..from last month, I thought I should probably complete the thought process that I had started to project. So, once you figure out that you do need a smart phone, you will be presented with myriad choices. So, I put together a nice picture instead of words, conforming to the conventional wisdom (which I seldom do), that a picture is worth a thousand words:
What this table says (and before I proceed, please note that this is meant to be an oversimplification, with a liberal dose of personal experiences, expertise and biases) is that ultimately what really matters is the amount of money you want to spend and what you get in return a.k.a. value.
The carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint etc.) feed off the need for you to get a smart device, and base their entire revenue model by locking you in to a contract that milks you for a lot of money on the pretext of getting a better and more expensive phone at a subsidized rate. They quench your thirst for data (email, web browsing etc.) with a fountain whose nozzle they control. The more you pay, the more they open the nozzle and let you consume more date and a faster speed. And then there are the no-contract providers like Metro PCS and Boost Mobile who have very economical plan, but cannot offer the coolest devices and the best coverage.
iPhones are great devices, work very well, have great features and battery life. Apple customer care is the best in the world, in my opinion. In addition, iPhones (and other iOS) devices 'just work', requiring minimal intervention from the users. Their user interface is very simple and intuitive. However, iPhones, like all other iOS devices is a very controlled and monitored paradise, governed by very autocratic Apple policies and mandates. People who are satisfied with Apple's version of electronic paradise (which is by no means a bad one, it is actually pretty good), or people who are blissfully ignorant, will find their home in the Apple land, and live there happily ever after. They will be at peace with themselves when they shell out more money to get new iPhones and Apps, which on the Apple Store, are more paid than free. It is a good place to be, for a lot of people.
And then, there are the people who feel suffocated in the Apple land. They do not like people who seemingly possess mind control powers and control their users by controlling their device experience. People tend to lose their individuality and the power of defining 'whats cool' for themselves. These folks prefer to take the hi-way instead of the Apple way. They are the rebels, willing to challenge the conventions of coolness, which was first invented by Apple. They are the Android geeks.
Google disrupted the Apple universe and carved a place for people who could not afford to live in the Apple land. They made Android available to all manufacturers and allowed them to make Android their own. Suddenly the world was full of Android devices with a vast range of capabilities and prices from $50 to $500, in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Suddenly, smart phones came within reach of the masses, and they embraced Android with open arms. With this deluge of un-moderated and almost uncontrolled Android devices and Apps, we see good devices and crappy devices, good apps (usually existing iOS aka apple apps, ported to Android) and the misbehaving apps that crash creating an amalgam of very confusing yet rich set of experiences for the non-Apple consumer.
Android vs. iPhone
Rewind- when the smart phone wars began!
While the Android wildfire spread in the grasslands, the Apple forest remained unfazed and protected and the once glorious empire of BlackBerry declined rapidly. The world of smart communications was changing at warp speed. While boasting of a solid set of devices, with un-paralleled reliability and security, RIM the 'inventors' of original smart device, the BlackBerry, found themselves completely out-innovated by the Android vigilante free-thinkers and the Apple sophisticates with stiff upper lips. Their tunnel vision led them to see a future where they saw everyone trying out anything non-BlackBerry, but returning back the good 'ol faithful Berry. Alas, we have not yet invented a laser to correct tunnel vision, and the only known cure is bitter dose of Bankruptcy.
And while the BlackBerry was getting squished between Androids wrestling with Apples, slowly and silently, we see the Windows of Microsoft opening, giving way to the new world of Microsoft powered phones.
And thus, the battle of the smart phones, slowly transitions into the battle of the ecosystems, much to the delight of the techno-enthusiast. And that will be the topic of another monologue from me.
Q: So which smart phone would be Aditya's choice?
A: Wait for my post on 'Ecosystems'
And so, in this story fashion, I hope I was able to demystify this tech landscape, mix in my opinionated views. Getting a phone, like religion, is a personal choice.
An Android will let you jump off a cliff. A BlackBerry will warn you of the cliff, and tell you that you can use its old, unfrequented, very secure, dusty and trusty dirt-trail with hand-rails to go down the cliff if you really want to. An Apple will convince you that cliffs don't exist, therefore the need to jump is irrelevant, what you really want is a shiny new iPod and that resistance (to get one) is futile. (I hope a few of you actually get this joke…those who don't should go live in the Apple land).
There is no perfect phone, but there indeed is a phone which will serve you perfectly.
…and so says I.
