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What's your point? No one was talking about profit until you brought it up. Plenty of companies turn good profits without having the lion's share of the market.

Maybe you're offended that I said that the iPhone is going to start losing market share to their competitors?

That's life. The only possible way to stop it is to get the iPhone onto other carriers.

Cry some more

Really? Apple is the only company I know that makes mega-profits with minority market-share. Any other big-profit company(Intel, MSFT) are virtual monopolies in several areas. Basically Apple's profit margins per unit are INSANE compared to the industry.
 
Where's the chart showing Motorola's Android sales vs. iPhone sales? This chart includes all of Motorola's declining business markets (handsets), but we're only interested in smartphones.

Interestingly, Morotola does not publish this. You can't find out exactly how many Droid X's were sold since launch.

Rest assured, though, if they sold more than Apple sold iPhone 4's, we'd know about it.
 
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AZREOSpecialist said:
Market share will ultimately trump profitability, all things being equal. Many people, including myself, equate iOS vs. Android to the old Microsoft vs. Apple rivalry. However there is one major difference. Google isn't charging OEMs for its operating system. Google is hoping to make money on the ad revenue. The only way for Google not to become marginalized in this battle is to generate a lot of ad revenue. In order to do so, it needs as much market share as possible. Hence Google's strategy of putting Android on as many smartphones as possible.

At some point, higher profitability and lower unit sales will not be able to sustain an onslaught from lower profitability and higher unit sales. Developers will develop for the platform with the largest market share, which in turn will bring in more advertising revenue. Market share is everything here.

The problem with Apple is that they can't make enough iPhones. And this is for a single carrier! Imagine Apple selling iPhones on Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint? Apple would need to triple its production volume or put people on a 6 month waiting list.

I hear what your saying about profitability, and your right, producing a product with high profit margins, but at a scale too small would definitely put you out of business. :)

But I would argue that 3rd party development doesn't nessasarily require market dominance, but critical mass. This is why the older argument about how the shear number of apps in the iPhone AppStore trumped the (relatively) small number of apps in the Android market doesn't really hold water. Once you get past a certain point, the total number of available apps start to matter less and less.

You're right though about Google's need for massive marketshare. But that's the case in any enterprise where your profit per unit is small, and the money gets made by volume. How much was Microsoft's profit per unit? (seriously, I don't know) While I'd bet it was healthy, I'd also bet it was a fraction of the per-unit profit on Apple's Mac.

My guess is that Apple plans on iPhone following in the Mac's (minority market, majority profit) footsteps. As you point out, there's no way Apple could produce them (or under current management, WOULD produce them) at the gigantic volumes needed to compete with ALL the rest of the Android manufacturers combined. They just couldn't do it.
 
I have to say the graph and the article are VERY VERY misleading. Motorola has seems to back out of the 'dumb phone' market and more focus on the smart phone market.
That is going to really hammer the sells of total number of units if they stop selling the junk phones so to speak. Nokia still leads in the throw away market.

Moto used to offer several dumb phones per carrier and now they are lucky if they offer one. They have seem to focus on smart phones only and smart phones is is a much MUCH smaller market than the 'dumb phone' market.

They started pulling out in 2007 so yeah it took a noise dive.

This is what I was going to add in. I can't think of a recent Motorola dumb phone. Also, Motorola is almost (and correct me if I'm wrong, but perhaps completely) exclusive with Verizon. Motorola is also a respectable Android producing company, who unlike HTC and Samsung, have only made 2 flagship "Droid" phones. Keeping up with Apple in this sense is pretty impeccable.
 
News to DEVELOPERS:


Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.



Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.
 
This is what I was going to add in. I can't think of a recent Motorola dumb phone. Also, Motorola is almost (and correct me if I'm wrong, but perhaps completely) exclusive with Verizon. Motorola is also a respectable Android producing company, who unlike HTC and Samsung, have only made 2 flagship "Droid" phones. Keeping up with Apple in this sense is pretty impeccable.

They have the crappy backflip on AT&T but AT&T has FINALLY started putting some real android phones on its network. It was pissing me off that AT&T was really letting any real android phones be sold on its network. Hell AT&T only limited side loading to you needing to be connected directly to your computer to do it and Androidcentral.com released a program for Windows, OSX and linux that makes it a one click to install anything off your computer.

I am glad Android finally got enough market force behind it from the other carriers to force AT&T to put real android phones on its network. I now how that the milestone (GSM verson of the Droid)gets released on AT&T at some point.

The iPhone is nice but there are a lot of people who just do not like it and really like Android.
I am one of them. I am on AT&T but I do not want an iPhone. I want an Android phone. My geek nature and customization wants hurts me wanting an iPhone. I went with blackberry a year ago because there was no Android phone on AT&T back then.

News to DEVELOPERS:


Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.



Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.

Come on. That is so far from the truth it is not even funny. Remember Apple's Apple store has all the iPod touches that have people buy apps on it. I know a lot of android users who have bought a few apps and really like them. Doodle jump is quite popular on all platforms.
 
News to DEVELOPERS:


Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.



Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.

I think people pay for good apps. You think Android users don't need TomTom? If they choose to use Google navigation, well kudos to Google for creating all those wondrous cloud services over the last several years.
 
Android devices' biggest problem is Android. Customization is pretty cool. But I want my phone to work, not lag. Customization = lag. And since the UI and touchscreen is already unresponsive on stock Android, no thanks.

There are barely any good apps even worth downloading, much less buying. The Marketplace could use some UI work. It's a huge PITA to search, download, update, etc. everything you could possibly do in the Marketplace. Please give us an option to update all apps. PLEASE. I'm on my knees begging.

Lastly, get some games. The younger generation love games. They love polished UIs. They don't like POS. No one does. They don't love UIs that need years of work. Always target the younger generation. If they like your products/brand, they will in the future. It's something that will stick with them in their minds. They don't love absolute garbage web browsers. Lastly, they don't need garbage. So they don't need Android.
 
You're right though about Google's need for massive marketshare. But that's the case in any enterprise where your profit per unit is small, and the money gets made by volume. How much was Microsoft's profit per unit? (seriously, I don't know) While I'd bet it was healthy, I'd also bet it was a fraction of the per-unit profit on Apple's Mac.

So what? How can anyone argue with the results of Microsofts OS strategy? MS can compete in other markets and endure multi billion dollar losses that would crush any other company, and still be profitable. Doesnt that tell you something?

Marketshare is everything when it comes to operating systems, and what it boils down to is how many devices can you get out there with your OS. Android has all the handset manufacturers, and apple is by itself... you figure it out.
 
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wreckshop said:
You're right though about Google's need for massive marketshare. But that's the case in any enterprise where your profit per unit is small, and the money gets made by volume. How much was Microsoft's profit per unit? (seriously, I don't know) While I'd bet it was healthy, I'd also bet it was a fraction of the per-unit profit on Apple's Mac.

So what? How can anyone argue with the results of Microsofts OS strategy? MS can compete in other markets and endure multi billion dollar losses that would crush any other company, and still be profitable. Doesnt that tell you something?

Marketshare is everything when it comes to operating systems, and what it boils down to is how many devices can you get out there with your OS. Android has all the handset manufacturers, and apple is by itself... you figure it out.

Holy misunderstanding Batman!

I thinks your misunderstanding me about my reference to Microsoft. I don't think their OS strategy was flawed at all- (ok maybe Vista, but I feel that's just piling on to mention it. :) )

What I think is that DESPITE Microsoft's excellent OS strategy, Apple found a way to not just survive, but THRIVE. They did this by refocusing on being a hardware company and most importantly*, by doing everything they could to be a "Premium" computer maker, not just "another generic" computer maker.

Do you remember these sayings:
"Apple needs to produce a netbook"
"$500 for a phone? No way"
"Apple has to start lowering prices on their machines"
"I'll wait six months when they cut $100-200 off the price of that iPad."

ALL of these starments are connected to the idea that marketshare is EVERYTHING.

At less than 10% of the US computer market Apple still thrives and is extremely profitable. Why would the mobile space be that much different?

*according to me, so take with grain of salt.
 
Come on. That is so far from the truth it is not even funny.


It's definitely NOT funny for GOOGLE.



Report: 98.9% Of Downloads On The Android Market Are Free

http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/03/15/android-market-breaks-250-million-downloads-989-free-apps/

Android Market a havenfor cheapskates

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/android_market_haven_cheapskates

Free Apps Favored on Android

http://phandroid.com/2010/07/05/free-apps-favored-on-android/

Android is for geeky guys and penny pinchers.

http://phandroid.com/2010/02/27/male-android-cheapskates-to-dominate-mobile-market/


Like i said.

Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.
Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.
 
Market share will ultimately trump profitability, all things being equal. Many people, including myself, equate iOS vs. Android to the old Microsoft vs. Apple rivalry. However there is one major difference. Google isn't charging OEMs for its operating system. Google is hoping to make money on the ad revenue. The only way for Google not to become marginalized in this battle is to generate a lot of ad revenue. In order to do so, it needs as much market share as possible. Hence Google's strategy of putting Android on as many smartphones as possible.

At some point, higher profitability and lower unit sales will not be able to sustain an onslaught from lower profitability and higher unit sales. Developers will develop for the platform with the largest market share, which in turn will bring in more advertising revenue. Market share is everything here.
Not everything.

How much more money would Google make in Ad Revenue with an android user searching in Google vs. an iPhone user? Exactly, It's the same.

Google can only translates androids marketshare into profit with something that's android exclusive e.g. the apps. And that's where this problem comes in

News to DEVELOPERS:


Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.



Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.

The biggest problem with android is it's like the KIN of smartphones. It's an inferior product yet costs almost as or as much as the superior product. So why would people choose to buy Android when they could buy the iPhone? Well to save 50-100 dollars on the hardware and those users aren't going to buy any / a lot of apps.

The problem with Apple is that they can't make enough iPhones. And this is for a single carrier! Imagine Apple selling iPhones on Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint? Apple would need to triple its production volume or put people on a 6 month waiting list.
Exactly once the iPhone is on all carriers, almost no one besides the "I hate Apple crowd" will buy an android Phone.
 


What I think is that DESPITE Microsoft's excellent OS strategy, Apple found a way to not just survive, but THRIVE. They did this by refocusing on being a hardware company and most importantly*, by doing everything they could to be a "Premium" computer maker, not just "another generic" computer maker.


Oh please. Apple has always viewed itself as a premium maker. What made apple the company it is today is the ipod and iphone. Not coincidentally the success of those devices has generated interest in apples previously stagnant computer hardware business. Without ipod and iphone, apple's computer OS share would be back at <3% like back in the days. As it stands, its only at ~5% now.
 
It's definitely NOT funny for GOOGLE.



Report: 98.9% Of Downloads On The Android Market Are Free

http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2010/03/15/android-market-breaks-250-million-downloads-989-free-apps/

Android Market a havenfor cheapskates

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/android_market_haven_cheapskates

Free Apps Favored on Android

http://phandroid.com/2010/07/05/free-apps-favored-on-android/

Android is for geeky guys and penny pinchers.

http://phandroid.com/2010/02/27/male-android-cheapskates-to-dominate-mobile-market/


Like i said.

Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.
Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.

From one of your links:

"The large share of free applications in Google Android Market may be influenced by developers from only 9 countries being able to distribute paid applications in Google Android Market, and users from only 13 countries being able to download paid applications (out of the 46 countries where Google Android Market is available)," the report notes.

I dont really see what the issue is. Developers dont have to give away these apps for free, but they do. Users get apps for free. What is your point of contention?
 
News to DEVELOPERS:

Android Market a havenfor cheapskates

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/android_market_haven_cheapskates
Like i said.

Android users are cheap Penny Pinching FreeLoaders. THEY DONT BUY APPS.
Good luck wasting your time developing and selling your apps to these people.


And you are trollings.

I suggest you read that article of yours I did not remove out of the quote. You clearly did not read it because it example a lot of the factors on why the higher free apps on android.
You just read the head lines and never bother reading any of them and that one right there is proof.

In explain that only in 9 countries can you even buy apps (or of the 13 Android market is in) and on top of that to even buy apps you have to make an account in google market. Free ones do not require that.

Compared to Apple where you need an iTunes account to really even use your phone or update it. This just means easier to get one set up.

But me explain all this to you will not get anywhere because you just posted it in red and I would call it questionable if you were just trolling.
 
The biggest problem with android is it's like the KIN of smartphones. It's an inferior product yet costs almost as or as much as the superior product. So why would people choose to buy Android when they could buy the iPhone? Well to save 50-100 dollars on the hardware and those users aren't going to buy any / a lot of apps.
.


Oh this is an interesting observation. How long did you spend with your Android device to make this decision? Which Android device? What firmware was it running?
 
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