Nielsen: Apple's iOS holds at 28% in US as Android rises to 43% smartphone share

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  • Reply 101 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    Lol the iPhone is not a porche if any Android is a Kia. Some? Definitely. But to generalize like that is purposefully dishonest.



    The HTC sensation is not a Kia. The g2x is not a Kia. The Motorola cheapo is a Kia.



    The gains in Android share is due to the Kia type Android segment.
  • Reply 102 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    The gains in Android share is due to the Kia type Android segment.



    it's due to all the segments.



    The most popular phones are the benzes and the bmws of the Android world.
  • Reply 103 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    it's due to all the segments.



    The most popular phones are the benzes and the bmws of the Android world.



    provide a link to Android sales. The term "the most popular phone" can be meaningless in a large number of phones. If there are 100 phones, selling almost equally, getting 2% of the market can make you the most popular. In Android, it is the long cheap tail which is selling.
  • Reply 104 of 121
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    That's not really what happens though is it? That's some sort of fear monger exaggeration isn't it?



    Total exaggeration. The news media and the fandroids flip out because Apple is tracking you!!! Except it turns out it is just the phone, and Apple is never sent the data. Then goggle proudly announces that if you give them a number for a google phone they can tell you where it is within seconds...



    But I am sure it is good. After all, they do no evil, right?
  • Reply 105 of 121
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post


    The HTC sensation is not a Kia. The g2x is not a Kia. The Motorola cheapo is a Kia.



    I have to agree with this. The sensation i tested is more like a Jaguar. You know, it looks like a quality car on the outside, has ford taurus parts under the hood.
  • Reply 106 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shen View Post


    Total exaggeration. The news media and the fandroids flip out because Apple is tracking you!!! Except it turns out it is just the phone, and Apple is never sent the data. Then goggle proudly announces that if you give them a number for a google phone they can tell you where it is within seconds...



    But I am sure it is good. After all, they do no evil, right?



    Apple is rolling out several "features" meant to convince you to allow yourself to be tracked by them. Beginning with iOS5 they'll be making much more of an effort to lure their users into sharing location data via the perceived value of social and mapping applications, much the same way Google does. Knowing where you are, where you've been, and once Apple mapping appears, where you're going, makes you a valuable commodity to potential advertisers. The social element will be rolled into iOS5, and I expect the mapping before 2012 is over.



    http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2011/...ds-with-apple/
  • Reply 107 of 121
    muppetrymuppetry Posts: 3,331member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    Apple is rolling out several "features" meant to convince you to allow yourself to be tracked by them. Beginning with iOS5 they'll be making much more of an effort to lure their users into sharing location data via the perceived value of social and mapping applications, much the same way Google does. Knowing where you are, where you've been, and once Apple mapping appears, where you're going, makes you a valuable commodity to potential advertisers. The social element will be rolled into iOS5, and I expect the mapping before 2012 is over.



    http://www.rmtracking.com/blog/2011/...ds-with-apple/



    Yes - but they are doing it for very different reasons. Unlike Google, Apple does not make most of its profits by learning everything about you. They want to sell iPhones, which means they want to add features that people will use and find useful. Location-based features are very useful, and even more so if you can include large amounts of anonymized user data. It would make no sense to omit those just because a few paranoid commentators start screaming.
  • Reply 108 of 121
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by muppetry View Post


    Yes - but they are doing it for very different reasons. Unlike Google, Apple does not make most of its profits by learning everything about you. They want to sell iPhones, which means they want to add features that people will use and find useful. Location-based features are very useful, and even more so if you can include large amounts of anonymized user data. It would make no sense to omit those just because a few paranoid commentators start screaming.



    We don't know they're doing it for reasons any different than Google does.



    Whether it's their primary business or not, I have no doubt at all that Apple recognizes there's significant profits to be derived from using their extensive user-base as an attraction for advertisers and marketers. Read their privacy policy and it's plain that they have the right to gather and share both your private as well as anonymized data with outside partners and entities. With billions in profits at Google, what makes you think that Apple would have no interest in a piece of it? iAds was just a start.



    There's a breakdown of the changes they put in place with last years iOS4 update here, and an explanation as to why:

    http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/sec...cy-policy/3951



    It doesn't mean they're doing anything devious or underhanded, unless you feel Google's similar gathering and retention of personal data is somehow evil.



    There's a lot of businesses ranging from grocery and drug stores, mapping and gps companies, app developers, Facebook, MS, and various telematics companies that know how valuable you can be. Yes, Apple knows it too.
  • Reply 109 of 121
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
  • Reply 110 of 121
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shen View Post


    I have to agree with this. The sensation i tested is more like a Jaguar. You know, it looks like a quality car on the outside, has ford taurus parts under the hood.



    Lol. Clever.
  • Reply 111 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    I am aware of that in the UK, I've seen it before, and I believe that they've been doing it for a while. But those plans don't exactly seem cheap.



    Some of those UK carriers seem to have different monthly rates, depending upon which phone you choose.



    Since, you're actually too lazy (or wilfully ignorant) to look, I did it for you. O2 has an iPhone 4 for Free with a plan that costs 37 pounds a month. That's not expensive. Even in the UK. And definitely not expensive by global standards. That's about USD 58 for a plan that has unlimited incoming calls, 600 outgoing minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB of data. And for comparison, the same plan costs 32 pounds a month for a free Samsung Galaxy SII. This is for an iPhone 4 by the way. An iPhone 3GS can be had for free on plans costing as little as 25 pounds a month.



    The idea that these plans are expensive to get a free iPhone are utter rubbish. If you want to believe that a mere 5 pounds a month (USD 9) is what defines Android users as "cheap" be my guest. I'd suggest to you the flip side of that argument. Obviously the much vaunted Apple "experience" is simply not worth the extra 5 pounds a month to a lot of users.



    It's not Apple that gives away the phone. It's the phone company. And they will give you whatever you want as long as you sign a nice long contract with a high monthly rate. In Canada, it's quite normal for customers who already have contracts with the telcos to routinely get huge discounts or free iPhones when they renew their contracts on retentions terms.



    None of this is to say that the iPhone is not a premium device. It is. And I would never suggest otherwise. But the idea that premium Android handsets are significantly cheaper or are given away far more frequently than iPhones (this contention often being based solely on BOGO deals in the USA) is ludicrous. It hurts the phone company to give away a $600 Android handset just as much as it hurts them to give away a $600 iPhone.
  • Reply 112 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Onhka View Post


    What can I tell you, but apparently he had been directed to other sites (before he finally went to the Android Market site) from which he could download apps to his computer.





    Yet, even this does not make sense. The Android Market is pre-installed on his phone. It says it in the manual and on the box that this is the source for apps. But he went looking for apps elsewhere? And that too had to go through the trouble of side-loading instead of an OTA install from the Android Market. That's like saying he got an iPhone and immediately went doing a Google search on his laptop for apps instead of looking on the App Store. Then decided he would jailbreak his phone and get apps from Cydia rather than click on the App Store icon. Would that make sense to you?



    Sure Android has alternative venues (Amazon App Store for example) from where you can get apps. But the most natural way to do it, would be to click on the store icon (which looks like a shopping bag is called Market...lest there be any doubt) and open up the most populated app store that's natively installed on your device. I wouldn't even really think of using the website first.



    I'm sorry but your friend is an utter moron if he couldn't figure out something this basic, irrespective of what OS he uses.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Onhka View Post


    Again, my point was not to upstage so much the difficulty he had getting an app for his Android, but the enormity of selection that is apparently available today.



    The selection has improved dramatically in the last few months. I was sorely disappointed when I first got my Nexus One. But in the last few months, I've found the gap on app availabitlity between Android and iOS has narrowed significantly. Quality-wise Android apps still seem to lag iOS apps (and I strongly suspect this is why revenues are lower). That'll take some time to redress I suspect.
  • Reply 113 of 121
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jetz View Post


    Since, you're actually too lazy (or wilfully ignorant) to look, I did it for you. O2 has an iPhone 4 for Free with a plan that costs 37 pounds a month. That's not expensive. Even in the UK. And definitely not expensive by global standards. That's about USD 58 for a plan that has unlimited incoming calls, 600 outgoing minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB of data. And for comparison, the same plan costs 32 pounds a month for a free Samsung Galaxy SII. This is for an iPhone 4 by the way. An iPhone 3GS can be had for free on plans costing as little as 25 pounds a month.



    The idea that these plans are expensive to get a free iPhone are utter rubbish. If you want to believe that a mere 5 pounds a month (USD 9) is what defines Android users as "cheap" be my guest. I'd suggest to you the flip side of that argument. Obviously the much vaunted Apple "experience" is simply not worth the extra 5 pounds a month to a lot of users.



    unlimited incoming calls are free everywhere in the UK. On three the Samsung SII has 1G of data, 500 outgoing minutes, and 5000 texts. Which is about the same as saying unlimited. Cost is £27



    http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsu...T5D212&id=1184



    Now to get a bit simple for your benefit. The cost there is £12 per month difference ( the free iPhone costs £39 a month, as a post I copied showed, not £37). Thats £12 per month for 24 months. £288 over 2 years. About $450. Hardly insignificant.



    The real cost, the is off the shelf cost. I posted those recently. Take a look.



    the iPhone is expensive. That explains some of Android's inroads. My housemate's gf has an Android because she got herself the cheapest phone possible. Apple may not be at the cheapest level, but they need to reduce prices.



    ( that said she never buys anything)/
  • Reply 114 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by majjo View Post


    This pretty much covers everything. I've used an android device (an HTC Vision, aka G2), and I've used an iPhone 4. Neither platform is vastly superior to the other; they each have their strengths and weaknesses.



    Exactly. And I'm sick of die-hards that insist one is better than the other. And sadly the doctrinaire attitude actually prevents things from getting better. For example, Google could easily curate the Android Market, because unlike iOS, any Android user can always side-load apps if they can't get it on the Market. Yet, their open mantra compels them to allow any garbage on the market. Conversely, Apple takes the, "we're all about the user experience" mantra to the other experience. Banning cross-compilation tools? Come on.



    In reality, you're right, each platform has very specific strenghts and weaknesses. iPhones are polished, smooth and slick. However, I find them to be less of a productive tool but I can't personalize them to how I acutally use a phone. The desktop homescreens and widgets allow deep personalization. For me, for example, I have one homescreen that has all my reading apps and music for my commute. My prime homescreen has just different messenger apps (whatsapp, GTalk, SMS) and comms apps (Skype) and maps. This is what I use the most.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by majjo View Post


    Heh, I too am an ex-symbian user, and I definitely see the similarity between android and S60. A lot of people like to point to the pre-iphone blackberry-clone android prototype and claim that google copied iOS, however that doesn't make sense at all if you think about it.



    The screen was expanded, touch capability improved, and widgets were added, but the core of the UI was already in place before iOS came out. The status bar and notification system is largely unchanged. The concept of desktops and the app drawer was already in place. the 'menu-driven' system that a lot of apple fans like to point to is still there; hence why one of the dedicated buttons on android devices is [MENU].



    That is why I can never take the claim that android is a copy of iOS seriously.



    Fully concur. I too find the constant accusation that Google copied iOS to be absurd. Most ex-Symbian users would. It was clear right from the start that Google wanted Android to be the next Symbian and they've largely succeeded. To any Symbian user, Android feels exactly like you describe it, a vastly improved version of S60.



    And it's particularly odd that Android is considered a rip-off because of the grid of apps. That concept was there well before the iPhone. Every dumbphone has had a grid of apps. And it's such a small part of Android. Who really uses the app drawer for everything on their Android phone anyway? I can go days only using what I've place on my homescreens. That's the point of the desktop.



    I stand by my assertion that the only reason so many Apple fans think Android is a copy of iOS is because this is the first smartphone platform that many of them used. Had they used something else before, Android would strike them as far closer to those other platforms than it would to iOS.
  • Reply 115 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    unlimited incoming calls are free everywhere in the UK. On three the Samsung SII has 1G of data, 500 outgoing minutes, and 5000 texts. Which is about the same as saying unlimited. Cost is £27



    http://threestore.three.co.uk/dealsu...T5D212&id=1184



    Now to get a bit simple for your benefit. The cost there is £12 per month difference ( the free iPhone costs £39 a month, as a post I copied showed, not £37). Thats £12 per month for 24 months. £288 over 2 years. About $450. Hardly insignificant.



    Note that you are using one specific network as an example. I got my numbers from Carphonewarehouse. They spat out O2 as the best deal. They have the iPhone 4 there for 37 pounds per month. Check for yourself. So as per my research the difference is 5 pounds per month. That would work out to 120 pounds over the two years. Not insignificant to be sure. But not likely to be that significant to anybody choosing between an SGSII and an iP4.



    By the way, by your own link, the same plan (Text 500) is 35 pounds a month not 39 pounds a month. Please check your figures.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    The real cost, the is off the shelf cost. I posted those recently. Take a look.



    Actually, the real cost is the total cost of ownership which includes the price of acquiring the device and the plan that supports it over the monthly contract. But I will acknowledge there is a price difference. However, I dispute the fact that it's as much as some make it out to be. Especially where equivalent devices are concerned. There's bound to be a much bigger price difference for example between a dumbphone and an iPhone 4.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    the iPhone is expensive. That explains some of Android's inroads. My housemate's gf has an Android because she got herself the cheapest phone possible. Apple may not be at the cheapest level, but they need to reduce prices.



    ( that said she never buys anything)/



    I never said the iPhone wasn't expensive. But Apple ][ keeps bleating on and on about "free" Androids. That argument is clearly ridiculous and you know it. If the argument is that people get Android devices because they are "free", than clearly the same could be said for iPhones. Even if the difference is 12 pounds (on a different plan, on a different network from my example), the argument cannot necessarily be absolute (people get Androids because they are cheaper). It could be relative (people get Androids because they don't think an iPhone is worth 12 pounds more a month). Or it could have nothing to with a comparative argument at all. Some people may just like the Android OS. Is it that hard for some people to fathom such an occurrence?
  • Reply 116 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    The gains in Android share is due to the Kia type Android segment.



    BS. How can you say that when Samsung's best selling phone is the SGS II?



    I would suggest that this is just an urban myth in Appledom. The truth is probably somewhere in between. But I highly doubt that it's only the Kia types that are putting Android over the top. I'm willing to bet that the top of the line phones together are easily at least 60-70% of all Android sales, and probably more than iPhone sales, with the cheapos making up the difference. If you're on contract, and the difference isn't that much, why would you pick up a low end Android?
  • Reply 117 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    provide a link to Android sales. The term "the most popular phone" can be meaningless in a large number of phones. If there are 100 phones, selling almost equally, getting 2% of the market can make you the most popular. In Android, it is the long cheap tail which is selling.



    Samsung just sold 10 million SGSII in a single quarter. That one example alone is more than the "2% of the market" that "can make you the most popular".
  • Reply 118 of 121
    deleted
  • Reply 119 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by muppetry View Post


    Yes - but they are doing it for very different reasons. Unlike Google, Apple does not make most of its profits by learning everything about you. They want to sell iPhones, which means they want to add features that people will use and find useful. Location-based features are very useful, and even more so if you can include large amounts of anonymized user data. It would make no sense to omit those just because a few paranoid commentators start screaming.



    iAds.



    You're dreaming if you don't think Apple is going to roll out location based advertising before long. They've built in geofencing alerts into iOS5. It's hardly a stretch to think they'd combine this with iAds.



    And you have a double standard in this argument. Apple uses anonymized user data and Google doesnt?
  • Reply 120 of 121
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    I'm not sure they could offer a low-end model without risking brand dilution.



    They could. I don't think there'd be any brand dilution. iPhones are extremely common now. The whole idea that you have some exclusive device is quickly disappearing. However, people are still willing to pay a bit for an iPhone (though not as much as many Apple fans would like to believe). I think the risk to Apple isn't brand dilution but a reduction in their much vaunted profit margins, if more and more people switch to the cheapest version of an iPhone they can get.
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