Apple co-founder Steve Jobs could get a little ticked-off when speaking about Android. At one point, Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson: “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” Well, Google certainly knows how to push Steve’s buttons. The latest example: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of the Mountain View, Calif. company, says Android was way out ahead of the iPhone – sort of. Kind of. Well, pretty close, okay?
To to reporters in South Korea (home of Apple rival and courtroom dance partner Samsung), Schmidt said: “I think most people would agree Google is a great innovator and I would also point out that the Android effort started before the iPhone effort.”
Ah, that depends.
Google acquired Andy Rubin’s Android Inc. in 2005, but the first phone based on the software didn’t appear until 2008 – or one year after the iPhone appeared. If the Android ‘effort’ began in 2003, when it was but a glimmer in Rubin’s eye, Google is right. Or, maybe the ‘effort’ began when Google snapped up the company. But if the effort happened when people outside of Rubin or Google knew much about Android, then the software was late to the party.
And speaking of parties, Schmidt denied reports of an icy relationship between himself and Jobs following the then Google CEO resigning from Apple’s board of directors. In fact, Schmidt was even invited to private dinners and other Apple shindigs. “We had adult conversations…at the beginning and the end,” he countered. Now knowing Jobs could verbally blast both friends and enemies (usually with colorful language requiring the heavy use of **** and %@$!), one can only guess just how ‘adult’ those talks were.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
88 responses to “Google: Android Was Started Way Before The iPhone”
The first iteration of Android was a Blackberry clone. When the iPhone was released, Google changed their plan and copied iPhone’s touchscreen interface.
Google Evil!!! Google Fail!!!!
Google Evil!!! Google Fail!!!!
Well, I’m sure the Android effort started for Rubin in 2003, but how long do you think Apple was working on the iPhone? Probably since 2001.
“Picasso had a saying — ‘good artists copy, great artists steal’ — and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.” – Steve Jobs
Follow the link to see how android looked before the iPhone http://www.engadget.com/2007/1…
Keyword: ‘Efforts.’ Android failed, until Apple succeeded.
Thus, they stole it.
Well that’s just funny. Schmidt, who the hell are you trying to kid?
Yes, Android was started before iOS, but as a Blackberry or Nokia clone. Google didn’t decide to copy iOS ideas until after Schmidt saw the iPhone.
Blah, blah, blah – “he says, she says.” Does it really matter? Two companies that both make a valid product, but with company philosophies are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Did you just quote someone quoting someone else? I like your style.
Haha if this is true, this just proves Google wasn’t smart enough to prepare Android for release. They started the OS before iOS and released it after, meaning they took a much longer time to build a half-assed OS (at the time, I mean donut and cupcake were pretty shitty). I wouldn’t go around saying things like this Schmidt.
Has any one seen the picture of the android google phone shown a few months before iPhone was revealed?
It looks nothing like it does today, Iphone came out and they totally changed direction with their mobile design in terms of both hardware and software.
Yeah, and please Eric tell us why you changed everything in the user interface once you saw Apple’s iPhone? You thief.
The way I understand it, the original Android vision was one of a more traditional smartphone, like a Nokia Symbian smartphone with a traditional keypad and buttons, only with Google writing the software. Then when the iPhone was released they realized they had to have a phone OS with the same features as the iPhone such as pinch-to-zoom web browsing, a big touch screen etc.
I like how bloggers and fanboys (both pro-Google and pro-Apple) waste their time getting fired up about overblown, dramatic “news” stories about Steve Jobs vs Eric Schmidt. As if they actually know what relations Jobs and Schmidt had cultivated over the years, and that in fact, they had mutual respect despite competition. Move on, folks. You’re wasting precious time fighting over what essentially remains a consumer decision, and both companies are doing extremely well. Apple is making record profits (and huge cash reserves). Google is seeing increased search/ad business. I have friends who work at Apple and Google – believe me, things aren’t as black and white as bloggers like to portrait it.
Ah, so now not only are Android fanboys going to brag about miniscule specs and huge screen sizes and weather widgets, now they can brag about which was born first, Android or iOS! This finally proves that Android is superior. It’s on about 1000 different handsets and came out years YEARS before the iPhone.
THIS *applause*
Thank you
I too have pals on both fronts, and yeah, pretty much exactly what JLishere said!
Android looked like Windows Mobile then the Blackberry before the iPhone came out. Those were their targets.
All of a sudden when the iPhone was announced Android looked like the iPhone. This is well known but don’t expect a COM writer to know it. They are too busy trying to whore page views with silly headlines.
From the words of Steve J. when he did the All Things D8 conference interview, he mentioned that in fact the scrolling and pinching and etc. that we see in iOS (and the copycats) was conceived in the early 2000’s on an iPad like device by an Apple engineer, then they put iPad concept on a shelf on hold and ported it to what became the iPhone.
Your point being? Apple still makes way more money and being a user of both I think both are pretty damn awesome.
I should beliieve you BUT when you said YEARS BEFORE IPHONE, I STOP & SAID – YOUR STUPID…
HOW DO YOU KNOW THATS THEIR ONLY PLAN, YOUR THERE???
For god sake, lots of imoron born everyday…
When I said “the way I understand it” I meant that is my understanding from what I have read. And from looking at early Android devices and prototypes. By the way, your grammar needs some work.
Ryan,
Do you remember when original iPhone launched – it’s not half assed smartphones it’s ALMOST NOTHING INSIDE OF IT… LOTS OF MISSING FEATURE…
I own the original iPhone till now and I will tell you it’s great to be an mp3 player BUT NOT A PHONE…
Do you know that lots of imoron will COPY YOUR DEFENSE STYLE, ITS APPLE STYLE – STEALING AND COPYING…
Tango,
And do you believe in what they said especially steve jobs????
Lots of gullible istupid zombie…
If he told you, he’s the god – I think you will believe…
Sutherland,
How about this…
If SAMSUNG & GOOGLE WILL PULL OUT ALL THEIR PRODUCTS AND PARTS FROM APPLE, DO YOU THINK APPLE WILL STILL PROFITABLE?
DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL STILL BUY APPLE PRODUCTS MINUS PARTS FROM SAMSUNG AND MINUS ALL PRODUCTS OF GOOGLE?
SAMSUNG and GOOGLE will still survive MINUS APPLE…
Go wipe off your saliva from that crappy anDROLL table of yours… you ignorant loser.
Everyone rips off what they don’t have. Apple did it, MS did it, Google does it, etc… But the difference between Apple and the rest of them, is that they rip off what the competition doesn’t already have (by buying it out). Everyone else, rips off what’s already on the market. ie. Apple bought the rights to what eventually became their first OS on the Mac from IBM. They even bought the rights to the mouse, which was created by IBM. No one else had that, and IBM had no idea what to do with the tech. Hence why they sold it to Apple. Apple in turn made it into more of what it is. MS created Windows 1.0 – 3.0, but copied an older Mac OS to create Windows 95, which is the base of all Windows OS. Ya Google had the Android in the works before Apple had the iPhone. But when Apple released the iPhone first, even in it’s infancy and drummed down tech compared to today, Google saw enough that made them realize their Android was going to cut it. Hence the late launch, because now they had to compete with something new in the market that they didn’t anticipate. Apple has always been ahead of the curve, everyone else is just follows suite. Different ideas, different (for the most part) tech, but when you look at the base of it all, everyone is trying to compete with Apple. Not anyone else. So it’s like Everyone vs Apple. Apple is the 500lb silver back that all the other gorillas are trying to dethrone. You won’t see, Google competing with BB anymore, you wont see Samsung competing with Google, you won’t even see MS competing with either company. Because they’re all competing with Apple. That says a lot about Apple, whether your a fan or not.
don’t you mean Xerox? IBM was not involved in this. It was Xerox. The big thing with Android is that it may have been in development, but it looked more like other smartphones, especially Blackberries. Android ripped Apple off on the multi-touch, multi-touch scrolling, etc.
the mouse and the GUI was created by Xerox not IBM
I like your line, “Apple is the 5% MONKEY that is now more-popularly known as a gadget company” – seriously what’s their worldwide desktop market share? Take Dashboard for example, you use it for what, the calculator? It’s failed tech. Built into the OS. Listen man I don’t really care. If it’s M$ or Google or Apple or Ubuntu or Debian or whatever, I have needs and want my tech to fulfill my needs. Apple doesn’t do it for me. In 2008 I bought my first Android phone, logged in and in 4 minutes had all my contacts synced over the cloud, in 2008. Last week, I get an email from someone ‘i lost my iPhone, send me your contact info again’ because to that day, iOS didn’t sync contacts over the cloud. Contacts! Forget movies and photos. Address book! So silly.
Didn’t Android go from being Blackberry-like to iPhone-like only AFTER Schmidt got a view of what Apple was up to?
You cant account for user stupidity, MobileMe both did that since the first iphone and every phone I have had Sony Ericsson to Apple have been syncing my contacts happily.
If you want to talk great just moved from an iPhone 4 to a 4s (free upgrade) and during set up (without itunes just switched it on) I had everything within an hour all my apps in the right folder on the right page all contacts, call history, messages, photos and music there ready for me to use.
what’s with the shouting we can reed you just as well without the caps.
What could Google withdraw just from apple, on the other had Google – webkit = heartache
What does Samsung make that apple cant buy elsewhere??
and before you start shouting again, i love my Samsung series 6 led tv and a number of Google services make my like easier and i recommend both as well as apple but if you have used a Samsung smart TV you know apple could make it 100% better, its great having to come out and start all over again when an app crashes. What do Google do that Apple or someone else cant easily regulate? (I wouldn’t use it but look at bing and office online)
“without itunes” <– exactly. previous phones had to hardwire to sync data. That doesn’t “just work” for us who were truly mobile in 2008.
Also, with your new phone, and new OS. i.e. not with older hardware and software, but no one claims iPhone is “fragmented” when it is; just that the company puts so much emphasis and spin on ‘latest and greatest’ that the discussion never comes up.
APPLE WILL MAKE IT 100% BETTER THAN SAMSUNG… Don’t make me laugh, I have Samsung led 55 inch. and I’m satisfied even its not perfect as I’m using the $299 Sony google tv player with dish network with it.
If apple will make tv, THEY WILL GET AGAIN PARTS FROM SAMSUNG 100%, SO YOUR REBUTTAL IS NO SENSE AT ALL.. BUT SAMSUNG CAN MAKE ANY PRODUCTS WITHOUT APPLE HELP AND STILL SALEABLE…
GOOGLE CAN MAKE PROFIT WORLDWIDE WITHOUT APPLE PRODUCTS…
HOW ABOUT APPLE WITHOUT SAMSUNG PARTS AND GOOGLE PRODUCTS, WILL YOU STILL BUY IT – I DON’T THINK SO…
so we talked about grammatical correctness now…
what he’s saying is, even you weren’t there- you easily believe that’s their only plan because of what you read.
stop reading fictional Books and being a gullible person..
I mean I looked at some ACTUAL early Android devices. Those things aren’t fictional. And I read some articles in newspapers and business journals about the early Android device plans. Those are’t fictional either. Yeah I wasn’t inside the Google corporation, but I have as good of an idea as anybody about what was going on with Android in the early years. What makes you such an expert anyways?
Wow…fail troll…please stop polluting the comments section with lousy responses. If you have nothing constructive to write, then don’t write anything. Also, you thinking he is wrong is your understanding of the situation, which is also based on things you have read/seen. Which, by your own logic, renders your argument invalid. Great, you can say he wasn’t there, he agrees, that’s why it’s an opinion preceded by “the way I understand it”. Granted its not as good as a first hand source, but thats obvious. It is wrong to discount all opinion unless it either corresponds with yours or has immutable evidence (unless you are in a court of law, which you are not!). What you could do is research, maybe READ, then you could form your own opinion and post it here to provide a decent counter argument without attacking an obvious meta-point of Jackson’s comment (psst, its that it is only his understanding of this situation *gasp*).
Late for thrid period French class?
Exactly ! I watched a video Google released in October 2007 featuring Sergey Brin if I’m not wrong. Android looked like a Blackberry hybrid and after iPhone launch they totally overhauled the UI and that’s why Android was so late.
What a crock of BS…. i think we should start calling this guy Schmidthead