Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution

I read this on a recent flight and highly recommend it. As someone who was at many of Apple's product launches, I'm impressed by the unofficial stories that the author was able to unearth. This is a thoughtful, deeply researched, and enjoyable book to read.

Rarely has a book incensed me the way this one has. First of all, let me announce that I am an iPhone lover and Android hater. No need to take pot shots at me. Just the facts. If you don’t like it, read something else. Anyway, I thought this book was going to be a reasonably objective look into the war between Apple and Google on smart phones and tablets. Boy, was I wrong. The author lets us know right away where he stands. He starts by mocking Apple and Steve Jobs as they get set to introduce the iPhone to the public, making them look like total dunces and then pulling one over on the public’s eyes with a brilliant demo. Then, poor Google. They loved the iPhone. They loved Apple. So imagine how hurt they were when Jobs and Apple got wind of their development of the Android and didn’t appreciate it, of how badly their feelings were hurt. They even went for walks with Jobs assuring him that they weren’t going to go ahead with Android — only to do it. And this was somehow justified by the author. The author also went out of his way to explain that Apple has never sued Google, just the phone and tablet manufacturers. Okay. Nonetheless, Apple has the patents and it’s winning. This is a hatchet job disguised as journalism and it ticks me off. It also ticks me off that I spent good money on this darn book thinking I was getting one thing when in fact I was getting something else. If I wanted to read something by a Google cheerleader, I would have bought something else. So too, if I had wanted to read of a Jobs smear job on Google, I would have bought that — but I didn’t. I wanted something balanced. This was not. So I didn’t finish it. I made it to the seventh chapter before giving up. I’m trying to get my blood pressure down now. I can’t believe what a crock this book is. What a Google lover this author is. How open software trumps closed systems every time, which isn’t necessarily the case — look at the facts. Of all of the books I’ve not recommended, this comes in at the top of my list. Most definitely not recommended!

I've never been the kind of person who loves his cell phone. For a long time, I didn't even have one. I used the company mobile phone as a pager, keeping me on alert when someone needed to call me urgently, but without distributing my number to friends and acquaintances. I had the same reaction to the telephone that the French painter Edgar Degas expressed when the item was first introduced: "So that is what they call a telephone? They ring you, and you have to run like a butler!" I tended to laugh at people who exhibited their cell phone as a piece of conspicuous consumption. I remember the time when people would ask friends to call them during a meeting so that they could display their latest piece of technology. To me, ringtones are a nuisance, not a form of self-expression. I still feel annoyed by passengers holding a phone conversation in the metro or in a bus. Why can't they keep their private matters to themselves! The advantages of ubiquity are compensated by the drawback of being constantly on a leash, indentured to other people's beck and call.

What I like about technology is that I don't have to catch it up—it catches up on me instead. I wasn't ready for the cell phone, but now the cell phone is ready for me. I was both pleased and surprised to read that when Google had moved to its current office complex, its co-founders had looked into not installing telephones at all—until they were told that would be a violation of the fire code. The telephone is no longer something that rings you and summons you to answer. It has become a whole bundle of applications, some of which I indeed find useful. The killer app that made me adopt the smartphone was Internet access—no more, no less. My attitude toward new gimmicks is: let technology come to you. If a product is too complex or too disruptive for you to adopt without effort, then let it evolve until you feel ready for adoption. Allow them into your inner circle without having to compromise. Apple products have found a niche with people like me. They don't require any effort, their sleek design fits into the home environment, and their core similarities make each item look like an extension of the other. Of course, I am aware that Apple has a tendency for overpricing products it didn't even invent. But the key selling point is that Apple devices make most of the way between the product and its user, leaving me only the last mile to bridge the gap.

I wouldn't go as far as branding the smartphone as "one of the most important advancements in human civilization," as Fred Vogelstein does repeatedly in his book. According to him, the smartphone has fundamentally changed the way humans get and process information, and that in turn is changing the world in ways that are almost too large to imagine. The smartphone is undoubtedly a disruptive innovation. To the power of the Internet, it adds two distinctive features: mobility and the multitouch interface. Along with its sibling, the iPad, the iPhone allows ordinary people to carry the Internet everywhere they go. This goes along with an explosion in the volume of digital content.

For thirty years media producers and corporate executives have been dreaming and scheming about how to take advantage of the convergence between digitized content and electronic hardware. Those in the media industry believed that controlling the TV set in the living room would be critical to convergence. By the same token, computer makers and software firms believed that the same technology that ran our PCs would run our televisions. Cable operators thought they had a stranglehold on the pipes carrying digital content, and so did the telecom industry. However the benefits of convergence never materialized—and its pursuit led to some of the worst-conceived mergers in the history of business. By the beginning of the twenty-first century , media/technology convergence had been so discredited that few executives dared to mention the word. But now convergence is happening—and it is going to change the media landscape in unforeseen ways. The winner who will get to dominate this new landscape will take it all. And Apple and Google have positioned themselves as the two most serious contenders for the prize of convergence.

The subject of the book is much more than a corporate war and a technology revolution. It is a holy war, a spiritual crusade between two system that embody very different values. Religious metaphors abound in the text. Building products that change the world isn't just work: it's a quest for the Holy Grail, a mission to fit a vision into an earthly embodiment. Steve Jobs is described as a prophet and a saint, a modern Moses leading its people out of the desert into the Holy Land. He is the John the Baptist of the product launch, an evangelist who has the power to anoint his believers into faithful disciples. His return to Apple after years in the wilderness is compared to the Second Coming. When the iPad was released, The Economist famously put a picture on its cover of Steve Jobs in religious garb holding the device like the Tables of the Law. Jobs even has the power to raise people from the dead, arousing wild expectations from the media. He was playful about his role as a religious leader: he advised an engineer whom he had called during a church service and who later returned his call that the only case when when he should answer the phone while attending church was with a call from God.

Dogfight reads very much like the Book of Jobs. Other characters make passing appearances, and even feature center stage, but only in relationship with Apple's CEO. Most of the story is pretty much Jobs vs. the rest. Steve Jobs took the launch of Google's Android, an open-source phone-operating system that any manufacturer could use, as a personal offense, and he resolved to make them pay for what he considered as theft. As he confessed to his biographer, he was "willing to go to thermonuclear war on this". The book pretends to give equal treatment to Apple and Google, when it fact it's all about Steve. Vogelstein claims that engineers and programmers are the unsung heroes of his story, and he gives voice to many of them who accepted to be quoted or to provide testimony on an anonymous basis. But they pale in comparison to corporate leaders, and on that level Steve Jobs was without any peer.

Part of the problem comes from the fact that there is not one CEO at Google to match Steve Jobs: there are three of them. Google is led by a Holy Trinity composed of Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the two co-founders, and Eric Schmidt, the seasoned businessman who was invited to run the company in 2001. Vogelstein is rather dismissive of Schmidt: according to some Google employees, "Brin and Page called the shots, with Schmidt filling a largely ceremonial role, providing 'adult supervision'". Larry Page emerges in the last chapter as a possible reincarnate of Steve Jobs. As Vogelstein recognizes, Page isn't a rock star CEO as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates once were, or as Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and Larry Ellison at Oracle continue to be. But he has the stuff of a future legend, as was made clear during a product presentation in May 2013, when he opened to the public and spun up a vision where technology solved many of the world's problems. By comparison, Apple's CEO Tim Cook is described as a pale replica, and Apple's future without Jobs looks grim.

Apple and Google are not just two competing companies: they are opposites philosophies. Each embody a distinct approach to life and technology. Apple makes money selling the devices it creates. It it used to building things that consumers will want to buy, and to charging a premium for excellent design and outstanding brand image. Google makes money selling online advertising. Everything else it produces—web software—it gives away for free. Apple sells the ultimate consumer's experience. Its products are closed systems that have reached the point of perfection. For Googlers, the idea of a finished product is anathema. To them the beauty of writing web software is that it is never finished. When a feature is mostly done, Google releases it as a beta version, and then refines the software over time based on consumer usage with updates to their servers.

Apple has prospered because of Steve Jobs's meticulous, disciplined research for the best product design—the perfect blend of form and function. Google has prospered on the back of Brin's and Page's zaniness and embrace of chaos. Jobs rehearsed his product launches like stage shows. Brin and Page once showed up in a media event on Rollerblades because they had just been to a sports gathering and thought blading would be a fun and faster way to bypass New York City's traffic. In the open vs. closed systems debate that defines the world of information technology, Apple stands squarely on the side of closed platforms where they can control every aspect of the consumer's experience, whereas Google believes open is better and lets programmers tinker with their wares.

There are serious limitations to this book. Despite its focus on technology, it gives very little technical details, and doesn't educate the reader in the workings of a smartphone. Although platform wars are by now a well-studied chapter in business management, it doesn't touch upon the economics of platforms. It would have helped to introduce notions such as network externalities or multi-sided markets. It makes the Apple/Google fight the defining battle of a generation, whereas in fact the two companies are not competing head to head, and may cooperate in the future as they did in the past. On the other hand, Samsung doesn't get enough shelf space. Users identify their smartphone to a manufacturer's brand, not to the designer of its operating system. As noted in the book, Google needs Samsung as much as Samsung needs Google now. Will Samsung go the way Sony did, driving itself to irrelevance after an accumulation of corporate blunders, or will it strike back and take control of the smartphone ecosystem? The battle goes on, but the war is not yet over.

i'm not a tech guy and never seem to be fully up-to-speed on the latest phone, computer, etc. For me, this book had all the elements to make this a great read - very digestible, insightful, storybook narrative - and I'm sure many others who are fully entrenched in the technology field as well as folks like me will find something new and previously not revealed in any of the other books on these two rivals. As we know, books like these can only be impactful if they are able to get into the inner workings of the conflict - and the only way to make that happen is to have access to the characters and personalities directly fighting the war. The author, Fred Vogelstein, has been able to do just that and as a result leaves me fully satisfied and looking forward to his next battlefield!

I am a under graduate student with University of Baltimore whom is currently enrolled in a survey Entrepreneurship course. Fred Vogelstein's Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution was a recommended reading for my Entrepreneurship class. The Dogfight is one of the most thought provoking books that I have read in quite some time. I found that Vogelstein does and amazing job at giving the readers the lay of the land regarding the evolutional process of technology from the first personal use PC throughout the newton messaging pad, palm pilots and then today's iPads and tablets. Likewise readers are able to navigate the advancement of software and operating systems from early processors such as Microsoft DOS to Windows, IOS, and Android. The sum total of the book indicates that in the end either Google or Apple will control the content and content providers given their vast impact on technology throughout the world. The author suggest that inevitably in the end that both Apple and Google will not stand and report that one company will dominate the market, hence the Dogfight. I appreciated most of all in this read the development of entertainment industry and the arts which has come about through advancement in technology through these two companies including other great technological wellsprings such as Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon. I also must say that being an avid Apple product user and as a consumer I am not interested in the negative public impact on users providing that one of the two great companies lose the battle resulting in products and resources being made obsolete. I have found this reading to be very useful to entrepreneurial student because it opens your mind to critical thinking regarding current and continued feasibility of ideas, products, and services.

The book chronicles the actions that led to the Apple/Google war. The book gives details of the struggles and accomplishments by each company in regards to each important product they launched. The book also highlights the relationship between Google owners (Brin, Page and Schmidt) and Apple founder (Steve Jobs). It reveals each person’s character and the method in which they run their companies. The fallout between both parties is an important lesson to entrepreneurs. When business is involved, you can’t rely on friendship or loyalty; and protecting your ideas by the law (patents, copyrights, etc.) is very important if you want the credit that you deserve.

I’m not a person that likes to read; actually I can’t remember the last time I read a book, but this book was very interesting. I learned a lot about the products I use every day. I have an IPod Touch and a Samsung Galaxy S3; and to learn about the process of developing these products was very informational. I’m not a tech person but I understand the difficulties of technology and the sacrifice it takes to advance the market. The book kept me interested. With each chapter I wanted to know what would happen next. I can’t say that this book will make me want to read more but I will say I am going to recommend this book to others.

I’m a University of Baltimore student enrolled in the Entrepreneurship course and this was my recommended reading.

Vogelstein's book is a fun read. What you get from it and take away from it is up to you. Here are
some of the things and ways in which it matters to me.

I'm slow. I'm still using a laptop and (even more retro) a desktop computer. What's more I'm happy
with that style of computing. And, I *still* don't own and use a smartphone. So, I *really* need
this book. I need it to help me figure out two things: (1) Why do I need or want a smartphone? Why
do want to use a computer that has a tiny screen and a keyboard that I can hardly get a finger on?
And, (2) what is the new/next computing platform be like? Will I be using a single dock-able
computer (next year's smartphone) that gives me the same style of computing wherever I plug it in?
Or will I be using different computers depending on where I'm sitting (or walking) but my file
system will be the same, out in the cloud, no matter where I happen to be sitting and no matter
which computer I connect to it through.

Apple and Google have plans for us and for how we will do our computing in the future, and it's a
good idea for us to figure out how to plan for that possible future. This book encourages you to
think about the platforms that you use. As we say, it's difficult for a fish to think about water
because it's always swimming in it. Likewise, it is difficult for someone like me to think about my
computing platform, it's characteristics, and it's capabilities, because I'm immersed in it so much
of the time. "Dogfight" is of value because force an awareness of that platform to the surface and
encourages me to think about it.

There is a lot in this book about personalities, and some of them, such as Steve Jobs, are heavy
footprint personalities. But, Vogelstein is especially good at reporting on the step by step
crooked path that led from the development of the first prototypes to very recent smartphones and
the positions that they put Apple and Google in related to each other.

One important point that Vogelstein makes, but does not emphasize enough I believe, is that the
platform *does* matter, but it matters because whoever controls the platform (iPhone/iPad, Android
smartphone/tablet) controls access to media. Selling a computer to someone like me, someone who
spends most of his day writing code (computer programming) or writing (book reviews, notes on the
Python programming language, etc) does not get you very much. But, selling a computer to someone
who is a heavy media consumer (music, video, eBooks, eMagazines, etc) matters a lot when you own the
sources of that content. And, to a significant degree, we are going into an age when the owners of
the platform will also own the (source of) the media that we consume.

One question that we might ask is whether there are other ways in which the success of the
smartphone platform will make a difference other than those related to the consumption of media.
When you are *not* consuming media (listening to music, watching videos and movies, reading news and
blogs, etc), does the smartphone platform make a difference. Or, will one smartphone platform be as
good as another, with only cosmetic preferences mattering?

One important answer to that question is "the cloud". That's the new exciting thing in Silicon
Valley and tech centers else, I suppose. And, it's possible that both Apple and Google are using
and will attempt to use the smartphone platform as a means to gaining control of our access to and
use of the cloud. And, if we all end up doing our computing and keeping our data in the cloud some
how, then that could matter to all of us.

One way that these changes could become important to me is if and when a smartphone becomes
dock-able so that I can use it with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and so that I could use the same
operating system and software that I use on my desktop and laptop computers. Then the smartphone
could become interesting to me, too. But, then we're really just talking about putting my desktop
computer into a different box.

So, from my perspective, this book has at least two major things to offer. First, it provides lots
of information and details about a specific historical development that is of importance to us: the
parallel development of the smartphone by Apple and Google. And, second, it's of value because of
the questions it raises and the material it supplies to help us think through those questions.

On the history and details side, and especially if you are an Apple device person, this is a
fascinating story of several of the people who were instrumental in bringing you those devices.

On the questions and thought problems side, it's helping you to wonder about and think about and
perhaps even figure out what your next computing platform will be like. And, especially, whether
that platform or device will *seem* like a computer. I personally believe that this is an aid to
figuring out how we will consume media in the future. But, it also might help us figure out how
we'd want to keep our notes, keep our schedules, track our children, and communicate with those
close to us and those who we work with.

Yes, we will live in a media rich and a communication rich world. And, yes the story presented in
"Dogfight" is about the struggle between Apple and Google to control our consumption of media and
our communication, but I only have so much time. I really do not think I can read and watch any
more media than I already to. So, perhaps I can worry a little less about this battle than
Vogelstein would suggest.

And, it's good to keep in mind that Apple and Google are not trying to provide us with mobile
computing platforms out of altruism. They are in this struggle for their own benefit. We are
likely to each give back something because of it. David Streitfeld in the N.Y. Times gives clues
about on aspect of that give-back in reporting how eBook publishers might track our reading. See:
[...]

It's significant that the latest news (as of 2/3/2014) is that Google is selling off its Motorola
division to Lenovo. That's a change from when Vogelstein wrote "Dogfight". It might be an
indication and admission that Google was wrong about Motorola's value when Google purchased it,
although the news that I read indicated that Google was retaining many of Motorola's patents, so the
value of this sale is difficult to measure. But, it also could be an indication that Google thinks
it can be more successful at promoting its smartphone platform (Android) and that the platform will
be more successful if Motorola is free to compete against other smartphone makers rather than
attached to Google, where, as Vogelstein indicates, Google has been ambivalent about supporting
Motorola because of worries about hindering the (sales) efforts of other Android smartphone makers.
Plus, Motorola is being sold to Lenovo, which has a large presence in China. That's a market that
Google/Motorola cannot exploit as well as Lenovo can. Lenovo's success at selling Motorola Android
based smartphones in China could result in a huge jump in the sale Android based smartphones.
Another view of this change is that it would free Google itself to more aggressively support a wide
variety of Android handset makers. That, too, could result in a wider distribution of Android
smartphones. So, this sale likely adds more fuel to the fire under the struggle between Apple and
Google that Vogelstein is reporting.

This book is a great read if you are interested in learning about some of the famous, and less famous, personalities behind the swiftest technological change in history, the rise of smartphones and mobile OSes. The author did a good job combining his own reporting with information unearthed by others, putting together an engaging read that makes you feel like an insider to real events.

I bought this book to understand the game theory tactics (think prisoner 's dilemma) and strategic thinking behind each company's action. I was reasonably happy with the story telling, but not with the analysis. I was also disappointed that the dogfight stir excluded Amazon. Besides, the author, to my recollection, did not say much about how quickly things change in the tech platform wars, and that today's winners often fade in later years.
Like I said, the author tells a good story , but does not provide good analysis. Read this book to get a short history of Apple versus Google.

The author provides a detailed, behind the headlines look at the two Silicon Valley giants, Apple & Google, during the 1995 - 2010 time frame. During this time, they started out needing each other, with Microsoft as the "bad guy". Fundamentally, the two companies were not compatible. Apple wanted a "walled garden" and Google wanted openness. Google came to the conclusion that it needed a competitive phone in the 2007 time frame. Apple knew all about it, but kept Schmidt, the Google CEO, on the Apple board of directors.

Details such as this are covered as objectively as possible without favoring one side or the other in this "religious war". The book starts to drag at the end, as the trials drone on & on. Ignore the negative reviews & get the E-Book. The iPad is also covered as well, with many of the background stories leading up to its development & the disruption it caused in the media empires.