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Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

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Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#71

Post by jacquesm »

abstractbill wrote: post #68
jacquesm wrote: post #26

Of course it did, it simply had to. Now the question is whether the android ecosystem can keep its users as good as the apple one can. I sure hope so, but it definitely isn't a given. Android is a big step in the right direction but there are still plenty of things that need fixing before they can compete with apple on anything else but units shipped. When developers have to seriously think about which platform to su…

When developers have to seriously think about which platform to support first you can say they've achieved parity. I agree we're not quite at that point, but we are getting close. We (justin.tv) are putting some serious resources into Android development right now - not as much as for iPhone, but still, I'd say we're now treating them as nearly equally important platforms.

That's because you're looking at android as a delivery medium, but not because you make money of your applications right ?

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#72

Post by andreyf »

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #63
felideon wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well iPhone kind of implies iOS, doesn't it? So yes, technically speaking they should have said iOS instead. In any case, I think the comparison is fair, and more analogous to comparing Mac OS to Windows.

'IPhone' implies 'iOS', but half of all iOS devices are not iPhones. The iPhone is a smartphone model. It should be compared to other smartphone models, not other mobile OSes. But ofcourse, if iOS sales were compared to Android sales, there'd be no contest. I'm sure Android will overtake iOS at some point though; Android handsets are getting cheaper and cheaper, while Apple cares more about profit margin than unit sa…

The iPhone is a smartphone model. It should be compared to other smartphone models, not other mobile OSes.

Err, the iPhone is a smartphone "family". iPhone 4 would be an smartphone model.

I'm sure Android will overtake iOS at some point though; Android handsets are getting cheaper and cheaper, while Apple cares more about profit margin than unit sales.

I'm not convinced this is a meaningful comparison, either. As far as developers are concerned, the number of wealthy customers who are used to impulse-buying apps are a metric Apple will dominate for the foreseeable future. As far as profit and margins, Apple is well ahead of all other hardware manufacturers, as well. User experience... well, that's subjective, but I think generally agreed on, as well. Just as comparing BMW's and Ford+Honda sales isn't very helpful in predicting the success of the companies, nor the market for compliments, neither is this.

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#73

Post by astine »

bobbyi wrote: post #66
melling wrote: post #20

This trend was pretty easy to spot. Almost 6 months ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1129465 The problem is that developers are making a lot more money on iPhone apps. I've heard several developers complaining that their apps don't sell on Android. Will this eventually change?

> The problem is that developers are making a lot more money on iPhone apps. Is this necessarily a problem? Maybe there will end up being enough good free apps that the Android ecosystem will do fine without needing people to "make a lot more money" selling apps. I happily used Linux on my desktop for years even though there wasn't much of an ecosystem of paid software.

It's not a problem for Android, but it might be a problem for people writing apps for Android. Given that a goodly number of people want Andoroid to 'succeed' against iOS because of the greater freedom for developers, it seems like this would be a significant dampener in many folks enthusiasm.

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#74

Post by camiller »

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #58
redrobot5050 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, sales of iPhones do not factor in sales of iPads and iPod Touches, which both run iOS and run Apps. DaringFireball.net tried some back of the envelope math a few days back and his claim is that "Android isn't there yet, but its catching up."

Daringfireball was quoting WIRED's Fred Vogelstein: "The true comparison is between Android and iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. Android’s activation numbers are not device dependent. Apple’s shouldn’t be either. If we are going to truly compare the two mobile OSs we need to include sales of iPads and iPod Touches. Add them into the mix and the data shows that Android is catching up but still isn’t close." http:…

Is he also adding non-phone android deployment?

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#76

Post by abstractbill »

jacquesm wrote: post #71
abstractbill wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When developers have to seriously think about which platform to support first you can say they've achieved parity. I agree we're not quite at that point, but we are getting close. We (justin.tv) are putting some serious resources into Android development right now - not as much as for iPhone, but still, I'd say we're now treating them as nearly equally important platforms.

That's because you're looking at android as a delivery medium, but not because you make money of your applications right ?

Yes that's a fair point - for now at least Android and iPhone are both strategically important to us, but not at all for the purposes of generating revenue.

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#77

Post by 0ptr »

It doesn't matter whether this is based on pre-iPhone4 data or not. Trend is quite clear and there's simple logic behind it.

Apple has quite narrow market segment. They are making more money with less customers which is exactly the right thing to do from company perspective. However Android is gaining new markets with new form factors, different pricing points etc. That's why it is inevitable.

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#78

Post by evilmushroom »

Look-- even if you're a rabid iPhone fanboy, you should want Android to be super successful. The more successful it is, the harder Apple will work to make their product even better. Likewise Android fanboys should want iPhone to be successful---- competition will keep these guys on their toes.

I say this looking at the blatantly Apple bias that floats on this site. Why put down the other system? I prefer Android but think they're both great phones. (I had a 3GS for awhile)

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#79

Post by sahaj »

melling wrote: post #20

This trend was pretty easy to spot. Almost 6 months ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1129465 The problem is that developers are making a lot more money on iPhone apps. I've heard several developers complaining that their apps don't sell on Android. Will this eventually change?

it's not just the developers. i have heard from iphone owners that they can't move to android because of all the money they've spent on the apps.

and i thought itunes was a lock-in.

Re: Android Sales Overtake iPhone in the U.S.

#80

Post by crocowhile »

starnix17 wrote: post #51
melling wrote: post #20

This trend was pretty easy to spot. Almost 6 months ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1129465 The problem is that developers are making a lot more money on iPhone apps. I've heard several developers complaining that their apps don't sell on Android. Will this eventually change?

FWIW, I went from making $20 a month on Android apps to $100 a month in the past two months or so. I wonder if developers that actually sell mass amounts of apps are noticing this too?

For how many apps, if I may ask?
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