Marketing Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Strategies - Essay Example The company’s speciality operation includes royalties and licensed fees from licensed locations, revenue from the sales of branded products through retail and foodservice revenue from the sale of coffee to institutions. While the sale of branded products through retail and foodservice accounts for only a small proportion of the company’s total revenue, it is instrumental in developing and building brand loyalty. The bulk of the revenue from this segment stems from the US division, where Starbucks has a licensing relationship with Kraft Foods Inc to sell branded products, including Starbucks coffee. Through the Kraft partnership, distribution has also been expanded into Canada and the UK. The company also operates two joint ventures in which it has a 50% equity interest: North American Coffee Partnership, a joint venture with Pepsi-Cola Co to develop and distribute bottled Frappuccino and Starbucks DoubleShot coffee drinks, and Starbucks Ice Cream Partnership, a joint venture with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream to develop and distribute ice cream products. (Spulber, 2007) Starbucks also has a partnership with Jim Beam Co, a unit of Fortune Brands Inc, to manufacture and market Starbucks bran ded premium coffee liqueur products in the US and Canada. Market performance for the third quarter 2007 continued to be positive for Starbucks in the US, with strong single digit growth for the brand in the premium coffee segment. Financial performance has been strong, with total revenue increasing by over 22% in the fiscal year ending September 2006. Both operating segments saw strong levels of growth, with the company-operated segment increasing by over 21% and the speciality segment up by over 23%. (Michelli, 2006) Within the company-operated segment, sales growth has been driven by outlet expansion, but comparable store sales has also been

Should priciples of justice in a community begin with the maximin Essay

Should priciples of justice in a community begin with the maximin assumption evident in John Rawls' work A theory of justice - Essay Example Rawls was primarily concerned with questions of how best social justice could be organized as a â€Å"basis structure† in a liberal and democratic society (Ibid: 6). For Rawls, his idea of justice was directed at how a societys main political, social, and economic institutions should cooperate together in distributing fundamental rights and duties to everyone in an ordered society (Ibid: 6). His objective of A Theory of Justice, published in 1971, was to provide an alternative solution to the then dominant utilitarian principle of justice, which held that, a society is â€Å"right and morally just,† if major institutions maximized what is intrinsically good, to the satisfaction of the vast majority of people in a society (Ibid: 21). In rejecting the utilitarian principle of utiltiy, Rawls set forth his conception of justice, which was egalitarian in nature. It would perhaps be helpful to look at some definitions of justice, before analyzing Rawlss conception of justice. The dictionary of legal theory define justice as the set of moral and political constrains on human interactions (Bix, 2004: 108). There have been significant debates about the nature and source of standards of justice, and some sceptical thinkers argued that standards of justice were grounded only in the conventional views of society, or in a communitys traditions (Ibid: 108). Other theories viewed the principles of justice as a general agreement among people under certain ideal conditions. A traditional view of justice described standards that are eternal and unchangeable, established by God, the nature of the universe, human nature, or some combination of these (Ibid). D.D.Raphael (2001:1), a theorist of justice, recognized justice as a complex concept that pervaded social thought, and is basic to law, ethics, and politics alike (Raphael:1). In social and political ethics,

Contemporary Retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Retailing - Essay Example Contemporary Retailing The question outlines about the approach of the retailers which has undergone a radical shift in the last 30 years. The question of discussion in this context will be how retailers have moved from being market – driven company to a market driving company. This shift has been termed as growth by various industry experts and practitioners around the world. The study will therefore mainly discuss about the factors that led to this drastic change and growth of the retailers. In addition, the potential implication of the same will be evaluated in the context of current market scenario. Before getting into deep, the study will throw light on the differences between the concepts of ‘market driven’ and ‘market-driving’. There are drastic differences between the two concepts; a company which is market driven mainly reacts to the need of the customers. These companies generally bring the changes in their system on the basis of the changes in consumer dynamics. On the contrary, companies which are deemed as market driving are more future oriented and have better ability to envisage the future. These companies constantly come up with new products and services and surprises customers with their innovative offerings. Now the statement which will be evaluated is ‘retailers have moved from being ‘market-driven’ to being ‘market-driving’ in that their power has increased significantly in the last 30 years’.... The question of discussion in this context will be how retailers have moved from being market – driven company to a market driving company. This shift has been termed as growth by various industry experts and practitioners around the world. The study will therefore mainly discuss about the factors that led to this drastic change and growth of the retailers. In addition, the potential implication of the same will be evaluated in the context of current market scenario. Before getting into deep, the study will throw light on the differences between the concepts of ‘market driven’ and ‘market-driving’. There are drastic differences between the two concepts; a company which is market driven mainly reacts to the need of the customers. These companies generally bring the changes in their system on the basis of the changes in consumer dynamics. On the contrary, companies which are deemed as market driving are more future oriented and have better ability to en visage the future. These companies constantly come up with new products and services and surprises customers with their innovative offerings. Now the statement which will be evaluated is ‘retailers have moved from being ‘market-driven’ to being ‘market-driving’ in that their power has increased significantly in the last 30 years’. The market driving approach has allowed them to experience the competitive edge as well as increased power (Bhasker, 2006). This is because the dependence on consumer preferences has greatly reduced as with constant innovation they are actually creating and changing the preferences of the consumers. On the contrary, a retailer which pursued market driven

Should priciples of justice in a community begin with the maximin Essay

Should priciples of justice in a community begin with the maximin assumption evident in John Rawls' work A theory of justice - Essay Example Rawls was primarily concerned with questions of how best social justice could be organized as a â€Å"basis structure† in a liberal and democratic society (Ibid: 6). For Rawls, his idea of justice was directed at how a societys main political, social, and economic institutions should cooperate together in distributing fundamental rights and duties to everyone in an ordered society (Ibid: 6). His objective of A Theory of Justice, published in 1971, was to provide an alternative solution to the then dominant utilitarian principle of justice, which held that, a society is â€Å"right and morally just,† if major institutions maximized what is intrinsically good, to the satisfaction of the vast majority of people in a society (Ibid: 21). In rejecting the utilitarian principle of utiltiy, Rawls set forth his conception of justice, which was egalitarian in nature. It would perhaps be helpful to look at some definitions of justice, before analyzing Rawlss conception of justice. The dictionary of legal theory define justice as the set of moral and political constrains on human interactions (Bix, 2004: 108). There have been significant debates about the nature and source of standards of justice, and some sceptical thinkers argued that standards of justice were grounded only in the conventional views of society, or in a communitys traditions (Ibid: 108). Other theories viewed the principles of justice as a general agreement among people under certain ideal conditions. A traditional view of justice described standards that are eternal and unchangeable, established by God, the nature of the universe, human nature, or some combination of these (Ibid). D.D.Raphael (2001:1), a theorist of justice, recognized justice as a complex concept that pervaded social thought, and is basic to law, ethics, and politics alike (Raphael:1). In social and political ethics,

International Information and E-Business Strategies Assignment

International Information and E-Business Strategies - Assignment Example In fact, the e-supply chain involves the integration or mixing of e-billing systems, e-procurement systems, and other tools related to e-business. It allows for the enhancement of the company, distributors, and suppliers’ ability to manage their specifications, costs, quantity, and delivery time of products with more productivity automatically. E-SCM is a business process driven by software, in which there is collaboration between suppliers and retailers to give the end customer the best value, as well as to reduce costs (Aka?Li 2011, p. 55). Advanced software solutions and the internet enhance SCM partnering benefits where, through SCM collaboration, the suppliers are able to access retailer logistics and inventory data to meet inventory demands and respond to customized orders efficiently. By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving co mpetitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through... By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving competitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through the application of advanced technologies into their IT management, in which all members of their ch ain of supply can acquire the most recent raw data to enable them to co-ordinate plans, while also offering timely information that will better satisfy the demands from their partners.  By sharing information through their e-SCM with their trade partners, Coimbra and their partners can depend on one another and allows them to be more cooperative and collaborative. By integrating their supply chain and customer relationship management, Coimbra can offer gifts to customers and adjust advice and complaints in a timely fashion.

Our aim is to investigate how much quicker Essay Example for Free

Our aim is to investigate how much quicker Essay Aim:- Our aim is to investigate how much quicker a reaction happens if the acid we uses strength goes up, and also to see if there is a pattern which could be carried on to higher strength acids. Background Science:- Chemical reactions play a very important part in our life, some even keep us alive (the process of our digestion system is a series of chemical reactions which convert food into chemicals which can be more easily used by our bodies), other circumstances where chemical reactions are used in our bodies that cut down the amount of acid in your stomach, there are also chemicals in washing powder for removing stains by using chemicals called enzymes which speed up the breakdown of the chemicals in stains. All chemical reactions happen at various speeds, such as chemicals in fireworks which react very fast, within seconds of the firework being lit the reaction is over. Slow chemical reactions could be such things as the ripening of cheese so it can mature over time. Some adhesives we use require two chemicals to be mixed depending on the amounts used it could make the glue harden quickly or slowly. Some reactions happen slowly whereas some happen very fast. The name in which we measure a speed of a reaction is called a Rate Of Reaction. It can be measured in two ways, either the rate in which one of the products is produced, one of the products that is produced is gas, you can measure gas in a syringe or in a upturned burette. Another method that can be used is recording mass of the reactant, (how much the mass has added to its weight of lost). The mass could be recorded every minute and could be written like this, 1. 0g/60secs. Variables:- We had four variables to choose from, Temperature, Concentration, Surface area/Pressure and Catalyst. If we were to use temperature we would measure how much quicker the reaction would go if the acid and calcium were heated together, but we would have to keep the temperature at a constant heat as it wouldnt be a fair test if the reactants were getting hotter and colder. If we were to use a catalyst it would be used to speed up the reaction, but this would be unfair because we wouldnt be able to measure how much extra speed is being put in by the catalyst. Or we could change the surface area of the reactant, this would give the acid more of a area to act on, to measure this we would have to weigh the calcium first then expose it to the acid for a certain time and then take it out and weigh it, making sure we use the same concentration of acid each time to make it a fair test. We decided to use Concentration, for this we would change the strength of concentration each time and take a volume of gas that is given off every ten seconds. From choosing the variable Concentration we can measure the rate of gas that is being given of, this could be useful because we could work out how much gas per minute is being given off, from that we can then predict how much gas is being given off for any time you need to find. Prediction:- I think that as the strength of the acid goes up the rate of reaction will go up. Collision Theory:- I think this will happen because the higher the strength of the solution the more particles there are in the solution, which means more collisions more frequently. The acid will hit the calcium carbonate, if there is enough energy in the acid the calcium and acid will react together to give off Carbon Dioxide. The more the particles collide the faster they react. I have made a predicted graph, showing what I think the graph will look like. I have drawn in the lines of best fit showing the steepness of the line. This diagram shows how the acid particles collide with the marble chip to give off a gas. Method:- Set up apparatus as shown above. 1. Measure out desired amount of marble chips. 2. Measure out desired amount of hydrochloric acid 0. 25 mole first, then when all experiments with 1 mole have been completed go onto 0. 5 mole then 1 mole then 1. 5 and finally 2 mole. 3. Fill up the water bowl. 4. Fill measuring cylinder with water up to 100 ml. 5. Holding hand over the top of the measuring cylinder quickly turn it upside down and place it under the water (as shown above). If the water comes out refill the cylinder and try again. 6. Place tube so one end is coming up in the cylinder under water. 7. Put the marbles in the chronicle flask. 8. Pour in the hydrochloric acid and quickly affix the top with the tube coming out of it into the chronicle flask. 9. Decide at what time you will measure how much gas is given off. We decided to take a reading every 10 seconds, we also decided to start taking the readings at 30 seconds. You measure how much gas is given off by the water dropping in the measuring cylinder. E. g. 10 mls given off in the first 30 seconds. 10. Take these readings for 100 seconds using a stop watch to be precise. I am going to take 3 repeats, I am doing 3 because I can get a fair average from these 3 results. From the averages I will plot a graph to compare the different strength acids. Analysis:- (Graphs). From my graphs I clearly show the variable of different strengths of acids. As I used higher strength acids, the time in which the gas was produced got much faster. As the acids get stronger the lines become more inline. Whereas the 0. 5 points were all over the place. From my results I can see that my prediction was correct I think that as the strength of the acid goes up the rate of reaction will go up. I could see that from my results the strength of acid went up and the speed it took to make the gas went down. This links to the collision theory, that is that as the strength of the acid went up there were more particles to collide on the marble, which meant that more gas was given of due to more particles in the small mixture. The higher the strength of acid the more accurate the results became, we can see this because the range bars get smaller as the strength of the acid gets stronger. From the predicted graph I can see a difference in the results graph. The 1 mole strength acid has taken longer than the 0. 5 mole acid to produce the gas. I will explain the possible reasons for this more in my evaluation. Evaluation:- The main difficulty we faced was with the 2 mole strength acid because it reacted so fast we barely had time to read the times precisely. This may have meant we had unfair results. The main anomalous results were the 1 mole results, because from the information we have (collision theory) it tells us that it is stronger than the 0. 5 mole which means it should be lower than on the graph than 0. 5. But it isnt. This may have been because the results were read wrong, the acid we used may have been slightly too strong or the marble chips we used may have been smaller which means it is easier for the acids to break down. To improve the accuracy we could use a burette, which are far more accurate than a measuring cylinder or a gas cylinder. Gas Syringe Burette Computer data collectors are a very accurate way of registering the time, also if you were to use a camera recorder so you could look back at it and pause it when it got to the times when you needed to record a time. The results would never be the same because sometimes the measurement of marble chips maybe slightly more or less, or the accuracy of reading the time would be slightly out etc. As I said earlier in my investigation the results seemed to become more reliable as the strength of acid went up. Although it should be less accurate to measure the time as the acid strength went up it seemed to be more accurate. James Lane 11N Rates Of Reaction Investigation.

Open Source vs Closed Source Systems

Open Source vs Closed Source Systems INTRODUCTION For many years, proprietary software has been the dominating business approach used by the commercial software firms. Industry giants like Microsoft proved this strategy to be successful, building their multibillion dollar empires based on the proprietary software platform. Over the past decade, a new business approach called open source model which involves contributors from around the globe to create, share and distribute software code for free had come into practice (Pal, N Madanmohan, TR., 2002). Although the roots to this practice of sharing code evolved since early 60s, the widespread usage of internet and the technology developments in past two decades opened new opportunities for open source projects (CNET news, 1998). A number of Open Source Software (OSS) products such as Apache web server, BIND and SendMail have dominated their product categories ever since then (Pal, N Madanmohan, TR., 2002). In the past decade, several researchers (Wheeler, DA., 2007; Mockus, et al., 2000) have taken interest in studying how open source can be applied to modern business strategies. However, a concern exists that in this area of study that there is no substantial evidence that the practices followed are effective in the business environment (Bitzer Schrà ¶der, 2004). For economists like Lerner Tirole (2000), the altruism shown by commercial companies and programmers involved in an open source software project is surprising. They stated altruism hasnt played a major role in any other industry than software. Several others like Freeman Rogers (2008) and Goetz (2003) contradict this statement by illustrating altruism exist in any industry provided there is proper exposure of the problem towards the contributing community. But most of the researches surrounding open source model considered software industry as the base for their studies. 1.0 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 1.1 Objective This project work focuses on the study of the Open Source ecosystem (Android) how it differs from Closed source sustems such as those surrounding the iPhone. This project includes the study of the Android Market, (online mobile application store for Android users) application developers, and which factors developers consider for selecting a platform for application development. To understand business strategy development trends across Android and iPhone platforms, we compared the Android market with the iPhone App Store, the leading application store in current mobile market. Apple launched an online application marketplace called the â€Å"iPhone App Store† before launching iPhone 3G. Currently, this store has more than 195,000 applications. To match or surpass the success of iPhone App Store, Apple rivals such as Google and Blackberry introduced their own application downloading stores called â€Å"Android Market† and â€Å"Blackberry App World† respectively. T he Android Market is similar to the iPhone App Store or to any other application store; it boasts a catalog of applications,  services and tools available for the user to purchase download and use. Today, the Android Market also has around 49,000 applications. Thus, the comparison between iPhone and Android application stores will help explain the new challenges faced by these two application stores, and also the demand for these stores in the near future. This study will help understand why Android choose Open Source System and why Apple doesnt, what determines their success, which large companies are directly involved in developing applications for Android, and which factors they consider for developing an application. 1.2 Experimental Procedures This project is based on a semi-automatically collected application database and   surveys to obtain necessary information for proving the hypothesis. (A) Website Data Firstly, application data were collected semi-automatically from the Android Market and iPhone App Store (iTunes store) and other mobile applications related websites, for e.g., Androlib.com, iPhoneapplicationlist.com. This gathered application database includes a list of the application categories on both platforms, number of applications in each category, and application information for the selected categories. (B) Interview Data Next, we interviewed mobile application developers to understand and know their views about Android/iPhone platforms and the ecosystem. To get in touch with mobile application developers, we attended the mobile conferences where they gather to share their views. (C) Survey Data Lastly, all the relevant facts about application developers from the interview data helped us prepare a survey. This web-based survey was prepared and conducted using Survey Monkey. 1.3 Resources Utilized The main resources used during this project were our industrial advisor, our academic reader, Android and iPhone application database, interviews and surveys from mobile application developers. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction of Literature Review In order to achieve success in project implementation, the first step is to research and find information already available. During research, we found many articles related to our topic. This paper is based on the content from these articles. We have divided this section in four main areas: Overview of the Open Source Operating Systems (Android). Overview of the Closed Source Operating Systems (Apple IOS). Fundamentals behind the Open Source Platform. Introduction to the Smartphone. 2.2 Overview of the Open Source Operating Systems (Android). Google has achieved something remarkable with its open-source Android operating system. SinceApples iPhonerevolutionised thesmartphonein June 2007, bringing touchscreens and a beautiful user experience to the masses, its been without a rival. Sure, theres a small legion of BlackBerry fans, and a few Nokia die-hards, but the critical consensus up until about a year ago was that the iPhones achievements were peerless. EnterAndroid. The free, open-source mobile operating system was introduced to consumers with theHTC Dream(also known as theT-Mobile G1) in late 2008, but didnt start gaining steam until the release of theHTC Heroin July 2009. The Hero, armed with a custom user interface called Sense that HTC built in-house, gained rave reviews for its high-end specs and faultless user experience, and appeared on many critics lists of the best gadgets of 2009. The whispers began: Had Google managed to create a platform that genuinely rivalled the iPhone for the best smartphone experience around? This success is starting to show in the numbers. In February 2010, Google announced that more than 60,000 phones with Android on were shipping each day. The Android App Market is also booming, housing more than 30,000 downloadable applications in March 2010, although thats still comparably small when set beside the 185,000 or so Apple has in its App Store. But where once companies had to have an iPhone app, its now understood that they need to offer both an iPhone and an Android variant. Manufacturers havent let the opportunity pass them by, either. At the time of writing, there are around 35 mobile phones, five tablet PCs, three e-book readers and a netbook available that come with Android installed a total of about 43 devices. But thats nothing compared to the amount of gadgets that are purportedly in the works. If you tot up the rumours, statements of intent, leaked documents and roadmapped products from manufacturers, you can add at least another 15 smartphones, 19 tablet PCs, two e-book readers and three more netbooks to the pile. When you combine the totals, you arrive at a figure of at least 82 Android devices either released or in development. The platform has received four major updates since the HTC Dream launched with Android 1.0. Version 1.5 brought camcorder functionality and the ability to use homescreen widgets. Version 1.6 added voice search and a better Android App Market. Then version 2.0 revamped the user interface, added new, larger screen sizes, as well as navigation support in Google Maps. The latest update is version 2.1, which debuted on theNexus One a handset built by HTC but to specifications dictated by Google itself. Android 2.1 brings additional homescreens, animated wallpapers and the ability to use voice recognition to type in all text fields very useful if youre in a situation where you cant use an on-screen keypad, such as when driving. Other devices are starting to appear with version 2.1 as well the Motorola Droid, known as theMilestone in Europe, recently received an update to 2.1, and HTCs forthcoming Legend and Desire handsets come with it installed. Oldhardware=nonewtricks However, the new features available in 2.1 come with increased demand on the relatively weak processors found in most smartphones, particularly in the earlier Android devices. As a result, some handsets cant run later versions of Android at satisfactory speed. Even in those that can, manufacturers have been exceptionally slow at rolling out updates to their device owners, with HTC still not having delivered any update above 1.5 for its Hero at the time of writing. Its difficult to fault Google for wanting to update its core platform as fast as it can. The problem is that its going so fast that manufacturers cant roll out updates to their own software at a speed to match. The upshot for users is that early Android adopters are stuck on two-year contracts looking mournfully at all the fun that new device owners can get, with no knowledge as to whether theyll eventually have access to the new features themselves. This isnt anything new in most cases other manufacturers dont grant older gadget owners access to new features but its tough on Android users in particular because the pace of the updates is so fast. A phone can be out-of-date within months of its release, and in some cases handsets are still arriving with Android version 1.6 installed. App developers suffer, too. Many of Googles home-grown applications Maps, Earth, Goggles and Gesture Search were initially only released for the 2.0 and 2.1 platforms. Some have since gained backwards compatibility to 1.6, but HTC Hero owners, running 1.5, still cant use them. App developers have a tough choice to make: support as wide a range of phones as possible, or offer an app with superior features, but only to those running the latest Android builds. Situationnormal: Allforkedup So what can Google do about the problem? The company is stuck with four slightly different variants of its platform in the wild, and its got a splintered marketplace where one Android user cant necessarily access the same apps that another can, and its confusing and frustrating for end users. The obvious way ahead is to try and force manufacturers to update the software on their devices. Any device running 1.5 should be able to cope with 1.6, and a 2.0 device will manage 2.1. While that still leaves the problem of devices that cant quite cope with the most recent updates, Google should be able to merge its four shards into two a set of 1.6 devices and a set of 2.1 devices simplifying the situation somewhat. However, that relies on the goodwill and resources of a diverse set of companies, and some of those will only have dipped a toe into the waters of Android, meaning that they might be less keen to start devoting significant staff time to mucking around with operating system updates. So Googles got another trick up its sleeve. Recent rumours suggest that the company, in the upcoming version 2.2 update, is planning to de-couple the various applications that run on the device from the operating system itself. The browser, email apps, contacts, input methods and various other components will be downloadable and, crucially, updatable through the Android market rather than needing to wait for a full OS update to be upgraded. When Google wants to update the Gmail app, it can just push a market update, rather than forcing customers to wait for HTC, Dell, Samsung or other manufacturers to approve it. If Google fails to unify the Android platform, a future looms where Android is stuck in a series of ghettoes, with no guarantee that one Android user will be able to run the same apps as another unless they buy a new device every six months. Thats good news for manufacturers, but very bad news for Google and for consumers. If Google manages the transition successfully however, then a unified (or at least consolidated) platform could be easily updated by both Google and phone-makers, depending on whether the update is a critical security issue or a new feature in an application. Time is pressing. The fate of Android rests on what Google does over the summer of 2010. Will the platform fall by the wayside, or will it instead grow to be the Windows of smartphones, carefully balancing openness to app developers with a superior user experience and mass-market appeal? On past form, it seems foolish to bet against Google. Let us also look at the SORT analysis for android: Being a self declared Google and Android fanboy, Im constantly reading and studying about cloud computing and the mobile marketplace whenever I have the opportunity. Ive even begun the very first steps of beginning to learn programming Java for the Android platform, although this is a ‘free time endeavor which is going to take quite some time for me to get even the basic level of proficiency achieved. 2.2.1 SWOT Analyses for GOOGLE ANDROID But one area where I feel comfortable in discussion and analysis is in the business realm, which is why I decided to do a basic SWOT analysis for Google Android. It is a tool used in strategic planning to evaluateStrengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities, andThreats involved in a project or business. A companys Strengths and Weaknesses are generally internal, while the Opportunities and Threats are external factors. To spare most of the readers of this analysis, this SWOT is going to be a little less in depth than a typical SWOT analysis. However, it will be detailed enough to outline and discuss what I feel are the key items in each area of the analysis. STRENGTHS The Google Brand-Google is one of the most well known and respected technology companies on the planet. The fact that they are behind the Android platform gives it credibility and viability in the eyes of potential partners, vendors, and developers. Device Selection-Unlike the Apple iPhone where you dont have any options of hardware suppliers other than Apple itself, the Android OS is open-source and any hardware manufacturer who chooses to do so can use it on their handset. This gives consumers a great deal of selection from which to choose from while also decreasing the lead time to the use of the latest hardware and technological advances in mobile electronics. Competitive Pricing-The Android OS is very cost effective to develop for since it is open source and the licensing arrangements are very vendor friendly. Thus, handsets utilizing the Android OS tend to be prices very aggressively. Google application and services integration-The fact that the Android platform integrates so many of the Google services and applications into its base only strengthens its core capabilities and usefulness. Google items such as GMAIL, Calendar, Reader, Listen, and of course GPS and Maps to name a few integrate seamlessly with the Android OS and make it very simple for users to synchronize their data across platforms from the desktop to the cloud and mobile platforms. Open Source-The Android OS is built from a Linux base using the JAVA Programming language. You can go directly to the http://source.android.com website and find the information and source code you need to build a compatible device for Android. Additionally, Android is a core part of the OHA (Open Handset Alliance) which is a group of companies working together to develop Android as an open and free mobile platform. Google Assets-The Android team(s) has all the intellectual, economic, and influential resources of Google at its disposal to make it a dominant player in the mobile marketplace. WEAKNESSES Multimedia Support-Unlike the Apple iPhone which has the enormously popular iTunes application and marketplace, Android does not have a central or cohesive source of multimedia material nor a centralized player. Although there have been some improvements in applications on the Android platform in this area, at this time there is no â€Å"the† place to go that comes even slightly close to what Apple can offer on this front. However, there are numerous rumors to what exactly Google has in store for a music service of its own to be released sometime in late 2010. Whatever it is, it needs to be extremely well executed to come close to what iTunes offers Apple iPhone users. The one large asset Google has going for it is YouTube, and their recent announcement ofWebM(VP8) could become a lever for multimedia influence in video delivery for Google and the Android OS. Reliance on hardware makers to upgrade-Apple controls the when and how iPhone users will get not only new hardware, but upgrades to the OS and core functionality. With Android, even when Google releases a new version of its OS, it has to wait for the manufacturers to thoroughly test and modify code to make sure it works properly on their specific hardware configuration. Google is addressing this issue as it has announced that it plans to implement more of the core features of its services into the Android OS itself instead of as applications, and to slow down the upgrade releases as the OS matures in the marketplace. Less Mature-Android is not as mature or as polished as the iPhone at this point. It improves with every release, but it hasnt reached the same level of overall user friendliness in its interface that Apple has achieved. Lack of Enterprise Support-Blackberry and even Microsoft still get most of the support when it comes to Enterprise usage. Although both Apple and Google have made some inroads in this marketplace, Android has a very small market share here. It needs to continue to develop Google Apps and its integration abilities with Microsoft Exchange. OPPORTUNITIES The Android OS has a â€Å"HUGE† opportunity to get into the Tablet and e-book reader platform market right now. It cannot afford to sit back and watch Apple dominate the tablet market and eat up the market share as it had done when it released the iPhone. To date, that is exactly what is happening as no major hardware ‘mover and shaker has released an Android based tablet which is a fantastic opportunity if it is executed properly. I want one NOW! There have been several minor releases of Android tablets over the last few months, but none of them are what I would consider a significant product. Either Google itself or someone such as HP, Dell, ASUS, or ACER need to release a killer Android tablet in order for it to gather any traction. These waters only became murkier when HP acquired PALM. Developing Countries-Google has a huge opportunity to develop inexpensive devices using the Android platform in developing countries. The licensing is extremely developer friendly and the upfront cost investments are significantly less than other platforms. The integration with so many of Googles other free services is a natural fit in this marketplace. Developer Friendly-Unlike the recent activities of Apple which has alienated and ticked off much of the developer community, developing for Android is very open and developer friendly. Google needs to take this opportunity to help developers continue to monetize their efforts through improved advertising revenue models and app sales. Growth of smartphone market-The smartphone market is still very immature and there is still a huge amount of growth to take place over the next several years to decade. Google needs to continue to work hard to position itself with its cloud computing applications and services in support of the Android OS. The marriage of these two areas is key to the maintained growth rate and increased market share potential of the Android platform. Embedded electronic devices-The Android OS has huge potential to be a major player in the embedded electronic market as a dominate embedded operating system. With so many devices becoming embedded with smart technologies and connectivity to the cloud, the Android OS is primed to be a major winner there. THREATS iPhone unleashed-If the iPhone is unleashed from the beaten down ATT network and appears on other networks such as Sprint and in particular, Verizon, it could be a real threat to the sustained rate of future market share growth for the Android OS. A significant amount of potential smartphone customers said they would buy an iPhone if it werent on the ATT network. (I was once in this camp, until I discovered the world of Android.) Apple dominance-Apples market share gives it a great influence over developers and old media companies who are dying for a revenue model that will work for them. The ever growing walled garden that Apple is building is a false panacea that the old media companies are holding onto with both hands-the ability to charge users for access to premium content. Apples recent changes in policy and functional restrictions make it the ideal platform to launch such a strategy and recruit the power brokers from this old model. Additionally, the â€Å"theres an app for that† and Im willing to pay for it behavior of Apple iPhone users is of great appeal to developers who see the dollar signs in this market. (Ive yet to pay for an application on Android) This gives Apple influence over developers and makes their huge market share very difficult to walk away from, even when they adopt very unfriendly developer policies. Increased Competition-Obviously, companies like RIM and Microsoft are going to fight for their share of the market and arent going to just give up. In particular, the Blackberry platform which still has huge support in the enterprise market. Platform Fragmentation-This is a huge threat to the Android platform. Although I listed the numerous devices as a strength above, the risk of fragmentation is a real and significant one. This is why Google has recently put a lot of effort into developing ways to minimize this problem. Google does not want numerous custom version of Android to emerge or fork off from their core platform, which is something you see in the Linux distribution network. Google is developing a set of baseline standards for compatibility for its platform. Since Google controls the Android Market, it can maintain significant influence over device vendors to meet the compatibility requirements. If you do a little research on this topic, you will see that Googles standards are fairly rigid, maybe more so than one would expect. Google also plans to adopt aonce-per-yearrelease schedule as well. None the less, managing this risk is a major and real threat to the Android platform. So there you have it, my basic SWOT analysis for Google Android. One underlying issue I feel is worth noting is that Google does not have to dominate, and as much as so many of us would love to see it, it does not have to â€Å"beat† Apple in market share or any other core metric. The only thing Google needs to do is to make sure there is an open platform large enough in the mobile market for its advertising business. Lets face it; Google is not about selling Android devices. Google is about search and advertising, and Apples closed system was a threat to that model which has become even more self-evident over the last six to nine months of Apple policies and maneuverings. Apple recently announced their own Ad network for the iPhone and iPad which could be viewed as a shot across the bow of Google which puts even more necessity on the Android platforms success. The clear advantage that Google has going for itself right now is that Apple (Steve Jobs) is either being indignant o ver what cloud computing actually does and means, or he truly doesnt understand or hasnt figured out how its suppose to work. Considering how intelligent Steve Jobs is, I find it highly unlikely that the second option is the reason, and that his stubbornness and willingness to maintain personal grudges as the likely culprit. 2.3 Overview of the Closed Source Operating Systems (Apple IOS). If theres one company that is the envy of the high-tech community these days, its Apple. Steve Jobs is hailed as a genius CEO and lauded for a string of hit products. Apples market capitalization is over $200 BILLION dollars currently, easily ranking it in the top 10 companies in the world by market cap, and just shy of Microsoft for biggest technology company. Everyone wants to understand the secrets of Apples success and hopefully emulate them. The reasons given by people for Apples success are many. The following are a few of the arguments made: Vertical integration- Apple owns most of, if not the entire, technology stack for its key products, and thus gives it advantages over other less vertically integrated products. NOTE: â€Å"Vertical integration† used to be called â€Å"being proprietary† and was given as the reason for Apples relative lack of success against Microsoft in the OS/PC battles of the 80s and 9os. But phenomenal success has a way of changing peoples minds. Making markets vs. addressing markets- Some claim that Apple doesnt ask people what they need but gives them products they decide theywant. Does anyone NEED an iPhone or iPad? Not really, but a lot of people seem to want them. The Cool Factor- Lets face it, Apple does make â€Å"cool† products. Attention to design and detail-fit and finish as they say-really distinguishes Apples products from competitors. Entering markets after theyve developed— Contrary to #2 above, some people claim that Apple doesnt make markets but enters existing markets once theyre growing and takes advantage of latent demand. The iPod was not the first digital music player and the iPhone was not the first smart phone, and the iPad is not the first portable computing device. In the case of the iPad, products like the Kindle and Netbooks actually paved the way for the market to accept small computing devices, and Apples iPad is riding that wave. Differentiated business models- whether it was iPod+iTunes or the iPhone+App Store, Apple innovates not just on technology, but on the business model. This makes it difficult for competitors to play catch up, let alone overtake Apple once it establishes itself in a dominant position. People care about the experience not technology— Apple has always been about the user experience, but for a long time, the majority of the market didnt care about that. The majority of desktop computer users cared about â€Å"techs and specs†. Now the tables have turned, and the majority dont care about the specs, they care about the experience. The iPod, with its â€Å"1000 songs in your pocket† motto and iTunes which radically simplified purchasing music latched onto the experience wave, and Apple has been riding it ever since. Simple product offerings- Apple has a very clear and simple set of products. Its easy to understand the differences between their products, product families and the various configurations. This makes it easy to buy an Apple product if you want to. A lot of companies complicate things unnecessarily. How many iPhone models are there? How many Blackberry models are there? How many Nokia smart phone models are there? See the difference between Apple, RIM and Nokia? The same is true for the iMAc, the iPod and the iPad. Granted, there are actually a number of iPod models (Nano, Shuffle, Touch etc.) but they are very distinct amongst themselves. This cant be said for digital music players from other companies. 2.3.1 Apple Competitive Analysis: Future Goals Apple has been and continues to focus on what its competitors are doing in order to keep a competitive strategy. Steve Jobs wanted to create a brand loyal name and to also produce a personalized computer with many features that would allow your life to be easier. Apple needed to keep up with rapid price cuts of its competitors personalized computers that were based on other operating systems. They wanted to focus on the rapid technological advances in both hardware and software that would boost their computers performance and provide its own operating systems. By doing so, the iMac-personalized computer was introduced in 1997 and they were able to create the brand loyalty they were looking for. They want to continue to build the brand loyal name and keep giving the consumer what they want to make their lives easier. Current Strategy Steve Jobs has recognized that many of its competitors have been providing computers that rely heavily on other operating systems to run their computers. For example, Dell computers rely on windows XP, and many of their software products rely on other partys. What Steve Jobs has managed to do is to incorporate its own operating systems, hardware, and software programs for its entire product line. The software that they have created would allow the user to edit videos, download and play music, edit pictures, etc. with all of their own products and applications. While other competition relied on outside companies introducing their own digital and distribution music product services, subscription services, and free peer-to-peer music services; Apple has created a way to counter the constant changing competitive market. They have done so by effectively integrating all three services that its competitors have to choose from by creating the iPod for hardware, iTunes for software, and iTune s Music Store for the third party distribution services. Apple has been able to eliminate its reliance on outside companies and to keep on creating specialized programs for consumers. Another factor that has helped keep Apples future thriving is by introducing the Apple Store. Customers are now able to take their products into the store and have an apple specialist examine/work on the products that they are heavily invested in. Most competitors would have the consumer take computer/product to a tech department of a store or would have to send to a third party. Assumptions and Capabilities Apple has done a tremendous job of knowing and anticipating what his competitors are doing. Apple was able to develop its iPhone and music player technology into a mobile phone. The Rokr was the mobile phone device that was developed by Motorola. The device contained quality sound and included an advanced camera system. A version of Apples iTunes music store has been developed for the iPhone so users can manage music and can download other applications that Apple has to offer. An Apple consumer can browse the web faster than its competitors. These capabilities make the iPhone ideal for both business and travel. By knowing the competitors moves and capabilities Apple was able to perfect a phone that could offer more programs and applications than any other phone. The company was then able to then focus on the strengths and weakness of its competition and compare it to the products they provide. The company believes in the highest quality of products. Thes e products will continue to provide what every customer wants and needs, a computer company that continuously makes life easi Open Source vs Closed Source Systems Open Source vs Closed Source Systems INTRODUCTION For many years, proprietary software has been the dominating business approach used by the commercial software firms. Industry giants like Microsoft proved this strategy to be successful, building their multibillion dollar empires based on the proprietary software platform. Over the past decade, a new business approach called open source model which involves contributors from around the globe to create, share and distribute software code for free had come into practice (Pal, N Madanmohan, TR., 2002). Although the roots to this practice of sharing code evolved since early 60s, the widespread usage of internet and the technology developments in past two decades opened new opportunities for open source projects (CNET news, 1998). A number of Open Source Software (OSS) products such as Apache web server, BIND and SendMail have dominated their product categories ever since then (Pal, N Madanmohan, TR., 2002). In the past decade, several researchers (Wheeler, DA., 2007; Mockus, et al., 2000) have taken interest in studying how open source can be applied to modern business strategies. However, a concern exists that in this area of study that there is no substantial evidence that the practices followed are effective in the business environment (Bitzer Schrà ¶der, 2004). For economists like Lerner Tirole (2000), the altruism shown by commercial companies and programmers involved in an open source software project is surprising. They stated altruism hasnt played a major role in any other industry than software. Several others like Freeman Rogers (2008) and Goetz (2003) contradict this statement by illustrating altruism exist in any industry provided there is proper exposure of the problem towards the contributing community. But most of the researches surrounding open source model considered software industry as the base for their studies. 1.0 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 1.1 Objective This project work focuses on the study of the Open Source ecosystem (Android) how it differs from Closed source sustems such as those surrounding the iPhone. This project includes the study of the Android Market, (online mobile application store for Android users) application developers, and which factors developers consider for selecting a platform for application development. To understand business strategy development trends across Android and iPhone platforms, we compared the Android market with the iPhone App Store, the leading application store in current mobile market. Apple launched an online application marketplace called the â€Å"iPhone App Store† before launching iPhone 3G. Currently, this store has more than 195,000 applications. To match or surpass the success of iPhone App Store, Apple rivals such as Google and Blackberry introduced their own application downloading stores called â€Å"Android Market† and â€Å"Blackberry App World† respectively. T he Android Market is similar to the iPhone App Store or to any other application store; it boasts a catalog of applications,  services and tools available for the user to purchase download and use. Today, the Android Market also has around 49,000 applications. Thus, the comparison between iPhone and Android application stores will help explain the new challenges faced by these two application stores, and also the demand for these stores in the near future. This study will help understand why Android choose Open Source System and why Apple doesnt, what determines their success, which large companies are directly involved in developing applications for Android, and which factors they consider for developing an application. 1.2 Experimental Procedures This project is based on a semi-automatically collected application database and   surveys to obtain necessary information for proving the hypothesis. (A) Website Data Firstly, application data were collected semi-automatically from the Android Market and iPhone App Store (iTunes store) and other mobile applications related websites, for e.g., Androlib.com, iPhoneapplicationlist.com. This gathered application database includes a list of the application categories on both platforms, number of applications in each category, and application information for the selected categories. (B) Interview Data Next, we interviewed mobile application developers to understand and know their views about Android/iPhone platforms and the ecosystem. To get in touch with mobile application developers, we attended the mobile conferences where they gather to share their views. (C) Survey Data Lastly, all the relevant facts about application developers from the interview data helped us prepare a survey. This web-based survey was prepared and conducted using Survey Monkey. 1.3 Resources Utilized The main resources used during this project were our industrial advisor, our academic reader, Android and iPhone application database, interviews and surveys from mobile application developers. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction of Literature Review In order to achieve success in project implementation, the first step is to research and find information already available. During research, we found many articles related to our topic. This paper is based on the content from these articles. We have divided this section in four main areas: Overview of the Open Source Operating Systems (Android). Overview of the Closed Source Operating Systems (Apple IOS). Fundamentals behind the Open Source Platform. Introduction to the Smartphone. 2.2 Overview of the Open Source Operating Systems (Android). Google has achieved something remarkable with its open-source Android operating system. SinceApples iPhonerevolutionised thesmartphonein June 2007, bringing touchscreens and a beautiful user experience to the masses, its been without a rival. Sure, theres a small legion of BlackBerry fans, and a few Nokia die-hards, but the critical consensus up until about a year ago was that the iPhones achievements were peerless. EnterAndroid. The free, open-source mobile operating system was introduced to consumers with theHTC Dream(also known as theT-Mobile G1) in late 2008, but didnt start gaining steam until the release of theHTC Heroin July 2009. The Hero, armed with a custom user interface called Sense that HTC built in-house, gained rave reviews for its high-end specs and faultless user experience, and appeared on many critics lists of the best gadgets of 2009. The whispers began: Had Google managed to create a platform that genuinely rivalled the iPhone for the best smartphone experience around? This success is starting to show in the numbers. In February 2010, Google announced that more than 60,000 phones with Android on were shipping each day. The Android App Market is also booming, housing more than 30,000 downloadable applications in March 2010, although thats still comparably small when set beside the 185,000 or so Apple has in its App Store. But where once companies had to have an iPhone app, its now understood that they need to offer both an iPhone and an Android variant. Manufacturers havent let the opportunity pass them by, either. At the time of writing, there are around 35 mobile phones, five tablet PCs, three e-book readers and a netbook available that come with Android installed a total of about 43 devices. But thats nothing compared to the amount of gadgets that are purportedly in the works. If you tot up the rumours, statements of intent, leaked documents and roadmapped products from manufacturers, you can add at least another 15 smartphones, 19 tablet PCs, two e-book readers and three more netbooks to the pile. When you combine the totals, you arrive at a figure of at least 82 Android devices either released or in development. The platform has received four major updates since the HTC Dream launched with Android 1.0. Version 1.5 brought camcorder functionality and the ability to use homescreen widgets. Version 1.6 added voice search and a better Android App Market. Then version 2.0 revamped the user interface, added new, larger screen sizes, as well as navigation support in Google Maps. The latest update is version 2.1, which debuted on theNexus One a handset built by HTC but to specifications dictated by Google itself. Android 2.1 brings additional homescreens, animated wallpapers and the ability to use voice recognition to type in all text fields very useful if youre in a situation where you cant use an on-screen keypad, such as when driving. Other devices are starting to appear with version 2.1 as well the Motorola Droid, known as theMilestone in Europe, recently received an update to 2.1, and HTCs forthcoming Legend and Desire handsets come with it installed. Oldhardware=nonewtricks However, the new features available in 2.1 come with increased demand on the relatively weak processors found in most smartphones, particularly in the earlier Android devices. As a result, some handsets cant run later versions of Android at satisfactory speed. Even in those that can, manufacturers have been exceptionally slow at rolling out updates to their device owners, with HTC still not having delivered any update above 1.5 for its Hero at the time of writing. Its difficult to fault Google for wanting to update its core platform as fast as it can. The problem is that its going so fast that manufacturers cant roll out updates to their own software at a speed to match. The upshot for users is that early Android adopters are stuck on two-year contracts looking mournfully at all the fun that new device owners can get, with no knowledge as to whether theyll eventually have access to the new features themselves. This isnt anything new in most cases other manufacturers dont grant older gadget owners access to new features but its tough on Android users in particular because the pace of the updates is so fast. A phone can be out-of-date within months of its release, and in some cases handsets are still arriving with Android version 1.6 installed. App developers suffer, too. Many of Googles home-grown applications Maps, Earth, Goggles and Gesture Search were initially only released for the 2.0 and 2.1 platforms. Some have since gained backwards compatibility to 1.6, but HTC Hero owners, running 1.5, still cant use them. App developers have a tough choice to make: support as wide a range of phones as possible, or offer an app with superior features, but only to those running the latest Android builds. Situationnormal: Allforkedup So what can Google do about the problem? The company is stuck with four slightly different variants of its platform in the wild, and its got a splintered marketplace where one Android user cant necessarily access the same apps that another can, and its confusing and frustrating for end users. The obvious way ahead is to try and force manufacturers to update the software on their devices. Any device running 1.5 should be able to cope with 1.6, and a 2.0 device will manage 2.1. While that still leaves the problem of devices that cant quite cope with the most recent updates, Google should be able to merge its four shards into two a set of 1.6 devices and a set of 2.1 devices simplifying the situation somewhat. However, that relies on the goodwill and resources of a diverse set of companies, and some of those will only have dipped a toe into the waters of Android, meaning that they might be less keen to start devoting significant staff time to mucking around with operating system updates. So Googles got another trick up its sleeve. Recent rumours suggest that the company, in the upcoming version 2.2 update, is planning to de-couple the various applications that run on the device from the operating system itself. The browser, email apps, contacts, input methods and various other components will be downloadable and, crucially, updatable through the Android market rather than needing to wait for a full OS update to be upgraded. When Google wants to update the Gmail app, it can just push a market update, rather than forcing customers to wait for HTC, Dell, Samsung or other manufacturers to approve it. If Google fails to unify the Android platform, a future looms where Android is stuck in a series of ghettoes, with no guarantee that one Android user will be able to run the same apps as another unless they buy a new device every six months. Thats good news for manufacturers, but very bad news for Google and for consumers. If Google manages the transition successfully however, then a unified (or at least consolidated) platform could be easily updated by both Google and phone-makers, depending on whether the update is a critical security issue or a new feature in an application. Time is pressing. The fate of Android rests on what Google does over the summer of 2010. Will the platform fall by the wayside, or will it instead grow to be the Windows of smartphones, carefully balancing openness to app developers with a superior user experience and mass-market appeal? On past form, it seems foolish to bet against Google. Let us also look at the SORT analysis for android: Being a self declared Google and Android fanboy, Im constantly reading and studying about cloud computing and the mobile marketplace whenever I have the opportunity. Ive even begun the very first steps of beginning to learn programming Java for the Android platform, although this is a ‘free time endeavor which is going to take quite some time for me to get even the basic level of proficiency achieved. 2.2.1 SWOT Analyses for GOOGLE ANDROID But one area where I feel comfortable in discussion and analysis is in the business realm, which is why I decided to do a basic SWOT analysis for Google Android. It is a tool used in strategic planning to evaluateStrengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities, andThreats involved in a project or business. A companys Strengths and Weaknesses are generally internal, while the Opportunities and Threats are external factors. To spare most of the readers of this analysis, this SWOT is going to be a little less in depth than a typical SWOT analysis. However, it will be detailed enough to outline and discuss what I feel are the key items in each area of the analysis. STRENGTHS The Google Brand-Google is one of the most well known and respected technology companies on the planet. The fact that they are behind the Android platform gives it credibility and viability in the eyes of potential partners, vendors, and developers. Device Selection-Unlike the Apple iPhone where you dont have any options of hardware suppliers other than Apple itself, the Android OS is open-source and any hardware manufacturer who chooses to do so can use it on their handset. This gives consumers a great deal of selection from which to choose from while also decreasing the lead time to the use of the latest hardware and technological advances in mobile electronics. Competitive Pricing-The Android OS is very cost effective to develop for since it is open source and the licensing arrangements are very vendor friendly. Thus, handsets utilizing the Android OS tend to be prices very aggressively. Google application and services integration-The fact that the Android platform integrates so many of the Google services and applications into its base only strengthens its core capabilities and usefulness. Google items such as GMAIL, Calendar, Reader, Listen, and of course GPS and Maps to name a few integrate seamlessly with the Android OS and make it very simple for users to synchronize their data across platforms from the desktop to the cloud and mobile platforms. Open Source-The Android OS is built from a Linux base using the JAVA Programming language. You can go directly to the http://source.android.com website and find the information and source code you need to build a compatible device for Android. Additionally, Android is a core part of the OHA (Open Handset Alliance) which is a group of companies working together to develop Android as an open and free mobile platform. Google Assets-The Android team(s) has all the intellectual, economic, and influential resources of Google at its disposal to make it a dominant player in the mobile marketplace. WEAKNESSES Multimedia Support-Unlike the Apple iPhone which has the enormously popular iTunes application and marketplace, Android does not have a central or cohesive source of multimedia material nor a centralized player. Although there have been some improvements in applications on the Android platform in this area, at this time there is no â€Å"the† place to go that comes even slightly close to what Apple can offer on this front. However, there are numerous rumors to what exactly Google has in store for a music service of its own to be released sometime in late 2010. Whatever it is, it needs to be extremely well executed to come close to what iTunes offers Apple iPhone users. The one large asset Google has going for it is YouTube, and their recent announcement ofWebM(VP8) could become a lever for multimedia influence in video delivery for Google and the Android OS. Reliance on hardware makers to upgrade-Apple controls the when and how iPhone users will get not only new hardware, but upgrades to the OS and core functionality. With Android, even when Google releases a new version of its OS, it has to wait for the manufacturers to thoroughly test and modify code to make sure it works properly on their specific hardware configuration. Google is addressing this issue as it has announced that it plans to implement more of the core features of its services into the Android OS itself instead of as applications, and to slow down the upgrade releases as the OS matures in the marketplace. Less Mature-Android is not as mature or as polished as the iPhone at this point. It improves with every release, but it hasnt reached the same level of overall user friendliness in its interface that Apple has achieved. Lack of Enterprise Support-Blackberry and even Microsoft still get most of the support when it comes to Enterprise usage. Although both Apple and Google have made some inroads in this marketplace, Android has a very small market share here. It needs to continue to develop Google Apps and its integration abilities with Microsoft Exchange. OPPORTUNITIES The Android OS has a â€Å"HUGE† opportunity to get into the Tablet and e-book reader platform market right now. It cannot afford to sit back and watch Apple dominate the tablet market and eat up the market share as it had done when it released the iPhone. To date, that is exactly what is happening as no major hardware ‘mover and shaker has released an Android based tablet which is a fantastic opportunity if it is executed properly. I want one NOW! There have been several minor releases of Android tablets over the last few months, but none of them are what I would consider a significant product. Either Google itself or someone such as HP, Dell, ASUS, or ACER need to release a killer Android tablet in order for it to gather any traction. These waters only became murkier when HP acquired PALM. Developing Countries-Google has a huge opportunity to develop inexpensive devices using the Android platform in developing countries. The licensing is extremely developer friendly and the upfront cost investments are significantly less than other platforms. The integration with so many of Googles other free services is a natural fit in this marketplace. Developer Friendly-Unlike the recent activities of Apple which has alienated and ticked off much of the developer community, developing for Android is very open and developer friendly. Google needs to take this opportunity to help developers continue to monetize their efforts through improved advertising revenue models and app sales. Growth of smartphone market-The smartphone market is still very immature and there is still a huge amount of growth to take place over the next several years to decade. Google needs to continue to work hard to position itself with its cloud computing applications and services in support of the Android OS. The marriage of these two areas is key to the maintained growth rate and increased market share potential of the Android platform. Embedded electronic devices-The Android OS has huge potential to be a major player in the embedded electronic market as a dominate embedded operating system. With so many devices becoming embedded with smart technologies and connectivity to the cloud, the Android OS is primed to be a major winner there. THREATS iPhone unleashed-If the iPhone is unleashed from the beaten down ATT network and appears on other networks such as Sprint and in particular, Verizon, it could be a real threat to the sustained rate of future market share growth for the Android OS. A significant amount of potential smartphone customers said they would buy an iPhone if it werent on the ATT network. (I was once in this camp, until I discovered the world of Android.) Apple dominance-Apples market share gives it a great influence over developers and old media companies who are dying for a revenue model that will work for them. The ever growing walled garden that Apple is building is a false panacea that the old media companies are holding onto with both hands-the ability to charge users for access to premium content. Apples recent changes in policy and functional restrictions make it the ideal platform to launch such a strategy and recruit the power brokers from this old model. Additionally, the â€Å"theres an app for that† and Im willing to pay for it behavior of Apple iPhone users is of great appeal to developers who see the dollar signs in this market. (Ive yet to pay for an application on Android) This gives Apple influence over developers and makes their huge market share very difficult to walk away from, even when they adopt very unfriendly developer policies. Increased Competition-Obviously, companies like RIM and Microsoft are going to fight for their share of the market and arent going to just give up. In particular, the Blackberry platform which still has huge support in the enterprise market. Platform Fragmentation-This is a huge threat to the Android platform. Although I listed the numerous devices as a strength above, the risk of fragmentation is a real and significant one. This is why Google has recently put a lot of effort into developing ways to minimize this problem. Google does not want numerous custom version of Android to emerge or fork off from their core platform, which is something you see in the Linux distribution network. Google is developing a set of baseline standards for compatibility for its platform. Since Google controls the Android Market, it can maintain significant influence over device vendors to meet the compatibility requirements. If you do a little research on this topic, you will see that Googles standards are fairly rigid, maybe more so than one would expect. Google also plans to adopt aonce-per-yearrelease schedule as well. None the less, managing this risk is a major and real threat to the Android platform. So there you have it, my basic SWOT analysis for Google Android. One underlying issue I feel is worth noting is that Google does not have to dominate, and as much as so many of us would love to see it, it does not have to â€Å"beat† Apple in market share or any other core metric. The only thing Google needs to do is to make sure there is an open platform large enough in the mobile market for its advertising business. Lets face it; Google is not about selling Android devices. Google is about search and advertising, and Apples closed system was a threat to that model which has become even more self-evident over the last six to nine months of Apple policies and maneuverings. Apple recently announced their own Ad network for the iPhone and iPad which could be viewed as a shot across the bow of Google which puts even more necessity on the Android platforms success. The clear advantage that Google has going for itself right now is that Apple (Steve Jobs) is either being indignant o ver what cloud computing actually does and means, or he truly doesnt understand or hasnt figured out how its suppose to work. Considering how intelligent Steve Jobs is, I find it highly unlikely that the second option is the reason, and that his stubbornness and willingness to maintain personal grudges as the likely culprit. 2.3 Overview of the Closed Source Operating Systems (Apple IOS). If theres one company that is the envy of the high-tech community these days, its Apple. Steve Jobs is hailed as a genius CEO and lauded for a string of hit products. Apples market capitalization is over $200 BILLION dollars currently, easily ranking it in the top 10 companies in the world by market cap, and just shy of Microsoft for biggest technology company. Everyone wants to understand the secrets of Apples success and hopefully emulate them. The reasons given by people for Apples success are many. The following are a few of the arguments made: Vertical integration- Apple owns most of, if not the entire, technology stack for its key products, and thus gives it advantages over other less vertically integrated products. NOTE: â€Å"Vertical integration† used to be called â€Å"being proprietary† and was given as the reason for Apples relative lack of success against Microsoft in the OS/PC battles of the 80s and 9os. But phenomenal success has a way of changing peoples minds. Making markets vs. addressing markets- Some claim that Apple doesnt ask people what they need but gives them products they decide theywant. Does anyone NEED an iPhone or iPad? Not really, but a lot of people seem to want them. The Cool Factor- Lets face it, Apple does make â€Å"cool† products. Attention to design and detail-fit and finish as they say-really distinguishes Apples products from competitors. Entering markets after theyve developed— Contrary to #2 above, some people claim that Apple doesnt make markets but enters existing markets once theyre growing and takes advantage of latent demand. The iPod was not the first digital music player and the iPhone was not the first smart phone, and the iPad is not the first portable computing device. In the case of the iPad, products like the Kindle and Netbooks actually paved the way for the market to accept small computing devices, and Apples iPad is riding that wave. Differentiated business models- whether it was iPod+iTunes or the iPhone+App Store, Apple innovates not just on technology, but on the business model. This makes it difficult for competitors to play catch up, let alone overtake Apple once it establishes itself in a dominant position. People care about the experience not technology— Apple has always been about the user experience, but for a long time, the majority of the market didnt care about that. The majority of desktop computer users cared about â€Å"techs and specs†. Now the tables have turned, and the majority dont care about the specs, they care about the experience. The iPod, with its â€Å"1000 songs in your pocket† motto and iTunes which radically simplified purchasing music latched onto the experience wave, and Apple has been riding it ever since. Simple product offerings- Apple has a very clear and simple set of products. Its easy to understand the differences between their products, product families and the various configurations. This makes it easy to buy an Apple product if you want to. A lot of companies complicate things unnecessarily. How many iPhone models are there? How many Blackberry models are there? How many Nokia smart phone models are there? See the difference between Apple, RIM and Nokia? The same is true for the iMAc, the iPod and the iPad. Granted, there are actually a number of iPod models (Nano, Shuffle, Touch etc.) but they are very distinct amongst themselves. This cant be said for digital music players from other companies. 2.3.1 Apple Competitive Analysis: Future Goals Apple has been and continues to focus on what its competitors are doing in order to keep a competitive strategy. Steve Jobs wanted to create a brand loyal name and to also produce a personalized computer with many features that would allow your life to be easier. Apple needed to keep up with rapid price cuts of its competitors personalized computers that were based on other operating systems. They wanted to focus on the rapid technological advances in both hardware and software that would boost their computers performance and provide its own operating systems. By doing so, the iMac-personalized computer was introduced in 1997 and they were able to create the brand loyalty they were looking for. They want to continue to build the brand loyal name and keep giving the consumer what they want to make their lives easier. Current Strategy Steve Jobs has recognized that many of its competitors have been providing computers that rely heavily on other operating systems to run their computers. For example, Dell computers rely on windows XP, and many of their software products rely on other partys. What Steve Jobs has managed to do is to incorporate its own operating systems, hardware, and software programs for its entire product line. The software that they have created would allow the user to edit videos, download and play music, edit pictures, etc. with all of their own products and applications. While other competition relied on outside companies introducing their own digital and distribution music product services, subscription services, and free peer-to-peer music services; Apple has created a way to counter the constant changing competitive market. They have done so by effectively integrating all three services that its competitors have to choose from by creating the iPod for hardware, iTunes for software, and iTune s Music Store for the third party distribution services. Apple has been able to eliminate its reliance on outside companies and to keep on creating specialized programs for consumers. Another factor that has helped keep Apples future thriving is by introducing the Apple Store. Customers are now able to take their products into the store and have an apple specialist examine/work on the products that they are heavily invested in. Most competitors would have the consumer take computer/product to a tech department of a store or would have to send to a third party. Assumptions and Capabilities Apple has done a tremendous job of knowing and anticipating what his competitors are doing. Apple was able to develop its iPhone and music player technology into a mobile phone. The Rokr was the mobile phone device that was developed by Motorola. The device contained quality sound and included an advanced camera system. A version of Apples iTunes music store has been developed for the iPhone so users can manage music and can download other applications that Apple has to offer. An Apple consumer can browse the web faster than its competitors. These capabilities make the iPhone ideal for both business and travel. By knowing the competitors moves and capabilities Apple was able to perfect a phone that could offer more programs and applications than any other phone. The company was then able to then focus on the strengths and weakness of its competition and compare it to the products they provide. The company believes in the highest quality of products. Thes e products will continue to provide what every customer wants and needs, a computer company that continuously makes life easi