Digital Directions : Of Androids and E-books

What we can learn from the launch of the first Android phone

November 2008 By Andrew Brenneman

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4. Wireless Connectivity
If purchases are integrated into the reading experience, and the reading experience is mobile, we can conclude that the transaction must be wireless. Kindle's use of the EVDO network, in which subscriptions are seamlessly downloaded without user initiation (or additional cost), is the most elegant example of persistent wireless connectivity. It is a wonder. Almost as elegant a solution is the iPhone App Store. Wired connections and SD cards won't cut it with most consumers.

5. Performance, Performance, Performance
Google search has always been an extraordinarily bland experience. This is due to Google's unwavering belief in the value of performance, and bitmaps slow interfaces. Google's text interface was plain as dirt compared to its incumbents—Yahoo, Altavista and others—but Google was smoking fast. And speed won. 

Those at the Android launch were struck by the speed of some applications, such as the address book, as compared to incumbents such as the Blackberry. While others were focusing on adding bells and whistles, Google was chipping away at performance. Android-based media devices may well win out with sheer performance.

6. Robust Integrated Services
A portable media solution is not just a device, but a services infrastruture connected wirelessly to it. The services behind the device need to include:

• wireless coverage;
• integrated transaction;
• a massive array of available content;
• reliability; and
• interoperability of services.

That's a tall order that requires a great deal of dedication and investment. Apple and Amazon did it. There will be others, but it can only be done by organizations with significant resources and focused strategic intent.

7. Integrated User Experience
While applications may be developed by an array of third parties, they must unite in a harmonious user experience. Herein lies the paradox of application platforms. This is where the iPhone shines.  
The range of mobile devices we are faced with today will, over time, consolidate. A few product platforms will survive, all of them with a range of integrated applications and capabilities, including the distribution and display of e-books.   

Android represents an important step forward in its open-source mobile operating system. But is it the iPhone killer? Many think not. There certainly are a few challenges: Symbian, the operating system used by Ericsson and Nokia, and the Linux-based LiMo Foundation will both soon provide open-source mobile operating systems, which may be more attractive platforms for the open-source development community. Also, open-source mobile could result in a less unified, therefore less compelling, user-experience. There is a lot of catching up to do.  

But Google has a trump card. It is the one organizing the world's information, remember? This includes book content. The mobile operating system best optimized to access Google content is likely to be Google's. That's a pretty big deal. Advantage: Android.

The dominant electronic book platform may well be based on Android. Google has made a long-term investment in capturing book content. It has also made a significant strategic investment in the development of the Android mobile operating system. The next logical step is to deliver book content from Google to Android devices. Watch this space.

Andrew Brenneman is managing director of Finitiv, a digital media consultancy. He has 20 years of experience leading pioneering digital media initiatives in publishing and advertising, including NETg's Skill Builder, Thomson Learning's WebTutor, FreeMark Mail and MSDewey.com. Brenneman also founded the Digital Media Group of The University of Chicago Press Books Division, where he led digital distribution and development of "The Chicago Manual of Style Online."

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