[Off-topic] tamanaco:
I think one needs to give credit where credit is due... No one can argue with the market penetration of the iPhone and the ease of use of its interface. I'm "not" an iPhone fan, but I admire Jobs as CEO that has vision AND executes. Two qualities rarely found in a CEO. He might not be winning with "innovations" developed by Apple, but whatever technical know-how Apple borrowed... they made it work for them in way that the original developers never did. Let's not forget that Xerox invented the GUI and Mouse... but they never capitalized on those innovations... other companies did. There is nothing worse than being beat over the head with one's own bat. Folks that frequent xda find that the iPhone "platform" is crippled as it relates to the freedom to modify the platform and add applications. This I understand. But in Apple's world this is a "strength". Why you ask? Well, there is usually only one way or two to navigate the interface and install applications. This makes it easy for end-users to learn the UI and to teach it to others... including Grandma. Try to explain to the average Joe what rooting and flashing your own ROM means. When it comes to the kind of Smartphones folks like us want... We want to be able to modify the UI, add any app and make it work in our own way. This is good for the technically-savvy users, but a "nightmare" in terms of ease of use, support and marketability. The first WM Smartphones to hit the market basically had the GUI of a desktop on them. The GUI were not designed from the ground up to be used on cell phones. The Apple designers understood this and gave the "masses" a pseudo-Smartphone that they're "happy" with. Why? Because they were able to use them to what they "perceive" is their full potential. For me the argument here is analogous to driving an automatic vs a "standard" (manual transmission) car. Most everyone can drive an automatic, but you won't catch me dead driving one. I can give you several "technical" reasons, but in the end for me the main reason is that I find a manual transmission more fun and challenging to drive (just like I feel about the N1)... Guess which transmission is more popular in the US market?... Why?... cause anyone can drive them.

Another thing regarding Apple's success that helped them gain momentum when they joined the Smartphone market was the iPod... Let's not forget this portable device already had great market penetration and that the iPhone was basically built on top of that success. So now you have a "decent" portable DAP that can also make calls with an ecosystem (iTunes) that allow users to manage their music and purchase more music giving Apple even more revenue. Was all of this ground breaking?... No... but Stevie knew how to execute it and capitalize on it. No one else did. They now lead a multi-billion dollar market with a very loyal audience that like it or not is the envy of the industry.

Google has the muscle to challenge Apple, but in order to do so they need to appeal to Apple's mass market. The only way to beat Apple is to take market share away from it... If you do not get into the mass market game Apple will have you for breakfast. So, to enter the mass-market the N1 and subsequent Superphones need to "appeal" to the mass market without compromising the openness of the platform. (Not easy to do) Staring with the development of an intuitive DAP with an ecosystem similar to iTunes is one way to catch up with Apple's OS. Providing a way to Sync all the PIM data (Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes) from the Desktop to the Google cloud or from the Desktop to N1 using Google developed tools is a way to catch up with the strength Windows Mobile. Google strengths are on search engines, online adds and to a certain extend they also lead on map navigation for portable devices. We all know that the Android platform has the flexibility to go further, but in order to maintain growth they need to concentrate on their current weaknesses and enhance/fix the user experience as it relates to the Music and PIM. This two functions were the cornerstones on which the current Smartphone market was build.