Two companies, two completely opposing attitudes. In the green corner, Apple, champion of the lock-down, closed off, proprietary platform. Our way or the highway. In the blue corner, Google, home of the ‘do no evil’, open systems, come-one come all platform. Apple vs Android.

We’re not going to say much other than show you all this page full of 50 iPhone clones from the Far East. Sure they’re not the same as the real thing, but we all know it’s just a matter of time before they manage to produce something which is so close as to be indistinguishable (check that one out!) from the iPhone itself. And with free worldwide shipping!

You know also that you’re in trouble when there’s even a generic term to cover these iPhone clones – the HiPhone. It’s a bad sign all right, a sign that these people don’t plan to stop any time soon. Cut off one head and another 10 appear. Where have we heard that old song before?

So why do we mention Android? Well really only to point out that the open platform approach that Google is using leaves the company much more room to focus on building customer value. Instead of one team working on the issues, you build a disparate community of enthusiasts. Instead of fighting IP wars around the globe, you spend time encouraging innovation from your developers and customers. Instead of erecting high walls to protect your product ‘quality’ you allow quality to ebb and flow, and let the marketplace make its decisions along the price/quality curve.

One other thing to remember is Apple’s success relies to a huge extent on the brilliant vision and drive of its amazing CEO. When he retires, the battle could become very messy. That’s probably one reason why a more co-operative enterprise like Google has a better chance of fighting off the maturing market malaise. At least for now.