Android gaining on Apple iOS in mobile web market share

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  • Reply 81 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    Apple *is* a mobile device company, and a software company and a hardware company and an advertising company and a music company and a book company and a video company and a television company and a microprocessor company and a touch screen company and a track pad company and phone company and a ...






    Right. I never disputed that they are now a general CE company.



    I disputed that they are similar to either Microsoft or Google. There is some overlap, but they are in different sectors of technology.



    Apple is now primarily in the business of making gadgets for non-technical computer-hating folks. Software, while never really important as a revenue source, is now even more the tail wagging the Apple dog.
  • Reply 82 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    In fact, not really giving a darn about what everyone else is doing seems to be a key element in Apple's mindset. Which could be why we don't have certain features like blu-ray in the computers even though everyone else is doing it.



    There is only one metric that apple uses in these decisions: What will generate the highest total profit?



    It matters not what any other company does, it matters not what their computers are like, except and to the extent it may affect Apple's profits.



    They figure that they will make more money without BD than they will make with BD. These things are not hard to understand.
  • Reply 83 of 348
    Apple is doing an unbelievably good job at staying at the bleeding edge of mobile computing. They keep upping the ante, so to speak. If you include the iPad within the arena of "mobile computing", they have upped the ante by a huge increment.



    Because they have been doing such a good job at upping the ante, their market share will likely not suffer in the foreseeable future. But it is difficult to judge how far out into the future this will continue. If I were to guess, taking into account the upcoming availability of the iPhone in new markets and new carriers, I would guess that the iPhone market share, of smartphone market, will continue to increase for at least another couple of years, perhaps longer. And with respect to the iPad, it is becoming apparent that this thing is going to be a whole lot more popular than probably even Mr. Jobs himself would have dared to hope as recently as a year ago.



    But it is not a question of whether Apple will eventually lose market share. It is a question only of when. The struggle between Oracle and Google will be resolved, almost certainly outside of the courtroom. Android will eventually become the predominant, de facto standard operating system for phones and for pads. It is not a question of whether this will happen. It is only a question of when. The best source of information for estimating what Apple's market share will be eventually, is their market share within the personal computer market. The mobile computing space is destined to eventually look much the same as the personal computer space looks at present. The prevailing factors that ultimately determine Apple's market share are fundamentally the same, with the exception that Apple has bolted out of the gate and that it is going to take a few years for things to settle out. The only way that this would not eventually happen would be if Apple continues indefinitely to find ways to differentiate their products from the competition. They are doing that amazingly well thus far, but this simply cannot continue indefinitely. There is a finite limit to the features you can add, and to how sexy you can make it.



    That said, chances look pretty good that the iPad is going to be a game changer for a longer period of time. I will hazard a guess that Apple will rule the pad space for the next five years at a minimum. This is likely to be a cash cow for Apple for at least that long. Consequently, I expect to see the continuation of dramatic growth in the value of Apple stock for at least three more years, perhaps longer. It seems entirely realistic to me to anticipate annual increase in the value of Apple stock of perhaps 25%, for at least the next three years, perhaps longer. I expect Apple stock to double in value over the next three years.
  • Reply 84 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    There is only one metric that apple uses in these decisions: What will generate the highest total profit?



    It matters not what any other company does, it matters not what their computers are like, except and to the extent it may affect Apple's profits.



    They figure that they will make more money without BD than they will make with BD. These things are not hard to understand.



    I agree 100% with this comment. And, I would add, it is the only metric that matters in the long run.



    At some point, Google will have to start to figure out a way to start to monetize Android (since they are not a charity, but a shareholder value-maximizing firm). That will be fun to watch......
  • Reply 85 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kaiser_soze View Post


    The real reason that Android is gaining market share is that a variety of manufacturers of mobile devices like it and are permitted to use it. Duh.



    Duh is right. Every manufacturer could like it, but that does not matter one bit.



    The reason why Android is gaining market share is because consumers are buying Android devices faster and faster, certainly at a much faster rate than iOS devices. Fewer relevant consumers are buying iOS devices compared to greater numbers of relevant consumers buying Android devices.



    These things are not mysterious. The rate of consumer purchases determines market share on a dynamic basis. The installed consumer base compared to competitors determines the static market share.



    The reasons for market share are consumer buying habits, and not what manufacturers "like".
  • Reply 86 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    I agree that OSX is brilliant and perfect for my needs. The question of it being retired is fueled by Apple's lack of information on the next major iteration of the platform. I honestly believe the Apple rotates their developers around (as Apple has attested to themselves) to have them gain fresh insights. My feeling is that a skeleton crew were working on OSX when iOS 4.0 was being crafted. Now I'm sure OSX 10.7 is in full swing..



    I'm reluctant to comment on OSX because I am not a software developer. I have enough on my plate being a software user.



    But...When Snow Leopard came out, it wasn't as much a leap forward as it was a foundation for things to come. So what happened?



    All I hear from Apple is iOS, iOS. I have iOS coming out of my ears. There is no information or even interest really on what is next for real computers that get work done.



    Seems to me that Apple has left the creative community behind in order to cater to teenagers who want to text and ping all day. Usually while walking or driving. Makes me sad.
  • Reply 87 of 348
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kaiser_soze View Post


    I thought the point was to maximize the return on the investors' investments.



    A common misunderstanding by people who don't understand Apple and think they are just another company. How much cash is Apple sitting on? When was the last time they paid a stock dividend? Apple is not beholden to their investors like so many other companies. Because they have no debt, they have far less interest in propping up their stock price as other companies do. Simply put, Apple is not about maximizing shareholder profits.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kaiser_soze View Post


    The comment to which you replied was simply and manifestly correct. This is just about as brain-dead simple as it could possibly be. The number 6% was pulled out of the air. It will change over time, and it's anyone guess exactly where it will end up. But the point of the comment to which your replied is essentially correct. The mere fact that iOS will run only on devices manufactured by Apple means that it is destined to a much smaller market share than the Andoid OS. This is a given, and is a guaranteed consequence of the fact that one OS is available to any interested manufacturer and the other OS is not. The question of whether it would be in the best interest of Apple investors for Apple to license iOS to other manufacturers is a different question and one that does not have easy answers. But the comment made by the manufacturer to which you replied is essentially truthful, and it is brain-dead obvious that it is truthful, and the reason why it is truthful is brain-dead obvious.



    And yet Apple manages to maintain a 70+% market share in portable music devices without licensing the iPod OS. And perhaps you are unfamiliar with how disastrous licensing the Mac OS was for Apple?
  • Reply 88 of 348
    As soon as I visited this review my conclusion was that AppleInsider's followers have to review this! http://hubpages.com/hub/rent-a-laptop-rentals . I can't comprehend renting a notebook at all! The cost of renting a portable computer for just a week and a half or so will cost you as much as going to the store and purchasing the netbook!
  • Reply 89 of 348
    Why not? Was the iPod touch counted? It doesn't have a phone, either. The numbers are incomplete.

    Will this company finally start counting ipads when there are android tablets? Oh, wait, there are! Are those android tablets included in the figures? Doesn't say....bogus numbers here...
  • Reply 90 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Newtron View Post


    The number of iPads is insignificant in the universe of browsers. Hell, the number of iPads is insignificant compared to the number of other iOS devices in the wild.



    The amount of browsing that those few iPads are doing is not insignificant. Here i am typing this on my iPad. I have also happily been watching BBC iPlayer on it for hours at a time. This is not so good on Android -- DaringFireball just posted about an article that said there have been 6000 BBC programmes streamed from Android devices (all of them), while there have been over 5,000,000 for iOS devices. The BBC has a great website optimised for the iPad.



    So, I reckon the studies can show that millions more Android devices are ACCESSING the web. Maybe they go by IP addresses or something. And maybe they are accessing the web more individual times: ie., likelly those Android devices are set to check their email like every five minutes and sync with their calendars, etc.



    But I highly doubt Android users are spending any serious time online browsing the web in any kind of comfort. I bet they can't wait to get back to their desktops. On the contrary, iOS users are eschewing their desktops in favour of browsing the web on their mobile devices!
  • Reply 91 of 348
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    At some point, Google will have to start to figure out a way to start to monetize Android (since they are not a charity, but a shareholder value-maximizing firm). That will be fun to watch......



    I think they pretty much figured it out. Slowly killing Android and charge for Chrome OS. The next major battle will be tablet anyway.
  • Reply 92 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    IMy feeling is that a skeleton crew were working on OSX when iOS 4.0 was being crafted. Now I'm sure OSX 10.7 is in full swing.



    Apple has plenty of money to deploy workers wherever profits are available to be made.



    They were not short staffed on OS X (if at all) for any reason other than that they chose to be so. They choose staffing levels based upon the potential profitability of various projects (just like Adobe). If you think that OS X is starved of talent, then the reason is that Apple chose to cut back on OS X engineers.
  • Reply 93 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by benice View Post


    Was actually a joke about Steve Balmer.



    But I do agree developers are just a part of the means to profit for Apple. Apple will throw developers almost nothing since devs already have the incentive to do the work and, second, Apple knows running the app store is not supposed to be any more than just part of the way of demonstrating iOS hardware/software value to consumers.



    Why on earth would you say that? You think they've learned nothing from their previous endeavors?Apple realized that they need the dev community and actively promote their well being. You only hear about the ones that got shafted because of a corner case rule, something Apple hadn't thought of. Or about the ones that are borderline legal that Apple doesn't know what to do with and in its typical secretive style won't tell you anything until it has decided.



    If 95% of app submissions are approved within a week, I'd be hard pressed to imagine that all devs hate Apple. We hear about the publicity generating minority, never about the outfits, big and small that are perfectly happy doing business with Apple.



    Find me a mobile platform that has paid out over a billion to devs consisting of 1 person to 50 person teams. There are none. Apple isn't stupid, they know they need to share enough to keep the devs on board.
  • Reply 94 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Apple is not beholden to their investors like so many other companies.





    This is delusion. Apple has one and only one goal: Shareholder value.
  • Reply 95 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by krabbelen View Post


    The amount of browsing that those few iPads are doing is not insignificant.



    What do you base that on? It seems to be the premise you rely upon, but I don't see any support.



    Got any facts to prop up that crucial contention?
  • Reply 96 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Unless Apple licenses iOS, it has no chance of fending off Android. Android will be as ubiquitous as Windows and Apple will be at 6%, again.



    Did you ever stop to consider that Apple might be happy right where they are? Why does Apple need to have a 20%, or 30% market share. Larger market shares require more investment and management. Apple is doing quite well for the share holders with the current market share. Also, considering they have only ONE phone, they are doing quite well. The only thing missing from your argument is the: "Apple uses old hardware" debate which has been proven lame in the past.
  • Reply 97 of 348
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by striker_kk View Post


    Why do u think Apple is not a software company? Because Press said so? Because Steve said so? What is the prerequisite for a company to be called a software company?



    That they only sell software. D'oh.
  • Reply 98 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Unless Apple licenses iOS, it has no chance of fending off Android. Android will be as ubiquitous as Windows and Apple will be at 6%, again.



    Apple is increasing output to > 5 Million iOS enabled systems per month. I'll take 60 million+ users annually at those margins.
  • Reply 99 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    They don't need to license iOS. That would be pointless because the whole point is optimizing the hardware/software combination. There's no way Apple would optimize the software for another manufacturer's hardware. So all you would have is a bunch of crap devices running iOS subpar and taking sales away from Apple. Stupid.



    What they need to do is get iPhone on other carriers. ATT only represents about 1/3 of the US mobile market. That gives Android a 3-to-1 addressable customer base advantage over iPhone. That an imbalance Apple needs to fix if they want to compete with Android on a level playing field in the US.



    Yes, look at what has happened to the iPod!



    Also, Android market share outside the US (where in most countries there are other carriers) is 1/10 of Apple's
  • Reply 100 of 348
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    Unless Apple licenses iOS, it has no chance of fending off Android. Android will be as ubiquitous as Windows and Apple will be at 6%, again.



    Ok- I see your reasoning, but I disagree- I think that as long as iOS can maintain a quality feel over Android with inertia scrolling,etc it will be preferred- but it must go multicarrier asap. I think that is the big thing. I don't know a single person that actually bought a droid because it was superior to the iPhone- they all bought it because they can't get an iPhone and won't leave Verizon to do it, and it is the next best thing available to them. Here's to hoping that this market data is inspiring Apple to figure things out and get the iPhone to sprint, Verizon and tmobile's networks.
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