People can only take being treated like children under the thumb of Steve Jobs twisted moral code for so long. Good too see Android kicking butt and taking names.
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Android Jumps Past iOS in Overall U.S. Smartphone Usage
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That's a funny example you've got there since Angry Birds (one of the biggest success stories on any platform) has had extreme trouble figuring out how to earn money directly from Android users.
If THEY can't even do it easily then what does that mean for other Android developers?
A free phone or a BOGO phone would help Apple tremendously -- but, at the end of the day, they simply cannot compete with the number of providers running Android right now.
Each Android phone tries to outdo the competition on a monthly basis, and they pump millions of dollars into advertising it as the most amazing thing ever.
It's all about the average consumer -- the average consumer is bombarded by ads for **** like "The THUNDERBOLT!" or the new HTC Compassion/Inspire/GagInducingName. The average consumer walks into a Verizon store when his contract is up and is told he can get an Android phone for free if he signs up for 2 years, or that he can get a free Android phone for his wife/kid if he buys one for $99.
Apple is losing this battle on many fronts.
most of the new android phones are just last year's hardware with updated modems. the only ARM Core A9 phone i know of it the Atrix. Everything else is A8 like the iphone 4.
I think the droid incredible is supposed to ship in a few days and that's also tegra 2. later this year tegra 3 is going to be seen on smartphones and tablets. nvidia is ramping up their 6-12 month release cycles like they did on PC's and it will probably shake up the market
Your argument is so inane it's barely worth a reply.
You do realize that not all tablets require a contract, right?
When it comes to laptops, the only thing that's different between a 13" and a 15" will be the screen size. But a tablet and a phone are INHERENTLY different.
My android tablet is wifi only and serves a totally separate function from my iPhone, my windows laptop, my linux server-cluster or my HTPC.
So why should tablets be dumped into the same category as mobile phones? Just because they share a slightly similar form-factor?
What if the next trend in smart phones is a clam-shell form-factor? Or a wearable hud? Or some implantable device?
Similar form factor does not mean their sales figures can, or should be compared.
Apple's to f'n oranges.
You're basically saying ... meh, they're both round and edible so they're the same.
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Competition is goodKeeps Apple on their toes
Don't need another MS Monopoly.......
And it least Android has healthy competition too (unlike MS).
Think about this.
People didn't argue that the iPod or the iPad should be counted until Android smart phones started to get really close and then overtake the iOS smart phones.
You can demand that they should be counted, but everyone will know the real reason for it.
And yet iPods, iPads, and iPhones all use the same store.
Look, plenty of other people in here are saying the real fight is which store becomes more popular and how Windows succeeded because of all the programs they had for it.
iPads ABSOLUTELY contribute to that. If someone owns an iPad and bought a bunch of iOS apps, which smartphone do you think he's gonna buy next?
It's all tied together. Ignoring that very important link just because you can't put an iPad in your pants is just silly.
I have always said that. So if me being consistant is a problem, well, sorry.
I like to come here every once in a while, checkout the logic behind some of the comments. More interest in the psychological aspect of the comments.
For now. There's very little to stop Android's market share from continuing to climb. WinMobile has little traction, RIM & Symbian are bleeding users daily.
We could be having this discussion 1 year from now (after an underwhelming, minor spec upgrade iPhone 5 in Sept) after the 2011 Christmas season and seeing Android's market share at 60%+ easily.
NO NEWS HERE. The real question is "how is Apple still that high?" You can only get iOS on one phone. Android is on, well, *more* than one. You can get iOS phones for two carriers in the US. Android is probably available for every single carrier in the world.
I would think the numbers will eventually be 90%/10%, just like PC vs Mac was for years. Apple could care less about the numbers. Their bank account doesn't lose sleep at night. After all, producing the hardware and software is something even Microsoft never could do. Apple would be over-joyed with 25% phone OS share, probably even much less.
There will always be more android devices. There will be more Android tablets too. Does that mean the iPad isn't the best tablet in the world? Nope.
I've always like the exclusive club called Apple I've belonged to for all these years. I prefer the haters. It just means more Apple goodness for me, and shorter lines at the Apple store.
I would think the numbers will eventually be 90%/10%, just like PC vs Mac was for years. Apple could care less about the numbers. Their bank account doesn't lose sleep at night. After all, producing the hardware and software is something even Microsoft never could do. Apple would be over-joyed with 25% phone OS share, probably even much less.
There will always be more android devices. There will be more Android tablets too. Does that mean the iPad isn't the best tablet in the world? Nope.
I've always like the exclusive club called Apple I've belonged to for all these years. I prefer the haters. It just means more Apple goodness for me, and shorter lines at the Apple store.
Apple needs to respond. I would prefer them to do it with an iOS overhaul and some diversification of their product line. Apple won't sacrifice margins significantly, so to expand market share they should appeal to more people and step up advertising on the cheaper previous-gen models.
Apple will still rule the tablet space though.
Apple will still rule the tablet space though.
Except that each and every single person who has purchased an Android phone could have purchased an iPhone instead. The fact there is one Android phone or ten Android phones is irrelevant. Every one of those people could have chose to buy an iPhone. They didn't.
iOS is stale.
They haven't made an significant UI changes since 2007.
While Apple can continue to release a beautifully engineered and sleek phone, they need to focus on making iOS up to par with the features that Android offers.
In terms of OS, the only thing iOS seems to do better is simply being more stable.
I sold my iPhone 4 last month and bought an Android phone. The only thing I miss? The retina display and the Facebook app. I'm willing to deal with a bit of instability for the immense amount of extra functionality that Android offers.
They haven't made an significant UI changes since 2007.
While Apple can continue to release a beautifully engineered and sleek phone, they need to focus on making iOS up to par with the features that Android offers.
In terms of OS, the only thing iOS seems to do better is simply being more stable.
I sold my iPhone 4 last month and bought an Android phone. The only thing I miss? The retina display and the Facebook app. I'm willing to deal with a bit of instability for the immense amount of extra functionality that Android offers.
No bitterness. Simply a background in statistics and their relevance. This one is not relevant. Apple is not a software company really. It is a hardware company that creates software for its hardware. It has never tried to offer it's software as an install option on other hardware, and in-fact has challenged installation of it's software on PC's. You can either be intelligent enough to recognize and compare runners in the same race or you can't. Apple is not in the race to install its OS on any hardware other than its own. It is pretty naive to benchmark a "runner" in a race in which it is not running. If you would measure your personal performance against people not competing against you, would say that is a valid measure? I am a pilot, and to say I am a better pilot than my neighbor (not a pilot) would be a pretty empty and laughable bragging point for me to make.
We don't hear much argument on here about how many more phones Apple sells than Google, because Google does not sell a phone (anymore). So why is it anymore valid to compare how many installs of the iOS there are across global hardware as compared to Android, when Apple provides its iOS to ZERO hardware manufacturers, and Android provides it to all takers. Again, to benchmark the "winner" of a competition, both runners need to be in the race.
AT&T gave Apple what they wanted on the iPhone. Verizon wouldn't. And Apple couldn't sell to Verizon until contract expired. Would it have been better to have been on both? Of course. But I don't think even Apple knew how well the iPhone would do. And while many Verizon customers opted for an Android rather than wait, I think it may be interesting to see what happens when they are eligible for new phone. Things could change again.
Sounds about right
The "overall user base" and "purchases from Sept-to-March" numbers are primarily pre-Verizon iPhone and thus provide little insight on current sales. However, the survey on consumers currently planning to buy smartphones is quite interesting as it confirms the (very limited) existing data on current sales.
From the all the hit counter data, plus VZW and ATT quarterly releases, my best guesses for *current* iPhone vs Android sales have been roughly:
ATT: iPhone outsells Android 4-to-1 (80% iPhone)
VZW: iPhone outsells Android 2-to-1 (66% iPhone)
Sprint + T-Mo: Android outsells iPhone infinity-to-1 (0% iPhone)
Each group above has roughly one-third of the US mobile market, so overall iPhone share should be 0.33*0.8 + 0.33*0.66 +0.33*0 = 48%. This is exactly the number from the Nielsen survey regarding consumers currently planning to buy a smartphone (30% iPhone vs 33% Android = 47.6% iPhone share).
The "overall user base" and "purchases from Sept-to-March" numbers are primarily pre-Verizon iPhone and thus provide little insight on current sales. However, the survey on consumers currently planning to buy smartphones is quite interesting as it confirms the (very limited) existing data on current sales.
From the all the hit counter data, plus VZW and ATT quarterly releases, my best guesses for *current* iPhone vs Android sales have been roughly:
ATT: iPhone outsells Android 4-to-1 (80% iPhone)
VZW: iPhone outsells Android 2-to-1 (66% iPhone)
Sprint + T-Mo: Android outsells iPhone infinity-to-1 (0% iPhone)
Each group above has roughly one-third of the US mobile market, so overall iPhone share should be 0.33*0.8 + 0.33*0.66 +0.33*0 = 48%. This is exactly the number from the Nielsen survey regarding consumers currently planning to buy a smartphone (30% iPhone vs 33% Android = 47.6% iPhone share).
It's not about which is better. It's about availability and pricing.
Apple only makes high end phones, and carriers that offer the iPhone don't hesitate to maintain premium pricing on services.
Android is wide open to every manufacturer, so Android is able to fill every price range, and every carrier. I bet the majority of those Androids occupying the 37% share are not high end phones, but the stuff that is sold for $0-$100 on contract.
I'm using an Android phone because the iPhone is not compatible with my carrier of choice, but if I had the option, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. (Hoping iPhone 5 includes AWS/1700 GSM band)
Apple only makes high end phones, and carriers that offer the iPhone don't hesitate to maintain premium pricing on services.
Android is wide open to every manufacturer, so Android is able to fill every price range, and every carrier. I bet the majority of those Androids occupying the 37% share are not high end phones, but the stuff that is sold for $0-$100 on contract.
I'm using an Android phone because the iPhone is not compatible with my carrier of choice, but if I had the option, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. (Hoping iPhone 5 includes AWS/1700 GSM band)
Jobs fail
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This would be a GREAT time to delay the release of the next iPhone until September. Actually that's optimistic, it took them almost a year to get the white one right.
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This would be a GREAT time to delay the release of the next iPhone until September. Actually that's optimistic, it took them almost a year to get the white one right.
This is hardly surprising considering only Apple manufactures iOS phones and new Android phones are coming out each week. What's clear from this data is RIM and the others are quickly on their way out and many of those people are buying Android phones. But I do agree with others that Apple needs to start upping their game to compete. They should start with a low-end phone that has a smaller non-retina display and a few less other features that could get iOS devices into the hands of those that won't buy an expensive smartphone.
Of course, when iPhone becomes available on Sprint and T-Mo, then I'd expect it to have an overall sales ratio of about 2-to-1 against Android. Perhaps somewhat less if those prepaid super-cheap Android phones take off, perhaps somewhat more if Windows Phone 7 eventually starts to steal some of Android's share.