Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold • Hacker News Board

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#81

Post by bitcartel » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:35 PM UTC

shinratdr wrote: post #60

neya wrote: post #50

This is seriously good news. What many people don't realize is how powerful Android is. Open Source doesn't mean shitty quality software, contrary to popular belief. Android can do so many things that other Operating systems still cannot provide. All Android needs is some time, and some iterations and no one can even dream of killing it (like many plan to). Because, if anything history has taught us, Open Source will…

> Because, if anything history has taught us, Open Source will eventually win the war. How does that work? Where is the open source OS that "won" the desktop war? Where is the open source codec that "won" the codec wars?

I am guessing the original poster is referring to GNU/Linux beating Solaris to win the server market.

EDIT: Regarding the desktop, just saw this: "Ubuntu will account for roughly 9% of all global PC shipments by 2014" http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/11/ubuntu-pc-sales-skyrocket...

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#82

Post by clarky07 » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:35 PM UTC

eta_carinae wrote: post #26

sinnerswing wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing impressive with this. I know of a few companies that sold crappy devices with crappy OS's. RIM, Nokia, etc. and they dominated the market. Android has become the new Nokia. Big Market Share. Worthless user-base.

> Big Market Share. Worthless user-base. You sound exactly like these people standing in line for iPhones in the Samsung commercial.

that commercial is a terrible piece of advertising. I would have gotten a samsung for testing because its the best android phone (as far as i can tell as an iphone user) but i won't anymore. Telling your potential customers that they are idiots isn't a good strategy. I'll buy a nexus, htc, or motorola instead.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#83

Post by cloudwalking » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:38 PM UTC

nestlequ1k wrote: post #22

cloudwalking wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are absolutely right in what you say regarding integration. I disagree with your final analysis of where this leaves Apple. I think Apple will continue to hold a significant chunk of the "high-end" luxury market. iOS will maintain high price points and Apple will maintain its polish--and consumers with expendable income will keep their sales strong. I suspect their market share in Europe, USA, Japan, and wealthy…

Sure, Apple is trying to maximize profit. But how does that help me? We're developers right? We need to find the market with the most potential. If I'm developing for a platform where the platform holder is laser focused on maximizing their profit, but not their marketshare... it seems like I've made the wrong choice. I see a lot of iPhone devs (not you specifically) try to justify Apple's shrinking marketshare by sa…

> We're developers right? We need to find the market with the most potential.

Are you optimizing for making money, or for making impact? There's no right or wrong platform (iOS or Android), it just depends on what your goals are.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#84

Post by bdcravens » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:39 PM UTC

biomechanica wrote: post #73

shinratdr wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because, if anything history has taught us, Open Source will eventually win the war. How does that work? Where is the open source OS that "won" the desktop war? Where is the open source codec that "won" the codec wars?

I'm unsure I agree with it also. Android has Google's wallet to fall back on. That could be one reason why it's successful. Mobile devices fill a different "comfort", I think. Desktop OS's out there try to fill a broad spectrum of wants (and needs). I think Linus has been quoted as saying something like, "Desktop is a hard problem to solve", and that the Linux world hasn't even come close to solving it (yet). I know…

Pretty much every open source project that has succeeded has been the result of fat wallet corporate backing. I'm sure someone will offer a counterexample, but for the most part, hackers have to eat, and I haven't seen the "donate" model really work out. However, this is cool: it shows that open source isn't anti-commercial, it's pro-freedom.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#85

Post by magicalist » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:40 PM UTC

veemjeem wrote: post #67

akmiller wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iOS has no fragmentation I think the correct statement would be iOS has "less" fragmentation. They still have fragmentation though. Not only through the devices but also the version of iOS running on the device. It can get pretty hairy trying to maintain support for multiple iOS devices with versions of even just 4.3 and up.

If you think iOS is hairy supporting 4.3 and up, you probably have no experience supporting Android apps. The fragmentation extends beyond the Android version. The differences between handsets are so big that one pretty much has to ignore the users who own phones that are impossible to test with. You'll get some random complaint from a user running your app on a device from a manufacturer you've never even heard of.…

Google wallet is a really poor example of fragmentation that a developer would run into since it has nothing to do with varying hardware and drivers, it's the carriers that are blocking it and (AFAIK) there's no reason that a developer would care whether or not the app itself is there. The hardware is accessible; Verizon and AT&T will use it for their own attempt at a payment system. That whole situation isn't really analogous to any other fragmentation you might encounter.

Android development and testing really isn't all that painful, and most of the new APIs you might miss are backported and available for the more prevalent Gingerbread and now ICS.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#86

Post by clarky07 » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:42 PM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #18

sinnerswing wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing impressive with this. I know of a few companies that sold crappy devices with crappy OS's. RIM, Nokia, etc. and they dominated the market. Android has become the new Nokia. Big Market Share. Worthless user-base.

Yep, 75% of the market loves to buy crappy devices with crappy OSs. The fact that high end Android devices are popular and sell well (SGSIII? Samsung's profits being damn impressive next to Apple's?) is just a weird inconvenient fact.

no, but 40-50% are buying crappy devices with crappy OSs. The high end devices running 4+ are not 75% of the market. they are [1] http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#87

Post by sinnerswing » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:44 PM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #48

sinnerswing wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

75% of the market also like Britney Spears. people are idiots.

If we accept the framework that all people are idiots, which I certainly often find myself thinking, then it's probably great to be Android in that world. You know? Whether or not people are dumb (which is obviously a gross exaggeration of people's perception of Android... but let's be serious, you know that) does not change the numbers.

I'll take 25% of the smart, willing-to-pay-and-buy userbase, than 75% of the dumb, not-willing-to-pay-for-anything android users.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#88

Post by ajross » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:48 PM UTC

clarky07 wrote: post #72

ajross wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth pointing out that very similar things were said about Apple computer c. 1990, as comparatively primitive[1] windows 3.0 boxes were being increasingly sold into the PC market at volumes dwarfing what Apple was seeing with their more polished and higher-margin macintosh line. That didn't work out so well. [1] And it really was. Comparing System 6 to Windows 3.0 was night and day to any observer, even people…

It's also worth pointing out, that Apple has kept huge market share and profits in the iPod market. Sales have only gone down recently because everyone already has 1(or 2 or 3). I'd like to think Apple has learned a few things since 90, and I also think these markets are a bit different. The compatibility problem isn't as bad this time, as most devs are making apps for both platforms, Apple still has a (slight) advan…

Sure, but those aren't independent variables. Their advantage in profitability derives almost entirely from their perceived advantage in quality (both because consumers will pay more for the devices in sticker price and because they can command better deals with carrier partners who know that they'll sell more boxes). Over the long term, no one is going to pay more for iOS devices that don't have a clear quality advantage.

Clearly 22 years ago isn't a perfect comparison, and I don't claim to know the future either. I'm just cautioning against putting your faith in "polish" and "margins". Historically those have been poor indicators of success in the consumer market.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#89

Post by bdcravens » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:49 PM UTC

I keep thinking this will be a bit antitrust concern in future years. I'm not even going to get into the FTC's recommendation to sue over patents:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ftc-staff-said-to-for...

1) To make use of many Android device features, you typically are required to have a Google account. (Ditto with the iPhone, but it's a bigger deal the more you control the market) 2) The pressure exerted on Aliyun 3) By default, Google search in the browser. How long before there's pressure for a "search engine ballot" screen?

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#90

Post by Kylekramer » Fri, Nov 02, 2012, 8:54 PM UTC

bdcravens wrote: post #89

I keep thinking this will be a bit antitrust concern in future years. I'm not even going to get into the FTC's recommendation to sue over patents: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ftc-staff-said-to-for... 1) To make use of many Android device features, you typically are required to have a Google account. (Ditto with the iPhone, but it's a bigger deal the more you control the market) 2) The pressure exerted on A…

Google already offers a ballot for desktop Chrome, I wouldn't be too surprised if they offer one for Android at some point.