There’s no denying the charms and talents of Google’s new smartphone entry, even compared to Apple’s iPhone. But while the Nexus One delivers some business tools unavailable on iPhones today, Apple must be pleased about the tomorrows for its mobile lineup. Google is increasing demand for something better than a laptop with Nexus One. Apple already has ideas about a laptop-buster.

The Nexus One makes voice navigation more universal than on iPhones. This can be useful in a hands-free environment to enter text in any field on the phone, simply by speaking it. Voice recognition has been improving over the decades — it started in the ’90s — but it’s caliber remains uneven. Such applications deliver on their promise when great development emerges from software companies. Google has little to do with that delivery.

That’s the same rules Apple plays under for the iPhone. It’s all about the apps, baby. There’s a fresh one out that controls a car using your iPhone. Not something that most small businesses need, sure. But that app shows off the range of development for the iPhone. It’s almost a cliche by now, but “there’s an app for that” is the core strength of choosing an iPhone.

Apple’s is likely to be glad for yesterday’s press conference about what Google calls a “superphone” (smartphone is so 2009, I guess). But nobody is killing off anybody’s phone entry anymore. It’s all become a matter of what kind of smart, super mobile phone you want to use. iPhone is better integrated with the rest of the Apple line, so it’s in heavy use here at the Bites HQ. Fewer than one phone out of five is a smartphone today, so there’s so much open market to grab with a new device.

What’s most interesting is how these “phones” are being used. They’re likely to replace a lot of laptops, being mobile computers. Apple doesn’t have just an app for that replacement. It’s got a tablet computer coming, according to industry reports. The company hopes to change the mobile computing game with that entry. Read the rest of this entry »