I would like to bring my tiny point of view in what seems to be a gigantic debate: what is better for the web? open or closed platforms?
i'll go simple to make my point:
- an open web is a web where both developers and users can do what they want. Developers have the freedom to develop what they want. Users have the freedom do use services as they want. Standards and practices are known to all and there is no central authority that controls the rules and practices.
- A closed web is a regulated web: developers have to comply with rules and users can only use what those developers create.
The web (for computers) as we know it today is rather open. You can develop anything and access it through your browser(s) which comply with standards of navigation which are universal. We used to have a closed Web: portals, limited browsers, absence of standards, web organized in directories rather than links. This has changed and no one would use today a directory or use rather this or that browser to access a specific site (except when Apple showcases html5)
But the mobile web is rather closed. The pipes are controlled by operators, the new ISPs and AOLs of the PC era. The browsers are not running everything either because of limitations (safari and flash) or device capabilities (try an MMOG on opera mini..). The Web is being rebuilt through apps, which are built by developers using App Store SDKs (Apple, Android, Blackberry, OVI, Bada,...). Users are driven to those apps because they are simple and convenient.
But you simply cannot use the web created for your PC on your mobile phone. It is not designed for those screens (even iPad) and it is not conceived for a touch experience.
This means the mobile web has to be created and Apple got the first shot super right.
So the question is: Will the mobile web remain a closed environment where developers and therefore users will have to comply by rules that are limitative by essence? Or will the mobile web, just like the PC web evolve to an open environment? Let me detail. In the long term:
- Will cell operators stop to try to make use believe they can also be content providers, just like ISPs tried as and will simply become pipes providers?
- Will App Stores remain the main entry door to the web or will web sites adapt themselves to Web apps accessible universally via your browser?
- Will user prefer a closed, curated, simple/simplified ecosystem to a rich, fully accessible app-less mobile web?
I think the key to those answers lie in how OS owners play it with developers. I am personally very happy with a closed mobile web. I don't care i can't read flash on my iPhone, i love my Apps sometimes even more than the original web sites that are too cluttered and complex. And i believe 99.99% of users are not concerned by the debate, simply because to date there is enough to do with and not enough maturity in usage to realize you need more than that.
And the reason to that: Developers play by App Store rules. They are happy creating apps. And users are happy with it. App Stores are taking away the control Cell operators had once on mobile content> which will drive i believe, operators to become pipe providers, which is what we pay for. Which i believe is a good thing.
i think a closed environment can work for developers but on 3 conditions: it has to be consistent in its rules, efficient in its treatment and monetization and transparent in its communication. Android is providing nearly all of this except on the monetization> which brings many developers not to think to much as to where to allocate their time.
Apple has made an amazing job at creating a working app ecosystem. Tomorrow they will present again how people love apps (4billion download, 200k apps - not really progressing for a while btw, ...) But this shadowing some deep issues that cannot last.
- Although Apple has a clear SDK but it is not consistently applying the rules: again last week a "Frame" app was removed from the App Store - because apple is not authorizing it, something the SDK does not mention. Can a developer invest so much time and feel one day is app is randomly rejected?
- Is Apple fast enough in reviewing apps? In general yes but this is degrading after a consistent improvement. They managed at some point to reach 95% of apps approved in a week which is great. But lately that has gone down to sub 90% and the number of total apps in not really increasing (200k to be announced tomorrow, is the same number announced when the iPad was announced)
- is Apple transparent enough in its communication with developers? With some of the biggest we know they talk on a nearly daily basis. But that a tiny minority. We submitted our v2 of Appsfire 53 days ago. We know our app was tested very quickly by Apple but since we are not hearing a single word from Apple. There is an email you can reach out to, but no one talks to us. For companies focused on Apple, a near 2 months silence is like a death sentence. And in the meantime they approved 2 similar apps in less than a week.
In conclusion: the mobile web can remain a closed platform as long as it is fluid enough as an ecosystem. I personally don't care about the rules as long as they are clear, consistently applied and based on a transparent and efficient communication process.
If this is not happening, i don t care about what the next iPhone or Android or Blackberry phone can achieve. If developers feel or start feeling uncomfortable with creating apps which make the mobile web so great, those phones won't have nothing differentiated to offer.
Steve jobs will say it tomorrow: it is all about apps. So if this is the case: this has to be treated with the highest priority. I believe app stores in general, and in Apple case in particular, are under resourced internally. This is an easy fix. But that is not enough: A process where a developer has to wait 2 months (and we are not alone) to get a feedback is not a working process. The allocation of resources is related to the understanding that this is a necessity.
I don't feel Apple has done enough in that direction. The war Apple has to fight is not against Google or Microsoft, or RIM but with itself making sure they treat decently and fairly developers big, or small. If they do that, and they can, they will win the battle of the mobile web.