That depends on what side you take. If there is truly a hardware issue then its not just about the media.
SJ is a self created monster. He likes to bash other companies like Google, Adobe, Microsoft so when something cmes out that doesn't look right everyone is going to jump on Apple. So maybe he should learn to shut his mouth once and a while.
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.
Even if the iPhone were to appear on Verizon, Apple would still lose the market share race. Apple doesn't license iOS, you can only get iOS on an iPhone. Android on the other hand is available on many different handsets. There's no way Apple could compete - no way.
As for blaming themselves, Apple is apparently content with their market share, as their business model is the same with OS X. They haven't screwed up, they do very well for themselves.
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.
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.
Then who asked you to remove me from your ignore list? Like I want to hear your opinion.
Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?
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.
These numbers are quite misleading. Apple makes two versions of one phone. How many Android phones are there?
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.
Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?
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?
Well I won't lie, when the iPad was first introduced I thought it was going to fail because I didn't really see a need for the product. I have one now and I find I use it more then just about anything else.
I still wish it had certain feature and hopefully it wil as the product matures. I guess for me I have been in technology since I was 19, I am now going to be 43 so having worked in the business for a few decades and always having to carry about cell phones, beepers and laptops the excitement tends to wear off..lol.
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...
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.
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.
Quote:
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.
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.
That's my other rant. Why is it "Android to iPhone" instead of "Android to iOS". iOS devices sold were over 17 million for the last quarter (counting iPod Touches and iPads) which puts them way over Android. Don't compare a whole OS to another OS's single variant.
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.
Market share growth doesn't automatically mean profitability.
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.
Your theory is flawed. The Evo, Incredible and Droid X all cost exactly the same as the iPhone with a 2 year contract. The reality is people like Android. There isn't anything keeping anyone from buying and iPhone seeing it has been on the market for longer then 2 years so anyone that had their contract expire could have moved to an iPhone over an Android based phone without any problems.
The only reality here is that Android has become a true competitor to iOS.
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.
Other carriers will now be able to push the iphone instead of having to compete with other models. In Canada, I often see iphone promotions coming from multiple carriers, thats a lot of free promotion... and this will make an impact on US sales.
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:
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.
Comments
That depends on what side you take. If there is truly a hardware issue then its not just about the media.
SJ is a self created monster. He likes to bash other companies like Google, Adobe, Microsoft so when something cmes out that doesn't look right everyone is going to jump on Apple. So maybe he should learn to shut his mouth once and a while.
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.
Even if the iPhone were to appear on Verizon, Apple would still lose the market share race. Apple doesn't license iOS, you can only get iOS on an iPhone. Android on the other hand is available on many different handsets. There's no way Apple could compete - no way.
As for blaming themselves, Apple is apparently content with their market share, as their business model is the same with OS X. They haven't screwed up, they do very well for themselves.
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.
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.
Then who asked you to remove me from your ignore list? Like I want to hear your opinion.
Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?
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.
Call me if anyone of them actually out SELLS the iPhone.
These numbers are quite misleading. Apple makes two versions of one phone. How many Android phones are there?
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.
Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?
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?
Again this is all Android phones combined essentially against one phone. Are there any Android handsets single handedly outselling the iPhone?
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.
Well I won't lie, when the iPad was first introduced I thought it was going to fail because I didn't really see a need for the product. I have one now and I find I use it more then just about anything else.
I still wish it had certain feature and hopefully it wil as the product matures. I guess for me I have been in technology since I was 19, I am now going to be 43 so having worked in the business for a few decades and always having to carry about cell phones, beepers and laptops the excitement tends to wear off..lol.
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!
.
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.
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.
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.
Not every Android phone is a direct iPhone competitor, several are them are totally crap phones.
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.
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.
That doesnt matter because this is about smartphones sold running said operating system.
That's my other rant. Why is it "Android to iPhone" instead of "Android to iOS". iOS devices sold were over 17 million for the last quarter (counting iPod Touches and iPads) which puts them way over Android. Don't compare a whole OS to another OS's single variant.
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.
Market share growth doesn't automatically mean profitability.
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.
Your theory is flawed. The Evo, Incredible and Droid X all cost exactly the same as the iPhone with a 2 year contract. The reality is people like Android. There isn't anything keeping anyone from buying and iPhone seeing it has been on the market for longer then 2 years so anyone that had their contract expire could have moved to an iPhone over an Android based phone without any problems.
The only reality here is that Android has become a true competitor to iOS.
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.
...Toyota outsells Lexus....
Did you just compare Toyota outselling a Toyota brand? That's like saying iTunes on the PC outsells iTunes on the iOS.
Other carriers will now be able to push the iphone instead of having to compete with other models. In Canada, I often see iphone promotions coming from multiple carriers, thats a lot of free promotion... and this will make an impact on US sales.
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.