A pause for some data:
- 60% of developers
- 70,000 apps
- 1 billion+ downloads
- 33% share in North America
- +4% in operating system share in May 2010, vs. -1% for Apple
- Android-enabled shipments exceeding iPhone (analyst estimates)

android_retrospective.pdf |
http://www.johnseelybrown.com/shapingstrategy.pdf
Looking back, the “current challenges” back in December 2007 are revealing (italics added later):
- Will Apple open the iPhone platform in response to the openness of the Android? [Yes]
- Can a consortium of 34 companies really execute on the promise of open-source mobile applications and hardware? [Yes - but still unclear whether a non-fragmentation agreement is sufficient]
- Does announcing the initiative this early in the development process promote rumors of vaporware? [It did, with rumors fanned by competitors, but they overcame them by executing]
- Should Google combat the disappointment in “just a software package” (as opposed to a Gphone as rumored) by articulating its vision more strongly? [It seems like it didn't matter]
- Does Verizon’s "open" announcement increase risk to potential Android adopters? Are aspiring shapers vulnerable to an announcement of a competing platform until lock-in takes place? [Google was more credible and did a better job of executing - unclear whether there is a broader lesson here]