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The number of applications written for the device is not pertinent to every discussion about smartphones. The idea that it must be pertinent to any discussion seems calculated to make sure the market share talking points get put out there.

You will notice that my earlier answers did not touch on marketshare at all. Actually, both iOS and Android have more than enough marketshare to ensure that there will be plenty of apps for each. There is a threshold where you have to be concerned about future viability of the product. If your smartphone doesn't have many apps, it isn't very smart. Even if you need nothing but the basics, teh customer base that keeps the platform alive usually does. That said, is I can my mitts on one of those HP WebOS tablets for $99, I will certainly buy it because I can afford it. Unfortunately, it costs HP more than $99 to make them, so I will have to be content with whatever Apps come with it.

My personal preference for iOS for smartphones is that Apple has provided a uniformity across product lines (IPad, iPod, iPhone) that makes life easier for developers, and makes the end user experience more reliable. That is despite the fact that I would prefer direct access to something resembling a file system.

There's plenty of room for both, and I think Jobs was wrong in maintaining that Android is a complete rip-off of iOS.

I have some in-house developers here who will fart in your general direction at the suggestion that Apple is making life easier for developers.

After working with the approval process at Apple, they say they'll likely avoid developing anything for that platform. ever again.