There's a well-written article in the NY Times with a very interesting perspective on how Apple's iPad and iPhone are like gated communities (closed-off, safer, more predictable) while the rest of the web is like a city (open, noisier, more varied, less safe). The author also astutely compares purchased apps to bottled water: "an inventive and proprietary new way of decanting, packaging and pricing something that could once be had free."
This topic also reminds me of the Cathedral vs. the Bazaar.
Comments (3)
May 26, 2010
5:21AM | #
The interesting thing about that article is that it goes against exactly what Jobs has been saying. Jobs has been pretending to champion the open web with his support for HTML5 which we all know is a big smoke screen for what Apple really want, a closed system they have complete control of.
As time passes the masses are going to wake up and realize that they don't want to be told what they can and can't do by Apple.
June 17, 2010
9:34PM | #
If you're still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a evo then an iphone and see which is better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you'll know which is right for you.
June 17, 2010
11:51PM | #
The new EVO browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPhone. It works well, but isn't as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that's not an issue, but if you're planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the EVO larger screen and better browser may be important.