Apple, Google Duking it Out is Good for You

This is Fun Stuff for observers, consumers and technophiles, alike: where the two companies were once a united front against Microsoft and the status quo in general, they’re now stepping on each others’ privates more frequently. For the most part, this escalation should mean more choice of better products, services and prices.

Google’s Android mobile platform was acceptable to Apple when it was mostly a concept OS – even the first few phones that arrived with Android weren’t much threat. With Motorola’s Droid and GOOG’s ‘own’ Nexus One, all that’s changed.

photo by missha @ flicker

We understand how hyped the iPhone is; it’s also rapidly become a major revenue-generation engine for Apple. Hardware sales, fees from AT&T and after-market App Store sales make the device a multi-billion dollar business on its own.

The well-covered sniping continues to escalate, with most barbs coming – so far – out of Apple’s offices. One interesting bit is if there’s anything to rumors that Apple may be changing the default search engine on Safari from Google to Bing.

Bing’s been making headway in search engine popularity – taking share mostly from players other than Google, but growing still. Safari usage isn’t huge, but it’s ~100% of the iPhone market and an important chunk of desktop users, too.

Google’s working their way into our living room and perhaps forcing Apple to spend some more time polishing their AppleTV. AppleTV’s a decent product. Like Boxee and Roku, it’s a few humps away from being a very cool, widely-used product. Google’s entrance into the market is sure to address some of those humps directly or otherwise. Both companies continue to work with music, movie and technology providers to improve the experience. Wins all-around for consumers.

Google’s Chrome browser and OS have already had impact on Safari and OS X: all four offerings are focusing on speed and sveltness as opposed to features and bloat – this is a clear Win for users.

The key battleground remains mobile:

Apple’s Mobile Me, coupled with their phone, offers a well-unified experience for people who want email, voice mail and file storage (photos, docs, etc.) everywhere they go. Google offers much of this in a not-yet-so-polished state. Improvements there will benefit those of us who already want these services and make it more compelling to those who don’t yet realize they do.

As the Android App market continues to grow, it’s going to force Apple’s hand to relinquish a bit more of the control they hold over their App Store. Improved hardware from Google means more significant iPhone updates. All around, their escalations mean improvements – and a show – we get take in and enjoy.