Quote:
Originally Posted by
Galeforce 
There's the rub. Unlike the US, where the handset cost difference is low compared to the service cost, there is a huge difference in price between iPhone and others. Most buyers of Andriod phones buy them as a cheaper alternative to iPhone rather than any dislike of Apple or like for "free and open" Google
I sold phones for 4 months last summer while I was unable to travel for my normal work and this was something that I saw literally every day.
The best selling Android phones aren't the high end ones that sell in the US, they are things like the Orange SanFrancisco, the HTC Europa and ones that are on run-out like the SGS and Desire.
Samsung have tried to capture more of the market by pitching the SGS2 low from day one and it will be interesting to see how that sells.
I have just come back from Paris and I have literally never seen so many iPhone and iPads. Wher money is no object, people buy iPhones
That's not what I am seeing in the Netherlands at least. Here the best selling android phones are the high end ones. But the high end ones can be a lot cheaper than an iPhone. For people like me, who do not call a lot, I can easily get by on a 30 euro contract - 150 minutes, 1000 SMS and unlimited data. I got a free HTC desire (top HTC at the time) on sale for half price for the first 12 months - (15 euro for 12 followed by 30 for 12). The cheapest ccontract I could get a free iPhone for was 35 euro per month for the full 24 months.
Here is an example page from todays phones - do not need to be able to read dutch to see how much cheaper an top end android. The price you see for the top end android are for the first 12 months, they double for the second 12 months. The price for iphone are the same for the term of the contract - 24 months.
http://www.vodafone.nl/shop/mobiel_b...ele_telefoons/
The iCloud may work strongly in Apples favour. I know a lot of people with android phones and an iPod - iCloud will mean you do not need a phone and ipod, just a phone. This may well mean, come upgrade time, that they go for an iPhone instead of a new android and a new iPod.