Webkit... The forest and the trees

If anyone was wondering just how important mobile Internet convergence really is, just take a look at what has happened over the course of the last 6-weeks as a result of Google I/O and the release of Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Apple's WWDC 2010 and the release of iOS 4 and the iPhone 4. It does not require a great deal of insight to see just how important mobile devices and the operating systems that power them have become. Just a few short years ago the concept of mobile operating systems could not have been farther from the consciousness of mainstream users. Sure, phones became "smartphones" when the PalmOS found it's way into a phone many years ago, and Windows, Symbian, Blackberry, etc. have been running on phones for a very long time.

But look what's happened in the last 3-years since Apple launched the original iPhone:

1. Blackberry, once the undisputed leader and trendsetting "smartphone" maker is quickly become irrelevant.
2. Microsoft, once the undisputed leader of all-things-digital appears to have become completely irrelevant in the mobile space.
3. Google, not even a teenager, has created the Android mobile operating system which is demonstrating a level of adoption that is unprecedented in history.
4. Apple has become the world's most valuable technology company (from a market capitalization perspective) and, in conjunction with Google, has completely changed the entire landscape with respect to mobile computing.

While this is all great trivia, I think most people are currently missing the really important story. Sure, great devices (hardware) are essential for the Internet to truly become mobile, and great operating systems are required to power these clever new devices. However, upon closer inspection I have concluded the single most important component of the current mobility revolution is not iOS (iPhone OS) or Android, but is Webkit.

Webkit is the underlying engine that powers the web browsers from BOTH Google (Chrome) and Apple (Safari), and not just on the desktop, but specifically on their respective mobile platforms. Based on this fact, it seems clear to me that developing native iOS or Android applications should not be the goal/objective for the vast majority of organizations. Of course there are some classes of applications, specifically graphic intensive games, that require "native" power. However, most great applications and utilities are not games, but are productivity enhancers. In almost all cases, organizations would be much better served focusing the majority of their attention on the function of the application(s) and implement using HTML5 tools. Thanks to the power of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript it is now possible to create "web" applications that are easily 90% as fast, powerful, functional, and attractive as their native counterparts. This approach, going web vs. native, facilitates platform independence as opposed to platform dependence (lock-in).

Forgive me iOS (Apple) and Android (Google), but it's Webkit that's really the key to everyone's success.

Where technology & philosophy intersect!

I just finished watching Steve Job's WWDC 2010 keynote address. It sure is a great to be in the business of technology at this time in history. How amazing is it that we have 2 of the most powerful, interesting, creative, cutting edge companies the world has ever seen (Apple & Google) both driving as hard as possible to advance the art & science of mobility and the Internet?

For me, this picture says it all..

As a philosopher come technologist this picture will be forever burned into my consciousness. I, too, believe the greatest products do not come, simply, from the greatest engineers. Great products exist at the cross roads between brilliant technological innovation and the human beings that are destined to use the technology.

Companies that forget the importance of the "liberal arts" in the continuum of technological advancement do so at their own peril.

When hell freezes over? Maybe it has...

Rumor: Microsoft cameo at WWDC keynote

Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing if Apple/Microsoft came together to compete against Google/Adobe?

1. Bing becomes the default search engine on the iPhone.
2. Bing maps becomes the default mapping engine.
3. Silverlight becomes "native" to the iPhone.

Stranger things have happened. Stay tuned. These are amazing times.

Apple is getting into the map business!

Thanks to some good detective work on the part of Seth Weintraub from ComputerWorld, it looks like our friends at Apple have spent some of that cash they have sitting around to get themselves into the map business. What's particularly interesting, and perhaps important/significant, is how this move clearly puts Apple and Google at odds over who should provide mapping software/data on the iPhone, iPod Touch, etc. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last couple of years, you know the business of mapping has become massive. Mapping software and the tiles (a.k.a. the maps themselves) not only help people get from point-A to point-B, they are key when it comes to driving local commerce.

Here is some background from CNet (http://bit.ly/apple_placebase_20091001) on the Apple acquisition of Placebase.com.

I don't think it takes a genius to see that Apple wants Google's mapping software off the iPhone platform. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aside from Google Maps, does Apple have anything from any other company that comes as part of the base/default application set?

Survey: Consumers smitten with smartphones

The CFI Group just released the results of their 2009 Smartphone Satisfaction Survey. The following is a link to the CNet story...

http://bit.ly/cnet_smartphone_survey

Here are some of the highlights:

• Smartphone users are no longer just reading e-mail or scheduling appointments but also surfing the Web, streaming video and music, downloading games, and snapping pictures. Smartphones are now seen more by consumers as minicomputers than as cell phones.
• Apple's iPhone is credited with igniting the growth of smartphones, and it's the clear leader of the pack. The survey found that the iPhone has the most loyalty and praise among its users, with 92 percent of iPhone owners saying they have the ideal phone. Around 90 percent have recommended the device, while 35 percent said they bought the iPhone based on word-of-mouth advice.
• The iPhone also is tops in customer satisfaction, ranking 83 on a 100-point scale.
• The Palm Pre and Android-based phones each scored 77 on the scale, followed by Research In Motion's Blackberry at 73 and the Palm Treo at 70. The rest of the pack, including phones running Windows Mobile and Symbian, trailed the list with an overall grade of 66.