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Android Jumps Past iOS in Overall U.S. Smartphone Usage

Gottis said:
inevitable as android devices are available everywhere and in every price segment. remember, half of all American workers earn $505 or less per week.
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The funny thing is, almost every single Android owner I know are people who could care less about "smartphones," really don't know much about technology, and only bought one because it was very cheap or free when they upgraded, and they were told that it could "run apps like the iPhone." These are people who had cheap free phones before they upgraded. And realistically, the majority of people are like that.

But when we compare the industry profit percentages, it paints a much different picture. Which goes to show that market share is irrelevant especially in the cell phone business where cheap free phones are dominant.

Its going to be interesting when Apple tries to go after this segment. I'm sure they'll come up with something clever.
 
Really not a big fan of what is happening here. Android is probably going to become the next Windows and whoever tries something new will fail. People are already saying "android or gtfo" about almost any device that has it all, except Android. I just ordered a Blackberry Playbook because I'd like to see what it's like, the foundation seems to be nice but it really feels like you have to go with Android today or you're screwed.

Such a sad state of affairs.
 
Al Coholic said:
You iLemmings crack me up. :D

Android is kicking some iAss here but you won't admit it. I honestly think some of you are crying. ;)

My iP4 is about to hit the crapper. Boring updates, Jailbreaking hoops, stupid bumper to fix the antennae. Longest freaking 2 years of my life. Good riddance.

But If I wait a few weeks I can get....

...the same crappy thing in "white".

LOL!
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You're not playing nice.

LoganT said:
Apple could have 0.1 percent marketshare and I would still use the iPhone if I liked it.
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And that is the reason you should use a product, because you like it, not because of market share or any other nonsense.

*LTD* said:
We don't seem to care.

You have that mouse in your pocket again?
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*LTD* said:
The penalty for "losing the desktop battle":

The most profitable PC maker in the world, that is the Gold Standard of personal computing with Macs + OS X. I can't remember the last time Apple *didn't* sell record numbers of Macs quarter for quarter. Many have tried to copy the whole Mac + OS X experience, and everyone (notably Dell) have failed. Now Apple is selling record numbers of expensive Macbook Airs! Totally impossible for anyone else to pull off who isn't called "Apple."

Anyone can license out their beta OS to anyone else who can slam together a box and sell a lot of POS devices at low cost. Some of these Android smartphones are the biggest piles of junk you've ever seen. And guess what . . . they're counted toward Android market share. Yes, GOOGLE ALLOWS THIS TO HAPPEN. Because they don't give a **** about the user and will do anything - including whore out their OS to shytebox makers - just to squeeze out a few more percent share.
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When did Dell have their own OS? And Apple will leave out a feature or two that could be included just to squeeze out more profit for people to keep upgrading.

oban14 said:
One thing I have to hand to Apple: I've never seen so many consumers so pleased to be so gouged by a company. It's like the higher their profits and the more they overcharge you, the more they like it.

Too bad you can't teach that in business school.
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LOL! Every business owner dreams of having customers like Apple. It's the only company on earth that the customers constantly brag about how much money the company makes. Do any of these people get this ecstatic when Exxon makes a huge profit? Are they happy to pay $4 gal for gas?
 
AppleScruff1 said:
You're not playing nice.
.

LOL! Every business owner dreams of having customers like Apple. It's the only company on earth that the customers constantly brag about how much money the company makes. Do any of these people get this ecstatic when Exxon makes a huge profit? Are they happy to pay $4 gal for gas?
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AFAIK an iPhone 4 is priced similarly as any other high end android phone with contract in Verizon or AT&T. I guess those massive profits are based on how popular the handsets are (they are really a mass product at this point) and not because Apple is overcharging with respect to competitors in the same segment.
 
pistolero said:
AFAIK an iPhone 4 is priced similarly as any other high end android phone with contract in Verizon or AT&T. I guess those massive profits are based on how popular the handsets are (they are really a mass product at this point) and not because Apple is overcharging with respect to competitors in the same segment.
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I'm not questioning that at all. What I don't get is the chest beating Tarzan cries of the consumer being excited that a company makes so much money. If your an investor, then the answer is obvious. If you're like 99% of the consumers, why would you be so glad that a company was making a huge profit? I don't want to pay $4 gal for gas to help out Exxon or OPEC or whoever.
 
clibinarius said:
I agree, but Apple in itself is practicing a mono-culture by having a complete walled garden. If Apple does something bad, since it has such huge control over this garden, it could be ruinous. I mean, can you imagine what would happen to Apple if it had a Vista-style fiasco? Microsoft still hasn't really recovered from its losses. Apple's a very small percent of the PC market, and Smartphones and Tablets have a way to go before saturation. If someone finds a really nasty exploit for iOS that can't be patched due to hardware constraints-far harder on Android or Windows due to the fact they're on so much hardware, but much easier in a software manner (see: Malware), then I do not see how iOS can be a viable platform too long.
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You apparently are not aware that Apple can remotely disable any program that goes out the app store that contains an exploit. Apple can shut down malware in a heartbeat were they to miss something during their vetting process.

The only malware to raise it's head during the history of IOS came from software NOT sold through the app store and installed onto a jailbroke phone.

Android on the other hand is currently besieged with malware due to there being no gatekeeper and no way to stop an infestation.

So, the eco-system for IOS is much safer by design than for the Android even while the breadth of apps available is much bigger.

But the fact Apple's maintaining such tight control over their software while blocking out other people's software-see: Blu-ray, USB 3...shows me they in fact have not learned from their mistakes when it comes to market share, just that they know how to not waste money.
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Some of what you wrote doesn't make sense, however you also need to know that Apple has not targeted the whole smart phone market, but the upper portion. That segment is where the money is and Apple owns that segment.

In any broad market a company that identifies its customers within that market and builds products for those chosen customers and then advertises to those customers, it will be far more successful than competitors who try to be dump product onto a market with no idea how it will fill the end user's needs.

On Thursday Motorola will announce their last quarter's financials. It is expected that the Xoom, which had great specs as a tablet hasn't sold as well in three months as the iPad has in one week. Why? for many of the reasons I mentioned above. It's not a bad product, it just wasn't pointed at any customers. Barnes and Nobel is doing much better with their $299 Nook because they are targeting a market they have tightly identified.

I didn't respond to the rest of your post as it was a mish-mash of statements that barely related to each other.
 
Millah said:
The funny thing is, almost every single Android owner I know are people who could care less about "smartphones," really don't know much about technology, and only bought one because it was very cheap or free when they upgraded, and they were told that it could "run apps like the iPhone." These are people who had cheap free phones before they upgraded. And realistically, the majority of people are like that.

But when we compare the industry profit percentages, it paints a much different picture. Which goes to show that market share is irrelevant especially in the cell phone business where cheap free phones are dominant.

Its going to be interesting when Apple tries to go after this segment. I'm sure they'll come up with something clever.
Click to expand...

In entering the phone market, Jobs said Apple was not interested in more then the top 5% of the phone market. They've done much better then that.

I don't think Apple will try to appeal to the part of the market that buys smart phones and then uses them like a dumb phone. How do you market to people that have no dominate buying motive other then price? You don't. These buyers will buy the "flavor of the month" that the carrier has on sale and use it primarily to play Bejeweled or Farmville before they lose it in the toilet stool.
 
So what? Apple needs more factories if it wants to sell more phones with iOS than those with Android. The problem isn't demand. It's the fact that Apple can't keep up with demand. They couldn't squeeze enough out of Foxconn. Please check the facts before rebutting me.
 
jennydrob222 said:
I'm very interested in buying an android from either AT&T or TMobile



What's the next best Android smartphone out in the market?
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What do you want from your phone. Welcome to the world of choice

Do you want a keyboard, a large screen, is a front camera important to you, you want something small that you can just tuck into your pocket. Just like cars, computers, bikes, and even significant others your smart phone can not be described as the best, It has to be the best for you. Sure someone can say the best android phone but it may not be for you. Go out their try a few out in your hand. If you can't hold you should not buy it.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
And Apple will leave out a feature or two that could be included just to squeeze out more profit for people to keep upgrading.
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And others will through in anything without worrying how that feature works, without putting much effort in making it really good, just so it can look good on a spec sheet.

Nice try though ...
 
caspersoong said:
So what? Apple needs more factories if it wants to sell more phones with iOS than those with Android. The problem isn't demand. It's the fact that Apple can't keep up with demand. They couldn't squeeze enough out of Foxconn. Please check the facts before rebutting me.
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Yes you are totally right I wanted an iPhone so bad. The only reason I spent the same amount on a G2 was because their where no iPhones. Not because the iPhone does not meet my needs. Not because I was looking for a smart phone with a touch screen a fast processor and a full keyboard. Nope all that stuff didn't matter because the only thing we want is a iPhone.
 
It's easy to have more people using your Android when every carrier utilizes it.
It's sad that it just now past Apple who for the most part has been on only ONE wireless carrier.

Availability does not equal better quality.
 
derekamoss said:
It's easy to have more people using your Android when every carrier utilizes it.
It's sad that it just now past Apple who for the most part has been on only ONE wireless carrier.

Availability does not equal better quality.
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Price also does not equal quality. There are some quality android phones. I have one next to my keyboard.
 
maclaptop said:
I'm worried about you.

There's a huge difference between a phone (or at least a device that contains a phone) and a tablet.

But then again, everyone has different tastes. Some can't tell the difference between a Steak and SOS... :eek:
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Please, tell us what the difference is. Go ahead. Any time you're ready.
 
Who cares. I was at a cell phone store yesterday and saw all the shoddy looking android designs. They all look like Frankenstein phones if u ask me. If the sheeple wanna get sold on shoddy Android phones, by shoddy used-car-salesmen-types, then that's kind of not surprising. If I wanted to be just like every other drone out there I'd also be using a Winbloez PeeCee.. lolz Sheeple will always be Sheeple. nuff said
 
Tones2 said:
If in fact Apple waits until September for the iPhone 5 and even then only have a speed bump and a slightly better camera, this picture is only going to get worse. They need 4G, a larger screen, a microSD slot or a bump to 64 GB, a USB input, and the rest of the MODERN hardware features that HTC phones are putting out almost monthly.

It's NOT about the OS - who the heck cares. The OS is transparent at this point. They are close enough not to make a difference. And the Android app market is catching up tp the iOS app market at least in terms of bigger name quality apps (not so much the 10,000 iOS fart apps out there), and that difference is shrinking all the time.

It's all about hardware now - and the iPhone is currently woefully behind -and probably will remain until mid next year.

Tony
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Geeks. Gotta love them!

USB input? Oh man, you kill me! *pats you on the head*
 
komrade008 said:
Who cares. I was at a cell phone store yesterday and saw all the shoddy looking android designs. They all look like Frankenstein phones if u ask me. If the sheeple wanna get sold on shoddy Android phones, by shoddy used-car-salesmen-types, then that's kind of not surprising. If I wanted to be just like every other drone out there I'd also be using a Winbloez PeeCee.. lolz Sheeple will always be Sheeple. nuff said
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But you are.
 
iOS v Android said:
I think he meant USB mini port. Which BTW the iphone 5 HAS to have USB mini port if apple wants to continue to sell iPhones in Europe that is.
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Are we still debating this? Nope, it doesn't. It needs to do absolutely nothing to be 100% in compliance with the EU law. No USB-micro port, no adapter cable, nothing. The iPhone/iPod/iPad are already in compliance. Thought this bit of misinformation was put to bed a while ago.
 
Millah said:
The funny thing is, almost every single Android owner I know are people who could care less about "smartphones," really don't know much about technology, and only bought one because it was very cheap or free when they upgraded, and they were told that it could "run apps like the iPhone." .
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This is very true.

The annoying thing is Android at its bleeding edge is currently leaps and bounds beyond iOS, but most users end up with something like the wildfire (which isn't the best piece of hardware in the world) and that definitely hurts Android's reputation. I switched from a 3GS to a Nexus 14 months ago, and it's insane how much Android has improved in that time frame. Don't get me wrong, the first Nexus builds were buggy messes, but Cyanogen 7 for instance is slick and powerful.
Let's see some innovation in iOS 5 Apple. you can start with your notification system..
 
Slix said:
iPhones are still better.
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Steve Jobs: "We are better than you."
Bill Gates: "You don't get it. It doesn't matter."

It was only a question of time until Android took the lead. If Apple would have been smart, they would have licensed iOS to third party vendors. After all, it's not the hardware that makes the money - it's the iTunes-supply chain.

And while we're at it, it also would be smart to license Mac OS X to OEMs as well. After all, people want OS X and Apple software, not necessarily the hardware.

There are ways to certify compatible hardware, so Apple could license OS X/iOS and still make sure that the "customer experience" is a good one.
 
Winni said:
Steve Jobs: "We are better than you."
Bill Gates: "You don't get it. It doesn't matter."

It was only a question of time until Android took the lead. If Apple would have been smart, they would have licensed iOS to third party vendors. After all, it's not the hardware that makes the money - it's the iTunes-supply chain.

And while we're at it, it also would be smart to license Mac OS X to OEMs as well. After all, people want OS X and Apple software, not necessarily the hardware.

There are ways to certify compatible hardware, so Apple could license OS X/iOS and still make sure that the "customer experience" is a good one.
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I bought my iMac specifically for the hardware and design. The OS is a bonus.

Having OSX on plasticky piece of crap makes me feel sick.
 
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