BANGALORE, INDIA: In continuation of our previous article, Dr Venkateswaran throws light on the competition between Apple and Google and how developers are getting benefited from Android ecosystem.

Excerpts:

CIOL: How do you see the competition between Apple and Google?

RV:  In the mobile phone/smartphone market, both Google (with its Android platform) and Apple (with iPhones and iPads) are competing strongly against each other. Globally, Google’s Android platform has captured close to 52 per cent market share (and increasing), as against Apple’s 28 per cent. This is primarily due to the openness of the Android platform, leading to its adoption by most handset vendors including Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Sony Ericcson etc.

The backing of Google and the tight integration of the Android platform with popular Google applications such as Gmail, Picasa, GooglePlus, Maps and Latitude also strengthen the platform’s position in the market.

Google’s intent and interest in capturing market share of Apple is showcased by its acquisition of Motorola Mobility Solutions. However, there is a risk that this could alienate some of the competing players like HTC or Samsung. Android’s openness also makes it an ideal candidate for other form factor devices such as STBs, Connected TVs etc.

However, in the tablet space, iPad (both versions combined) has had a very early head start and has continued to maintain about 85 per cent of the market share. It has set a high benchmark for other vendors and the current predictions are that iPad will continue to maintain this lead for a few years to come.

CIOL: How are developers getting benefited with the increase of Android apps in the market?

RV: The application developer ecosystem has contributed significantly to Android’s popularity and market share. With persistent improvement and updates to the Android platform, the application developers are able to leverage the capabilities of the platform to develop very enriching applications on the platform.

The Android market is thriving with applications developed by small boutique shops to very large organizations. The openness of the platform makes the entry barrier for new entrants very low and the cost of development is minimal, thereby providing significant opportunities for interested players to get into this ecosystem.

The ability to reach a wider range of devices also enhances the interest of developers. Compared  with Apple’s stringent guidelines application certification for the Apple Appstore, Android’s guidelines are easier to meet. This is an added advantage for developers to focus on application development on the Android platform.

CIOL: What's the future of Android market and how will it help the developer community?

RV: The use of smartphones is expanding at a very fast rate and this in turn means there is large market for apps for smartphones. It is a virtuous cycle - wherein the availability of large number of applications further fuels the growth of smartphones. So I would say the future definitely looks very exciting. As I’ve mentioned above, developers will get to develop more applications which will be readily usable on this open platform. Most of the reasons for the attractiveness of the platform have been articulated above.

CIOL: What according to you sets Android apart from the rest of the competition?

RV:  There are a few distinguishing features that make Android a platform of choice. First, it is an open platform and can be customized for different devices - including smartphones, STBs, connected TVs etc. The platform has very rich capabilities, including a very powerful UI layer that makes it easy for an application developer to write UI-centric applications for Android devices.

The platform inherently supports features such as Flash, Maps, Google Latitude (location), Picasa as well as Gmail integration - thereby leveraging many of Google’s popular applications. The platform is continuously being updated - with a new release coming out every 3-4 months - which ensures that newer features get quickly integrated into the platform and available for everyone to use.