We have been given public apologies from Apple, 3 blog posts from David G., and seen a leaked internal e-mail where Apple CEO Steve Jobs calls Mobile Me a disaster. When are we going to see the leaked email where Apple asks Google for some Mobile Me help?
Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) controls nearly 80% of the internet. Yup, the entire internet. There is no way to sugar coat the vast influence the company has over web based technology and how it is used. Yet, alongside using Google’s technologies, Apple naturally attempts to compete with Google at becoming your “digital hub” both on and off the web. At this point, it’s probably best to align priorities with Google so that Mobile Me can become at least a sliver as stable as any of Google’s products.
Google’s fundamental technology practices have evolved into a carefully organized and well oiled machine. They know what to release, when to release it, how to maintain it, how to design it and how it should work, both on and off the web. Unlike Mobile Me users, Gmail users have never experienced lost email due to Google’s internal issues.
Apple uses Google’s technologies in places like the Maps Application on the iPhone, or anywhere else they want to integrate mapping, such as Mobile Me. You can give your contacts a location, tag them in Google Maps, and everything (is supposed) to work harmoniously through the main application/service that is being used. On the current iPhone, location awareness is hands-down the most important feature (aside from the phone itself). The inclusion of GPS in the current iPhone 3G only furthered what could be done with the device. By “location awareness” I am referring to the combination of a GPS, Edge or Wi-fi signal being paired with a mapping service such as Google’s, and a Graphical User Interface for user input. This package of usability is known as “location awareness.” Without it, the iPhone would become rather dormant, and seem stuck, rather than being flexible and able to adjust based on your location. You could argue that the actual hardware (GPS chip) or the front-end (Interface Experience) is the most important part. But Google’s back-end Mapping technologies are the driving force behind location based applications on the iPhone. Without this extremely extensive web technology, location based applications simply could not be developed.
In times of crisis, like what we have been experiencing with Mobile Me, Apple should turn to Google and ask for some help. It may have even been wise to include Google in Mobile Me’s development from day one. After all, Google has successfully rolled out numerous web based applications that work like they should. Yes, I know, Gmail has been in beta for over 4 years (Gmail), but it still dominates the email service market share. What would have been wrong with releasing Mobile Me as a beta? What would have been wrong with asking Google for some advice? After all, Google CEO Eric Schmidt does sit on Apple’s board.
It may be entirely possible that Apple and Google don’t want to share code for their services. Google may look at Mobile Me as direct competition, in which case Eric Schmidt would need to leave board meetings where Mobile Me is discussed. Just like he’s done for the iPhone because of Google’s competing mobile development platform Android. Chances are that Apple didn’t want to include Google where they didn’t need them, keeping them on a “need-to-know” basis, just like most employees at Apple are treated. How much longer does Mobile Me need to flounder before Apple gets serious about stability? I don’t mean stable for a few days, or a few applications being stable. I mean, the service as a whole being stable and usable.
The bottom line, is that just like Apple, Google is good at what they do. Just like Steve Jobs was quoted as saying [directed towards Google] that entering is not easy, and not everyone should do it. Google could say the same thing about Apple and the web services field. By Steve Jobs’ own doing, Apple has become a loved hardware and software company. But the software is for the Mac, not the web. Apple is entering a new field of intense competition with Mobile Me. And they are choosing to do it with closed source code, which means that barely anyone outside of the company’s immediate engineers will ever be able to help with the service.
For Apple’s Mobile Me to truly thrive, and utilize what the web has to offer, Google has to be more involved. Google has done this before, and they’ve done it well. Apple and Steve Jobs primarily have had nearly 20 years to perfect their flawlessly written Operating System (OS X). They don’t have another 20 years to get Mobile Me right, so maybe that “need-to-know” basis they keep Google on can change into a “we-need-you-to-know” basis.
