doesn't it strike anyone other than me as obvious that it's the #1 app for iOS today because it came out yesterday with much fanfare, it's free, and it's something most everyone is aware of and would want to play with?
An unofficial poll here in my office shows that everyone who downloaded it here did so to, in so many words, "play with it and see what it's like", though nobody yet has stated that they intend to replace their browser use with it.
While it's nice that you can get as much of the Google ecosystem on your iOS device as you can, I'm really not sure that the availability of that ecosystem on iOS is any sort of indication of the necessity of opening up iOS to embrace that ecosystem.
In other words, "If you want Android, you know where to find it."
I think that the popularity of Chrome and the usage problems that occur because it can't be set to default have merely started the conversation. It isn't just Google apps. Sparrow, for example, is a top notch email client. It's tough to use exclusively because many of the email features embedded within iOS point to the Mail app instead. As third-party applications continue to increase in quality and functionality over the stock apps, users will likely prefer to change default apps. Apple's job is to make users happy.
Apple doesn't care what icons are on the home screen as long as that home screen is on an iOS device, because the device is where they make their money. I doubt Apple is losing sleep because I don't use their mail app.
The more revealing take-away from people having iPhone home screens full of Google apps is why they aren't using an Android phone.
they very much do care. If the only button anyone clicked on the home screen was "Firefox" and then did everything from there forever, pretty soon people would realize they don't really need an iPhone and would buy a far-less premium device.
This is exactly what will happen in Apple allows Chrome. They should remove it from the app store. It's against their policies and just like flash in mobile safari (firefox on ios is exactly like flash in mobile safari): All the arguments about not being "as native" are just as true, and Apple no longer has a Safari community across its devices to corral around and for developers to target.
Tim Cook is running Apple into the ground by removing Apple's user experience differentiation. He is creating beige boxes. Samsung can do that. Asus can do that. He needs to take a look at what the fuck Apple even is.
I don't see why Apple is so reticent on this. They wouldn't lose anything by letting users replace most default apps.
Of course, they can't allow the replacement of the App Store and continue with their current model but a user that already owns an iPhone and replaces the Mail app or web browser doesn't hurt Apple in any way. They'd probably even have more people buy iPhones (and make 30% on the sale of paid replacement apps). I fear it's because of their compulsion to control the experience from A to Z.
(disclaimer: I own an iPhone 4, iPad 2 and MacBook Pro)
I'd wager that some sort of (limited) "intent"-like mechanism is coming in a future iOS down the road, although not 6 and probably not 7.
Does anyone know how Apple is able to get away with this, when Microsoft was under so much antitrust litigation in the late 90s for simply bundling their internet browser?
This is what I thought. Somebody in Congress should hire another Princeton professor for a few million to figure out if a browser is, in fact, a crucial piece of a mobile operating system. After grueling research, I bet I can predict the answer to that.
jgeorge|13 years ago
Not wanting nor willing to get into the merits of that idea overall, but doesn't it strike anyone other than me as obvious that it's the #1 app for iOS today because it came out yesterday with much fanfare, it's free, and it's something most everyone is aware of and would want to play with?
An unofficial poll here in my office shows that everyone who downloaded it here did so to, in so many words, "play with it and see what it's like", though nobody yet has stated that they intend to replace their browser use with it.
While it's nice that you can get as much of the Google ecosystem on your iOS device as you can, I'm really not sure that the availability of that ecosystem on iOS is any sort of indication of the necessity of opening up iOS to embrace that ecosystem.
In other words, "If you want Android, you know where to find it."
jharrier|13 years ago
mtgx|13 years ago
YooLi|13 years ago
The more revealing take-away from people having iPhone home screens full of Google apps is why they aren't using an Android phone.
Zikes|13 years ago
its_so_on|13 years ago
This is exactly what will happen in Apple allows Chrome. They should remove it from the app store. It's against their policies and just like flash in mobile safari (firefox on ios is exactly like flash in mobile safari): All the arguments about not being "as native" are just as true, and Apple no longer has a Safari community across its devices to corral around and for developers to target.
Tim Cook is running Apple into the ground by removing Apple's user experience differentiation. He is creating beige boxes. Samsung can do that. Asus can do that. He needs to take a look at what the fuck Apple even is.
pwny|13 years ago
Of course, they can't allow the replacement of the App Store and continue with their current model but a user that already owns an iPhone and replaces the Mail app or web browser doesn't hurt Apple in any way. They'd probably even have more people buy iPhones (and make 30% on the sale of paid replacement apps). I fear it's because of their compulsion to control the experience from A to Z.
(disclaimer: I own an iPhone 4, iPad 2 and MacBook Pro)
I'd wager that some sort of (limited) "intent"-like mechanism is coming in a future iOS down the road, although not 6 and probably not 7.
valuegram|13 years ago
gte910h|13 years ago
johnpmayer|13 years ago
lostlogin|13 years ago
jharrier|13 years ago