Gary Barnett's Blog

I’ve just read a post entitled “10 Reasons open source smartphones will win”.

I was motivated to read it because I’m a supporter of Open Source.

So I clicked that link… and was deeply disappointed.

The short version:

• Of the ten reasons I feel that 2 are right on, 4 are bogus and 4 are moot (at best)
• Oh and here’s one reason why web developers will prefer iPhone over ‘droid and Pre: Javascript Performance
• The emergence of great web-browsers and strong support for Javascript opens up a world of opportunity
• Of course OSS handsets are going to rock the world… but iPhone has set a tough standard
• Promoters of OSS have to remember that most handset buyers don’t give a flying crap how the software they’re using is licensed

Of the ten reasons I feel that 2 are right on, 4 are bogus and 4 are moot (at best)

- Open Standards (Bogus)

“With the iPhone, you do what Apple says, you follow Apple standards, and you use only Apple-approved apps–unless you jailbreak your phone.”

This is grossly misleading. If you want to write NATIVE iphone apps you have to follow apple standards, this means paying them some money (which irritated me initially but at $99 bucks, it’s really only a fee to ensure that only people who are serious about writing an app sign up).

iPhone offers scorching Javascript performance, and the SafariBrowser (webkit) allows anyone to write very sophisticated apps).

There’s no doubt that the future of handsets depends on t heir support for open standards – The era of the closed phone is over (Which means hard times ahead for RIM) – but you can’t claim that the iPhone wont benefit as much as any other open phone.
- More Applications (moot)

“But as the Android phones and the Pre begin to be more widely used, apps for those phones will multiply exponentially.”

Hmm… mathematically true, but what does that mean? – and if “more apps” do arrive, what proportion of them will be absolute rubbish.

Surely as HTML and Javascript apps emerge, they’ll be runnable on a whole range of phones with decent browsers and JavaScript support?

At least with the iPhone appstore you have a structured reviewing/scoring framework combined with a simple revenue stream for developers.

- Security (moot)

“Sooner or later, security is going to become a big issue with mobile computing. Apple has already shown that it can be painfully slow at releasing updates for the iPhone.”

I agree that the OSS community is great at quickly responding to security issues – but whether these find their way onto the device quickly is another matter surely?

And… in fairness… none of those security fixes shipped by Apple were show stoppers.

- Customization (right on!)

“One of my biggest beefs with this phone is how little you can customize it. It is not theme-able.”

I totally agree with this one. Yes, all those new smartphones will doubtless offer lots of scope for customization, I can’t wait to see the mess my friends make of their UI’s when they skin them.

Apple has missed a trick here – it shouldn’t be too hard to allow skinning.

- Connectivity (moot)

The author states that iTunes is “pretty much it” when it comes to iPhone connectivity– He neglects contact/email/calendar sync with exchange (and the likes of Gmail before long).

Nice that the pre shows up as a standard storage device when connected to the PC – How does that help? My experience of OSS connectivity (device sync to Linux) hasn’t really “shone” in the past, and while I hope it will improve I don’t put either the iPhone or OSS handsets ahead on this one.

- Cost (bogus)

It seems that some TCO figures show that over 24months the iPhone is $1200 more expensive than a Pre and $800 more expensive than the Android.

This is bogus, not least because the success of the iPhone implies that “cost” isn’t a huge factor in handset choice.

- Multitasking (right-on)

The iPhone cannot multitask and the Android and the Pre can. Apple opted out of multitasking because of battery life and processor performance issues. The trouble that Windows ME devices have with multitasking doesn’t necessarily fill me with confidence. While the Linux was doubtlessly created for multitasking and networking – I don’t necessarily think that this guarantees its superiority in a handset context.

The author also states that iPhone o/s is the “Dos” of Smartphone operating systems – which is pretty pathetic.

- Push Gmail (moot)

“Most of the Google applications are built into the Pre OS.”

“the Pre and the Android will enjoy a much richer integration with Gmail. Before long, one or both of these phones will have seamless integration with tools like eGroupware and Zimbra.”

This is so close to being available for iPhone it’s not fair to cite it as an advantage of other phones.

- Developers (Bogus)

“The sum total of open source developers across the globe is fairly staggering. Imagine having that collective whole working to create interesting, helpful applications, as well as bettering the total experience with the phone.”

Yes, imagine it for a while – then wake up and smell the coffee.

You can’t claim that the “sum total of open source developers worldwide” will all be focussed on bettering the total experience on OSS based handsets – This is absurd!

Both OSS handsets and the iPhone are accessible to a world full of HTML and Javascript developers, and they will doubtless fill their boots with apps that will be runnable on OSS based handsets, and iPhones.

- Creativity (Bogus)

“How long do you think it will be before the open source community has created a super-light version of Apache to run on the Pre? Imagine being able to carry your own Web server around with you. How much geek cred will that bring? And it will not end there.”

I think Apple, and the Apple community can boast a fair bit of creativity, thank-you very much. And, with respect – What proportion of the global market for handsets consists of people to whom the “geek cred” of having a web-server running on their phone will be a selection factor?

Oh and here’s one reason why web developers will prefer iPhone over ‘droid and Pre: Javascript Performance

The SunSpider benchmark shows the iPhone 3GS running JavaScript 3 times faster than the Pre, and 5 times faster than the ‘droid. I believe the term the kidz are using is “PWND”?

The emergence of great web-browsers and strong support for Javascript opens up a world of opportunity for Open Handsets

There’s a huge opportunity out there, as HTML5 emerges (along with WebKit) and as the Javascript processing power of handsets improves.

This opportunity benefits everyone in the OSS community, and every phone maker who allows these technologies to run freely on their handsets (like Apple does).

Of course OSS handsets are going to rock the world… but iPhone has set a tough standard

The iPhone isn’t just a handset – it’s a fabulous little device. It’s broken the mould, when vendors like Nokia and RIM were sitting on their asses getting fat and lazy those cheeky little black t-shirt wearing chappies at Apple out innovated them.

Because of Apple’s innovation, creativity, and Marketing skill – the Pre and droid look like “Apple wannabees”.

I hope the droid is successful, I really do – there are a lot of Windows ME, Nokia and Motorola users who need a choice – But for many, the choice will be iPhone.

Promoters of OSS have to remember that most handset buyers don’t give a flying crap how the software they’re using is licensed

It’s no good making the same old “moral” arguments for OSS in the context of consumer electronics. It will seem strange to many readers of this blog – but most people just don’t care. They buy devices on look, cred, feature, function and cost (more or less in that order). OSS doesn’t come into it.

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