I use an iPhone, an iPad and a MacBook Pro. Where now, Mr Generalisation?

The fact that Google gets a pass for talking out out of both sides of the mouth that is irritating.

They will submit to the App Store late for iOS, as they have done with all of their apps since Google Voice was finally approved by Apple. Not just release late- submit to the App Store late. They will get approval, and they know it. They haven’t been turned down on anything in over a year now. Hell, Apple even gave them a pass on using what were then private APIs in the Google Search app, when any other developer would have been denied immediately.

The delay in release isn’t what bothers me. It’s the fact that they will release something that is almost assuredly a piece of crap, and then brag about how open and magnanimous they are on the services side. Considering the resources at Google’s disposal and the collective coding skill that they have in-house, their body of work for iOS is a pathetic joke. Yet, the only time the tech press has called them out on this was for the Gmail app that literally didn’t work at all for 2 weeks after release.

You can choose to believe that this is purely accidental, but that would mean that you are either ignorant or naive. A company as large as Google, with a reputation for solid services deployed at massive scales, could do better if they wanted to. A company like Google, that normally has pretty high standards for execution, doesn’t release a sub-standard product unless it is intentional.

And before anyone jumps up and says that no company would ever do such a thing, this actually happens often in the world of big business. I see this every day in my job. Large corporations in the field I work in will intentionally shortchange the open implementation of their products as a way to sell customers on buying their full system, where they will get more features. The upsell has been around forever.

Again, there is nothing wrong with doing this. I just wish Google would be up front about it. If they want to make their services a platform selling feature for Android, then fine. Pull the iOS apps from the App Store and leave us with the web and third party solutions (which are almost always better for us anyway. Hello Sparrow, Docs To Go, and GV Connect). If not, then make a decent set of apps that are at least as good as the third party alternatives for iOS.

Actually, a lot of us iOS users would make a lot more use of Google services, such as Plus, Picasa (if they can decide whether it still exists or not), Docs, and Drive, if they would provide the same equal level of access that companies like Dropbox, Box, Evernote, SugarSync, and hell, even Microsoft do. Give us full access in an app, not a damn browser window, and I will use it all day long.

Boy, it doesn’t take much to bring out the Android Army, flags waving in the breeze, even on an iOS site.

Move along folks, nothing to see here…

I would tend to agree with you – they could have it all in the chute ready to rock when they launched. There’s nothing more needs to be said than that. This was definitely a by choice launch with iOS not being included.

No worries. Even though I have my Galaxy Note and could use Google Drive, I’ll just stick with Dropbox. No skin off my back and it works on everything.

Apple has given preference to large devs on plenty occasions when the devs were willing to work with them. Besides that, however, I heard it reported in more than one place that the hold up wasn’t approval. It was the fact that Google didn’t have an app ready.

Also, anyone who has used any of Google’s apps for iOS can tell that, while they talk a good game, these are for nothing but the most basic use possible. And sometimes, as is the case with the horrible Gmail app, they aren’t even goos for that. They are for show. and that alone. If they aren’t, then Google should be ashamed of how bad most of them are.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I blame Google for this business practice. They are using their services as a platform seller and “lock in,” and that’s just good business. However, they need to stop turning around and talking about how Android isn’t vital to their business, and how open they are, and how they embrace all platforms with their services. Not everyone gets the same experience, and anyone with a little sense can see that.

I see through that line, because I work in an industry where “open systems” and “open protocols” are very common. These are great for customers when it comes to very basic applications, but in my lengthy experience with them, it is always a lowest common denominator affair. If I’m integrating to a competitor’s product, then I’m getting the limited “open” profile, while the manufacturer gets a lot more. The real message isn’t “Be Open.” It’s “Be Open. Just Be Open With Me.” Again, there isn’t anything wrong with this. Just don’t pander and try to feed me a line about how universal your services are, when they really aren’t when it comes to mobile. Don’t try and act all holier than thou with Apple, when you are only marginally better. You can’t have it both ways.

This has been years, not months, in the works. They couldn’t work out App Store release timing if they wanted to – No, not buying that at all.