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Forums - General Discussion - Android users over taking I phone users in the U.S.

nightsurge said:
Vetteman94 said:
Train wreck said:

Iphone is on one phone, one carrier.  I still cant believe people cant get that through their little head.  Amazing.

Arent there 3 or 4 iPhone models though

Not to mention iPod touches use the same iOS as well as iPads. Are those counted or JUST the iPhone (since both iPod and iPad can do the same apps).

Nope, just iPhones.

And there are two iPhone models currently for sale, as always.

And Blackberrys have just fallen behind the times. They're not even the best at their specialty (business apps) anymore. The App Store took care of any advantage they had in that department (though some email features on iPhone/Android still lag a bit). RIM needs to completely re-think their business model if they want to survive.




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justinian said:

Good for Android.

What Train wreck means is that only Apple does the iphone (like RIM and blackberry).

Probably every major cell phone manufacturer does at least ONE android phone.

That's a lot of Android phones going up against a handful from RIM and a couple from Apple. 


Problem with that argument is that its the same reason Apple lost the PC business. Apple is simply repeating its mistakes in phones and by end of next year the tablet market. Its not a reason to accept its losses, as Apple should have been better prepared for its eventual loss.

iProducts are not bad, just Blackberries are ok. But, what it comes down to is, as always, price and features. Androids offer FAR more choices in styles and feature sets and above all price.

In October and November I "purchased" two Samsung Fascinates for my wife and myself to replace our very much disliked Blackberries. Not only can they do the same features as the iPhone (less video chat), but they were FREE.

I knew a Verizon iPhone is coming but I also know it will cost $200 and be locked to Apple's way of doing things. So I chose the route of an equal experience for no cost. As will millions of others.

iPhone has only done really well on AT&T beause AT&T has just barely started caring decent Android versions. By end of next year when iPhone is on all carriers and AT&T has caught up with Verizon and others in Android offerings, this arguement will be even more silly as once again Apple will be in a far smaller market share to the dominant party.



I'm surprised Kasz or anyone for that matters cares about my mobile opinions, but here it goes:

Its not unexpected for Android to lead iPhone. Truth be told, we should be getting used to it, because I don't believe there is an OS that will threaten Android for the forseeable future. There will be blips and bumps, but there is just too much going for Android, and too little done by the competition to steal its thunder. I expect Android to become the majority stakeholder of OS sales, worldwide, in about 2 years.

As per Gartner, Android was the 2nd best selling smartphone worldwide. That is even more damning for other OSes than this ComScore report. Although its notable that RIM is now losing out to Android, its not unexpected. RIM reached market saturation some time ago, and is unlikely to do anything extrordinary to capture a larger market share.

Android will continue to win, because the business models of every other company are not the same goals as Android. Android is an OS, and is handset-agnostic. There is only one other handset-agonistic OS available, and it has been losing market share since Android came out, and will be extinct in a few years (Windows Mobile).

If you look at the business methods by the other players, you understand that they didn't gear their product offerings in such a way as to become the dominant player. It really isn't their fault (most of them, anyways), because they didn't understand how the smartphone market worked.

 

My take on why the other OSes will not beat Android:

Symbian is the leader, and has been for as long as sales charts for OSes has been around. They are the go-to choice for Nokia phones, who is the market leader. The only problem is that Nokia smartphones are usually very expensive phones that are non-subsidized. That is, you must pay $500-$700 for them, which makes them a very poor choice in the West. Furthermore, their OS, from what I can tell, isn't that great when it comes to market place functionality. Symbian has lost market share to virtually everyone for the past 2 to 3 years...I don't expect their fortunes to reverse. I would imagine that eventually Nokia will drop them entirely, and Symbian will be a footnote in the smartphone OS wars in 4-5 years.

iOS is obviously the one everyone talks about...World-class gaming...Smartphone-defining features...The gold standard of smartphones. The problem is that Apple made the same mistake with phones that they did with computers: They are a cartel. They maintain a stranglehold on what is an iPhone, both for better and for worse. There are certain advantages with their model: They make tons of money (which is what matters, right?), they sell tons of games, and their software is arguably the best from a reliability standpoint, due to very few hardware/software combinations out there. But that is also their weakness: They sell their phones on a limited number of networks, and a limited number of styles. Mac's aren't sold more than PCs because there is only one or two styles of Macs available (this is a generality, I know, but you get where I'm going). Likewise, if you want a QWERTY keyboard, or certain smartphone features, your SOL if they aren't on an iPhone. Furthermore, we're seeing more and more people migrate to Smartphones...19% of all mobiles sold, worldwide, are now considered a 'smart phone'. The note about this is that the standards of what goes into a phone are going up, but the cost consumers are willing to pay are not. There will always be demand for free or cheap phones...Which is something that Apple will never offer.

BlackBerry's are starting to become a less seen. They were certainly a US-centric phone, which makes it very bad that they're seeing a reduced share against Android. They have some of the good and bad points of iOS. RIM did the right thing and put as many styles of BlackBerry's on the market, and put them on every carrier. Unfortunately, the BlackBerry OS isn't as good (IMO) as iOS or Android, and their stylistic choices aren't as good as either, as well. Eventually, they will become the Palm of the decade....And end up shuttering in about 7-10 years, unless they do something crazy. If you don't believe that RIM's days are numbered, look at the new Droid Pro ads. Motorola is going directly for the business-class BlackBerry user.

 

Now, this isn't to say that Android is flawless. Business model wise, it's done the best of all of them by offering as many styles on as many carriers as possible, backed by a pretty good OS. However, its market place is inferior to iOS. Couple that with the downside to so many models being that developers have a hard time porting to enough devices, and you run into problems with applications. Revenue from the Android market place is, quite franky, abysmal for the size of the market. I think its NiKKom that is a mobile dev, but there is a VGC user that works for both Android and iOS applications...And he believes the same..The market is deeply flawed. I think that Google will fix the problems, by ensuring a slower rollout of OS revisions (they've done well since 2.2, it seems). But in the end, I think that Android has reached a critical mass that is unlikely to be reversed.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

nightsurge said:
Vetteman94 said:
Train wreck said:

Iphone is on one phone, one carrier.  I still cant believe people cant get that through their little head.  Amazing.

Arent there 3 or 4 iPhone models though

Not to mention iPod touches use the same iOS as well as iPads. Are those counted or JUST the iPhone (since both iPod and iPad can do the same apps).

I cannot see how ipad or itouch can be counted as they are NOT phones (and only ipad use data networks (like 3G) but not voice.



I just wish more devs would support Android devices but the problems lies in the fact that not all are the same. My Galaxy S for example is very very good for things like gaming because it is powerful in the graphics department and can hold a high framerate, but then you have phones like the Nexus One which is really fast but doesn't pack much of a punch gaming wise.

At least I still get the better PSX Emulator though.



iPhone = Great gaming device. Don't agree? Who cares, because you're wrong.

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Android vs Apple = Pc vs Apple

No losers.



Euphoria14 said:

I just wish more devs would support Android devices but the problems lies in the fact that not all are the same. My Galaxy S for example is very very good for things like gaming because it is powerful in the graphics department and can hold a high framerate, but then you have phones like the Nexus One which is really fast but doesn't pack much of a punch gaming wise.

At least I still get the better PSX Emulator though.

thats what i do with my galaxy s as well - playing with snes, gameboy etc. emulators... without this option i realy would be angry about the fact that the galaxy is so powerful but there arent games using that power. except some gameloft etc. games which are a little bit better in graphics than the market games.



Xperia x10 ftw.



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crissindahouse said:
Euphoria14 said:

I just wish more devs would support Android devices but the problems lies in the fact that not all are the same. My Galaxy S for example is very very good for things like gaming because it is powerful in the graphics department and can hold a high framerate, but then you have phones like the Nexus One which is really fast but doesn't pack much of a punch gaming wise.

At least I still get the better PSX Emulator though.

thats what i do with my galaxy s as well - playing with snes, gameboy etc. emulators... without this option i realy would be angry about the fact that the galaxy is so powerful but there arent games using that power. except some gameloft etc. games which are a little bit better in graphics than the market games.


People shit on my phone a lot because it is a Captivate and lacks a flash for the camera, but then I inform them that my phones shits on theirs in every other aspect.

Also do not forget that Samsung still has us on Eclair... by the time we get 2.2 everyone else will be on 3.0.

 

I don't complain too much since I rooted it and applied a lagfix. Now I have zero issues besides the fact that VGChartz forums sucks for mobile phones.



iPhone = Great gaming device. Don't agree? Who cares, because you're wrong.

Currently playing:

Final Fantasy VI (iOS), Final Fantasy: Record Keeper (iOS) & Dragon Quest V (iOS)     

    

Got a retro room? Post it here!

ConnorJCP said:

Xperia x10 ftw.


My Captivate pinches a piping hot loaf all over your Xperia x10.



iPhone = Great gaming device. Don't agree? Who cares, because you're wrong.

Currently playing:

Final Fantasy VI (iOS), Final Fantasy: Record Keeper (iOS) & Dragon Quest V (iOS)     

    

Got a retro room? Post it here!