Apple and Microsoft are headed to the bar together!
Today will be remembered as a pivotal one in the world of mobile innovation. Google and Verizon announced a major partnership (links below) - here are the highlights:
- Verizon will launch two new Android devices this year, with an entire family planned for the following years.
- Those devices will include not just Android smartphones, but "specialty devices" such as netbooks, PDAs, and even simpler feature phones. Presumably this will expand to include Google Chrome OS when it is available.
- Part of the deal involves joint development of leading edge apps specifically for Verizon Android phones.
- Will include roll out and support for Google Voice on these devices.
This deal must sting for both Apple and Microsoft. In Apple's case, this comes on the back of the recent backlash against their separation with Google around Google Voice and the subsequent FCC investigation. For Microsoft, this announcement is juxtaposed against the launch of Windows Phone 6.5 and the tough reception that it has received thus far.
But Apple is still the dominant force in smartphone innovation with massive growth of the iPhone and App Store.
And Microsoft has been on a solid track of innovation recently. And Windows 7 fixes what was bad with Vista and is a great OS that will launch this month.
Overall, this should be a good thing for consumers and businesses in terms of driving a wave of new innovation. None of these titans of the technology industry are going to stand still, and I expect that all of their investments will expand in reaction to each other's moves.
An interesting day indeed.
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One thing I'd like to see is the innovation this portends for household devices. While I love all the great new capabilities on my mobile phone, I still feel like the enabling electronics in my home are a bit behind. Better FIOS video devices with an improvement over the terrible interface I have on Comcast today would be very well received. I can't even search on that device. And I want it to be touchscreen. Bring it on.
2 years ago