Android growth prior to iPhone 5 launch further established market dominance

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  • Reply 101 of 185


    Your metaphors are amusingly overwhelming, but it is also the sad truth. image

  • Reply 102 of 185
    You have to remember that Apple still is the number one manufacturer of any single phone. That alone should say something about how far apple is away from dying.
  • Reply 103 of 185
    Methinks there are a lot of "commentators" out there shorting Apple stock...
  • Reply 104 of 185
    sr2012sr2012 Posts: 896member
    v5v wrote: »
    And some former iPhone users are getting Samsungs because they're not that bad. Where I work the iPhone is still the dominant device, but a few people have switched. I haven't spoken to any of them about it at length yet, but their reasons for switching included things like preferring the bigger screen, liking how Android lets you customize things like "shortcuts" on the home screen that iOS doesn't, and the contract they wanted was not offered with the iPhone.

    My daughter has a Galaxy and it's a perfectly good smartphone. The screen looks fine, and the battery life is comparable to my iPhone 4.

    Indeed. At least someone here is "getting" it. :)
  • Reply 105 of 185

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kevt View Post


    By paragraph


     


    (1) As a user of Apple products rather than an Apple shareholder, I couldn't care less whether Apple, Google, Samsung or whoever is making more money. I care about the quality of the products I use, not whose pockets are being filled. (Though I resent the Ad-intrusive means inherent to Google's business model.)


     


    (2) Utter nonsense. Android succeeds in terms of marketshare because it competes in every sector. From the high end, where top Samsung models are selling reasonably well against the iPhone, to the bargain basement - and everything in between.


     


    (3) What's a 'take over'? Android could well 'take over' the smartphone market to the same extent and, gallingly, in exactly the same manner as Windows did. Sure they never eradicated Macs from the face of the earth, and it still a thriving platform. But things got worse for Mac Users as the Mac's marketshare shrank. Major developers who'd written great software for the Mac first, began to give more priority to PC versions - understandably. At the moment developers, for well rehearsed reasons, prefer iOS - it's a huge factor in making it a superior platform. But if marketshare trends continue, they will switch attention to Android first.


     


    Apple needs a less expensive smartphone. They showed in the development of the iPod range (which retained market dominance), that they could compete at lower price points than top end - without their products feeling cheap - indeed some of their best designed iPods were in their mid-range nano/mini models.


     


     


    (4) To value people by the products they use, or in many cases using the only devices they can afford, shows incredibly shallow


    judgment.



     


     


    Great post!  Smart, unbiased and logical! 


     


    It's one thing to be an Apple fan (which contrary to some opinions, I am and own a few Apple devices my favorite being my 64gb 4g Ipad) and another to be an Apple shareholder.


     


    I understand that being an Apple shareholder all things Google, Windows, etc. suck, but come on… they are not the devil on earth (I know that some will actually say they are)


     


    As fans we are able to recognize Apples strong points (there are many) but also their weak points (there are many as well). We are able to see how great the Apple environment is but also how great Android is becoming. There is no doubt Android sales are coming up because of the lower price points and advertising but not only. Whether you like it or not it’s becoming a great system. It wasn’t, but now a days it is (I know I’m going to get killed over this comments but what the heck). For me as a consumer looking for a good quality/function/price ratio Android was a pleasant surprise. The Iphone may be great but there is no way I am going to spring for >1000 USD for a 32 Gb unblocked iphone 5  (that’s how much it costs in most countries in Europe). No way!!! As great as it is and in spite  of being the best built phone, IMHO it’s not worth it!!!!!. It’s too expensive!!!  In the US, phones being highly subsidized so with the telecom contract they come out at much “nicer” prices. In many places in Europe (dare I say most) the telecom subsidy represents 30 to 50 USD less which in 1000 bucks is peanuts! Maybe that’s why the iphone has such a market penetration in the US than in the rest of the world.


     


    As for the apps, come on… most of the ones that matter are already on Google Play.  


     


     


    I sometime wonder how many people here have actually used a recent Andoind phone. Judging by the comments I don’t think there are many. 

  • Reply 106 of 185
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Not really, given that people consider their Android devices to have far less worth after only one year of use. By the time your two year contract is up, it's completely worthless. 

    Not so with an iPhone. 


    That's for sure. I'm looking for a used iPhone for my daughter and even 4S / 16 GB models are well over $300-400 in many cases. Heck, even broken ones are well over $200 a lot of times. I had hoped to find a broken one for $50 or so and then pay Apple the $200 replacement fee, but that doesn't seem possible.

    OTOH, when she lost her Android phone, I looked on the Internet and could have bought a replacement for under $50.
    v5v wrote: »
    And some former iPhone users are getting Samsungs because they're not that bad. Where I work the iPhone is still the dominant device, but a few people have switched. I haven't spoken to any of them about it at length yet, but their reasons for switching included things like preferring the bigger screen, liking how Android lets you customize things like "shortcuts" on the home screen that iOS doesn't, and the contract they wanted was not offered with the iPhone.

    "a few" is the key phrase. Another report on this site shows that well over 90% of iPhone users stay with the iPhone - an incredible retention rate and far above anyone else out there.
  • Reply 107 of 185


    Does anyone take into consideration how many androids are given away?


    A couple weeks back Verizon was giving away 2 for 1 family plan startup.


    Apple sells every single iPhone on its market.


    Seems like a false lead.

  • Reply 108 of 185
    hmmm, I thought I was perma-banned...

    yay
  • Reply 109 of 185
    Does anyone take into consideration how many androids are given away?
    A couple weeks back Verizon was giving away 2 for 1 family plan startup.
    Apple sells every single iPhone on its market.
    Seems like a false lead.

    It's a true marketshare lead...it just isn't as important as analysts, a lot of Fandroids, and most iPhanboys think.

    I don't care if my Nexus 4 is the most sold phone on the planet...I didn't care about whether the Nexus One had 10,000 sales or 10 million. I liked my phone.

    Why you lot care so much about something that literally has no effect on Apple's ecosystem, OS, quality, etc is beyond me.

    I know why Appleinsider posted this...to get clicks and the usual responses: Two spewing the horseshit "Eric Schmidt: Super Mole" unsubstantiated conspiracy by my count, "Android users are poor", "Android users are idiots", "we are Apple users we are better than all", "I gauge my self-worth by how many people use the same phone as I do", among other hilarious reflections of personal feelings of insignificance.

    Another day on AI...and they wonder why I can't find myself to leave.
  • Reply 110 of 185

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by v5v View Post


     


    And some former iPhone users are getting Samsungs because they're not that bad. Where I work the iPhone is still the dominant device, but a few people have switched. I haven't spoken to any of them about it at length yet, but their reasons for switching included things like preferring the bigger screen, liking how Android lets you customize things like "shortcuts" on the home screen that iOS doesn't, and the contract they wanted was not offered with the iPhone.


     


    My daughter has a Galaxy and it's a perfectly good smartphone. The screen looks fine, and the battery life is comparable to my iPhone 4.



    According to Apple]['s post earlier your daughter and my parents are low-income trash...

  • Reply 111 of 185


    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post

    hmmm, I thought I was perma-banned...

    yay


     


    Fixed.

  • Reply 112 of 185
    Fixed.

    so you...showcasing an immense abuse of power...perma-banned a user who was temp-banned and served out his sentence, simply because he was elated at the fact that he was not in fact perma-banned, and THEN, deleted his contributory post so as to make it look like he had nothing to offer to the thread but his post signifying his elation?

    Who do I report you to? It's one thing when I'm calling users names or reacting too passionately to the point where I give a bad example that may offend the person I'm replying to...I do not combat those as I know when I'm wrong.

    But here, you've shown yourself to be far too immature to have this sort of power.

    Go ahead and ban this name too, and delete this post to make it seem as though no one reacted to your childish antics.

    I am sorely disappointed that this forum where I go to for Apple news for my Apple products, which I do in fact own despite not being a fanboy, has promoted such a childish troll-on-other-forums to such a position of power.

    distasteful.
  • Reply 113 of 185
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

  • Reply 114 of 185

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post




    Swapping "Apple" and "Android" there it reads with equal truth.


     


    The bottom line is that both are here to stay. 


     


    No matter how many fans make angry posts in obscure corners of the 'net like this one, any single vendor will sell fewer units than multiple vendors.  We saw this with Macs vs PCs, and we're seeing it again with iPhone vs Android.  Nothing anyone writes here will change this fundamental dynamic.


     


    More importantly, it doesn't matter.  Apple has carved out for itself the high-end demographic, fulfilling the plan Jobs hinted for the company even while he was still at NeXT.


     


    Apple's doing fine.  Android's doing fine.


     


    The only people who aren't doing fine are those who don't want consumers to have a choice.  But fortunately for everyone else, that ain't


    happening.



     


    True, so true!!!

  • Reply 115 of 185
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brantdevlin View Post


    Does anyone take into consideration how many androids are given away?


    A couple weeks back Verizon was giving away 2 for 1 family plan startup.


    Apple sells every single iPhone on its market.



     


    So what? What difference does it make how users get their phones? It's a good way to gain a larger base of users, from which Google gathers larger pools of data that they leverage into more money from advertising and usage reports.


     


     


     



    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brantdevlin View Post


    Seems like a false lead.



     


    I dunno, seems like a working plan to me.

  • Reply 116 of 185
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,594member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brantdevlin View Post


    Does anyone take into consideration how many androids are given away?


    A couple weeks back Verizon was giving away 2 for 1 family plan startup.


    Apple sells every single iPhone on its market.


    Seems like a false lead.



    They're not given away any more than iPhones are given away. The service providers pay for them, and bury the costs in the contract.

  • Reply 117 of 185
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    No matter how many fans make angry posts in obscure corners of the 'net like this one, any single vendor will sell fewer units than multiple vendors.  We saw this with Macs vs PCs



     


    ...and VHS vs. Beta before that. That particular market force killed the technically-superior Beta format while VHS thrived, and we almost lost the Mac in the '90s. One dismisses the risk of lost market share at their own peril.

  • Reply 118 of 185


    The Android market share numbers are not really cause for concern. Outside of the 1st world, Android sale are largely irrelevant. In the 1st World, they mostly represent new smartphone users who don't understand what they are getting into, don't realize there are real differences between phones, and get Android phones pushed on them by fast talking carrier sale people. (Sure, there are a few tech geeks who are rabidly into Android, but their actual numbers are so tiny as to be of no consequence.) In tablets, Android isn't even a significant player, so irrelevant.


     


    These people do not get invested in the Google/Android ecosystem in any significant way that hinders their switching, and in large numbers they are switching, as their contracts come up for renewal, to iPhone. This is happening with every Android user I know but for a tiny handful of geeks who think they are cool rooting their phones. Just today, I found out another one I know switched. A person who always talked about how great their Android phone was. (Confirmation bias, obviously.) And not only did they buy an iPhone, they bought an iPad mini at the same time. Now they talk like they always had an iPhone, about how great it is to Face Time with their niece.


     


    It may come as a surprise to many of you, but I don't go around trying to convert these people to Apple users. I just observe what they are using and how they use it. Although, pretty soon it seems, if I don't significantly expand the circle of my acquaintance, I'm not going to know any Android users.


     


    Android may well find it's ascendancy ephemeral because the platform just doesn't seem to be able to hold users.

  • Reply 119 of 185
    Yet, how do you explain that far fewer developers have apps for Android?

    Standard Fandroid answer: "Users probably change the user agent on their browsers!"
  • Reply 120 of 185


    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

    Standard Fandroid answer: "Users probably change the user agent on their browsers!"


     


    Dang, I just saw a neat one yesterday and was going to screenshot it, but I can't find it anymore.


     


    It was something like "Mozilla/5.1 (DDDDDDDDDD DDD DDDDDDDDD) DDDDDDD; DDDDD D DD DDDDDDDD".


     


    Wasn't a spambot; they're not smart enough to do that. image

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