Android Smartphone Sales Exceed iPhone in the U.S. for First Time

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Because she went to get a new phone and got talked into getting one... Happened to my 70+ year old mom. I think she got one of the lower end blackberries... Why? She liked the colour... *shrug*

I know. There totally should be an age limit for getting your email and Internet everywhere from a pocketable device. The nerve of these old people horning in on our tech!



My father and mother (both over 60) have iPhones - and love them. If Android wants to continue marketing to the geeky testosterone set (which their Dennis Leary Ford truck style ads lead me to believe), more power to them. That just demonstrates a complete lack of realization that this is the next wave of computing...for everyone.

If everyone got an iPhone would you be happy?

 

[NT1440]

How's the exclusive carrier strategy working out for you Apple? Never was able to participate in the 3G part of Apple's strategy and now my wife and I are perfectly happy with HTC Eris and Incredible. I always wondered if Apple was covering up a larger issue with dropped calls with the exclusive agreement.

What is the underlined even based on? Have you not seen the tests performed on iphones? It's NOT a phone problem, it's AT&T, the rest of the carriers in the world don't seem to have big problems.

Anyway, Apple isn't out to be #1 in marketshare they have been after MINDSHARE since 2001, and it is making them bank hand over fist.

 

[LagunaSol]

If everyone got an iPhone would you be happy?

My AAPL would.

And my point wasn't iPhone-exclusive, it was concerning smartphones in general. And yes, I think everyone deserves a good smartphone, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, or OS proclivity.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

If everyone got an iPhone would you be happy?

My AAPL would.

And my point wasn't iPhone-exclusive, it was concerning smartphones in general. And yes, I think everyone deserves a good smartphone, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, or OS proclivity.

AAPL seems fine even with the competition! No need to worry there.

edit: I'll advocate easy to use smartphones for all, especially with my Windows owning friends who can't install a driver without having to phone me to tell them what to do. (sigh)

 

[Erwin-Br]

"More open" but not "open."

And no one has ever claimed the iPhone to be "open" by any definition.

Indeed. That's why Android wins for me. It's more open.

Awesome! "Hey grandma, you need to update your Motorola Droid Super Snazzy to the latest OS! Just go to the XDA Developers forum, download the custom ROM, and follow the step-by-step directions."

Fail.

People who need the latest updates will know how to get it. At least you have the choice to upgrade or modify or do whatever you want. Nobody is forcing your grandma to install a custom rom. Apple is forcing your grandma not to. Big difference.

 

[NT1440]

People who need the latest updates will know how to get it. At least you have the choice to upgrade or modify or do whatever you want. Nobody is forcing your grandma to install a custom rom. Apple is forcing your grandma not to. Big difference.

And grandma gets to choose which approach she prefers. So far it still seems to me that the iphone is the most intuitive and easy to understand phone around, which is a way bigger selling point than "you can mod it".

 

[LagunaSol]

People who need the latest updates will know how to get it. At least you have the choice to upgrade or modify or do whatever you want. Nobody is forcing your grandma to install a custom rom. Apple is forcing your grandma not to. Big difference.

From a practical standpoint, you're wrong. You're implying only the tech-inclined truly merit Android "openness." And while Apple is discouraging jailbreaking while Google takes an indifferent attitude to Android hacking, the end result is the same: it's no easier for the end user to upgrade his Android device to the latest OS using custom ROMs than it is for him/her to jailbreak his/her iPhone and get all that "openness" the Android folks trumpet. (In fact, jailbreaking an iPhone is now easier than installing a custom Android ROM.)

Different approaches, but the exact same result.

The idealism of Android does not match the reality.

 

[enil8tr1]

why not the iphone pro

I think appl needs more than 1 iphone per yr , I would prefer better cam package, some more gb, others bigger screen 4.3.apple: I dont know how long memory alone will suffice against android onslaught.

 

[TennisandMusic]

Yeah, if you like paying $529.00 up front for a phone only to have to pay a $30/month data fee anyway...

This comment confuses me. You have to pay a 30 dollar data fee if you use the iPhone, even if you get the subsidized version.

So what do you mean paying up front "only to have to pay" for the data fee? You are required to pay for the data fee on AT&T...

 

[synth3tik]

Simply put the Android OS is so much further advanced then the iPhone OS. My boss has the Droid the physical phone does not please me at all, however when comparing how the phone operates and how well integrated everything is. At least from Google's end the Android OS is a lot lot better, now with the Nexus One, Google has the physical phone, as well as the better OS.

 

[NT1440]

Simply put the Android OS is so much further advanced then the iPhone OS. My boss has the Droid the physical phone does not please me at all, however when comparing how the phone operates and how well integrated everything is. At least from Google's end the Android OS is a lot lot better, now with the Nexus One, Google has the physical phone, as well as the better OS.

What is more advanced about it? Details please.

 

[LagunaSol]

I think appl needs more than 1 iphone per yr , I would prefer better cam package, some more gb, others bigger screen 4.3.apple: I dont know how long memory alone will suffice against android onslaught.

Agreed. I think the 1-model-per-year strategy Apple is currently sticking with will be suicidal when we'll be seeing new Android models every other day. I think they need at least a 6-month refresh.

This comment confuses me. You have to pay a 30 dollar data fee if you use the iPhone, even if you get the subsidized version.

So what do you mean paying up front "only to have to pay" for the data fee? You are required to pay for the data fee on AT&T...

I'm saying why not benefit from hardware subsidization from the carrier if you have to pay them their $30/month fee anyway?

Me on iPhone: $199 + $30/month
You on Nexus One: $529 + $30/month

The whole "unlocked" thing doesn't offer me any real advantage if I still have to pay equivalent monthly fees (which I do).

 

[LagunaSol]

Simply put the Android OS is so much further advanced then the iPhone OS.

What is more advanced about it? Details please.

By "simply put" he meant "I can't offer any real details to back up my argument."

 

[ranReloaded]

So much for an antitrust suit. Congrats, Android!

...and it's good that NOT everybody chooses Apple's products.

 

[joboy]

Mac Rumors Buyers Guide says "Don't Buy!"

I expect iPhone sales to sag until the new model comes out. Your advice in the Mac Rumors Buyers Guide is "Don't Buy!" It makes sense. I want the newest version and am willing to wait. Wait for the end of year numbers before writing off the iPhone.

 

[NT1440]

By "simply put" he meant "I can't offer any real details to back up my argument."

Yea, I'd rather it was technically put seeing as his argument can only be elaborated on that way.

 

[mac*jedi*g]

Well it only prudent to take the offer when Verizon is shoving a "BOGO Free" deal down your throat. This will make any numbers fly upwards at any given time. Sure impressive, but does it really tell the whole story? They did this with the Blackberry Curve last year, and those numbers exceeded the iPhone as well. Everyone knows that the Curve is crap versus the iPhone but people still fell into that trap.

So what if Verizon is going for quantity, not quality. Consumers are highly frustrated that Apple hasn't done what they really want -- open up to another carrier... and not just AT&T. As long as Apple reserve itself to one carrier there numbers may never overcome, or overwhelm the competition while those units soar.

Can you imaging a 2 for 1 iPhone 3GS deal? It's mind boggling.

 

[NT1440]

Well it only prudent to take the offer when Verizon is shoving a "BOGO Free" deal down your throat. This will make any numbers fly upwards at any given time. Sure impressive, but does it really tell the whole story? They did this with the Blackberry Curve last year, and those numbers exceeded the iPhone as well. Everyone knows that the Curve is crap versus the iPhone but people still fell into that trap.

So what if Verizon is going for quantity, not quality. Consumers are highly frustrated that Apple hasn't done what they really want -- open up to another carrier... and not just AT&T. As long as Apple reserve itself to one carrier there numbers may never overcome, or overwhelm the competition while those units soar.

Can you imaging a 2 for 1 iPhone 3GS deal? It's mind boggling.

Verizon isn't the only one selling Android phones......

 

[LagunaSol]

So much for an antitrust suit. Congrats, Android!

...and it's good that NOT everybody chooses Apple's products.

Indeed. Now perhaps Nokia will aim its attorneys in Google's direction.

Can you imaging a 2 for 1 iPhone 3GS deal? It's mind boggling.

According to the Android and RIM apologists on this board, 2 for 1 deals are irrelevant to the big picture.

? Yeah, that's what I said too.

 

[LagunaSol]

Verizon isn't the only one selling Android phones......

Indeed. T-Mobile is currently giving away two free Motorola Cliq (Android phones). You don't even have to buy one to get one!

But hey, freebies have nothing to do with sales volume, right?

 

[CFreymarc]

I love the competition. go Android. go iPhone. We both win.

I agree with this. Having 21% market share is not the full story. It comes down to if you are profitable or not. Apple's iPhone has been a smashing success no matter what the nay-sayers will complain about.

If you are looking for a big loser in the rise of Android, look at Microsoft. They are so far behind in the mobile space, they are not even mentioned in this report. If you look at Android, their business model (licensing an OS for hardware houses to semi custom) is what PalmSource / Access, Microsoft and others have tried to in the past. Also, rumors are flying wild that HP many drop their Windows Mobile license after acquiring Palm to have their own mobile OS development in house.

IMO, you only see Android and iPhone selling into a broadly similar market. Start to drill down to who uses and iPhone vs. an Android phone, you see a very different crowd. The research data I read, a very small percentage of Android phone uses are former iPhone users.

Thus "market share" is not that important. You need to look at "take away" percentage of sales if you want to view where the real market competition is in an industry. For Android phone, I have been told that most are first time smart-phone users or used to have Windows Mobile phones and not iPhone.

 

[TennisandMusic]

Agreed. I think the 1-model-per-year strategy Apple is currently sticking with will be suicidal when we'll be seeing new Android models every other day. I think they need at least a 6-month refresh.



I'm saying why not benefit from hardware subsidization from the carrier if you have to pay them their $30/month fee anyway?

Me on iPhone: $199 + $30/month
You on Nexus One: $529 + $30/month

The whole "unlocked" thing doesn't offer me any real advantage if I still have to pay equivalent monthly fees (which I do).

Gotcha. Well if you have an iPhone I guess you are stuck (like me). I think the freedom to switch carriers would be fantastic. I am dying to leave ATT, and considering my contract is FINALLY up next month the next iPhone would have to be amazing for me to get it again.

So I suppose not being tied into a carrier for 2 years would be the one motivation to not get a subsidized phone.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

I sometimes think people foget the iPhone has like 4 models.

iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPod Touch

the original iphone of course isn't giving them sales, but the iPhone 3G most certainly is.

The iTouch isn't a phone, please try again.

 

[NT1440]

Indeed. T-Mobile is currently giving away two free Motorola Cliq (Android phones). You don't even have to buy one to get one!

But hey, freebies have nothing to do with sales volume, right?

I was just pointing out a flaw in his post.

I've always managed a big "NO ****ING DUH" when analysts predict that Android, a very good OS, will surpass the iphone in marketshare.

This is because of a number of factors:

1. Android is GOOD! (not as good as iOS IMO but still very usable)

2. It is meant to be a one size fits all OS, meaning put it on many devices, not just one.

3. Not only is android not limited to one phone, it isn't limited to any one carrier in the USA

Of course it's going to overtake iOS in the market share. Mindshare though, apple's juicy target, is still firmly in Apple's control.

 

[LagunaSol]

So I suppose not being tied into a carrier for 2 years would be the one motivation to not get a subsidized phone.

I'd rather get the upfront subsidy. If I want to bail out early I'll pay the ETF and make up for it by selling the phone.

Don't all U.S. carriers require some sort of contract - or increased pricing in lieu of - when it comes to data plans on smartphones? I don't know as I've never had an unlocked device, but I don't think you can just roam from carrier to carrier without any sort of time commitment or financial penalty or increased monthly premium. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.