[Merged] General Discussion - Android OS vs. iPhone OS

[ChazUK]

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Oh and the apple app store is the bastion of quality and civility. One word. iFart, and the whole fart apps show that that iPhone app store has crap just like the android store.

What the android app store has, is much more fee apps, yes good quality apps.

Come on now maflynn. An app that poses as a screen flashlight that lets you tether your phone obviously trumps the likes of PDAnet or easy tether.

Some apps on iOS are an improvement on their Android counterpart, some are equal and some are better on Android.

Others, simply aren't availalbe (without jailbreak).

 

[weckart]

OS/2 was born out of a joint effort between IBM and Gates. Gates took the base code to Windows 3.1 and IBM continued the develop OS/2 into a business OS for PC's and IBM PS/2's. OS/2 was great at the time, but Gates got out early and out-marketed IBM and IBM gave up on the OS. Too bad. Yeah, I'm old. Agree Android cannot be compared to OS/2 and it's demise.

Windows NT 3.x, if you please, not that 16 bit gui that sat on top of DOS. And only teeny, weeny bits of it. To be honest, apart from pinball.sys and support for OS/2 1.0 apps, not much, really.

 

[kevink2]

The problem I saw with Palm OS was that Palm pretty much just sat on their laurels, didn't get upgraded OS's out when they still owned the market. Windows CE/Pocket PC became good enough that many people transitioned to that. I know i did as a customer. They did some work on new OS's, but must have kept on running into some issues and would change tracks.

Apple did this too in the 90's. OS 9 stagnated. Apple tried a few things like a future oriented OS with IBM that ended up not going anywhere.

Finally both Apple and Palm came out with new OS's that were decent. OSX and WebOS. Apple luckily came out with the iPod that got them going again. Along with Windows ME on the Microsoft side (and, later, XP with all it's security issues). Palm ran out of time, plus they had competitors that were stronger in their field with good products (Apple and Android).

 

[aohus]

android is the fastest growing mobile platform right now. this statement is a fact. it cannot be denied.

that being said, i dont see android platform dying away anytime soon at all. in fact. whatever it may be, competition is good, and only the consumers will benefit from it. so as a consumer, it would be in YOUR interest to keep android afloat to keep competition going. doesn't mean you should like it though

 

[wreckshop]

The real reason android won't surpass iOS is because of the open nature of android. And the terrible state of the android app store. Very few apps are able turn a profit. Sure android passed 100k apps. But take a look at revenue from apps sales on both platforms.

Man ur clueless. Openess is exactly why android will surpass iOS. The only way iOS will be bigger than android is if apple > all the other handset manufacturers.

Do u really think apple can sell more handsets than HTC, Motorola, Samsung and anyone else who wants to build an android device combined?

 

[jp700p]

android is the fastest growing mobile platform right now. this statement is a fact. it cannot be denied.

that being said, i dont see android platform dying away anytime soon at all. in fact. whatever it may be, competition is good, and only the consumers will benefit from it. so as a consumer, it would be in YOUR interest to keep android afloat to keep competition going. doesn't mean you should like it though

Have you ever seen or played around with the apps? I have on the EVO.

50% don't work right with the phone you have.
30% are crap
10% are spam
5% work ok
5% great apps

 

[hippo206]

Have you ever seen or played around with the apps? I have on the EVO.

50% don't work right with the phone you have.
30% are crap
10% are spam
5% work ok
5% great apps

I would say 9.5% work ok, and .5% are great. Remember, your talking about nearly 100k apps now, so ~500 great apps might still even be high

 

[Amnesia87]

Man ur clueless. Openess is exactly why android will surpass iOS. The only way iOS will be bigger than android is if apple > all the other handset manufacturers.

Do u really think apple can sell more handsets than HTC, Motorola, Samsung and anyone else who wants to build an android device combined?

Do you really think they NEED to sell more handsets than everyone else combined.

Even if Apple only had 10-20% market share, that's extremely successful. It's like saying GM is more successful than Ferrari because they have a greater market share, it's apples and oranges. Also keep in mind the RAZR was considered a massive success but it only gained something like 5-10% of the market share.

Apple also make's a great deal more profit than ANYONE else is.

Apple has iTunes and the App store which due to the closed nature of iOS generate MASSIVE revenue for them.

#1 in Market Share does not mean #1 in Profitability or Most Successful.

 

[pflau]

Man ur clueless. Openess is exactly why android will surpass iOS. The only way iOS will be bigger than android is if apple > all the other handset manufacturers.

Do u really think apple can sell more handsets than HTC, Motorola, Samsung and anyone else who wants to build an android device combined?

They eventually open sourced OS/2 and where did it get them?

It is simple - first mover advantage + install base = domination. iOS runs on iPhone, iPod, and iPad. iOS has a huge third party software support. So better software = more users = better software = more users and the cycle feeds on itself. Just like OS/2 died even though it had true multitasking while Windows did not at that time.

Android will meet the same fate.

 

[tunerX]

The real reason android won't surpass iOS is because of the open nature of android. And the terrible state of the android app store. Very few apps are able turn a profit. Sure android passed 100k apps. But take a look at revenue from apps sales on both platforms.

Android will surpass Iphone 4 OS (sorry IOS is for Cisco... I will never let that go) in market share and profits generated because they are following the same method as MS... extra cheap extra high volume. If iPhone had the its current quality but had cheaper content and initial cost to purchase as the android then more people would be buying it. Milliions of people want the connectivity but not at the price and ISP cost restrictions being imposed by apple.

The Android app store may not pass apple in terms of quality apps, but they will get millions of more apps out to market sooner.

 

[eatbacon]

The difference between Android and Palm OS is Palm never gained significant market share. Android has.

You're kidding, right? Palm owned the market (admittedly the now nearly extinct PDA market) for nearly a decade. They were the largest in the smartphone arena through 2006 and in the top three at least through 2008. As others have pointed out, they made some tremendous blunders to lose it, but it is hardly reasonable to claim they never gained significant market share.

 

[pflau]

Android will surpass Iphone 4 OS (sorry IOS is for Cisco... I will never let that go) in market share and profits generated because they are following the same method as MS... extra cheap extra high volume..

No they cannot follow the same method as MS. You could put Windows on ANY PC you wanted, but you cannot put Android on the iPhone, or the iPod, or the iPad. And these Apple devices are what people want. You can give the Android OS out for free but if people don't want the phones Android will die just the same.

 

[tunerX]

No they cannot follow the same method as MS. You could put Windows on ANY PC you wanted, but you cannot put Android on the iPhone, or the iPod, or the iPad. And these Apple devices are what people want. You can give the Android OS out for free but if people don't want the phones Android will die just the same.

You could not install MS on RISC based systems back when your statement acutally meant something, but they can install Linux kernels on any system that has the linux kernel compiled for it. The linux kernel can and has been compiled for pretty much any hardware platform... The iphone is just an ARM based SoC and there are are kernels for that but that is besides the point because there are dozens of smartphone manufacturers that already have a precompiled linux kernel for it, that will readilly run android. Also, the less savory people in the world, the ones who do not care about license restrictions will install any OS that allows them the most bang for the buck and that is where android wins out.

 

[pflau]

You could not install MS on RISC based systems back when your statement acutally meant something, but they can install Linux kernels on any system that has the linux kernel compiled for it..

Funny you mention Linux. Linux is free for the PC, how's the market? When I go down to Best Buy how many commercial software packages are there for Linux? Linux, like OS/2 before it and Android after it, are for geeks and nerds. Maybe some people would take pride in "recognizing" how Android is better, "appreciating" the openness, "relishing" in picking out that one superior app in an unchecked market place. But most people, they don't care. They want what everybody else got and that is Apple products.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

While Apple does have a good track record with OSX which it ported to the iPhone successfully. You cannot infer google's lack of experience as a sure recipe for failure. Just look at the increasing marketshare android has, as proof

Android only has marketshare for two reasons.

A) Cell phone manufactures find it easier to use googles base code and do minor changes on top of it.

B) The iPhone isn't out on all carriers. As soon as the iPhone is one Verizon, Android will take a back seat and once the iPhone is on Sprint and T-moble well Android may as well just be a memory because it's only going to be used by a niche hate apple market at that point

(sorry IOS is for Cisco... I will never let that go)

Actually it's cIOS now

they are following the same method as MS...

No, MS charged for the Software, Google gives away the software for free and hopes to make back the money in Ad Revenue. The problem is people care about the hardware AND software now so the whole windows strategy is soo 1990s at this point.

 

[ajohnson253]

God I love reading threads like these, keep it goin

 

[wreckshop]

Analysts predict that android will eventually be the market leader. Thats because apple does not want to sell low margin devices, which all the other handset manufacturers have no problem doing. It's inevitable that android will be the dominant mobile OS because there are a hell of a lot more people who cant afford an iphone than people that can.

 

[intervenient]

You're kidding, right? Palm owned the market (admittedly the now nearly extinct PDA market) for nearly a decade. They were the largest in the smartphone arena through 2006 and in the top three at least through 2008. As others have pointed out, they made some tremendous blunders to lose it, but it is hardly reasonable to claim they never gained significant market share.

Not kidding at all...


made a typo I meant WebOS.

 

[pflau]

Analysts predict that android will eventually be the market leader. Thats because apple does not want to sell low margin devices, which all the other handset manufacturers have no problem doing. It's inevitable that android will be the dominant mobile OS because there are a hell of a lot more people who cant afford an iphone than people that can.

People who can't afford the iPhone got no money to spend on apps either, and no money people are also advertisers' least desirable segment so Android will generate no ad revenue except perhaps for get rich quick schemes.

So no money = no return on investment = only nerds and geeks will continue to develop the OS in an open source manner = nerds and geeks got bored and jump on other novel stuff and Android will die of neglect.

 

[pol0001]

Analysts predict that android will eventually be the market leader. Thats because apple does not want to sell low margin devices, which all the other handset manufacturers have no problem doing. It's inevitable that android will be the dominant mobile OS because there are a hell of a lot more people who cant afford an iphone than people that can.

+1

iPhone 4 may be a nice phone. But with the 45 Euro T-Mobile plan (300 minutes and 300 sms) the iPhone still costs 90 Euros here in the Netherlands. On the other hand, most of the Android hand sets are free with a comparable contract or cost less then 30 Euros. And a significant portion of buyers base their decision partly on what they have to pay for the phone.

Let's be honest, the iPhone is not a cheap handset and the plans are not the cheapest. And unfortunately there are significant parts of the population (market share wise) who simply can not or will not afford an iPhone. And this market will offer the Android platform not only a chance to survive, but also to thrive. Remember what Steve Jobs once said about Macs: "There are certain customers we choose not to serve." (or something along those lines) And the same holds true for the iPhone. Apple does not want to produce a cheap handset that everyone can afford. They are a company and as such have defined a minimum margin for them. And you simply can not reach a high margin (per device) with a cheap hand set.

Just my 2 (euro) cents

 

[wreckshop]

People who can't afford the iPhone got no money to spend on apps either, and no money people are also advertisers' least desirable segment so Android will generate no ad revenue except perhaps for get rich quick schemes.

So no money = no return on investment = only nerds and geeks will continue to develop the OS in an open source manner = nerds and geeks got bored and jump on other novel stuff and Android will die of neglect.

You're so clueless. Just because someone chooses not to spend $200 on a handset doesn't mean they don't have the means to buy a $1 app.

Android's market share in NOV 09 was like around 4%, at the end of Q1 it was like 28%. In the same time iOS marketshare dropped from around 30% to 21%. It's inevitable that Android will become the dominant OS. One handset manufacturer cannot compete against a half dozen.

 

[slippyr4]

Android only has marketshare for two reasons.

A) Cell phone manufactures find it easier to use googles base code and do minor changes on top of it.

B) The iPhone isn't out on all carriers. As soon as the iPhone is one Verizon, Android will take a back seat and once the iPhone is on Sprint and T-moble well Android may as well just be a memory because it's only going to be used by a niche hate apple market at that point

Remember, the USA isn't the whole world. Here in Europe - a bigger market than the USA - iPhone is already available on multiple carriers in most of the countries.

And android is still selling well.

 

[slippyr4]

One of the things that I think blinds all the posters in threads like this, is that they start with a very strong and polar opinion on what's best. Obviously on this forum, most of the posters are apple fans.

So the predominant argument here is that the iOS will continue to dominate because it's more polished, and perhaps easier to use.

But, what you forget, is that a very large number of users don't care about phones as much as you do. A lot of people go into a store and choose a handset based on totally different criteria to you.

Price is a major factor, and looks are a major factor.

Obviously all premium smartphones are expensive, but apple has no other offering in the market - there are android phones at considerably lower price brackets.

At the end of the day, iPhone and iOS are great products, but the real success of iPhone is marketing. Apple have managed to create a product with such a strong brand that quite a few customers will demand an iPhone without even looking at the competition.

If you're not predisposed to either Android or iPhone, and you look at iPhone 4 vs a top end Android handset, purely on a feature list basis, iPhone does not automatically win. It gets some tickboxes that android doesn't, and android gets some that iPhone doesn't. So the hardware is not as good as the sales numbers - iPhone sales numbers are driven by the very strong brand.

Whilst Apple can keep that strong brand image, the iPhone will still continue to sell by the bucketload, outselling other handsets that may be technically superior. If apple lose that brand strength, then the market for iPhone will diminish irrecoverably.

Is that likely to happen anytime soon? Not really. Apple's number 1 strength is it's brand, and reinforcing it. That is what Jobs has done for the company, and continues to do.


Apple are also shooting themselves in the foot, in a way, with respect to android, by not providing iPhone on Verizon. Verizon is the biggest network in the US, and still is the biggest even though everyone who's prepared to change networks just for a specific handset has already moved to AT&T. So, there are millions of people on Verizon who might have bought an iPhone, but now will have bought an Android phone. Of course, if (when?) iPhone does get released on Verizon, there will be massive sales - but for a certain % of the customers it'll be too late- they will have gotten into Android and not want to give iPhone a go.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

You're so clueless. Just because someone chooses not to spend $200 on a handset doesn't mean they don't have the means to buy a $1 app.

Android's market share in NOV 09 was like around 4%, at the end of Q1 it was like 28%. In the same time iOS marketshare dropped from around 30% to 21%. It's inevitable that Android will become the dominant OS. One handset manufacturer cannot compete against a half dozen.

No he is definitely right. If you are not willing to spend 200 dollars extra on a cell phone over a free phone (less then 9 dollars a month over 24 months), then there is zero chance you are going to willing to buy apps.

 

[wreckshop]

No he is definitely right. If you are not willing to spend 200 dollars extra on a cell phone over a free phone (less then 9 dollars a month over 24 months), then there is zero chance you are going to willing to buy apps.

The Droid Eris was given away for free. The typical montly bill for that phone is anywhere from $60 - $100+, and you think those Droid owners dont have the means to buy a $1 or $2 app? Jesus some of you apple owners have no sense of reality. smh