Comments on: Does user experience or developer experience drive platforms?

By: jasoncrawford

jasoncrawford — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:49:59 +0000

“Developers flocked to the iPhone even before they had many users.” Is that true? The iPhone SDK wasn't released until the iPhone had been out for almost a year; weren't there millions of iPhones + iPod Touches out there?

“Symbian smart phones are still a market leader.” Are they a leader in the US? I thought they were mostly in Europe and Japan.

By: jasoncrawford

jasoncrawford — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:49:59 +0000

“Symbian smart phones are still a market leader.” Are they a leader in the US? I thought they were mostly in Europe and Japan.

By: Joseph Kim

Joseph Kim — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:35:09 +0000

You know what mobile development was like before the iPhone. The mobile development process was absurdly stifling. Very little applications were written or used. Developers flocked to the iPhone even before they had many users. Symbian smart phones are still a market leader, yet they posses much less developer mindshare. The app store for all its warts has netted 100k applications written by developers. The apps create enormous value for users and are driving the future of the mobile market.

Developers sense the value of technology early on, build the solutions and the users come around later.

By: jasoncrawford

jasoncrawford — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:26:25 +0000

First, this is about dominant trends; there will always be exceptions.

Re Mac and Windows: Look what happened in the '90s. The Mac had a lot of good apps, but they tended to be in certain categories, such as printing, publishing, graphic design. Again, bipartite network effects at work: designers got Macs because that platform had the best design apps; software developers who wrote design apps did them for Mac because that's where the users were–exactly the virtuous circle you're talking about. Now, getting that *started* required Mac to be the best platform for such apps–which it was, because of its innovative GUI–but once started, it was self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing. And once that advantage is in place, it's hard to overcome. This is the pattern of all network effects.

By: Sean Saulsbury

Sean Saulsbury — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:54:49 +0000

Seems like an odd dichotomy to me... Perhaps I'm missing or don't understand something here. Wouldn't that mean that nobody would develop for Mac apps, in favor of Windows?

I tend to think you need both and it's more about the harmony between these two worlds than anything. Don't developers *create* the user experience? So if the developer experience breeds better user experiences in general, that platform has a definite advantage. Developers that create awesome content will breed larger user bases. It's a virtuous circle.

Even then, that's not the whole picture. I think return on investment is the key issue here. Potential customers (i.e., audience) is a huge factor, but operating expenses (i.e., developer experience) is still an important part of the picture. ROI will dictate what gets developed and on which platform(s).

By: jasoncrawford

jasoncrawford — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:15:04 +0000

Joe, Jouni, I'm sure there are plenty of devs who just follow their own interests, including in choice of platform. What I'm saying is that they're a minority and don't drive the market.

By: Joseph Kim

Joseph Kim — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:06:34 +0000

I had such a bad experience with Windows and Symbian programming that I would not develop for those platforms again unless major improvements were made regardless of how many users there are. Personally, I was drawn to iPhone not because of the users but because of the slick interfaces that could be built versus the competing platforms. Graham's argument resonates with me as a developer more. I think you underestimate how much developers are motivated by building stuff they are personally passionate about versus profit-motive/user adoption.

By: Jouni Miettunen

Jouni Miettunen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:25:48 +0000

Maybe it's me or Europe, but I choose platform over users. Been freeware coder 15+ years, just like to do stuff.

By: JackDoitCrawford

JackDoitCrawford — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:33:27 +0000

Interesting essay, Jason. I think that if no one comes up with a better “mousetrap” than the users use what they know and choose from what is available. But with something new being developed, the users might decide to change. Consider the portable GPS. Now that this app can be put on a smart phone, won’t the users go to that and stop buying the standalone GPS? CD’s were all the rage in the 1990’s but with MP3, they don’t sell so well.
Maybe this isn’t really in the same vein as you are thinking, but I thought it was at least a parallel case.