Microsoft and Apple unleash thermonuclear war on Google and Android

Let me get this straight...

MS makes about $2b a year on Android licensing, why would they want to kill it? If anything, MS is probably trying to make $3-4b a year. Breaking Google's stronghold on the advertisement market in the process is probably just side effect...

whs said:

They should beat Android with better products rather than in the courts. It's a sad world. I like Android and I like Linux. I can only hope that MS and Apple get stuck in the sand.

For each its own...

I had BB, Android, and iPhone; the latter one was dropped for Windows 8 phone and I like it. Admittedly, I care less about apps for the smartphone.

As for Linux... I like it for the server, but for the desktop, it is Windows 7.0 and 8.1 for me.

I use Windows 7 for my main system too. But for browsing the internet, I prefer Mint Mate. It is a beautiful system and it's safer than Windows. If you are curious and interested, download that PDF sheet from my Skydrive. It gives you accesss to 9 videos I made about Mint Mate. You will probably be surprised what can be done with it - and it is dead simple.

I use Windows 8 only occasionally. Don't really like it. And on my tablet it is Android. I really like the apps choice on the Google Playstore. Try e.g. car or boat navigation with Windows.

I'm digging Debian 7.2 with the KDE desktop it is optionally distributed with.

I could make due without Windows (and obviously OSX), for the most part, except in regards to gaming.

Don't get me wrong though; I actually like Windows 7, and it works very well for me, contrary to what many (most?) other GNU/Linux users think.

I do also like my Android devices (in particular my Nexus 7), but if I had to, I could likely jury-rig another Linux distribution into working on them well enough.

Cr00zng said:

....Admittedly, I care less about apps for the smartphone.

I will never understand people who say this. Why buy a smartphone at all? Do you just want to browse the internet? If so feature phones do this now....

andrew129260 said:

Cr00zng said:

....Admittedly, I care less about apps for the smartphone.

I will never understand people who say this. Why buy a smartphone at all? Do you just want to browse the internet? If so feature phones do this now....

I don't even browse the web with my 4G Windows 8 phone. I do use tethering for internet access for my laptop, when Wi-Fi/LAN is not available. Being a consultant and working at the client sites, most of the times the 4G is the only option for unfiltered internet access.

In my use, it is getting/sending emails for five email accounts, being able to read MS Office documents and PDF files. Editing office document is iffy at best, due to the screen size and limited capabilities of the office app. If I need to edit the document, I break out the laptop with tethering and edit it there.

In addition,my smartphone is also used for Skype, LinkedIn, and texting. And that's about all of the apps that I have and I am perfectly satisfied with it.

The cost of the smartphone isn't a major expense and the monthly fee for these phones is pretty much the same as the "feature phones". There's no reason to get the feature phones with limited capabilities...