Yesterday Amazon announced a new device, Amazon Fire TV. Similar to the Apple TV and Roku, it allows users to stream TV shows, movies, music, and download apps. Amazon Fire TV stands out in that it is built for gaming, even supporting its own gaming controller. A quad-core processor, 2GB memory, support for surround sound, and Amazon payment integration are just a few of the device’s perks.
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This summer, Apple, Google and Microsoft announced updates to their mobile operating systems: iOS 6, Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. All of the operating systems are at different stages of maturity, which is reflected in their unique mixes of competitive and innovative features.
There is no question that Apple leads the industry in many ways: beautiful design; easy to use operating system; an eye toward integrated product offerings, to name a few. But in terms of market share, Google Android is the undisputed leader. More importantly, Google is securely set up to continue this dominance for the foreseeable future.
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With the unveiling of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) at the beginning of the year, Android also revealed its first suggested app design guidelines, departing from its long heralded stance that apps for Android don't have to abide by any rules as long as they aren't malicious. While these guidelines are by no means mandatory, they do imply that Android's flexible policies are getting a little more structure, which has us asking a series of questions: Is this good for the industry? Is it necessary for Android to continue to compete with Apple? Or should Android revert course and return to its "anything goes" cowboy roots?