[hurds]

So theres a lot of talk about 'ecosystems' (term I don't like)

I'm wondering whose invested in any ecosystem. I had 2 iphones over a period of 3 years and never became 'invested in the ecosystem'. If I had of, I still have one of them so I could still access it.

It seems a lot of people are saying 'RIM has no ecosystem, RIM is no good'. I believe thats a fallacy for many reasons. Anyways, I honestly think this is sad if that is the playing field which the platforms will battle on. How you access your restricted content. So if a company only releases 1 phone every year and a half in one style, you don't really have a choice of form factor if you want to access your content. So do people actually think this is how things should be? Platforms should be these closed systems that don't allow choice or freedom of movement?

In all fairness, RIM has this too with BBM, but at lease there are alternatives like whatapps, kik, liveprofile, gchat, MSN messegner.

So what do people think about this approach to our mobile platforms? And are you invested in any 'ecosystem'?

[amazinglygraceless]

So theres a lot of talk about 'ecosystems' (term I don't like)

Right now you are my new hero. I despise that term also

So what do people think about this approach to our mobile platforms? And are you invested in any 'ecosystem'?

Considering I am using three different devices on two OSs and a mix of both services to
accomplish what I need I'd have to say no.

If Windows 8 lives up to the promise this answer definitely change.

[ADGrant]

I have very recently become invested in the Apple Ecosystem. iCloud, FaceTime and iMessage are more interesting to me than restricted content though we have been using iPods for years and have some restricted content for them.

My immediate family has 2 iPhones, 3 iPads and one Mac. My extended family has various iDevices and Macs.

[Thunderbuck]

I don't have a problem with the term "ecosystem" because it encapsulates the notion of multiple interrelated systems, and that interrelation is showing itself to be the most important feature of a given platform.

An ecosystem includes messaging, content distribution, systems infrastructure... All kinds of stuff.

Personally, I like RIM's current infrastructure. 7digtal is a good music store that offers excellent selection, competitive pricing, and no DRM. App World is decent (not perfect, but acceptable). Much of the rest is kind of fragmented, yes, and it would be fantastic to see a "single cash register" that stores could join up under. I'd see that as a kind of like Apple's App Store, except that OTHER retailers can sign up under it to allow a single payment processor for the user.

[hurds]

I was just thinking about the term 'ecosystem' and in real ecosystems things die. I wonder how much dead content there is out there. Music people no longer listen to, movies people won't ever watch again, apps that will never be used, or apps that aren't ever even downloaded.

That's how content is for me. I use it then I'm done with it. I don't watch the same movies again aside from the odd exception. I don't even like the same content on every device. That doesn't make sense to me regarding storage and device specific apps. It also doesn't make sense to me to have the same device just in a different size screen either but I realise my views are often different. Either way I'm gonna choose to live outside these 'ecosystems' as much as possible. I don't like feeling tied to something.