The Difference Between the PC and Mobile Eras

Miguel Helft, writing for Forbes on Oracle’s claim that Google has generated only $31 billion in cumulative revenue from Android:

Oh, and the comparisons between Google’s Android business and Apple’s iOS business that are starting to surface (Apple generated $32.2 billion in iPhone sales in the most recent quarter), well, they don’t mean much either. Apple sells mostly hardware. Google sells mostly ads. Those are fundamentally different businesses. Both companies are very successful at what they do.

That’s all true, but it highlights the fundamental difference between the PC and mobile eras. In the PC era, Microsoft generated more revenue and far more profit than any hardware company, including Apple.

★ Thursday, 21 January 2016