Platform Wars III: Android vs IPhone vs Blackberry

As I read all the news on the G1 Android, it reminds me of the platform wars (Windows vs Unix) and the browser wars (Netscape vs Microsoft and now Microsoft vs Firefox vs Chrome). Mobile is truly maturing into a competitive environment for application delivery and today's battlefield clearly is IPhone vs. Blackberry vs. Android.

I'm not an expert in mobile technology, but I am intrigued on how all this will shape up. Has Microsoft lost another delivery platform - again? Sure feels like it! Who will really win over the development community? Apple and Google fully understand how important it is to win over this community by ending up with the best and most far reaching applications. This battle feels very much like the old and continued debate on Windows (more open, larger development community) vs Mac (clearly the choice of designers, editors, and other UI enthusiasts). Wanted: a thorough study of the development complexities, opportunities, features, and costs working with the SDK's for these platforms.

How will enterprises and publishers prioritize and invest in another - day I say 'media delivery device'? Let's face it, how many people on your commuter rails or buses stare down at a mobile device vs. a newspaper or a magazine? The naysayers will question the revenue model, the size of the audience, complexities in the technology, and whether mobile devices are truly ready for application and content delivery. Feels a lot like 1996, 1997, 1998.... when I was selling internet applications to newspapers that did not believe or fully grasp how quickly web competitors would steal their readers and revenue away from print.

Is the Android launch the tipping point to increased investments in mobile applications? Or will it prove to be a platform for geeks? Remember folks, Google Search was once an application for techies - but it got a lot better, went mainstream, and became the delivery platform for a massive revenue stream. Anyone taking odds?