Jobs on Android: The Fight Isn’t Closed Vs. Open, but Integrated Vs. Fragmented

CEO Steve Jobs made a special guest appearance on Apple’s Q3 earnings call today and used the opportunity to fire a few shots at Google while reframing the comparison between iOS and Android.

Talking about Google’s characterization of the Android platform as open and Apple’s as closed, Jobs said, “We find this a bit disingenuous.” The open vs. closed argument is a “smokescreen,” Jobs said. The real issues, in terms of satisfying consumers, are the advantages of Apple’s integrated approach in contrast to the multiple flavors of Android as adapted by various manufacturers and carriers.

Noting too that there will be at least four Android app stores, as opposed to Apple’s one-stop shop, Jobs said that “this is going to be a mess for both users and developers.”

Android may be Apple’s biggest competitor in the mobile market, Jobs said, but Apple’s goal is to create products that “just work” and “their approach is very different from that.”

Furthermore, he said, “Even if Google were right, and the real issue was closed vs. open, it’s important to remember that open systems don’t always win.”

“We are very committed to the integrated approach, no matter how many times Google tries to characterize it as closed,” he said.