Pittsburgh Ventures

Another quote from another of Fred Wilson’s posts over at A VC:

I love what Google is doing with Android and while I’ve yet to find an Android phone that can replace my trusted Blackberry, I think Android is going to be a big success. They’ve got the right approach to the market, they are open in every way possible. That’s the winning model, for Google, for the consumer, and for the mobile web. I’d like to see Apple emulate it, but they did not with the Mac twenty-five years ago and they may make the same mistake again. I hope not.

avc.com, A VC, Aug 2009

You should really read the whole article; in many ways, this is why I like Wilson so much(we couldn’t be more different in so many other ways):  having spent so much time as a “technology futurist”, studying the trends of where technology is going, he has the ability to make suggestions about things that should be done to improve our technology, our economy, and our world.  This is in that vein.

But the payoff comes in his last quote.  I am not an Apple fanboy – I have just never gotten into any of their devices because of the companies I have been a part of – I have always been a PC/Microsoft sort of guy (I know that has been and still is somewhat unfashionable; sorry).  But I do appreciate the competition that Apple throws into the industry – I very much respect their products, especially the iPhone; it has been truly revolutionary.  BUT I don’t at all like the way they maintain a CLOSED platform – and I think it is and will continue to be deadly for their long-term growth prospects.

Who cares what I think about this?  Apple certainly is printing money hand over fist, and deservedly so.  But they could be printing so much more money if they opened their platform beyond the App Store, like Google has done with Android.  It is Google that gets it – a little less control, but openess is your friend.

Speaking of those that don’t get it:  AMAZON.  The Kindle is much more closed than Apple’s devices, and while sales of these devices is good, it could be SO MUCH more!  There is so little creative app and feature development happening on the Kindle.  My favorite is kindlefeeder – what an awesome hack to get RSS on to your Kindle free of charge (I wouldn’t have had as much fun on my last vacation without it)!  What else is out there for the Kindle?

In the battle for the “Tween Screen” (the idea of the device between the small mobile phone and the larger laptop/desktop), Amazon has the early lead, but it is about to be swamped by Apple (the Tablet) and then by the CrunchPad.  Who is next?

I can’t wait.