Hardware v’s Software

I just entered the Qantas club here in Brisbane on the way home from a fantastic weekend of Windows Phone 7 development with all the attendees of the Bizspark camp. I noticed that they’ve replaced all the computers in the lounge with Macs. After my initial cringe, I took a closer look and almost laughed out loud – they’re all running Windows 7. This seriously raises the question: who’s making the best hardware and who’s making the best software (ie the OS).

What’s more interesting is if you look at not only the desktop but also the phone space I think that Apple definitely excels in creating visually appealing and powerful hardware. Unfortunately the simpleton nature of their iOS operating system and the frustrating MacOS interface leaves a lot to be desired. It appears that Microsoft might be ahead in the desktop OS war at the moment and it’s anyone’s race in the mobile space at the moment. Perhaps we’ll see Windows Phone 7 running on an iphone soon….. oh wait, that wouldn’t work since the iphone is the only phone on the market with only one front facing button (good on Apple for insisting that users really only want a single button – just like the mouse on the desktop. As I said, it’s a simpleton design).