Engadget has a thorough play by play of the Google I/O day 2 keynote. You should read it if you haven’t already. Videos are here.
A ton of stuff was announced: a faster, more capable Android OS with voice recognition, tethering, network data backups, and a super-fast browser; as well as Google TV.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Google announce or demo so many things in a single event. Meanwhile, Apple is pumping out new iPhone hardware and software annually. Were either of these platforms unchallenged, the improvements would likely be fewer and less frequent. There is very real competition going on here.
Apple and Google are the clear frontrunners at the moment, but they’re not alone. Mobile computing is still in its infancy, and there are five major players in this game:
- Apple
- HP / Palm
- Microsoft
- RIM
You have to go back at least 25 years to find a fracas like this. These are historic times, and they could go on indefinitely given the cash that each of these companies is sitting on. (RIM looks pretty bad here. They have little cash and no diversity, by comparison.)
Competition is good for the consumer. With competitors like these, we should all have plenty of toys to play with for quite awhile.