Does the iPhone have any "real" competition yet?
Have any iPhone killers actually killed, injured, or slowed down the iPhone? Who has dealt the worst blow? The Pre was hailed as the first "real" competitor, mostly because it copied as much as it could from the iPhone, IMO. Since its rushed launch, it has been plagued with hardware and software problems alike. The SDK is a joke, the app catalogue, not worth mentioning. The PreCentral board is full of posts from people complaining about their experience with the device. It seems as though it has to be jailbroken to be remotely functional. It is not uncommon to go through several devices before landing a good one. Palm is still on a death watch.
I have not kept up on the other competitors nearly as much. Does anyone have any insight on how the Droid is doing? How about the other would-be iPhone assassins? Time to sound off about the state of iPhone competition.
I have not kept up on the other competitors nearly as much. Does anyone have any insight on how the Droid is doing? How about the other would-be iPhone assassins? Time to sound off about the state of iPhone competition.
Comments
Maybe if there was a marketing team somewhere near as good as Apple's, another company might stand a chance.
The Droid has done well, but it won't take off. No current player in the retail game has the ability to make a product as complete or as desirable as Apple....so, No is the answer to your question.
Maybe if there was a marketing team somewhere near as good as Apple's, another company might stand a chance.
I have to disagree. The Droid has already taken off. To my knowledge, it's generated the largest volume of sales of any phone on a single carrier on a single weekend since the iPhone itself.
But it's not exactly a single device that is competing against the iPhone, as it is Android as a whole. There is no disagreement that Google's OS has taken off at a tremedous rate (fragmented, as it is) after Verizon's whole Droid campaign. It's even venturing into places that the iPhone OS hasn't even touched yet.
No there hasn't.
The routine is becoming clear.
The new and galant smartphone enters the arena to the cacophony of cheers ready to do battle with the iPhone and its allies (apps). The newcomer fights valiantly but after a while it becomes clear that he doesn't have the stuff to gain victory. 6 months later yet another newcomer enters the fray with an even strong iPhone squadron to fight.
The Tech Press ranting and raving about the Droid or Android is just them filling up web space with "something". The 3GS is halfway through it's cycle and it's still faster than the Droid in many areas and has a 5x advantage in applications and who knows how many more iPhones in theater.
"New broom sweeps clean" is a beloved template of long standing.
"iPhone still good" isn't much of a story. The press thrives on conflict; if it isn't forthcoming they'll invent it.
"New broom sweeps clean" is a beloved template of long standing.
Probably why Droid won gadget of the year and not Apple's iPhone.
RIM pushed out 10 million phones last quarter. Android share according to Admob climbed from 20% of requests to 27% of requests in ONE month while Apple held steady at 55%.
The real problem is that most people are declaring the game over while failing ot realize that quite the opposite, it has just begun.
The fact that Apple's dominating on just one carrier in the US cannot be understated .
Android is certainly growing as well as RIM. The amazing thing is this, the iPhone is available on just one carrier in the US. Android, Blackberry etc are all avail to almost everyone. Everyone knows the minuter the iPhone hits Verizon Apples numbers jump considerably.
The fact that Apple's dominating on just one carrier in the US cannot be understated .
Actually it can be understated because Apple sometimes picks their spots and won't yield on them no matter the cost. Steve Jobs and Apple have wonderful visions and most of the time I absolutely agree with their choices. However declaring the iPhone will end up on Verizon is just like declaring Apple will come out with a mini-tower soon or perhaps a nice two button mouse. Just because it makes sense and because everyone else does it doesn't mean Apple will at all. They will choose margin over sales. If AT&T will give them what they want per phone then Apple will take it to the bank and forget developing additional models.
I suspect things are going to be quite heated with the next round of upgrades. People are expecting resolution upgrades for example but Apple showed with their laptop resolutions they won't go up just because the competition is doing so. If it harms the user experience, they will stay with the same resolution. A lot of these parts are cutting edge and Apple isn't in a position to demand prices be discounted as the only party who can guarantee x million of sales. Apple has been very incremental with the iPhone and has stuck to the "vision" instead of producing multiple models to match multiple needs and price points. I'm worried because I remember Apple of the late 80's and early 90's and it is starting to feel very similar to then. I would love to be wrong though. I'd love Apple to roll out an even more stylish and even better of the HTC HD2 that is out right now and looks amazing.