There have been a few interesting articles recently (including this on in the Guardian) about how Android could affect the gaming market. I really hope that Android opens the gates for some talented game developers who don’t have access to bags of cash but who can market through the Android Marketplace. It would be nice to see a return to an environment where you don’t need several million pounds and a load of graphics experts to launch a successful game.
However, Handango have also been mentioned in reference to Android so it sounds highly likely that the Android Marketplace won’t be the only point from which people can access software. I’m personally not a huge fan of the ‘grim’ Handango’s way of dealing with developers or customers. So I hope Google treats people with more respect.
A more worrying trend in mobile gaming is in multiplayer games using GPS. From what I can understand of this phenomena, this could lead to it becoming a normal day to day experience to see geek types spontaneously jumping on each other and battering the cr&p out of each other with their mobile phones. Whilst i’m sure Darwin would approve, I’m not sure what the police will make of people on tube platforms taking sniper shots at each other with their G1′s.
I’m sure the tabloids would also have a field day with titles such as Slashwars [cached link here] where random punters are meant to attack each other by swiping their phones in the air (presumable simulating knives). I guess if they keep their cameras switched on then this could create a whole new genre of ‘happy-slapping’.
Great article here about how Apple has approached applications that are competitive or ‘too silly’. If this proves to be the thin end of the wedge then this approach could prove too dictatorial for even the biggest iPhone fanboy. The fact that even Microsoft’s ‘Mr. Mobile’ – Jason Langridge is pointing to this as a step too far is a worrying sign. At least Microsoft treats its app developers ‘fairly’ by producing a similar product, including it for free and then using its weight to market the hell out of it – thus crushing the competition slowly..
This is an area where Google hopes that Android’s ‘openness’ will shine. The idea being that the Google marketplace will be a democracy rather than the App Store’s dictatorship. It could be argued that this will lead to a lower quality threshold but hopefully the voting system on the market place will help wade through some of the rubbish. I would forsee that users could also access applications via other sites and will not be restricted to just the Google market site.
Reuters has reported the T-Mo in the U.S. will launch the HTC Dream G1 on the 23rd September (2008!)
If this proves to be true then this gives them a decent run up to Christmas. Obviously, everyone has already written off Android as a lame duck which is probably great as such low expectations have been set.
I’m sure Google want it to be a success but equally they don’t seem to be set on setting the world alight and destroying the competition (Microsoft take note!). As long as they have some of their apps and their search available on other platforms they probably don’t care too much what device you buy. Google maps runs great on the Nokia E71, HTC Diamond Pro and Blackberry Bold alike with ‘subtle’ ads creeping in to newer versions.
One thing you can be sure of, every review/preview around the 23rd September will contain the word ‘iPhone’.
Google Android’s security team have asked security experts to ‘ethically hack’ their platform and report back privately on what they find. I think this is a smart approach but how they’ll get much of what they find resolved in time for the upcoming HTC Dream release will be interesting.
I think that it will be interesting to compare security on the different platforms given the the ‘openness’ of Android relative to closed platforms such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Symbian. Although the iPhone is a closed platform it is generally not considered secure enough for most enterprises to embrace it yet. This is perhaps reinforced by the simplicity of the latest password hack for the iPhone.
Blackberry is generally considered secure (if you enforce the appropriate policies) with the occasional hiccup(!). Windows Mobile is becoming more security conscious with each release and at least has the concept of signing applications as does Symbian.
