Current Instapaper and former Tumblr developer Marco Arment wonders out loud if Google Android phones can ever achieve the levels of usability and polish Apple’s iPhone has arguably had since day one:
Android will continue to exhibit what Google does best: great low-level engineering and tight integration with Google’s other services. But it’s never going to be Apple-like in user experience, polish, or design.
Attention to detail, like most facets of truly good design, can’t be (and never is) added later. It’s an entire development philosophy, methodology, and culture.
Armant argues that users waiting for Android to get iPhone-like fit and finish “any day now” shouldn’t hold their breath. (Probably any more than iPhone users should hold their breath for Google-like features, such as a less curated market open to system-wide enhancers.)
Smartphone platforms as reflections of the corporate cultures is an interesting idea that doesn’t stop with consistent UI or tightly integrated […]
Read the original post by Rene Ritchie