Looks like Android hasn't been that much of a threat to iphone as thought. And now there is an additional iphone carrier...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Android was competing with RIM/Blackberry more than iphone
- Thread starter ten-oak-druid
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It sort of makes sense. I've had several friends, for example, switch from Blackberry's to Droids because the iPhone wasn't available on their network. We'll see how the numbers change now that Verizon will be offering it.
I disagree it is hurting the iPhone in the sense that who the iPhone might steal from RIM or new Smart Phone users are turning to Android before the iPhone.
AT&T you had 2 choices iPhone or Blackberry. Everything else pretty much sucked.
Verizon you had Android or Blackberry (hell all the other carriers but AT&T)
And really RIM still has its core business that has been largely unaffected by Android or the iPhone. The very finicky consumer section is what RIM is losing to.
Android and the iPhone are both playing that riskier consumer section and what is hot there on day is cold the next.
AT&T you had 2 choices iPhone or Blackberry. Everything else pretty much sucked.
Verizon you had Android or Blackberry (hell all the other carriers but AT&T)
And really RIM still has its core business that has been largely unaffected by Android or the iPhone. The very finicky consumer section is what RIM is losing to.
Android and the iPhone are both playing that riskier consumer section and what is hot there on day is cold the next.
Makes a lot of sense. Androids are just iPhone imitators anyway, should be interesting to see how many VZW iPhones are sold, and how quickly. I'll bet they outsell any Android device at VZW pretty much from day 1.
Everyone I know who uses an Android always says they wish they had an iPhone, but Verizon doesn't have them. That's about to change.
Everyone I know who uses an Android always says they wish they had an iPhone, but Verizon doesn't have them. That's about to change.
I think it's a mixture of what you're saying and what the TS posted.
Theres's 4 million Android phones on Verizon. I wonder how long it will take iPhone to surpass all the Android phones on Verizon, if it can
I'll bet that once those 4 million customers are eligible for upgrade, they go 80/20 to iPhone. Maybe even more.
For the longest time, Android was the only game in town with Verizon if you wanted a touch screen app based experience. It truly was the next best thing since you couldn't get an iPhone. But now that this isn't the case anymore, I'll bet people flock to iPhone as fast as possible.
Look no further than the numbers for ATT:
There is a link in the story I posted:
For every AT&T Android user there are 15 iPhone users: What will be the ratio at Verizon?
http://www.asymco.com/2011/01/11/for-every-att-android-user-there-are-15-iphone-users-what-will-be-the-ratio-at-verizon/
...
A few observations:
As of November, the ratio of iOS to Android users was more than 15 to 1 at AT&T.
iOS at AT&T has twice the users as Android at Verizon
Although T-Mobile had the Android franchise to itself for all of 2009, it was overtaken by Verizon within four months
T-Mobile Android consumption has also been nearly matched by Sprint within a year
...
Sorry about the large image - not sure how to make it smaller.
Android was only hurting iPhone insofar as anyone not on AT&T and unwilling to switch could not chose an iPhone. I got a Droid because it was the next best thing, I didn't have the choice to get an iPhone on Verizon, so I went with something else, and between a BB and a Droid, I'll pick a Droid any day of the week. Now that I have a choice, I will be dumping this droid right away. Many people on Verizon will do the same, even if you see some Android fans not switch, I suspect they are a small group.
One thing missing in these numbers is the number of non-smart phone users. For myself, I had a non-smart phone for years. I liked the iphone and how it would work easily with my computer. it was also an upgrade to my ipod classic except for the storage size. So I finally did it. Otherwise I would have stuck with a non-smart phone and probably gotten an ipod touch rather than another brand of smart phone.
How many Verizon customers will decide to move from non-smart phone to smart phone because of the iphone?
Another issue is time. The trend will have to be observe over a year. There are probably many Verizon customers who just entered contracts within the last few months. Any switch to iphone would take place later. The same argument goes for iphone users on ATT like myself who just started a contract. The numbers of people who will switch to Verizon now will take some time to find out.
I imagine over time the ratio of iphone to droid users on Verizon will approach the ratio on ATT.
How many Verizon customers will decide to move from non-smart phone to smart phone because of the iphone?
Another issue is time. The trend will have to be observe over a year. There are probably many Verizon customers who just entered contracts within the last few months. Any switch to iphone would take place later. The same argument goes for iphone users on ATT like myself who just started a contract. The numbers of people who will switch to Verizon now will take some time to find out.
I imagine over time the ratio of iphone to droid users on Verizon will approach the ratio on ATT.
I might like to point out that AT&T has a rather limited and crappy selection of Android phones.
They have the joke known as the BackFlip. Not very good android phone and fairly week power wise.
The Aries which came out as a mid range Android phone (fairly weak)
Their only high end Android phone is the Captivated and that been on the market about 6 months. Compared that to the others that have multiple choices when it comes to the high end. The big player HTC is on everyone else but AT&T with high end phones.
You more have to look to the rest of the world minus US numbers to get a real view of it because of the very limited choices when it comes to Android phones on AT&T
I think each market is unique. Looking at iphone on ATT vs. Android on all carriers alone shows how popular the iphone is here.
The percentage of Mac OS users in the US differs from that world wide too. So one cannot say the world wide numbers always match the US market.
And given that ATT ranks lowest in consumer reports polls, if it was simply a preference of high end Android vs. iphone, the ATT network certainly isn't the deciding factor stopping people from getting their android.
Personally for me, I don't always account into sales although it can be important to developers and shareholders. There has been a number of gadgets that didn't sell well but were still fantastic. I guess it is like comparison between selling more Honda Civics over BMWs. Doesn't make the Civics better.
And that is good point about AT&T lacking top Android phones. Apple has had a monopoly on there. For the longest time, it was either iPhone or BlackBerry that already felt dated when released. And yes, there is a bigger market outside the U.S. that even a Verizon iPhone won't change the game at all. Around the world, there are more carriers who carry an iPhone than Android. Alot of folks have talked about doom and gloom about RIM, but they sold extremely well during the last quarter. Why? They are taking Nokia's route and expanding outside NA and into more developing countries.
I say RIM will bounce back just like Motorola with their latest tablet and stunts more of WP7's growth. I personally think QNX is better than iOS, WP7, and Android. It is like they took cues from WebOS and improved on it with real time multi-tasking. QNX will probably fall 3rd behind iOS and Android this year in the tablet wars. But like I said before, it doesn't neccessarily mean selling worse means the OS is worse than them. I think WebOS is the best now, and got demoted into a niche community. Ask Mac fans what it is like to be part of a niche crowd. Just a slightly before Google was born, there was a time Apple was going under and look at them now. There was a dark time before the iPod.
And that is good point about AT&T lacking top Android phones. Apple has had a monopoly on there. For the longest time, it was either iPhone or BlackBerry that already felt dated when released. And yes, there is a bigger market outside the U.S. that even a Verizon iPhone won't change the game at all. Around the world, there are more carriers who carry an iPhone than Android. Alot of folks have talked about doom and gloom about RIM, but they sold extremely well during the last quarter. Why? They are taking Nokia's route and expanding outside NA and into more developing countries.
I say RIM will bounce back just like Motorola with their latest tablet and stunts more of WP7's growth. I personally think QNX is better than iOS, WP7, and Android. It is like they took cues from WebOS and improved on it with real time multi-tasking. QNX will probably fall 3rd behind iOS and Android this year in the tablet wars. But like I said before, it doesn't neccessarily mean selling worse means the OS is worse than them. I think WebOS is the best now, and got demoted into a niche community. Ask Mac fans what it is like to be part of a niche crowd. Just a slightly before Google was born, there was a time Apple was going under and look at them now. There was a dark time before the iPod.
The problem is that graph is worthless when looking at how Android will do with the iPhone hitting Verizon because AT&T had no comparable Android phone on its network.
I do expect a harsh drop in the iPhone sells on AT&T and a rise in Android because you have a mixture of people leaving for Verizon and finally good Android power phones on AT&T.
As for service I have been very happy with AT&T but have very little interested in owning my own iPhone and have been wanting an Android phone. I choose my carrier first then choose the phone that best suits me on it. The iPhone is not the phone for me.