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Apple Sneaks Up on Motorola in Mobile Phone Sales, Android Surges Past iOS
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Over the next year I think it will become clear that Google isn't really just an iOS copycat. Look at the new features today - the flip phone feature is pretty cool. In six months you will have a web-based Android market, cloud based streaming music, google docs with editing ability, all sorts of TV streaming products and a brand new UI. The competition in this field will be intense over the next few years and Google is a formidable competitor. Should be exciting.
Exactly the only reason market share matters is if the company is viable and will still be around for the service life of the product and for a platform product like a smartphone maybe beyond that if a really like what they make and would want to keep buying. Ok so a platform product then we also want the app store to be viable.
Even in Apples Darkest Days developers still made lots of money with professional software on the platform, sure no games which is what drove the Windows platform, but a lot of those games had a big share of Mac in their production chain so apple still had a bite of all that cash too.
That's exactly Google's problem. They copy the majority of the user interface and then slap a bunch of new features in the OS claiming that makes it superior. But the superior part was really the user interface and how well it flows, not all the features you can shove in it.
Actually you need to look at the total cost of ownership, not just the price paid for the initial hardware.
AT&T is substantially more costly than say Sprint. I have two Sprint Android phones but would gladly have 2 iPhones if it wasn't for the fact it would cost me hundreds of dollars more per year over a two year contract.
did'nt google buy android in 2005? we dont know what that os look like before or how the user interface was, google never said it was superior
but the features were, cut and paste,google maps,multitasking,those were great additions that apple decided to add to there ios also , exept for maps i think,
the more features the better i think if you dont like something it can always be uninstall.
Sprint only made there plans affordable because they were bleeding customers left and right. Once Sprint regains it's footing you can kiss those sweet plans good-bye.
if iPhone goes to Verizon, iOS will come back. but is this only counting iPhones, and not iPod touches and iPads?
Actually, iOS is still a far larger platform/market than Android. One superior quarter of Android smartphone sales does not a "bigger market" make.
Unless Apple drastically improved the quality of its Voice Control in 4.0 - it's not nearly as good as Google's implementation. Last I used Voice Control on my 3GS - it was practically useless. Since I switched to Android, I find myself using Voice Control all the time.. and I will probably use it even more with the latest round of updates Google released today.
Have you tried 2.2 on a recent 1Ghz SnapDragon handset? In terms of fluidity and polish - the UI is probably about 95% on par with latest iPhone. In terms of pure features, flexibility and customization - it's about 1-1.5 years ahead of iOS 4.
Possibly - certainly from a US perspective I'm sure you're right. But Apple have had a couple of year's head start over Android, and if Android keep accelerating their take-up (and there's no sign currently that they won't do that) then I think they will soon get the bigger market share between the two. They're probably already achieving that outside of the peculiar market in the US.
I have not yet tried 2.2 yet, but all the reviews I've read indicate Android still lags iOS when it comes to the overall UI and user experience.
Gizmodo said:
They also said:
and
Bottom line: from all the professional reviews I've read by knowledgable technorati intimately familiar with both OSes, Android has still not caught up to iOS - let alone passed it - in many areas - despite the most ardent arguments to the contrary from the Android proponents.
As for pure "features, flexibility and customization" - in what features does iOS lag behind Android by 1-1.5 years? As far as flexibility and customization goes - these are not necessarily points of advancement or innovation as Apple has chosen not to follow the same route as Google when it comes to being able to tweak the operating environment.
Not possibly, certainly. Does Android have anything to counter the almost-3-years-old iPod Touch? No. And nothing yet to counter the iPad. Apple has a huge user base for iOS and is the place to be for developers right now from both a market size and potential profitability perspective.
Well, try it sometime. I did acknowledge some things are still not 100% on par (Android copy/paste certainly needs improvement).. But coming from iPhone - the UI on my EVO running 2.2 is just as smooth and responsive as any iPhone. 4.3" screen doesn't hurt either.
Let's see.. proper notification system (vs. overlapping pop-ups that stack on top of each other).. multi-size widgets.. content shortcuts.. active wallpapers.. voice control that's actually useable.. proper file sysem.. API-based cloud-to-phone push.. And those're just UI-oriented features (not even mentioning WiFi hotspot, Flash 10.1, etc).
So yeah, I'd say Apple has some catching up to do. But I am sure Apple will tell you "our users don't need these features".. they are "too confusing" etc. Until they finally introduce them themselves, then of course they become "magical".
Open Your Eyes!
Well I see tons of Nokia, World is not just US, here in Europe Nokia is the leader, and I own a Mac but as mobile phone Nokia just rules! Symbian is a great OS, with very powerfull memory management, it just need a face lift, thing that Nokia is doing, quality is so much better than the iPhone. And I even can do 3g video calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I see tons of Nokia, World is not just US, here in Europe Nokia is the leader, and I own a Mac but as mobile phone Nokia just rules! Symbian is a great OS, with very powerfull memory management, it just need a face lift, thing that Nokia is doing, quality is so much better than the iPhone. And I even can do 3g video calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Androids not all that big here in Canada. It's either you support the home grown RIM or Apple. Android is essentially non-existant here.
We only have Rogers to blame for that. They have only carried sub-par models so far (Samsung Spica, HTC Dream/Magic).
With Telus and Bell getting into Android and now pushing the higher end models, you'll see that change somewhat. Not to mention the Galaxy S coming.
android's voice control was better before the latest update. with the latest update it totally stomps iOS voice control.
you mean actual features that ship with the phone? Android without a doubt. That's why when you hear apple nerds trying to diss some android phone its always something about how its not as smooth, or how the interface isnt as good (because its not ios duh). Or its not as pretty or elegant. It's always some stupid subjective thing. Rarely any criticism about the actual featureset of the OS.
I have HTC Wildfire with 2.2 and it's nowhere near as smooth as iPod touch 2G with iOS 4.
After using Android 2.2 i could say the same thing. Looks great as a list on a sheet of white paper, but in real life doesn't look that good. And iOS copy/paste is way better than Android copy/paste, so could be magical for all i care.
People on here need to try Android before knocking it...
I had an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 on it for a while and it was a great phone. Games on it are really its strongest point compared to the Android platform but feature wise Android as an OS blows iOS out of the water. "Speech to text" is flat out amazing and adds so much to what it can do, the map application (go figure) works a bit better/faster and the OS over all is MUCH more customizable. The first time I played with my friends Aria, I was blown away (and he was an iPhone user as well).
Don't knock Android, right now the MOST powerful handsets on the market are all Android (sorry iPhone 4) and the most advanced OS is Android 2.2 (you could even argue 2.1 is a bit more advanced than iOS4 having widgets and what not). Don't be afraid of the unknown if you like the iPhones form factor and you are tired of iOS just not giving you enough depth, go check out the Galaxy S line of phones. Pretty much same CPU w a fast (much faster) GPU than iPhone 4 and then a better screen and all the other Bells and whistles including BlueTooth 3! Apple had a good run and is definitely responsible for getting smart phones where they are today, but they have some work ahead of them if they want to stay in the game long term.
I had an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4 on it for a while and it was a great phone. Games on it are really its strongest point compared to the Android platform but feature wise Android as an OS blows iOS out of the water. "Speech to text" is flat out amazing and adds so much to what it can do, the map application (go figure) works a bit better/faster and the OS over all is MUCH more customizable. The first time I played with my friends Aria, I was blown away (and he was an iPhone user as well).
Don't knock Android, right now the MOST powerful handsets on the market are all Android (sorry iPhone 4) and the most advanced OS is Android 2.2 (you could even argue 2.1 is a bit more advanced than iOS4 having widgets and what not). Don't be afraid of the unknown if you like the iPhones form factor and you are tired of iOS just not giving you enough depth, go check out the Galaxy S line of phones. Pretty much same CPU w a fast (much faster) GPU than iPhone 4 and then a better screen and all the other Bells and whistles including BlueTooth 3! Apple had a good run and is definitely responsible for getting smart phones where they are today, but they have some work ahead of them if they want to stay in the game long term.
Žalgiris;10826965 said:
What phone did you use Android 2.2 on? Each manufacturers UI changes how certain features work. Also I'm sure you didn't get into all the "Bells and Whistles" of Android. Samsungs UI destroys iOS's in pretty much every way possible (mostly because they copied iOS's and has all the extra stuff Android has
)Also you compared an HTC wildfire to in iPod touch 2G. I think the touch has almost 2x the ram and is a full 150mhz faster than the wildfire. It looks like an Aria though and Android screams on that phone.
PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT NUMBERS! People care about experience and easy of use. Design + Ease of Use + Integration with OS + Support Quality + Apps = WHAT COUNTS.
iPhone still owns any Android phone out there.
Wildfire and i had it with 2.1 for quite some time.
That's right there is no consistency and adds to fragmentation of already very fragmented system.
Standard reply i hear all the time. First is "try it's awesome and kills iPhone hands down" and second if you didn't like it is "Well means you are too stupid".
Samsungs UI destroys iOS's in pretty much every way possible (mostly because they copied iOS's and has all the extra stuff Android has
Biggest amount of lipstick on a pig i have ever seen.