NPD: Android phones now outsell Apple's iPhone in US

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  • Reply 81 of 278
    mark2005mark2005 Posts: 1,158member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This part is important not to forget though.



    Surveys are not a good source of sales figures. This whole thing is based on those "How many devices based on Android did you buy this year?" kind of questions. People lie on those things. A lot.



    Agree. I thought NPD usually collected its data at retail points-of-sale. I wonder why this study didn't use that data, but instead turned to consumer surveys. Very strange.
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  • Reply 82 of 278
    bwikbwik Posts: 566member
    Why is AI rendering so poorly now in Safari? Anybody else having the ads take over the entire screen?
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  • Reply 83 of 278
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    150,000 completed surveys each month, eh? Does NPD keep pestering people until they get 150K? Who do they pester?



    How do we know respondents purchased smartphones in the indicated month?



    Does anybody here recall filling out one of these surveys?



    Where are the error bars?
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  • Reply 84 of 278
    asianbobasianbob Posts: 797member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by imacjenn View Post


    More control until they stop updating whatever version of Android the phone you get is running. Which may happen as soon as you get it, or in the time thereafter - but it will happen, and then you won't be able to use most of the "new" apps and maybe not even your old ones.



    The best part of what you say is that there are the developers who do keep supporting Android phones when the manufacturers start falling behind. In many instances, the ROMs that they come out with are faster, more stable, and more feature-rich than what the manufacturer would have put out.



    But this, of course, requires the user to root the phone. Will most do it? Maybe not. But if they choose to do so, there's tons of YouTube videos showing the whole process from start to finish and link to all the files you need.



    But if the hardware's too old to run the newest OS or ROM, then it's probably time to upgrade that anyway.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Maestro64 View Post


    What you will see with Android is people will drop the extra service since they could not afford the phone in the first place.



    Apple is only going after that people who can afford to pay for the phone and pay for all the services that come along with it.



    BTW even Motorola is not doing any new flip phones and they were the originator of that idea (grant it the idea was taken from Star Track) has abandon the idea these days



    That is the biggest load of crock I've ever read. Why would someone buy a phone that they clearly couldn't afford in the first place? It's not like they hide the monthly plans from the user when they sign up.



    Both Android and Apple phones cost $199.99 (mainstream). The rest is all carrier fees. If they couldn't afford the plan, then that's on the person and the carrier, not because they bought an Android phone or an iPhone.



    For what it's worth, my roommate with an 3GS has more or less the same monthly statement as me.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    For example, the overwhelming majority of Android phone customers have NOT upgraded their OS. The main reasons given are related to fragmentation - and the fact that there's no single Android upgrade. You have to track down the one specific for your phone and OS version and then apply it manually. For most people, it's not worth the bother. The funny part will be when Flash 10.1 comes out - it's going to greatly highlight how much of a pain it is to upgrade an Android phone.



    As far as I can tell, Android phones get a nice little dialog box that pops up that tells you there's an OTA (Over The Air) upgrade available for the OS. Press "Ok" and it'll automatically download the right update, then another button press will apply it and reboot the phone. No tracking down of anything needed.







    What you describe is for people who are applying the update after-the-fact or are impatient when an update is being rolled out. For example, when Verizon tiered the update (to keep their servers from overloading) over the course of a week for the Droid. Those of us that got it early on allowed it to download and the extracted the update file and posted it online for the everyone else to get. Everyone else just waited for that nice little box to pop up.
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  • Reply 85 of 278
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BananaRaMa View Post


    TBH...this was inevitable. The Android phones are better in every way, apart from the app store



    Actually, Droids aren't. For instance, the brand spanking new Droid Incredible [sic] has storage for only about 512MB of apps, compared to 16 GB for the 2-year-old iPhone 3G; Verizon's network is slower than AT&T's; and as publicized here on AI, the iPhone touch display is more accurate than Motorola Droid and Nexus One.
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  • Reply 86 of 278
    freediverxfreediverx Posts: 1,424member
    A couple things to consider...



    1) All those android phones have different hardware, features and different versions of the Android OS. This means that they cannot be considered a single platform for developers to create apps for.



    2) Android's lead is very recent. Most prospective iPhone buyers are waiting for the next version of the iPhone, due next month. It will be interesting to see how sales figures compare after Apple's 4.0 release.
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  • Reply 87 of 278
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post


    What you describe is for people who are applying the update after-the-fact or are impatient when an update is being rolled out.



    Nope. Android market fragmentation is about Google releasing Android OS updates (like 2.0, 2.1, 2.2) and these updates aren't available for handsets that were shipped with 1.5, 1.6, etc. and maybe never will be available. "Impatience" has nothing to do with it. Quality of services does. Android OS is "open", which means Google is developing largely independently of the handset manufacturers. It's up to the manufacturers then to adapt each update to their old products, as well as future products. Only then will customers see an update available on their old handset. Where do you think the money is for a handset manufacturer, in providing updates for old handsets especially when each manufacturer has only a small fraction of the overall market?
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  • Reply 88 of 278
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    To be picky for a moment, there are two iPhone models on the US market right now, and that's if you ignore the color/capacity variations.
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  • Reply 89 of 278
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I'm confused. So is Apple the "Dell of MP3 players" because the iPod has something like 70+ percent marketshare? In a way, I think they are -- the iPod touch has been relatively stagnent feature-wise since it was released nearly three years ago. Hell, the second generation didn't even bump capacities.



    Not the same. The other person said that Android was becoming the Dell of smartphones - meaning the cheap end of the market where price is the most important driving factor rather than quality or service.



    That clearly does NOT apply with the iPod. In fact, the iPod is fairly unusual in that it's a premium product that still owns the market. There are few markets where that is the case.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BananaRaMa View Post


    TBH...this was inevitable. The Android phones are better in every way, apart from the app store, and as the android phones get more publicity, then they'll get more sales.



    "better in every way" except for the things that matter - applications, usability, quality, service.....



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post


    As far as I can tell, Android phones get a nice little dialog box that pops up that tells you there's an OTA (Over The Air) upgrade available for the OS. Press "Ok" and it'll automatically download the right update, then another button press will apply it and reboot the phone. No tracking down of anything needed.







    What you describe is for people who are applying the update after-the-fact or are impatient when an update is being rolled out. For example, when Verizon tiered the update (to keep their servers from overloading) over the course of a week for the Droid. Those of us that got it early on allowed it to download and the extracted the update file and posted it online for the everyone else to get. Everyone else just waited for that nice little box to pop up.



    That's the way most of the junk out there 'works'. On paper, things work well. In the real world, they aren't worth anything. There was an article on this forum just a few days about about how few Android users ever bothered to upgrade their OS - because of the difficulty of tracking down the upgrades (due to fragmentation). Maybe it's supposed to work smoothly, but in the real world, it doesn't.



    That's what sets Apple apart - they design systems from the start to work properly. Sure, it means that I only have 6 iPhones to choose from rather than 600, but as long as they meet my needs, I'll take a system that works well over a system with 10,000 options any day.
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  • Reply 90 of 278
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    You'd have to be daft to buy an iPhone in April or May.



    Check back with me next month...
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  • Reply 91 of 278
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AsianBob View Post




    That is the biggest load of crock I've ever read. Why would someone buy a phone that they clearly couldn't afford in the first place? It's not like they hide the monthly plans from the user when they sign up.



    Both Android and Apple phones cost $199.99 (mainstream). The rest is all carrier fees. If they couldn't afford the plan, then that's on the person and the carrier, not because they bought an Android phone or an iPhone.



    For what it's worth, my roommate with an 3GS has more or less the same monthly statement as me.




    People do it all the time, i seen people with the very first of those phones who dropped the data service, and just use it a fancy phone. Hell my son has the first gen iphone from my wife and does not have data because we will not pay for it.



    On your second point, yes they both sell for $199. (cost is a different discussion) however, Apple will not allow the phone to be given away, on the other hand HTC is more than happen to allow their phone to be given away which in a sense says the phone has no value to the consumer, VZ and and the such is still paying HTC the $250+.



    It does not matter what VZ pays HTC, it now means consumer see the Andriod phones had having no real value. If you do not believe me take a good product marking course, these give away are a death nail for products.



    If you ever sell products you will learn the Price is always the Price, as soon as you lower or provide some sort of discount or incentive then the price is not the price anymore. Apple even learn that with the original iphone when the lower the price, people complained.



    I think someone else said this too, about the automatic updates, this is provider dependent, yes it is available and does happen, but if the provide does not enable the most recent update you will not get the notice. I know this for a fact since I have Driod phone and only found out an update was available when I go an email about it and forced the phone to check for the update. Also, of updates for apps are available you do not find out about them until you go to the market place and check, unlike the iphone where it tells you app updates are available and it also shows on itunes. Here is the best one, I had to reset my droid and lost all the apps so now I had to remember which ones I had and reinstall them. unlike the iphone i just hook it to the mac and everything is restore as it was before having to do a reset.
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  • Reply 92 of 278
    phastmacphastmac Posts: 12member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jdavy View Post


    I was a long time user of the iPhone since the second day of the first issued one. I recently got an Incredible not because I like the android. I wanted Verizon. I need a phone that worked. iPhone is great but At&T sucks. If Verizon gets the iPhone I will be back in a hart beat. As for now, I am happy with my four iPad 3g 64gb for the family. AT&T data is ok.



    Geez, four iPad, Wow! I just picked up a 32Gwifi iPad for my wife for Mother's Day, and I was reluctant to get one since IMO the iTouch was a better value.
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  • Reply 93 of 278
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mark2005 View Post


    Agree. I thought NPD usually collected its data at retail points-of-sale. I wonder why this study didn't use that data, but instead turned to consumer surveys. Very strange.



    I should add that I believe Android sales are temporarily, slightly, nudging up above iPhone sales anyway. The effect is overstated for a variety of other reasons already mentioned on this thread, the survey effect being one of them. The picture is totally different if you include the iPods and the iPad, the fact that the new iPhone model is imminent and a bunch of other stuff as well.



    What I find interesting is that the iPhone does as well as it does being only a single model that is neither promoted nor advertised by the cell phone companies at all, when the reverse is true of the competition.



    In my country, (Canada) the iPhone is carried by all the major carriers and yet advertised by none of them. If it wasn't for the fact that every second person you see on the bus or the train has one, you wouldn't know it was even available for sale.



    I can only assume that the other cell phone manufacturers pay the cell providers some kind of blood money to be included in the advertising and that Apple doesn't do this.
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  • Reply 94 of 278
    asianbobasianbob Posts: 797member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Foo2 View Post


    Nope. Android market fragmentation is about Google releasing Android OS updates (like 2.0, 2.1, 2.2) and these updates aren't available for handsets that were shipped with 1.5, 1.6, etc. and maybe never will be available. "Impatience" has nothing to do with it. Quality of services does. Android OS is "open", which means Google is developing largely independently of the handset manufacturers. It's up to the manufacturers then to adapt each update to their old products, as well as future products. Only then will customers see an update available on their old handset. Where do you think the money is for a handset manufacturer, in providing updates for old handsets especially when each manufacturer has only a small fraction of the overall market?



    You've missed the point of my post and/or are reading too far into it. He was talking about how to upgrade the handset. Claiming that an Android user has to hunt through the internet to get an update when it's provided for their phone. I'm saying that that only applies to the people who either:



    1. Tinker with the phone and are looking for the latest developer-created ROMs (so they can have a 2.1 OS when they're "officially" at 1.6) and get the 2.1 apps/features

    2. People who don't want to wait for their tiered update to happen on their device when an update is rolling out



    For Android, when an update is made available the pop-up (image in my post above) will show on the screen and pressing "Update Now" will automatically do the whole update prcedure without needing to hook up your Android device to any computer.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    That's the way most of the junk out there 'works'. On paper, things work well. In the real world, they aren't worth anything. There was an article on this forum just a few days about about how few Android users ever bothered to upgrade their OS - because of the difficulty of tracking down the upgrades (due to fragmentation). Maybe it's supposed to work smoothly, but in the real world, it doesn't.



    That's what sets Apple apart - they design systems from the start to work properly. Sure, it means that I only have 6 iPhones to choose from rather than 600, but as long as they meet my needs, I'll take a system that works well over a system with 10,000 options any day.



    Actually, this is exactly how the upgrade process works in the real world. There is zero need to track down an upgrade (aside from the tinkers). While it's true that the manufacturers have been slow to provide upgrades, when they do provide them, it's always going to OTA and that box will always pop up on your device allowing you to upgrade.



    Android has been that way since the G1 came out and it's that way on the latest devices. You might notice that the device the image was pulled from was running 1.5, which is now the lowest version of size being used.



    I'm thinking that you made up the whole "tracking down the upgrade" bit at this point...
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  • Reply 95 of 278
    qualiaqualia Posts: 73member
    What's sad is that fanboys are still going to cry that Apple is an EVIL DRACONIAN GESTAPO MONOPOLY!



    It's funny how the Android fanboys believe that the Android market share is higher because people genuinely prefer an Android phone over an iPhone and not because manufacturers have flooded the market with many more second-rate devices while carriers resort to giving them away in 2-for-1 deals. It's as bad as the fanboys who think the PC market share proves the PC's superiority over the Mac even as PC manufacturers struggle to make a profit in their race to the bottom, and let's not forget that they're comparing the market share of dozens of different companies, many of whom sell cheap-quality made-for-Walmart products, to one company that specializes in the high-end.



    I'd like to see Apple and AT&T do that 2-for-1 deal on the next iPhone. Imagine the excitement that would cause! Of course, unlike the superior Android manufacturers, Apple doesn't need to resort to such gimmicks to sell out fast.



    The Android phones aren't bad phones-though I don't care for how blatantly they try to ape iPhones-and I even recommended a Droid to a friend stuck on Verizon, but I have no doubt that she and many others would rather have an iPhone if they could. Unlike the tech community, they don't care about SDK licenses, developer freedoms, or App Store politics, and if they want more "freedom" in their device, they can jailbreak it.
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  • Reply 96 of 278
    goldenclawgoldenclaw Posts: 272member
    This is the case for exactly one reason.



    AT&T.



    Apple chose to pick the worst provider in the country (in addition to no unlocked version being sold) and if they suffer market share as a result it's their own fault.



    If I wasn't able to get my iPhone working on T-Mobile I would not be using an iPhone either. I'd suffer using a Nokia or Android rather than putting up with AT&T for another minute. End of story.
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  • Reply 97 of 278
    macheimachei Posts: 83member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by msantti View Post


    Enjoy your Android phone.



    You will be back.



    Heh. This is sorta silly. I had the *exact* same thing said to me when I mentioned I was buying an HTC Hero last year. I got the device, I'm loving it, and it serves me just fine.



    Android is a good platform. If it stunk, then it wouldn't be on any study. If I were to buy a phone today, it'd be another android device. They are not bad devices, and no everyone who leaves will come back.



    Choice. It's good.
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  • Reply 98 of 278
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,606member
    I think it shows that people want the Touch experience of the iPhone on VZW. I think it is that simple.
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  • Reply 99 of 278
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by deepen03 View Post


    this study is so false! they are comparing the entire Android-based phone division to a single phone? Its funny how there is only one phone on the market with iPhone OS, but like 20 different types of Android phones?



    this is so bogus. As an iPhone owner, I feel insulted.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mesomorphicman View Post


    Doesn't the title say it all... Android Phones (plural) outsell the Apple iPhone (singular)... No point in even reading the article - as I did not. Why doesn't Car and Driver say, "All GM cars outsell the Honda Accord."





    Good god.
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  • Reply 100 of 278
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    The collective cell phone industry has always outsold the iphone. Duh! Apple only releases 1 iteration a year. That is their current business model. They don't saturate the market like NOKIA.



    But since Android, the cell phone folks have adopted it like crazy. In effect Android has piggybacked on what was an ALREADY DOMINATING cell business anyway. DUH! DUH! DUH!

    It isn't like Google was producing its own phone taking into account the cost of hardware, design etc.
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