My relationship with the iPhone is one that is bittersweet. Like an ex-girlfriend that you just can’t forget about, I love my old iPhone, but I’m hating how the new one is so much better. Maybe that doesn’t even make sense, but I hope you get my point: the new iPhone is cheaper, faster and can do more.

The Android is coming at the earliest in September. By then Apple will have had at least 2 months lead in getting its phones out internationally and its app-store churning out third-party applications.

I feel a dark storm for the Android with the iPhone’s 3G and GPS capabilities. In a way, I think that the new iPhone, along with the third-party applications, would offer most of the capabilities that most ordinary users can want. I’ve checked out the 50 applications that Google selected for the Android, but the question remains how much of a niche these applications are.

Nevertheless, I believe that the fight is not yet over. If the Android could perfect the following things, and with the failure of Apple’s at a few other things, the phone market over the next few years could be very healthy and exciting

Here’s what Android has to do:

1. Make software distribution decentralized, but organized so that application distribution can become viral.
2. Improve and encourage consistency of design among Android applications. The 50 applications I have seen so far offer a suite of colors, button sizes, and design subtleties that will have users frustrated.
3. Focus on solutions, not features. I think many people make the mistake of adding features wherever they can, rather than solving the customer’s problems.
4. Encourage better and consistent hardware among phone developers. Good software is good. Good hardware is good. But great software married to great hardware will be the weapon necessary to slain the iPhone.
5. Target third-world countries. Forget developed countries. Think India. Think China. Apple has left China alone at least for now. Who cares for what reasons. The Android should be all over China like white on rice, and like termites on wood.
6. Think system.
7. Think sustainable. I believe people are going to become more and more self conscious about our environmental impact. I think it will be important to address those issues from a phone hardware and software developer’s perspective and create enabling technologies to make that possible.
8. Target trendy people. I think the Android is very geeky. Look at the name. Yes, there’s plenty of buzz now considering that people most tuned in are those with a technology background. But trust me, if I bring this up during a conversation at a party with a hot girl, I’d get a “what?”
9. Think young. As in 13-18 year old teenagers who figures out more uses of the phone than the rest of the population combined.
10. Design the Android (and applications) for the masses. Many people still think that Apple is exclusive. I think the Android can take advantage of that and corner the market outside of that. Imagine the people who says, “I don’t know, the Mac isn’t really for me.” They should be thinking “Yeah, I think the Android has just what I need.” This is a marketing job, and it’s all a matter of perspective.
11. Get carriers as allies. You need hardware and you need distribution. Apple already does the hardware and has great ties for distribution. Android will need as good a plan as well.

Those are at least 10 things that Android application developers should look at and consider over the next few months. But if I had one word of advice, I would say, I hope you’re also developing for the iPhone.

I’ll be in Europe for the next few weeks and will be studying user behaviors on mobile and use cases. If you are interested, be sure to keep in touch or subscribe.

Cheers,