Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010 • Hacker News Board

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#51

Post by symesc » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:09 PM UTC

revaaron wrote: post #14

symesc wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. And I think this is why Adobe's anti-trust activity against Apple won't go very far. Apple is very comfortable taking part of the market, owning it, doing things their way, and making boatloads of money. They are not trying to be everything to everyone. Disclosure: I just switched from iPhone to a Google N1 because I was tired of the box Apple put me in.

@symesc: I just switched from an iPhone to a N1 for the same reason. An inferior phone for a dozen reasons- but a switch I plan to stick with, for now.

My switch was an interesting one.

My hopes and expectations for Android on the N1 were about here (holds hand 12 inches off of desk).

After two days with it I honestly had a headache. It just didn't work the way I thought it would, after having spent the better part of 3 years on iPod Touch and iPhone. Maybe the headache was my brain creating new neural pathways? Regardless, my opinion was here (hand 6 inches off of desk).

This was my trough of disillusionment. I even cheated. I turned on my now-SIM-less iPhone and checked my twitter feed. I felt dirty. Used.

Then something clicked. First I was finding things I could do with Android that I couldn't do with iPhone. Things like downloading 20mb+ podcasts without connecting to my Mac. Things like finding apps like AppBrain that create meaningful recommendations for me. Things like putting widgets on the screen instead of just icons. And the ease of multitasking? Sigh. My impression of this platform is now here (hand 24 inches above desk).

This is not to say there aren't issues. My battery life is terrible and I'm actively experimenting with ways to change this. Overall the Android platform is "scruffier" than iPhone, and by that I mean moving from one app to the next can be jarring from a usability perspective.

But that's part of what I like about Android. If the iPhone is like the suburbs, rows and rows of consistent housing and 2.2 children, Android is like living downtown where the action is. Sure it's dangerous. And now I wouldn't want to have my wife and kids down there after hours. They have iPhones and iPods. Safer that way.

But I'm not going back the burbs. In fact, I gave my iPhone away to a buddy who had his stolen. I don't miss it.

If Apple delivers something equally as compelling to my inner geek, great, I'll get one. Until then, I have never been happier with my phone.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#52

Post by hboon » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:17 PM UTC

martythemaniak wrote: post #42

hboon wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessary. Their strategy seems to be going for the mass market with their iPhone-OS-based products rather than a niche with OS X-based products. Look at their: 1. Pricing for iPhone (after the initial launch), iPod touch and iPad launch price. They aren't the most expensive "smartphones" and tablets. 2. App store app prices, especially for iPhones/iPod touch. They don't control the prices, but they provide a lis…

Can you name a major market where the majority of users own the same exact product? People like different cars, different appliances, different houses, etc. How do you expect the phones to be different?

Not exact product, but same range of products: portable mp3 players.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#53

Post by revaaron » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:24 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #20

revaaron wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@symesc: I just switched from an iPhone to a N1 for the same reason. An inferior phone for a dozen reasons- but a switch I plan to stick with, for now.

An inferior phone for a dozen reasons Could you elaborate on that? Everybody I know who has an N1 loves it...

The list of things is pretty long... Notes for an eventual review here: Read my outline here: http://meef.us/~rev/n1/n1-notes.txt

@ergo98: Please elaborate. Even if I concede that my problems with multitasking are imaginary, I'd love to find out how I can enable built-in support for Exchange calendaring, copy from emails, and make the N1's screen readable in bright sunlight... Believe me, I'd love to find out there was just a preference I missed!

(replying here because I can't reply to your comment directly)

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#54

Post by VBprogrammer » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:32 PM UTC

zweben wrote: post #41

hboon wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessary. Their strategy seems to be going for the mass market with their iPhone-OS-based products rather than a niche with OS X-based products. Look at their: 1. Pricing for iPhone (after the initial launch), iPod touch and iPad launch price. They aren't the most expensive "smartphones" and tablets. 2. App store app prices, especially for iPhones/iPod touch. They don't control the prices, but they provide a lis…

Looking only at the price they charge consumers doesn't give an accurate picture of their pricing strategy. Most estimates I've seen peg the average total revenue Apple makes per iPhone hardware sale at about $600, most of this paid to Apple by AT&T. Once that's taken into account, the iPhone probably has one of the highest revenues per unit on the market. So their strategy is really to make a product that everyone w…

Apple has never played the numbers game. To do so would be like BMW, Jaguar or Lexis selling a car for the same price as a Kia Rio. Sure they'd sell tonnes of them, but what is the point in that?

They make their money by making good, high quality and reasonably expensive products. If their stock price keeps going the same way then they shouldn't even consider changing the recipe!

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#55

Post by martythemaniak » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:35 PM UTC

hboon wrote: post #52

martythemaniak wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you name a major market where the majority of users own the same exact product? People like different cars, different appliances, different houses, etc. How do you expect the phones to be different?

Not exact product, but same range of products: portable mp3 players.

What excatly is "same" between the teeny shuffle and an iPod touch? This only underscores my point that you need a fair amount of diversity in your products o dominated a market.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#56

Post by revaaron » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:36 PM UTC

symesc wrote: post #51

revaaron wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@symesc: I just switched from an iPhone to a N1 for the same reason. An inferior phone for a dozen reasons- but a switch I plan to stick with, for now.

My switch was an interesting one. My hopes and expectations for Android on the N1 were about here (holds hand 12 inches off of desk). After two days with it I honestly had a headache. It just didn't work the way I thought it would, after having spent the better part of 3 years on iPod Touch and iPhone. Maybe the headache was my brain creating new neural pathways? Regardless, my opinion was here (hand 6 inches off of…

I'd only used an iPhone for 6 months, but the experience was positive enough that I'm still in the headache phase with the N1. Largely over hardware problems that will likely never be solved until a later revision: battery life, AMOLED screen being unreadable in direct sunlight, the camera can take 1-4 seconds before snapping a photo, dust under the screen, low-end multitouch sensor, and flaky touch sensing (often thinks I'm pressing an inch down). I feel sort of ripped off when I think of some of those aspects.

Don't get me wrong, there things I prefer, even over a jailbroken iPhone- especially the notifications system. That's genius, IMHO.

My trough is the Facebook app- I went from making a few photo posts a day, mostly of my kid, to one or two over the last two weeks. Never bothered to update Feacebook until I got an iPhone- it's rough enough on Android that I've stopped.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#57

Post by ergo98 » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:37 PM UTC

revaaron wrote: post #53

blhack wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An inferior phone for a dozen reasons Could you elaborate on that? Everybody I know who has an N1 loves it...

The list of things is pretty long... Notes for an eventual review here: Read my outline here: http://meef.us/~rev/n1/n1-notes.txt @ergo98: Please elaborate. Even if I concede that my problems with multitasking are imaginary, I'd love to find out how I can enable built-in support for Exchange calendaring, copy from emails, and make the N1's screen readable in bright sunlight... Believe me, I'd love to find out there w…

>The list of things is pretty long...

The N1 has flaws, but many of your complaints are hilariously wrong. The fact that you give pronouncements on multitasking borders on comical, as you have no understanding about how Android's multitasking works.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#58

Post by [deleted] » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:45 PM UTC

revaaron wrote: post #53

blhack wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An inferior phone for a dozen reasons Could you elaborate on that? Everybody I know who has an N1 loves it...

The list of things is pretty long... Notes for an eventual review here: Read my outline here: http://meef.us/~rev/n1/n1-notes.txt @ergo98: Please elaborate. Even if I concede that my problems with multitasking are imaginary, I'd love to find out how I can enable built-in support for Exchange calendaring, copy from emails, and make the N1's screen readable in bright sunlight... Believe me, I'd love to find out there w…

[deleted]

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#59

Post by loire280 » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:47 PM UTC

jpark wrote: post #29

yason wrote: post #19

Android is the Windows of smartphone operating systems. iPhone OS is the OS X of smartphone operating systems. Guess which will have the majority of sales and smaller profit-per-phone and which will have minority of sales and higher profit-per-phone, eventually.

If we follow that train of thought further... Guess which will have the majority of apps and developers? unless it becomes way too hard to target a sizable chunk of the Android market due to hardware spec fragmentation.

Another thing to worry about is manufacturers abandoning support for old phones prematurely, or causing long delays between updates to new major versions. (I'm not sure if Android phones can update over the air, but if not then you may have a large number of users who never upgrade their OS.)

Yes, technical users can probably acquire third-party firmware if the manufacturers drop the ball, but that's not a mainstream fix.

Android will not be fun to develop for if you're targeting (hardware spec fragmentation) x (Android feature fragmentation) different combinations of phone.

Re: Android-based Smartphones Outpaced Apple's iPhone in Q1 2010

#60

Post by jamesbritt » Mon, May 10, 2010, 7:55 PM UTC

webwright wrote: post #45

martythemaniak wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you name a major market where the majority of users own the same exact product? People like different cars, different appliances, different houses, etc. How do you expect the phones to be different?

I can think of a major market: operating systems. Phones aren't like cars, they are more like computers (and becoming more so).

Right. People own a variety of computers. Different models of Dell, HP, sony, apple., etc.