Verizon iPhone Leads U.S. Mobile Phone Sales in February as Android Surge Continues

[GuitarDTO]

Sigh

Yet another discussion where the iPhone as a device by itself is being lumped into an OS discussion with Android, that is found on countless different devices. I'd love to see a comparison of PHONE sales.... iPhone sales versus HTC Evo, HTC Thunderbolt, Motorolla Droid X, etc.

As a separate note, where are all of the Verizon iPhone doomsdayers that proclaimed the network would go down and the device would fail on Verizon? They sure disappeared like a fart in the wind. Let me guess, when the 5 comes out, the network will then be bogged down? I can't express how happy I've been with the Verizon iPhone thus far.

 

[jrb363]

Poor little iPhone...

You can have had the mobile space crown Apple, but you gave it to Google. Soon you will be third fiddle to Microsoft and Google.

You can't be serious. Third fiddle to Microsoft, the same company that dropped 1.3% when the Verizon iPhone released? Google and Apple have the momentum and there's nothing anybody, except MAYBE Palm/HP, can do about it.

 

[Number 41]

Glad to see some robust competition...will only keep Apple honest and innovative.

This entire scenario is playing out like Windows / MacOS part 2 -- the vertically integrated MacOS (hardware + OS coming from same source) is beaten into obscurity by the OS that is available on a multitude of devices from many different manufacturers.

Every percentage point that Android ticks higher -- every million more Android customers that sign on due to BOGOs and heavily subsidized phones -- makes their customer base the more enticing one to develop for.

This type of competition won't keep Apple "honest and innovative" -- it'll just lead to what we saw before in the 80s and 90s: top software going to the competing platform with Apple grabbing at scraps.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Love my Android... Sorry Apple, but I can't afford the iPhone.

Don't know why not; you can go down to Walmart* and get one for as little as $49.99. Probably still be better than your current Android phone--unless you paid more than $200 for your Android.

 

[BJB Productions]

But you can afford a 2011 Macbook Pro AND an iPad2

That sounds a little funny coming from a guy with a brand new high end mbp and iPad 2 in his sig....

There's a story behind that. Got the MBP for free.

had both, decided to pay for the iphone instead of having work pay for the droid.

too much fragmentation and too many issues.

True, I do dislike the fragmentation issues.

Don't know why not; you can go down to Walmart* and get one for as little as $49.99. Probably still be better than your current Android phone--unless you paid more than $200 for your Android.

Yeah, sure the iPhone itself is cheap, but I can't pay $75+ for the data and phone plan a month. I've got a 25 a month plan which includes 300 anytime minutes, unlimited texting, 3g unlimited data, and unlimited tethering.

 

[Digital Skunk]

This entire scenario is playing out like Windows / MacOS part 2 -- the vertically integrated MacOS (hardware + OS coming from same source) is beaten into obscurity by the OS that is available on a multitude of devices from many different manufacturers.

Every percentage point that Android ticks higher -- every million more Android customers that sign on due to BOGOs and heavily subsidized phones -- makes their customer base the more enticing one to develop for.

This type of competition won't keep Apple "honest and innovative" -- it'll just lead to what we saw before in the 80s and 90s: top software going to the competing platform with Apple grabbing at scraps.

I agree 100% save for the "honest" Apple part. I know what you meant though.

You are absolutely right IMHO. it will take some time to topple over the behemoth that Apple's App Store is but I doubt it will remain the best for years to come. Any developer wanting to make money will need to code for both platforms and $$$$ doesn't lie or fall into hype or hysteria.

If an app is good . . . and available on both platforms the devo will make BREAD on the Android side. . . . fragmentation or not.

 

[Number 41]

You can't be serious. Third fiddle to Microsoft, the same company that dropped 1.3% when the Verizon iPhone released? Google and Apple have the momentum and there's nothing anybody, except MAYBE Palm/HP, can do about it.

This is a fight Apple, literally, cannot win as long as they are the only company building iOS devices. They cannot compete with the number of companies making Android devices, and they cannot compete with the "push to the bottom" on price that competition has entailed.

And, truth be told, I think Apple is more than happy to bleed market share as long as they maintain a high level of profitability on each device sold. That was, and is, their business model with the MacOS. I see no reason to expect a change there.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Where is SE and Nokia?

Or is the USA void of any decent dumb or feature phones?

I was more interested in where HTC was; Nokia doesn't have any foothold in the US yet whereas HTC is supposedly the biggest single Android seller here.

I am intrigued on one point though... with the Android surge and Samsung only seeing a .2% rise in market, is that saying that less than one month on Verizon pushed Apple .9%, almost a full percentage point? I really want to see how the January-March quarter did.

 

[Number 41]

If an app is good . . . and available on both platforms the devo will make BREAD on the Android side. . . . fragmentation or not.

And, really, it's only a matter of time before developers start to focus exclusively on Android. Then we're really back to where Apple/Windows was in the 80s and 90s.

 

[infidel69]

So much for Apple dominating when Verizon gets the iphone. Android is the Microsoft of this decade and Apple is Apple again. Their greed and arrogance is going to bite them in the ass again . The writing is on the wall.

 

[nagromme]

As a developer, I don’t care if it has a cellular radio or not... so iPad and iPod need to be counted too, unless you’re studying carriers alone.

PS, I’d rather have Apple “win” by having the best product and stable profits to fuel innovation, than “win” like Google by making an OS that is “basically OK” and giving it away for free in larger numbers.

If Apple were to decide to be like Google or Microsoft, it might be catastrophic or it might be profitable, but it will NOT give us better products. And if Apple products get worse, the copycat products will be too. Everybody loses!

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Love my Android... Sorry Apple, but I can't afford the iPhone.

Oh well, there's a phone for everyone. At least Android fills the gap.

 

[Vulpinemac]

true but TCO for any subscription iOS device is likely to be many hundreds of $$$ more than an android that gives a similar experience.

TCO is where the smart people look, I'm not surprised you missed it..

While I agree that TCO is where the smart people look, I'd really like you to explain how TCO of an iPhone is higher than a similarly-priced Android. In my own case, I have two iPhone 4s with separate data plans and the total monthly combined bill is still under $100.

If you don't have numbers to back up your argument, the argument tends to be invalid.

 

[OllyW]

As a developer, I don’t care if it has a cellular radio or not... so iPad and iPod need to be counted too, unless you’re studying carriers alone.

I'm sorry, but I don't see what's wrong with a survey of mobile phone sales only including mobile phones.

You should be looking at other analysis for the information you want.

 

[kntgsp]

I am a developer and I see nothing but iOS sales ...

See this blog post with stats.

http://bit.ly/i1p1rC

A graph with no x- or y-axis units.

Boy that sure is helpful!

I love this response on your blog to the same inquiry:

I have purposely not shown the y-axis as this is commercially sensitive info but you do get the relationship between them all.

No, we don't get the relationship between them all. There is no sense of scale whatsoever. You don't want to show exact sales numbers, we get that. Ever heard of percentages being used for a y-axis? Christ.

 

[BJB Productions]

Oh well, there's a phone for everyone. At least Android fills the gap.

Exactly. I'm by no means saying Android is superior. It has tons of issues; it's no where near perfect. But it works for me.

 

[kny3twalker]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_6 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8E200 Safari/6533.18.5)

Love my Android... Sorry Apple, but I can't afford the iPhone.

This doesn't make sense. Phone plans cost the same on a carrier for iPhone and android; therefore the only difference could be the cost of the phone.
In which case, if you are willing to buy an out of date android phone to get it for less, why not consider a year old iPhone which usually sells for half to three quarters off.
I believe most android phones at release are priced around $200 same as the iPhone.

 

[Bacong]

+1 from me when my taxes come.

 

[kntgsp]

This doesn't make your point valid in any sense. Please learn logic and debating abilities.

You think putting the Iphone 3GS (which is eclipsed in hardware by phones well over a year old) up against current mobile offerings in the Android space is a valid defense of....anything? Really?

There are already brand new Android phones with dual core A9's.....

 

[Krevnik]

true but TCO for any subscription iOS device is likely to be many hundreds of $$$ more than an android that gives a similar experience.

TCO is where the smart people look, I'm not surprised you missed it..

Really? Last time I checked, iPhone data and voice plans were priced the same as their Android bretheren on the same network. If you want to compare TCO, you wind up comparing carriers to each other, not phones. Do you have any specific numbers to back your claim up, or are you just throwing out an argument and and an insult?

 

[435713]

Nothing against the Green Robot; but obviously it will sell more. #'s game doesn't need to be said they surged. I hope it doesnt become a damn thing where Android has like 80% in three years and you only get a couple options.

I think winMO 7 was actually nice when I tried it, and hopefully HP does something with webOS. Rather see a whole bunch of 20% numbers on the board personally.

oh yeah "A future we don't want." right google gaga

 

[BrotherCrack]

I think you're confusing Macrumors with Engadget. That place is so full of hate I'm surprised it doesn't catch on fire. Thankfully most people here are either die-hard Apple fans or general lovers of tech who can debate without killing each other.

Touché Good Sir... Touché...

 

[zacman]

I'm confused. Didn't everyone say the iPhone sales will quadruple when Verizon gets it? And now it's 0.2% while Android grows 7%?

 

[room271]

I've seen a few posts saying that the iPhone is too expensive and then various replies saying something like 'you can get one for $50 at Wall-Mart. etc.'

But, at least here in the UK the upfront £70/$50 is not the 'expensive' part. It's the massive line-rental/monthly contract attached.

For example, I can pick and choose from Andoid phones at the £20/month level but to get an iPhone without paying a large amount up front I'm looking at £35/month at least (and quite often requiring a 24-month contract!).

So it is hardly surprising Android is doing a lot better - it is actually affordable for the average person whereas the iPhone is still definitely a luxury item (not saying this is a bad thing at all, just explains why I can't afford one).

BTW: for the record my current phone is the Nokia E71 and I'm paying £10/month, rolling contract, for a large number of minutes/texts and 'unlimited' (=1gb) internet - now that's value!!!

 

[dontmatter]

Well, it looks like google won the smartphone battles. I kinda thought it would happen, just nowhere near this fast.

We'll have to see if they can spin android success into tablet success, too. I wouldn't be surprised.