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Will There Ever Be an IPhone Killer?

Maverick1337

Maverick1337

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 4, 2008
1,303
2
This is a serious question. I read on engadget that the new Droid 2 is going to be released some time around August 12. Now with new and improved Droid phones coming out on a monthly basis, will there ever be a true iPhone killer? Or will Android phones just flood the market and try to somehow drown out the iPhone?

I only ask this question because I would hate it if the iPhone was updated every month new and improved than the one preceding. Doe anyone else feel the same way?
 
On the O/S side of things, android is already an iphone killer.

Also, i'll be buying the new Dell Streak with that 5 inch display when it comes out in a week. Too bad you're locked into only Apple's hardware. Android users get to pick and choose what's right for them.
 
If i could buy an iphone 4 with android OS i would in a second. I think most android phones look like crap, as well i hate the new "bigger is better" movement in terms of screen size. I dont want a tv in my pocket, i want a phone.
 
Newsflash: The marketplace and marketshare are big enough for more than one device. People have different wants and needs from their device.

So in short - a consumer decides for him or herself whether or not the iPhone is for them, or if another device is. And if another device is. That device is the iPhone "killer" for them.
 
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No
 
The droid 2 is not any different from the droid X besides a smaller screen and a hardware keyboard.
 
Sure they're releasing new hardware constantly, but they're all still running
Eclair. Gingerbread is going to be available before the phone manufacturers
and carriers can get their crapware updated to support Froyo.

At least Apple still controls the software updates for the iPhone and kept
AT&T's crapware off it.

Google had the right idea with the Nexus One, but I guess we're still not ready
to spend a couple hundred extra dollars for a phone that isn't gimped by the
carrier and doesn't require a two-year contract.

Just look at what Moto has done to lock down the Droid X, Open? Open my arse.
 
Thats actually quite a good question...

My view is...not for a long time

Because I think it takes time to build up a brand so powerful with designs so assimilated into pop culture that creates the demand/desire/hunger for the product

I dont think my iphone is that much better than a lot of droids etc but, hell its my iPhone dude

ahh i do embrace my consumer monkeyism :)
 
android OS is pretty horrible compared to iOS and if they're the closest to competition that apple has, then no there won't be an iphone killer for quite a while.

windows 7 mobile does look very interesting though.
 
woofermazing said:
The droid 2 is not any different from the droid X besides a smaller screen and a hardware keyboard.
Click to expand...

More accurately its just a spec bump for the current Droid.

The term "iPhone killer" is like beating a dead horse. It should just be said there are a lot of viable alternatives out there, and that neither trumps the other in all aspects. Be happy with the freedom of choice you have.
 
Anytime someone defines success as "killing" something else, a product vendor has already doomed themselves to fail.

Did the iPhone kill the Blackberry? Nokia S60? Windows Mobile? No, not really. Palm was already killing itself, so that doesn't count.

The Droid/HTC Eris/Nexus One/Blackberry Storm/countless other phones have claimed to be the iPhone killer. Did they? No.

iPhones will continue to sell. Other platforms will continue to sell. Some will evolve, and others will fade away. Life goes on.
 
This year, Apple released the biggest hardware update to the iPhone ever, making it a very high end handset with a design that will probably mostly endure through the next revision (I think the antenna issue will be fixed by a relatively minor change, such as a coating on the stainless steel).

Next year, I think Steve Jobs will take the stage and say "last year we delivered the biggest hardware revision to the iPhone so far, it is the best hardware on the market, and consumer response has been overwhelming. This year, we're making some improvements to the hardware, but we're also delivering the biggest update to iOS since the original launch."
This software update will put iOS at the head of the pack.

After this is done, technological constraints will mean that updates to new phones will become slower and less dramatic, and while I'm sure there will be other very good phones that eat a chunk of the iPhone's market share, no other product will even have an opportunity to be an "iPhone killer" in the foreseeable future.

There may be more total Android phones than iPhones out there, but I don't think any single smartphone model will surpass the iPhone in popularity for at least 5 years.
 
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The Android OS will likely be the "Windows" of the phone world by 2011-2012.

As Apple "lost the desktop OS marketshare battle" but WON the desktop-OS PROFIT war, I doubt their bothered by this inevitable fact.

There is room for more than one, especially as long as Apple gets theirs. :)
 
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Until another phone can sell 3 million units in 3 weeks, there won't be an iPhone killer.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
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Until another phone can sell 3 million units in 3 weeks, there won't be an iPhone killer.
Click to expand...

99% of that 3million were customer upgrades. Not new customers
 
it's not the phone that is great it's the OS, and that is the boat that the Nokia/Motorola/SE of the world are missing. Android is the closest thing out there and it isn't quite as polished yet.
 
My view is that due to Apple's solid entrenchment in the smartphone/"It" phone market, any legit competitors not only have to match the iPhone in most capabilities (including form factor), but they have to be significantly better. The iPhone is so synonymous now with the cool, do-it-all (well except make calls) phone that I think an iPhone killer just needs to blow the iPhone away, especially to the extent of wooing away current iPhone users. I don't think the Droid phones are there yet, in terms of speed, platform or form.
 
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