Google's Android Beats Apple's iPhone This Quarter

[quantum mask]

[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]Maybe you should have read the final line in the articleReading fail.[/citation]
No sir, you fail, he was refering to the Apple spokesperson's comments, not NPD's survey! MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ!

 

[tayb]

[citation][nom]matt314[/nom]Her argument is pretty lame... Why would they include ipods in a smartphone comparison?[/citation]

It's more complicated than you are making it seem. Sure, if we want to look at smartphone market share for the first quarter you can look at these numbers and conclude that all Android devices outsold the iPhone but it's more complicated than that.

If we are talking about OS dominance you have to include all devices that run said OS. For Apple that means that the iPod, iPhone, and iPad are all included and for Android that means all the smart phones plus I guess the Archos 5 and whatever else that is running Android. If we are trying to see which OS had a bigger market share in the quarter you need to compile all products running said OS, not just smart phones.

 

[quantum mask]

[citation][nom]onlyone[/nom]christopherknappdheadleyRagnar-Konand who's bloody fault is it that hardware peeps can't plonk the iPhone OS onto a different device and be used on a different carrier, it's not that iPhone needed 1, it only has 1... and then you lot go and make it sound like a good thing.....[/citation]
RIGHT SAID!! Apple and Google's business models are different from each other. Obviously. Since Google chose to use an open platform for it's devices, naturally, manufacturers will be drawn to it. Eventually, Android will overrun the market because the OS is essentially free and after a while it just won't make sense for a manufacturer to pay to license an OS from anyone, be it Windows, Apple, or Symbian. Having a free OS will bring their manufaturing costs down. Let's face it, Google has a good thing going for itself and it appears to only be getting better.

 

[tayb]

[citation][nom]Abrahm[/nom]This is fantastic news for Android, and a trend that is likely to continue well into the future! This is a platform war much the same as the Windows - Mac platform war of the 80's/90's, and it appears Steve didn't learn his lesson the first time around.[/citation]


If it is a platform war then you have to include the iPod Touch and iPad alongside the iPhone because they are all running the exact same operating system. Conversely, you would need to include any Android devices running the exact same operating system. If I am a developer I care very little about the smartphone market share. I want to know the TOTAL market share of the OS and for me that includes the iPad and iPod Touch. When you combine the total iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch market share against the entire Android OS market share Apple comes out ahead and it's not even close. Android still has a lot of catching up.

 

[zaznet]

I'd like to see numbers showing how many iPhone users switched to an Android phone. iPhone had a quick new-user adoption rate and it seems the Andriod is benefiting from the next wave of new adopters to smart phones. To pull ahead of install base they will need to convert existing users.

 

[drutort]

people forget that Android is being ported left and right.. take my att tilt, i can run it its not fully functional but i find it pretty cool that its getting there and since htc screwed over that phone with the lack of drivers, at least Android might bring some life to it some day lol

btw i would sadly be forced to get htc based only because of xda and the fact that i would be able to run the latest build of android on an old phone thx to all the great guys there

 

[Abrahm]

[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]If it is a platform war then you have to include the iPod Touch and iPad alongside the iPhone because they are all running the exact same operating system. Conversely, you would need to include any Android devices running the exact same operating system. If I am a developer I care very little about the smartphone market share. I want to know the TOTAL market share of the OS and for me that includes the iPad and iPod Touch. When you combine the total iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch market share against the entire Android OS market share Apple comes out ahead and it's not even close. Android still has a lot of catching up.[/citation]
On the contrary, the smart phone market is the absolute most important. iPod sales are sinking because smart phones now double as a portable music player, so sales of dedicated media players will continue to drop. The iPad is pretty irrelevant in the scheme of things. The smart phone platform is the key to future success in the mobile market and Apple is already starting to slip.

 

[dheadley]

If you aren't going to count everything in the platform (iPod, iPad and iPhone) when comparing to Android and just limit it to the iPhone alone, then people also have to stop injecting things like Android being ported to devices, and any other non-retail smartphone use.

There can only be a comparison of retail smartphone (singular) to retail smartphone (singular) such as iPhone to Nexus One. You aren't even trying to compare the manufacturers such as Apple to HTC, or Apple to Samsung, here, which would be another valid comparison.

Once you start comparing all Android phones produced by every manufacturer regardless of hardware specs or features, you are talking about the platform and it can only be compared to another platform and it should include all the devices on that platform for both sides of the comparison.

How many of those phones are actually officially Android devices and how many are running Android without Google's support?

 

[tayb]

[citation][nom]Abrahm[/nom]On the contrary, the smart phone market is the absolute most important. iPod sales are sinking because smart phones now double as a portable music player, so sales of dedicated media players will continue to drop. The iPad is pretty irrelevant in the scheme of things. The smart phone platform is the key to future success in the mobile market and Apple is already starting to slip.[/citation]

Probably is the most important but certainly does not make the iPod Touch or iPad irrelevant. The iPod Touch is still selling like hot cakes (hasn't dipped at all, increasing actually) and the iPad is just getting started having already sold over a million units. If I am a developer I care very little about how many Android smart phones there are instead I care about how many total Android devices there are. I want to know how many total devices can possibly buy my application on Android versus how many total devices can possibly buy my application on an Apple product. If you are comparing platforms you have to include all products running the exact same operating system. For Android that is all Android devices, for Apple it is all devices running iPhone OS 3.0/4.0.

The only reason you would choose to ignore and/or write off the iPod Touch/iPad is because when you combine the total Apple mobile platform it still dwarfs the total Android platform and that puts a dent in your idea that Android is already dominating Apple which, frankly, isn't even close to reality.

 

[christopherknapp]

The bottom line is that the iPhone is currently the best overall Smartphone out there. Period.

Name your specs, I don't care, overall the experience is infinitely better on the iPhone.

Now, go ahead like the bandwagon Apple haters that you truly are and give me the thumbs down you bunch of morons.

 

[zaznet]

[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]when you combine the total Apple mobile platform it still dwarfs the total Android platform and that puts a dent in your idea that Android is already dominating Apple[/citation]

He said Apple is starting to slip which is in line with where this article is going. Android has a long way to go to catch up, but sales per quarter showing an increase demand for Android devices is a promising sign of change in the market.

I think this article really fails in that nobody takes into account the time of year we are at right now. The next iPhone is due out soon and sales last quarter may be delayed until it releases. I know I've been waiting for the new phone to come out. I'm also hoping that Android continues it's growth as it would be my next-best option should I leave Apple and/or AT&T.

 

[drutort]

[citation][nom]christopherknapp[/nom]The bottom line is that the iPhone is currently the best overall Smartphone out there. Period. Name your specs, I don't care, overall the experience is infinitely better on the iPhone. Now, go ahead like the bandwagon Apple haters that you truly are and give me the thumbs down you bunch of morons.[/citation]

i would disagree cause its not the best overall, its the best for the average user as it fails miserably in many areas due to the apple nature and to any power users or who wish to have more control over there devices are forced to go with other brand or jail break there phone...

 

[drutort]

[citation][nom]zaznet[/nom]He said Apple is starting to slip which is in line with where this article is going. Android has a long way to go to catch up, but sales per quarter showing an increase demand for Android devices is a promising sign of change in the market.I think this article really fails in that nobody takes into account the time of year we are at right now. The next iPhone is due out soon and sales last quarter may be delayed until it releases. I know I've been waiting for the new phone to come out. I'm also hoping that Android continues it's growth as it would be my next-best option should I leave Apple and/or AT&T.[/citation]

i dont think having the same os, means exactly the same functions on each device... and the fact that a phone has connectivity always and or other devices do not require that and might use wifi or at times no connectivity at all... thus as a developer you could not just make an app blindly and have it run on all those devices the same...

i might be out of touch but i think all those devices above and the different generations have differences in hardware, res, clock speeds etc... so there is no such thing as one app fits all even if its generic same OS

i might be off on the iphone OS but this is true on windows mobile, i know that for sure

 

[vant]

? OS marketshare is less important then handset marketshare. I love how people are saying "Apple's going down!!!" when Apple is expected to overtake RIM this year in handset sales.

Google can give everyone android all they want, but in reality Apple is profiting from both hardware and the OS. Google tried that, and it failed.

If you look at both companies as a whole, profitability of Apple is pulling it far away from Google. Google used to be larger in 2008, but these past two years have proven that Apple's system is working. Analysts are expecting Apple to surpass MS in market cap later this year! Second largest company in US anyone? 237.5Bil vs 257.75Bil. Google who once had a major lead now sits at 161.53Bil.

 

[Guest]

vant

i guess i'll just hold my breath and wait for apple to buy Google then....

 

[figgus]

[citation][nom]christopherknapp[/nom]The bottom line is that the iPhone is currently the best overall Smartphone out there. Period. Name your specs, I don't care, overall the experience is infinitely better on the iPhone. Now, go ahead like the bandwagon Apple haters that you truly are and give me the thumbs down you bunch of morons.[/citation]

The bottom line is that all of Apple's smartphone entries (they CHOSE to release only 1) came in second to all of Google's smartphone entries.

You might feel the iPhone is best, but obviously more people preferred Android this go-round.

THAT is the bottom line.

 

[Guest]

"christopherknapp
The bottom line is that the iPhone is currently the best overall Smartphone out there. Period. Name your specs, I don't care, overall the experience is infinitely better on the iPhone...."

and you would validate this by giving me another smartphone with which the iPhone OS performs worst then on the iPhone.....

There was a time when the legions of Mac owners used to say how much better and faster the PowerPC chip was then the intel counterpart and how much superior their hardware was.... then apple went intel and suddenly the Mac felt faster....

 

[palladin9479]

Hmm Apple fanboys galore. Apple was first to have a really market breakthrough, but their failing now. Not due to hardware but do to their desire to have absolute control. They ~could~ of allowed the Apple phone OS to be used by different phone manufactures on different services, but they didn't. They didn't because Apple wanted control and wanted to have the service providers in their hands. If AT&T didn't do what Steve Jobs wanted, he could threaten to have the iPhone moved to another provider and thus AT&T would be SoL for new customers or customers who wanted to upgrade to a new iPhone. Apple wanted control over the software developers, to the point that the dev agreement makes you swear to NEVER DISCUSS the agreement. If you don't do what Steve Jobs says, your app gets taken down and you lose all profit generated by it. Just let that sit in your brain for a little bit. This fascism on every level.

Then Google comes along and designs an open ended OS. Then they do the unheard of, the most anti-apple thing possible. They release it for free for any manufactured / service provider to use. They release the SDK for free for any software developer to use. They allow the end user to do whatever they want to do on their phone. There is absolutely zero control by Google of the entire market, and nearly zero control by the phone providers (Android really doesn't like to be locked down). And every phone manufactured in the world rejoiced, every non-AT&T service provided rejoiced. Hell even AT&T rejoiced because they no longer have to fear Apple's iron grip. They can tell Apple "we are going to do this and if you won't like it we'll just switch to Android". Its literally every phone manufactures, every service provider and every developer vs Apple. I'm sorry no matter how good his suit looks, or how charismatic he talks, or how "awesome" and "revolutionary" he says his next product is (the big iPod Touch), Steve Jobs can't compete with that.

Yes this is exactly like the locked down proprietary Mac vs open ended IBM + Windows war. On one side you have a single software company forcing people to use their choice of hardware vs the entire software market + entire hardware market at once. The market will always end up flowing in the most open path with least resistance. The reason hardware interfaces become standard and building PC's has become like legos.

 

[christopherknapp]

I am far from an Apple fanboy. I own an iPhone and a Macbook Pro, because as a photographer it is the platform of choice in my opinion.

I also own three PCs, and have built PCs all my life.

Simply because I believe the iPhone to be superior to other Smartphones does not make me a fanboy, it just makes you look like bandwagon BlTCH!

There is not one Android phone out there does competes with even the current iPhone technology, which happens to be at least 5 years old now. Come on, pick something I dare you.

 

[palladin9479]

because as a photographer it is the platform of choice in my opinion.

This alone proves you don't know much, the platform has absolutely nothing to do with the photo nor the quality of the file, nor the "creativity" of its user. Photoshop is available for both Windows and Mac's version of Unix.

There is not one Android phone out there does competes with even the current iPhone technology, which happens to be at least 5 years old now. Come on, pick something I dare you.

Easy since I happen to live in South Korea, the cell phone capitol of the world. 44 million people, 50 million cell phone subscriptions, land mass the size of Ohio. They've had a nationwide 3G system way before the iPhone even existed.

First is the Samsung M100S, this thing crush's the iPhone so completely. It can do everything the iPhone can plus playback HD 720p video. It also takes 720p video on its built in 5MP camera. The one I'm using is the LG Motoroid, a few months older then the Samsung but my preferred provider (SKT) carries it and it was available that day (vs having to change providers and wait a week for the Samsung).

The stats are as follows,

Motoroid
600 Mhz ARM + 256MB RAM + 512 MB ROM + internal SD at 8GB, can be swapped out for 32GB. USB 2.0 / BT / 802.11g and all that jaz. Screen is 4.7 inch 480 x 864 px. 8MP camera. Has HDMI port for connecting to display panel at 720p. Yes this thing comes with a media cradel that lets you play back HD video on your TV. Initially had Android 2.0.1 but now is upgraded to 2.1 and soon 2.2 once its released.

Samsung
800 Mhz + 256 MB RAM + 512 MB ROM + 8GB SD upgradable to 32GB. USB 2.0 / BT / 802.11g/n. 4.7 inch screen at 480 x 864 super AMOLED. 5MP camera and the ability to take 720P HD video's and play back 720P HD video. No HDMI port but they made their own software that decodes divx nativly. Runs Android 2.1 and soon 2.2.

All models have the whole touch screen, motion sensor, GPS, google apps, plus the ability to download / install apps from google store or directly if you transfer them from PC. The apps are not controlled or 'approved' through some entity like Apple, so there is a growing market as people port their stuff over.

Latest iPhone
iPhone 3GS
600 mhz processor + 256 MB RAM + 8/16/32 GB SD. (Apple's website did not list internet ROM size for OS).
480 x 320 display at 3.5 inch. USB / BT / 802.11g 3MP camera. Takes video and can display those video's. Must use dedicated software to get media in / out of system. Must use Apple controlled and approved software only.

Apple is trying to toute their 4G but its not on the market yet. But by that time Samsung / LG / Motorola will have something else out. The only downside is that it takes months for some of these phones to reach the US, usually under a different name / brand. The Samsung SHW-M100S will never be available in the US, its release is South Korea only.