Why Android Could Fail

The gold standard for market success in the cell phone handset market is, of course, the Apple iPhone. In today's market, only three things count: brand appeal, simplicity and applications.

In all three of these measures, the iPhone earns an A+. Apple has a top brand, easiest-to-use phone and the most and best applications. As a result, the iPhone is steadily -- and predictably, I might add -- devouring the smart phone market with no sign of slowing down.

This is the problem competitors face with creating the elusive "iPhone killer." In order to beat the iPhone, a cell phone would have to at minimum equal the iPhone in two of these measures, and surpass it in the third. In other words, an iPhone Killer would have to, say, be associated with as good a brand as the Apple and iPhone brands, be every bit as simple to use as the iPhone, and have more applications.

See what a challenge this would be? How will any competitor achieve this?

Microsoft, for example, has a pretty good brand, with both Microsoft and Windows as part of its Windows Mobile platform branding. But Windows Mobile gets a C on user simplicity, and a D- on the apps experience. That's why Windows Mobile is a market loser, falling from 11.1 percent market share in the third quarter of last year, to 7.9% this year. (During that same period, Apple's iPhone rose from 2.8 percent share last year to 13.3 percent this year.)

The success of the Android-based cell phones is much harder to predict, because so much about future products -- and which companies will build them -- is unknown. But even without that information, Android has serious disadvantages. So far, Google is failing in two of the three measures: Brand appeal and simplicity. And the jury's still out on applications.

Specifically, here are the potential barriers to Google's Android success.



 

New generation of rugged gadgets hits



When the going gets tough, the tough get rugged PCs, phones and other gadgets. Just a few years ago, there was hardly anything worth buying in this category. But now, there's a world of devices that can survive water, shock, dirt and extreme temperatures. Three of the hottest are Dell's Latitude XT2 XFR rugged touch tablet, Casio G'zOne Brigade full QWERTY keyboard cell phone and Ryobi headsets. Check them out!



Service lets you send paper mail via the Internet

For 99 cents, a service called Snailmailr will take the electronic note you type on their web site, print it, stuff it into an envelope and mail it anywhere in the world. (That price covers the first two pages. Additional pages cost 25 cents per page, with a maximum of 20 pages. If you want your envelope to not have the Snailmailr logo on the front, you pay another 10 cents per letter.) Here's the best bit. You can upload Word files, pictures, PDF files, PowerPoint files, and Snailmailr will print them all in full color.



What Gizmodo missed about the Pro WX Wireless USB disk drive



Gadget blog Gizmodo published an item this week headlined "Is There Any Point to the World's First Wireless USB Drive?" In the post, writer Jesus Diaz pointed out that other drives are Wi-Fi enabled, and they don't require a proprietary dongle. He asked, "So why not just leave a regular drive on the desk, and plug the cable for a better transfer rate at a much cheaper price? And if you want wireless, why don't get a drive that is Wi-Fi enabled?"

Diaz's criticism makes sense for people working in their homes or offices. But for location-independent professionals, the Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive makes a lot of sense. Here's why.

 

Gloves keep hands warm, but give you the finger (and thumb)

Etre Touchy gloves are a cross between regular and fingerless gloves. Only the thumb and index fingers are exposed, so you can use your touch-screen gadgets without removing the gloves. Will these catch on?

 

Found Video

Why you shouldn't rely on local cable TV for PC tips.



USB Gadget Hall of Shame

                            
Who's the genius that came up with USB flash drives in the shape of hand grenades? Good luck with airport security.

This "USB Alien with Illuminated Tongue," doesn't store data. It's not a hub. So what does it do? Well, all it does is randomly pop out its inner mouth, which lights up in red when it does so.



News You Can Lose

The Internet weighs at least 498,438,559,990 kilos.

Since when are video games considered athletic equipment? Sports Authority to sell Wii.

Need to hack a combination lock? There's an iPhone app for that.

60% of Xbox 360s fail.

How low can they go? Chinese company sells $80 netbook.



Made In Japan

A Japanese man legally married a "virtual girlfriend" in a dating simulator video game.

 

Bad Robots

The St. Louis Zoo was having trouble keeping its polar bears alive, so it outsourced the job to some "electronic" polar bears.

 

Hollywood Spy

New Blu-ray "Fight Club" comes with a prank by the director. It pretends for a moment to be a "chick flick."
 


Gotta-Get-It Gadgets

Digital picture frame also scans photos for display.



Wacky Web Sites

When you start to type a search in Google, the site offers autocomplete suggestions in a drop-down menu. These are based on previously entered searches that were popular, and they reveal what a strange and sick  -- and funny -- world it is out there. Autocomplete Me.

You may lose your lunch when you find out what school kids around the world are forced to eat in their school cafeterias in this blog: What's For School Lunch.

How about an entire web site devoted to photos of people's parents when they were young and awesome: My Parents Were Awesome.



Mystery Pic o' the Week



What is it? Post your guess here! If you're first with the right answer, you'll earn the dubious honor of getting your name in the next issue of Mike's List!

LAST WEEK'S MYSTERY PIC: No, it's not Thomas Edison's Commemorative Chess Set, an R2-D2 repair kit from the 1970s or even Tom Cruise's first e-meter, as suggested by some readers. In fact, it's a street cell phone charger cart in Afghanistan. Nokia Design researcher Jan Chipchase maintains an incredible blog called "future perfect." In the blog, she showed photos of Kabul, Afghanistan, street vendors, who charge cell phones for a small fee, and last week's Mystery Pic was one of those pictures. Here are the rest.  Congratulations to Chris of Santa Cruz, California, for being first with the right answer!

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