Android-based smartphone shipments leapfrog Apple's iPhone - Page 2

Funny thing is Android succes comes from the fact its almost a copycat of the iOs. Whats even funnier is Android was there BEFORE iOs but failed to make it to market. Its like the GUI interface, Apple didnt invented it, but it sure made it the standard by pushing it over years. Apple didnt invent tablet computers, but it made it a successful category.

Apple is the king of at taking something and making it something people will want to buy.

Nice. I'm 19 now and have an iPad as well. I do really want a USB port for jump drives. It would be easy to make an interface for it, as it would work just like the iPad camera connection kit and show you what files are available, with an "Open in" dialogue in the preview of each document/image/spreadsheet. Give me that simple functionality, a camera for Skype, and printing capability (built-in) and I have nothing to complain about. Seriously, I don't have any other major needs. It works great as it is now, and I can't wait to use it at college, in a week when I leave.

Best thing about iPad = battery life. (12 hours with WiFi on is killer)

Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?

I think the biggest reason people are purchasing Android phones is that iPhone is in it's third year, and it's probably the most exposed phone ever. I think people sometimes just want something different than what they have known for the past 3 years. It may even be that people who have an iPod Touch want to try something else for a phone.

Because not one executive from those other companies has ever said anything bad about Apple or its products. The sh!t is slung from all sides. Just as any other executive from a large corporation, he's got to sell his company over the competition.

I didn't say the press was reporting false news. Your point was to why the press was reporting so many problems with the iPhone. There certainly are problems with other phones that are not as heavily reported. The reason is because the iPhone is the one most people care about.

Despite the "perception" that the iPhone 4 has a serious problem, demand has still out paced supply. They are essentially on back order.

It’s about time, Android. You have a GSM-only iPhone from one vendor that only sells a premium product. This should have happened last year, IMO, and I think it would have had vendors and carriers using Android OS not focused on teenage boys and had instead focused on devices and and OS that suited the average consumer. Thankfully, that is now happening with these new Android phones and hopefully for you 3.0 will push closer to iOS and BB OS (and presumably WP7) because I think a good portion of your lead will be killed these last two quarters of the year with the iPhone 4 release and an assumed CDMA iPhone.

Android should also be ahead of RiM right now, too. Sure, they have GSM and CDMA phones across all major carriers with a variety of price points, but they are still one vendor and still highly focused on the Enterprise. A year ago I would have expected Android to be trailing Nokia’s Symbian. Just because Android is growing rapidly, doesn’t mean they aren’t buggering up their growth rate

Its only rough thinking.

Neglecting the US entirely (taking 1/3 of Android sales out the equation or 3.5 million from Gartner, and the 2.7 million AT&T activated for iPhones from their quarter report) that leaves roughly 7 million Android devices and 6 million iPhones.

Thats roughly 50 something carriers that sell the iPhone and a Android devices worldwide, its not a landslide of a difference to be honest.

Good for Android, but note that the percentage gain in Android market share corresponds almost 1-to-1 with the loss of Symbian and Windows share. RiM also lost share. Since iOS's share still rose, I'll begin to worry only when Android (or some future system) actually eats away at Apple's business. Since the iPhone by phone standards is already a fairly mature product in comparison to Android, I don't see this as a sea change for Apple. If I were Nokia, though, it'd be a whole different story ... and not really looking like one with a happy ending.

Hardware isn't everything. First, most of their phones aren't that spectacular in the hardware department. They use the age old method of "X.X Gigahertz Processor!" and push other things that distract the buyer from the facts like cheap touchscreen that's not very responsive. not a iPod device, app store sucks, skinned interfaces lack consistency and slow the phone down...

The iPhone is a complete experience. It's an iPod, a phone, and does apps. It has a great app store, lots of quality professionally designed apps, iTunes connectivity, centralized control over firmware upgrades, yada yada yada.

I think when a CDMA phone comes out, and Verizon gets it, a lot of Droid users will dump their phones for it. Many would-be iPhone users are using Droids because they simply refused to leave their network for garbage AT&T. Those people will jump ship immediately.

Every once in a while I uncloak you from the ignore list, and every single time you deliver precious gems like the above and go back to ignored. Steve Jobs is neither devil incarnate nor sainted martyr - he is a businessman who currently has his finger on the pulse of consumerism in a very profitable way for his company. If he is a "self-created monster" the same can be said for everyone. Only someone with highly unrealistic expectations would demand that Steve Jobs ladle praise on the competition to downplay the successes of Apple. And that in fact would be you. I'm sorry you struggle with the success of Apple against all your expectations, needs wants and desires. But they remain facts no matter what. It's you and a select set of others who insist that Apple must be wrong if they are not perfect, according to your peculiar and oddly established standards. Apple will continue to make devices according to their own standards, based on what they see as being of interest to the consuming public. And as long as they continue to intrigue and deliver to that consuming public, they will be successful. Prove them wrong. Take your model, your expectations and build a company that demonstrates that Apple is categorically wrong and that your model and expectations are the more successful ones. Until then enjoy the lowered visibility.

First of all, this whole idea of market share making a difference is ridiculous. Apple still sells more and more iOS devices each quarter and that's what really matters, especially to developers. And the more applications they pump, the happier end users will be.

Second, Android is huge because there isn't a viable alternative operating system for all these hardware makers to use on their devices. There's LiMo, which is completely free and forces the OEM to do all the development work and then there's WinMo 6.5, which is an ancient OS by today's standards and has a licensing fee.

So there currently isn't a choice for OEM's, which translates into less of a choice for users, which means more Android phones being sold by default. Once Windows Phone 7 is finally released, we'll see how well Android does. But I'm betting if WP7 is actually a decent OS, by this time next year, Android's numbers will begin to decline.

These numbers are quite misleading. Apple makes two versions of one phone. How many Android phones are there?

That would be an interesting topic as well.

At the same time, shouldn't we at least acknowledge that this topic is significant from a platform viability perspective? Granted, the android platform is not as compatible/monolithic as the iOS platform, but this is still a meaningful topic.

It would be pretty scary if Apple out SHIPS HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG (etc...) COMBINED

Call me if anyone of them actually out SELLS the iPhone.

Again, why is it that people are dismissing the significance of total numbers for each platform. The absolute size and relative relative percentage of the iOS platform, or any other platform, are very relevant and meaningful metrics.

Yes, I enjoy owning an iPhone4. But that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in the size, viability, and success of other platforms.

That doesnt matter because this is about smartphones sold running said operating system.

Apple only makes 1 device, you either A, use it or B, dont. Do you think it would sell the exactly the same if they offered different form factors?

I don't see the reasoning behind asking this question other than for bragging rights. Why does a single Android device absolutely need to outsell the iPhone one for one?

Please enlighten me.

I've been in technology since I was 16 (1956)-- got a job at a toy company operating IBM 402 Accounting Machines.



They were programmed with a patch-cord panel.




I bought my first Apple product in 1978, and have purchased many since.

I get excited about most Apple products, but not all.

Apple products have never had the best hardware and software specs nor the best price.

Apple does have a way of taking quality components that are "good enough", combining them with great software, and tying it all together with an excellent User Interface / User Experience-- to deliver a "best in class" solution.

Often, Apple is defining a need we didn't even know we had -- Who needs to view an actual web page on a phone when we have WAP/WML?

This has been true since the Apple ][.

I got very excited by the Apple iPad for lots of reasons! But the big one is as a replacement for the 18 lb backpack that the kids lug/drag/wheel back and forth to school each day.

A device like the iPad can eliminate all that, an deliver a superior solution (and reduced costs) to all involved: students; schools; text book publishers; taxpayers...

It hasn't happened yet, but it has started...


That's damn exciting!

.

Volkswagon outsells Porsche. Toyota outsells Lexus. Bic outsells Parker. Levis outsells Brioni. Samsonite outsells Tumi. What's new?

I myself am not outright dismissing the metric. I'm just keeping it the metric in its proper perspective. Growing market share does not automatically equal the most profitable product.



Not every Android phone is a direct iPhone competitor, several are them are totally crap phones.

Let's review the expectations that Steve Jobs stated when the iPhone was first announced - he said they would be happy with just 1% of the cellphone market. Just 1%. Against all the Nokias, RIMs, Samsungs, Sanyos, Sony Erikssons, HTCs, Motorolas and [insert company name here]. What does that mean? Well, if you are a conspiracy nut it means that Steve Jobs was lying (and a self-made monster) and is sitting in his offices raging at his ineffectual staff for allowing Android, RIM and Symbian/Nokia to drive heavier marketshare than the iPhone/iOS platform. But if you look at it objectively what is actually seen? Apple has launched a handheld device ecosystem, which is currently generating more profit than any other in the market. It has an app store that currently has more developers and more applications available than any other, and generates more revenue per developer than any other. The ecosystem itself is available in more markets worldwide than the Android ecosystem. The ecosystem has the highest customer satisfaction rating of any other.

Google does not get any profits from the use of the Android OS. It is freely available to any OEM that chooses to use it, with no licensing costs. Google derives its profits from the mobile ad space of the Android ecosystem, but is hampered by the OEMs when it comes to timely updates, locked in carrier droneware and feature restriction. To be completely free of the carrier restrictions, the average Android user must have a Nexus 1, or jailbreak one of the current models and apply the most current update. However, as a partner to the carriers, Google is also responsible to not allow any jailbreaking apps to be in the marketplace. On average the handset makers introduce a dozen or so different models each year in the smartphone category, most of which are now coming with Android as the installed OS, and released through multiple carriers in the US. At a dozen or so to one, it was not just inevitable but expected that the class of "Android OS smartphone" would far outrun the class of "iPhone" smartphone" statistically in the marketplace.

a lot of you are really smart and you picked up on the fact that these numbers represent a TOTAL ANDROID and not the players that are easily enumerated: Samsung, Moto HTC etc. Good for them though. However, what will happen and it will happen very soon(mark my words) is that the glut of Android devices will erode the sells of new stuff and many players in this Android game will be forced out.
There is no control of Android by the cell vendors and there is also no wiggle room given the fact that they all run the same OS. The Android phone has become a pimped out commodity like the pc

Apple has a business model that spells SELF PRESERVATION. They are slowly growing their cell phone business and they control 100% of iphone.
Apple is doing just fine.
Sit back and relax and enjoy the Android implosion.

Market share growth doesn't automatically mean profitability.

In this report, they're reporting on mobile phones. If you want a mobile OS look at market share, then you're stuck with admob's guesstimations.

You know, for a bunch of Apple lovers, you guys are pretty on par with the Androids around you. I'm shocked! But some of you guys are taking this report too seriously. Complaining about market share of mobile phones to non-mobile phones is silly. Especially considering that to date there really aren't any Android devices in mass production that aren't phones. The Nook is the closest thing.

The competition is good but when you're in the Android world, you realize that our master Google doesn't care about our wide array of devices and how they function any more than Steve Jobs does. Google want's us to search the net so they can place ads everywhere for us to find, regardless of the device. Yeah they may add nice features to the OS, but ultimately it's the manufacture and carrier that decide what we get and don't get.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant) from T-Mobile and recently discovered that T-Mobile requested the front-facing camera be removed for God knows what reason (bandwidth maybe?). So at least you iPhone fanbois (or boys I'm not sure) and fangals aren't forced to lose too many features on your iPhones (tethering is the only thing I can think of) by your carriers. On the flip side you're stuck with your carrier or lose your device (or warranty if you're really brave). Sure you're in a walled garden but I can attest that it's rare anyone will install apps outside of the Android Market. The only outside app I can think of besides my own and alphas and betas from developer friends is Swype. But this feud between Android and iOS is getting old, quick.

These devices serve different purposes, for different people. I recommend iPhones to those either not technologically informed but are using feature phones or people new to smart phones. I also recommend the iPhone to people who are under utilizing their smartphones since they've missed the true use of the devices with the assumption text messaging works better on smartphones than feature phones and iPhones. For those who don't like AT&T but aren't technologically advance, I recommend a feature phone because that's all that's available. For those who use Palm/WM/BB and want a more consumer friendly phone, I forward them to Android, since the learning curve is similar to the last phone. And for those iPhone owners who don't want another iPhone and are aware and interested in Android, I point them to the Samsung Galaxy S, as it's basically a ripped off iPhone GUI for Android with two sets of icon home screens. My biggest complaint about the Galaxy is that it looks like the very phone I don't want, but it's the only 1GHz phone T-Mobile offers.

At the end of last year, I had the idea to create a free app that would allow Android and iPhone users to co-exist, by allowing one device to find the other devices apps. So an iPhone user could recommend their useful app to their Android friend and Android friend could share their app with their iPhone friends. Apps named exactly the same don't have this problem, but there are a few apps that provide the same functionality as their other OS counterpart with different names. But, after seeing the stink Apple made about the word "Android" being in one developers description, I realized that Apple wants to crush, not coexist, and our Android overlord wants our clicks, err touches, from both of us.

Shame because we both lose.

Exactly! Android's pretty successful in terms of selling phones, but despite possibly having greater marketshare than the iPhone, the App Store is FAR MORE LUCRATIVE for developers than the Android Marketplace. It's also been around almost as long as the App Store, so it's not like anybody can pretend it's still in its infancy. It will get the big name software like stuff from EA and Gameloft, but smaller developers are not going to waste their time no matter how many people have an Android phone if none of them are actually going to pay money to buy the software.

Extreme, you make some good points but you are overlooking one big item ..... carriers. You cannot make a valid comparison of one company, one carrier against the total sum of all the other companies on all of the other carriers .... it just doesn't mean anything. Even the most impassioned "fanbois" (and that might well be me) can't deny that, at some point, the sum of everyone else is going to be larger than any number Apple can achieve on it's own. So what .... it just isn't a meaningful stat.

But there is something else that no one can deny either. Apple has never set out to "dominate" the marketplace. Their philosophy has always been to make "insanely great" products that change the marketplace for the better and no one, I repeat, no one has done a better job at that than Apple.

Just ask yourself what the cellphone industry would be putting out today if not for the iPhone .... what the music player industry would be putting out today if not for the iPod ..... what the music industry retail marketplace would be like if not for iTunes .... what the small form factor consumption device would look like without the iPad. Would anyone else have created the App marketplace that exists today? ... I think not.

Apple may not ever be the "leader" in sales ..... but it will always be the leader in creating the most "insanely great" products out there. The proof of that is the fact that Apple is the most copied company in the tech industry ... and that tells me everything I need to know to validate my choice to back Apple.

Did you just compare Toyota outselling a Toyota brand? That's like saying iTunes on the PC outsells iTunes on the iOS.

And interestingly in Canada, you'll note how two of the carriers (Bell and Telus) are now using Android devices to differentiate themselves from the prime iPhone pusher (Rogers). Just look at Bell's promotion of the Samsung Vibrant (same as the Euro Galaxy S). They are pushing that just as much as the iPhone 4. And mere weeks after the iPhone 4 launch, Rogers is already moving to promote the Samsung Captivate (their Galaxy S variant). Also, all their plans are no longer iPhone exclusive. They are now all smartphone plans (whereas back in the day the 6GB for $30 was iPhone exclusive).

While a Verizon iPhone will certainly hamper Android's growth, I am really skeptical it will stop Android dead in its tracks. Just look at how much Android has grown in the UK, in a market where several carriers carry the iPhone:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07...android_sales/

If the iPhone was truly the Android killer people make it out to be, then how could something like this have happened?

It's just that we're moving into the phase where the iPhone and iOS won't have the touchscreen all-singing, all-dancing smartphone market to themselves anymore. And as Android emerges as a competitor you'll have a new equilibrium in the smartphone business. And just like the PC business, the iPhone will be a premium product like the Mac. And Android will be used by the vast majority of ordinary users.

Heck, the iPhone is already by price, a more expensive product. Sure it's same price as Android phones on contract. But you have to pay for all the differentiators (like navigation software) and that's not cheap. It's good for Apple's profits (they aren't paying to develop nav software), but expensive for users. And it's up to them individually to decide if the iPhone experience represents a better value proposition than the competitors.

Personally, I think there's merits to both platforms. I like Android on a phone. But as far as tablets go, nothing has topped the iPad yet.

They did make more profit on phone sales alone than all of them combined on all phone model sales.

Extreme, I don't think, for a moment, that Google cares about selling Android .... it only wants it to be on as many devices as possible to increase it's search business, wouldn't you agree? Google is a search company, first and foremost, IMHO.

Nobody buys an iPhone in Q2, because they know a new one is just around the corner. This “news” is nothing more than flamebait.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. ... just sayin' ...

Just because people keep saying this does not make it true.

They're both touch based. And that's about where the similarity ends. Desktop and widgets are huge differentiators. As is the notification system (drop down blind vs. pop-ups). I actually prefer the Android UI (particularly the stock UI on the Nexus One) to iOS.

The way you use the phones is fundamentally different. If you're an Android user you put on widgets for thinks like Facebook, twitter, sports scores, news, calendar, weather and even toggle switches for connectivity options. You glance down at those widgets to get info. You don't open individual apps. Notifications stay in the blind, until you action them. They don't pop-up and interrupt you.

You also more hard buttons, which again, changes the way you use the phone. Hard back button is something that takes a lot of getting used to (having it and then not having it on iOS). Hard search key is very hand feature. Short press, right into search. Long press into search via voice-to-text.

...which brings up the next feature. voice to text and voice command integration. It's amazing on Android. And an area Apple could really catch up on.

So with all that, how is one a copy of the other? If anything I'd argue Android is more Palm OS like, than anything.

Just wondering .... who "tests" the chairs you repair?

Ok? So? You still haven't shown why asking that question is important.

Again, why does a single Android device need to outsell the iPhone one on one? Will Android as a whole die if one doesn't?

Android is on more phone models sold by more carriers, while the iPhone is made by one company and sold by a single carrier in the US. So, this doesn't surprise me one bit.

Android will become the "budget" phone for those who can't get or afford an iPhone. Apple has always catered to the higher-end of the consumer scale, which doesn't necessarily translate into market dominance, but, does translate into large profits for the company and high customer satisfaction.

...for Microsoft. WnMo 7 better be something extra special! What are the odds?

The funny thing about this is that I'm sure that Motorola, HTC, and the other manufacturers of phones don't care one bit about this. Motorola, for example, is more interested in the number of phones Motorola sells! In fact, they might even prefer not to be lumped together under one banner, as that makes them look more like a faceless commodity brand.
The only company that this is a victory for is Google. It's like how Microsoft dominating the PC market was a victory for Microsoft but not so much the companies who made the PCs (how are the victorious PC manufacturers such as Dell, Acer, Compaq, etc. doing compared to poor little underdog Apple in the computer business these days?).

Is that really relevant in the grand scheme of things?

And personally I only consider OS vs. OS figures relevant. Saying Android is beating the iPhone is useless information for most people except the handful that own stock in one of these OEMs.