Apple, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo compared at the macro level
By Vlad Savov 
posted January 25th 2010 3:49AM
posted January 25th 2010 3:49AM
posted January 25th 2010 3:49AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
This chart sure seems to ignore a lot of Microsoft's core offerings in the enterprise space.
@Atkins
This better not be gay pr0n when I open it.
and why is the windows phone http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsPhone not considered as a mobile device?
@Atkins
Dude, Apple has had an e-mail service for more than a decade. It may not be free but I say it's still strong competition, at least for 60 days. Woot.
I thought HTC made the nexus one
google is not in the hardware industry (but htc is for the sake of kontext), so this comparison-sheet doesnt make any sense at all.
I do find it interesting that the "author" here both cropped the original picture and failed to reference the original in a clear way. Thankfully, Nokia N900 showed more ethical journalism in his reader post than Engadget did.
The real, unaltered chart shows a different story from the apparent intent of this article - it shows Apple much weaker against Google, Microsoft, and even Yahoo. Not *weakest*, just much weaker. It also shows Microsoft as strongest of the four - something that Engadget is historically and consistently reluctant to do.
@tadghostal
Apple has 4x, Google has 5x gaps.
Google's core business (search) is represented, whereas one of Apple's core businesses (Mac) isn't.
Apple is the only one of the three who doesn't talk about future products or plans, but anyone with a smattering of an interest knows they are working on their on mapping service.
Throw in offline retail and suddenly Apple isn't look so far behind.
@(Unverified) Other way round — sorry.
CORRECTION: Apple has 5x, Google has 4x gaps.
@(Unverified) I agree with you - Apple isn't far behind, and it wouldn't surprise me if they catch up or surpass others - things happen. I just don't think it was a totally random decision on the part of the author to only include the top half of the chart, which casts Apple in a more positive light.
I do disagree with you about Apple not talking about future products or plans. Apple does it, and more than anyone else - only in a different, more thought out and sophisticated way. The hype that is generated, the leaked pictures and rumors - don't think any of those are by accident. Apple is known for it's hype, and you can bet that there is a lot of money and effort that goes into generating it. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just saying that it exists, and that it serves the same purpose as the more straight-forward approach that others use.
Different companies are better at generating desire for future products in different ways, but they all do it in *some* way. Apple is the master of hype and fanboyism - it works for them. It *doesn't* work for Microsoft, and I wish they'd quit trying it, because it looks extremely lame - like watching a corporate suite trying to make an r&b video.
Google has mobile hardware? The Nexus One is no different than any of the other HTC-made Windows Mobile phones. To me Apple is the only OS developer that actually makes phones.
@rwrife Except they don't actually make the iPhone, they outsource it just like Google does. The only differene is that people know of HTC, but not may people know of Foxconn.
If you take the actual image.. its awesum.. Microsoft of Google are like the Jack of all trades and king of nothing.. well leaving out the Desktop OS for MS and Search for Google!
in business perspective, who is selling Nexus One? google. Who is selling HTC WinMo phones? MS? nope, HTC. I thought this should be obvious.
row one, mobile hardware ... if the google phones (mostly made by HTC so far) count as mobile hardware, than the many other phones that WinMo runs on count as mobile hardware for M$
Google hasn't made their own hardware, neither has M$, both are software players as of now (zune phone on the horizon may change this).
K
O
f
And only one of them has a gaming console.
Nexus One IS music hardware. Google wins.
I like many of these categories, but I have to wonder if some could be added or deleted? Which categories would be more relevant to comparing these companies?
- Greymarch
I write about technology at my website: http://www.greymarch.com
Lol @ Yahoo. That's cute.
Seriously though, if any three of these guys came together with Sony, who has its hands in everybody's cookie jars in the hardware space, it'd be game over. Digital cameras, camcorders, TVs, game consoles, handheld gaming, laptops, portable media players, cell phones, electronic books, Blu-ray. Add to that their arm in music, movies, televison, and gaming, and they have a larger reach then anybody.
As I lamented the other day that Darwin's theories about survival of the fittest seem to be failing with the advent of modern medicine ....and the noticeable perception that people are indeed getting stupider and stupider......
I then understood why APPLE products' popularity were increasing exponentially......
and I immediately bought more stock.
IDIOCRACY......Mike Judge is a true visionary.
Just getting around to reading this... but...
if you consider Google to have mobile hardware, then you have to also consider them to have music hardware. The Archos 5IT (as well as a few Chinese Android media players) fill that niche, in the same way that the HTC and Motorola android phones fill the "mobile hardware" niche.