Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#91

Post by gregable » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 8:20 AM UTC

bonch wrote: post #77

guelo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> #1 in volume doesn't always mean #1 in profit. Unless you're an Apple shareholder why does that matter? As a developer #1 in market share is a very significant milestone.

> As a developer #1 in market share is a very significant milestone. Unless you're Android, which has significantly less apps than iOS and is getting bad press for its malware problems. Additionally, iOS runs on the iPad, so iPhone developers can universally target the #1 tablet in the world. Google makes very little off of Android. They've been following Apple's lead design-wise (look at images of what Android was g…

> Google makes very little off of Android

http://www.businessinsider.com/android-revenue-2010-8 Title: Google's Android Is Making Boatloads Of Money, Says Schmidt--Way More Than It Costs To Make

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#92

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 9:00 AM UTC

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #54

mjfern wrote: post #2

These data spell significant trouble for Microsoft in the smartphone market. Despite launching Windows Phone 7 (WP7) with great fanfare in November 2010, Microsoft's market share in smartphones has in fact declined 1.7% from October 2010 through January 2011.

The data spell bad news for RIM as well: nearly all Android's gains came out of RIM's market share.

The market is growing, so it's not as simple as that. It's more like RIM is capturing below market rate from the new smartphone users, Apple is almost exactly at market rate and Android's scooping up the rest.

How people move between platforms would be interesting, and become more important as smartphones reach saturation, but you can't really speculate from this data.

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#93

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 9:03 AM UTC

bonch wrote: post #77

guelo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> #1 in volume doesn't always mean #1 in profit. Unless you're an Apple shareholder why does that matter? As a developer #1 in market share is a very significant milestone.

> As a developer #1 in market share is a very significant milestone. Unless you're Android, which has significantly less apps than iOS and is getting bad press for its malware problems. Additionally, iOS runs on the iPad, so iPhone developers can universally target the #1 tablet in the world. Google makes very little off of Android. They've been following Apple's lead design-wise (look at images of what Android was g…

Here's an image of what Android was going to look like before the iPhone came out:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_1IECTAB2-to/TWV9IKxwQOI/A...

And here's the Samsung Galaxy Pro that was just announced:

http://www.eurodroid.com/2011/03/update-product-shot-of-the-...

It's remarkable the influence Apple has had.

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#94

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 9:08 AM UTC

raganwald wrote: post #34

bane wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google "makes" advertising though, the more eyeballs it can get in front of, the better for its model.

Exactly. Google has supplanted Microsoft in the OS business. If you remember, Microsoft's business model was to commoditize PCs. Microsoft won when Dell and HP raced each other to the bottom on margins. Now I see history repeating itself, only this time the handset makers have two people trying to squeeze them into commodity providers competing on price: (1) Google and (2) The Carriers.

Has anyone ever taken the time to explain why the apparently scary prospect of people "racing to the bottom" is bad for me as a consumer or member of society?

The original usage was about states competing by offering better terms to corporations. These "better terms" were worse for the people living in the state because they got less tax income and less worker protection. But they are the vendors in that analogy, the customer/corporation was very happy with how things worked out.

Am I really supposed to shed tears over a corporation's business model being a bit more like operating in a free market?

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#95

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 9:13 AM UTC

discreteevent wrote: post #29

georgieporgie wrote: post #24

Somewhat off-topic: is there any reason not to get Virgin Mobile's $150 LG Optimus V for the purpose of exploring Android development? Aside from smaller memory and lower-res camera, it looks like I don't miss out on anything from top of the line models.

Thats exactly what I got it for and it turns out that its a good little phone. The resistive touch works more accurately for me than other phones of the same size and the battery lasts me 3 days most of the time.

The LG Optimus screen is capacitive. You can get a stylus for it but it's a special capacitive one.

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#96

Post by Tycho » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 11:58 AM UTC

jerf wrote: post #71

Tycho wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about amazingly. It seems entirely predictable: phone makers desperate for something to rival iOS, and Google provide it for free. Why would they turn it down? Android's popularity, in a funny sort of way, is actually indicative of the iPhone's lack of serious competition. What would be amazing is if one of the Android handsets outsold the iPhone.

That's begging the question; since Android is not a serious competitor to the iPhone, the fact that Android is doing so well is therefore proof that Android is not a serious competitor to the iPhone. You neglected to spell out that first clause but your statement is clearly based on that. I'd suggest the much more plausible line of logic, along with being logically sound, is that as Android is now outselling the iPho…

Eh, that's not really what I said/meant. The fact that Apple's only serious competitor is something open-source and freely distributed, shows how other proprietary operating systems have been blown away by iOS (and Android).

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#97

Post by queenOfEngland » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 1:19 PM UTC

CountSessine wrote: post #90

queenOfEngland wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 points. Again, another BULLSHIT post. The dominant Android phones are overwhelmingly the high-end phones that retail in the $600-$700 range. They all come with thousand-dollar plus contracts. There may come a time where such a blurring occurs, but it won't be until the cost of data contracts significantly drops. And you can bet that Apple will be fighting for that market as well.

What does dominant mean? Because I can tell you that from the folks that I know here who work at our phone company (including one who was privy to their negotiations with Apple over the iPhone), it isn't sales. The lion's share of android phones being sold here are the less expensive feature phone replacements.

Sure thing, CountSessine. We all have that inside person who validates our bullshit opinion.

Again, Android's dominance has been on the backs of Motorola Droids and Galaxy S' and HTC Evo 3Gs, and the like. All high-end phones.

But you keep trying to make yourself feel better as you clutch, desperately, only your iPhone.

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#98

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 1:31 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #71

Tycho wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about amazingly. It seems entirely predictable: phone makers desperate for something to rival iOS, and Google provide it for free. Why would they turn it down? Android's popularity, in a funny sort of way, is actually indicative of the iPhone's lack of serious competition. What would be amazing is if one of the Android handsets outsold the iPhone.

That's begging the question; since Android is not a serious competitor to the iPhone, the fact that Android is doing so well is therefore proof that Android is not a serious competitor to the iPhone. You neglected to spell out that first clause but your statement is clearly based on that. I'd suggest the much more plausible line of logic, along with being logically sound, is that as Android is now outselling the iPho…

The Android phones are currently outselling the iPhone by a factor of between 3 and 4 in the US. This current stat is marketshare, so includes the last year or so when Android was selling much less than Apple, they were equally matched in sales last August. It's probably selling twice as many globally, it was 150% at the end of last year but growing rapidly compared with Apple being just above flat.

Several single phones are already outselling iPhone 3GS in the U.S., and single company smartphone lines by Samsung and HTC are roughly on par with the total sales of Apple phones and look set to overtake them soon. Whether the Samsung Galaxy family will overtake the iPhone family mostly comes down to whether you feel that a Verizon iPhone, or an AT&T 3GS, or Tim Cook's rumoured cheap/small iPhone nano is still an "iPhone" and how far you'll extend the same logic for the various Galaxy S phones. (Though more directly, in some European countries a single Galaxy S model outsold the iPhone 4)

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#99

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 1:36 PM UTC

lispm wrote: post #17

jimbokun wrote: post #6

I hope this serves as a wakeup call to Apple, that their position is not so unassailable that they can continue looking for new ways to drive away partners and developers without consequences.

Why? Apple makes much of the profit. A report claims that Apple makes with 4% global market share 50% of the profits: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/31/apples_4_mobil... Google does not even really sell a phone. Google sells you, the user.

That report is talking about the "phone" market, as in the billions of commodity phones used to text and talk in developing nations. Apple's market share and profit share of the smartphone market is far less impressive (something like 20%/40% the last time I saw figures), and is mostly inflated by Nokia phones that most here wouldn't consider as a smartphone and have correspondingly low margins.

Re: Google Android Captures #1 Position in U.S. Smartphone Market

#100

Post by ZeroGravitas » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 2:23 PM UTC

wmeredith wrote: post #20

valjavec wrote: post #14

This is so funny. Android is gaining it's share and everyone is trying to create iPhone killer. Noone is doing an Android killer:)

That's because the iPhone is where the profit is at: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/21/pie-chart-apples-outr... That link basically says that Jan-Jun 2010 Apple sold just under 3% of all smart phones in the world, but they took in 39% of all profit made in that sector in the same time period. It's really astounding what they've been able to do this relatively established market in just 3 or 4 years. No wonder ev…

I mentioned this above in relation to a different article about the same numbers, but that's not smartphone share, it's phone share. Since the phone market is mostly cheap, commodity items it shouldn't be a surprise that smartphone vendors have bigger profits than their phone share would indicate. Mostly people are impressed by it, because they think it's smartphone share. Perhaps they're mislead because some of Apple's competitors compete in both markets?