Friday, October 28, 2011

Apple vs Google

I am not an Apple fanboy - more of a Googlesta. I have been using Android for a while now - am currently on my 4th phone - a neat little Huawei IDEOS, running Android 2.2. I just seem to wear them out - must be my fat fingers ;-)

The reason why I am wedded to Android is that I am a Google apps user - have been using this software in my day job for over 6 years now and it just keeps getting better.

Gmail is fantastic - easily the best email client on the planet. And while the other software tools are not yet as advanced they are getting close. The Google team are working hard to improve them and new releases occur regularly. If you get lots of email then you need Gmail with "conversation view on".

I just can't live without Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, Reader and the rest of the Google software. If Larry or Sergey ever get to read this then I really need you to build a *proper* Project Management tool. Please?

Which brings me back to Apple - recently I spent a few days with an iPhone. It looks great, the performance is very good, the screen is big and it feels like a quality product - if a little heavy. But it is seriously let down by its apps.

Now don't get me wrong they do work and some are even capable - but they just don't give me the level of control that I need in my day job. The email client in particular is weak.

And this got me thinking - clearly the iPhone is a mass market product. It is not built for the *road warrior* it is a *retail consumer* type product. And it has obviously been successful in that market. I only know that by looking at the number of people who are peering at them on the train during my morning commute.

But I need software with a lot more *oomph* and right now Android is the only thing that allows me to harness the power of Google apps while I am on the move. So I had to give the iPhone back - sorry fanboys.

I have huge respect for what Steve Jobs achieved at Apple. Clearly he understood his market and the success of the Apple products reflect that - but I just need something else.

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