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Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

extremetech.com

161–170 of 188 posts

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#161
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the past, I'd agree with you. However, comparing Google's latest lineup with Apple's latest lineup tells a much different story (all 16GB): Nexus 4: $349; iPhone 5: $699 Nexus 7: $199; iPad Mini: $329 Nexus 10: $399; iPad: $499 Of course, Apple and Google aren't in the same business, but they are very much competitors.

Of course just comparing on price ignores some big differences. Nexus 4 has no LTE. Nexus 7 has terrible build quality. Nexus 10 has nearly half the battery life.

It's really just painful to watch you comment in these thread. It really just hurts.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#162
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…

>>Open Source will eventually win the war.

You're neglecting to mention one important fact. Open Source often relies on subsidies and handouts from companies/organizations(that use open-source software to compete with (and attack) software companies that created the original software product). Sun is a good example that comes to mind here

In case of Android, Google is an ad company and don't need to earn money by selling mobile OS software.

I have had Android phones since the G1 (and wrote a prototype Android app long before the first Android phone (G1) was in the market). However, that doesn't blind me to the fact that Google's business model (free software that obtains user information and monetizes users through ads) is very different from the business model of companies like Microsoft and Apple.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#163
post #98

What Apple does well: Take a nascent but exploding market and create a fantastically superior experience via vertical integration. Get way out of in front of the competition and own the consumer mindshare: PC/iPod/iPhone (almost Newton) What Apple doesn't do well: Own the mass market. The one place they have - music players - has really collapsed as a stand alone market and merged in with smart phones. (ie no one in…

"Why Apple is in trouble: 47% of all revenue comes from the iPhone and it's clear that that market has moved past their sweet spot" This is not clear at all. Selling tiny computers with mobile broadband is clearly going to be the biggest hardware business for the next 10+ years and 10 years from now the device that generates the bulk of Apple's revenues will probably still be called an iPhone. It may bear little simi…

Steko ask yourself this question. What portion of the smartphone market did they have 3 years ago? What % is that today? What happens when the pie stops growing in 3 years? It's feeling pretty much like PC vs Mac again where they're at less than 10% permanently. Anyway, the point is they need to go find another space now. They shouldn't exit phones they just should acknowledge that the vertical integrated offerings strengths become it's weakness.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple and Google aren't in the same business And this makes a world of difference. Google is selling products at cost to drive their ad business. There's no way you can compare that to Apple's business model. The idea that Apple sells expensive products is a belief born out of the PC market, and if you want to compare apples to apples, you should be looking at the iPhone 5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S3.

> you should be looking at the iPhone 5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S3. But the S3 is so far ahead of the iPhone that it also is not a fair comparison.

What's this rubbish?

iPhone 5: thinner, lighter, higher quality construction, better battery life, better cpu, better gpu, superior display quality (full sRGB, IPS, higher ppi), better ecosystem, better apps, will be regularly updated for years, better customer service, etc.

GS 3: bigger screen diagonal, more RAM, NFC, better front camera

Go back to Engadget kid.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#165
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://source.android.com/

Actually Android is closer to shared source than open source. A typical open source project has an open repository, allows third party contributors, open issue tracking etc. Last time I checked Android had none of these and only released source code after a release.

Downloading the Source Tree: https://source.android.com/source/downloading.html

android Git repositories: https://android.googlesource.com/

Submitting Patches: https://source.android.com/source/submit-patches.html

View Patches: https://android-review.googlesource.com/

View Issues: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/

  > only released source code after a release
Granted. They don't release before they release.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you should Google it because it is pretty common knowledge that Nexus 7 is very hit/miss in terms of build quality. And I stupidly compared battery life against iPad Mini. So it is not half and not 90%. It's about 65% of the iPad according to Engadget. Nexus 10: 7.26 hours, iPad 4: 11.08 hours

You're really good at cherry picking, aren't you? Anandtech for the performance numbers, Engadget for battery life numbers. By Anandtech's numbers, the Nexus 10 gets 93% of the battery life of the iPad, even though the Nexus 10 uses a much smaller battery. Between the lighter battery and the grippy back, Google designed a device that can be safely held in one hand, a tradeoff I appreciate.

You're wasting your breath. There's three or four them that do this in every, single, last Android thread.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#167
post #140
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe what _you_ call Android. I don't think most of us fall into that category. What do you call the OS running on the Nook or Kindle?

"I don't think most of us fall into that category." I'm calling bullshit. People all the time refer to Maps as one of, if not the biggest advantage of Android. Same thing with the Gmail client. In this very thread you refer to a Chrome for Android (not Chromium afaik) feature as Android ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4734771 ). "What do you call the OS running on the Nook or Kindle?" Properly it's AOSP. That f…

>(the one you can actually use the Android mark with

source. A quick check of the brand guidelines page says nothing of the sort.

Also, you're intentionally blurring line between people who like the Android experience and people who like the idea of Android as a free OS that is literally taking the world by storm. There is nothing that you or taligent won't say to try to find something to back Android into a corner for the chance to say one bad thing about it.

Yeah, I like Android because Google Maps, Google Now and Gmail are very, very compelling offers. I like Android because it's open source, I can do far more with it than I can with iOS and I can do it far more efficiently and increasingly even more intuitively (How far do you have to work and disrupt your flow to enable/disable Wifi in iOS vs Android for example). I like it because it has a powerful intent system, allows side-loading apps and more.

Do you see how those are two different things? Do you see how using Google Apps as a way to just try to blanket dismiss peoples' opinions might be bad.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#168
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you should be looking at the iPhone 5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S3. But the S3 is so far ahead of the iPhone that it also is not a fair comparison.

What's this rubbish? iPhone 5: thinner, lighter, higher quality construction, better battery life, better cpu, better gpu, superior display quality (full sRGB, IPS, higher ppi), better ecosystem, better apps, will be regularly updated for years, better customer service, etc. GS 3: bigger screen diagonal, more RAM, NFC, better front camera Go back to Engadget kid.

You pop up in so many threads to defend Apple that I recognize your username by now. Do you work for Apple's PR department or something? If so, I sure hope they're paying you overtime for being here on a Friday night. Well, here we go...

> thinner

Yeah, by 1.2 mm. If you're wearing skinny hipster jeans like your average Apple fanboi, it makes a difference, but for the rest of us, that's insignificant.

> lighter

Again, 21 g. Not a big deal.

> higher quality construction

Right, that's why so many people are reporting chips and scratches on the aluminum back the day that they get the phone. It looks like Apple didn't learn anything from the glass back disaster with the iPhone 4/4S.

> better battery life

Both phones can easily last a full day of intense usage. The iPhone's slightly longer battery life is a result of its puny screen.

And don't forget that the Galaxy S3's battery is user-removable and replaceable. You can carry an additional battery with you and swap it in as needed, or you can get an extended battery - for just $30 on Amazon, you can get an extended battery with 4200 mAh, double the standard 2100 mAh battery and nearly three times the iPhone 5's 1440 mAh battery.

> better cpu

Uhh, no. Just no. The iPhone 5 has a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor, whereas the Galaxy S3 has a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor. Next time, please try to extricate yourself from the reality distortion field before making statements related to Apple or its products.

> superior display quality

Ignoring the fact that display quality is inherently subjective, that the iPhone has a better display is far from a foregone conclusion: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57524291-37/color-me-prett...

> better ecosystem, better apps

Are you kidding me? Let me know when there are functional Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Voice apps for the iPhone, and when I can use the default mapping software (which can't be replaced) without ending up in the middle of a river. And let's not even get started on the inability to install 3rd party browsers on the iPhone or use apps like Locale and Tasker without jailbreaking.

> will be regularly updated for years

I'd rather not have updates than have them break core functionality, like mapping.

> better customer service

This is probably the only thing Apple does better. That said, I've never actually needed customer service on my Android phones, unlike my friends with iPhones, who've taken their phones in to have the broken glass backs replaced with alarming frequency.

Go back to Daring Fireball kid.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#169
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Why Apple is in trouble: 47% of all revenue comes from the iPhone and it's clear that that market has moved past their sweet spot" This is not clear at all. Selling tiny computers with mobile broadband is clearly going to be the biggest hardware business for the next 10+ years and 10 years from now the device that generates the bulk of Apple's revenues will probably still be called an iPhone. It may bear little simi…

Steko ask yourself this question. What portion of the smartphone market did they have 3 years ago? What % is that today? What happens when the pie stops growing in 3 years? It's feeling pretty much like PC vs Mac again where they're at less than 10% permanently. Anyway, the point is they need to go find another space now. They shouldn't exit phones they just should acknowledge that the vertical integrated offerings s…

"What portion of the smartphone market did they have 3 years ago?"

Around 17%.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2009/11/apple-grabs-17-of-smart...

"What % is that today?"

Somewhere between 14% (most recent quarter, this thread's article) and 24% (last year's launch quarter).

http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=470976

"What happens when the pie stops growing in 3 years?"

The whole point is that Apple's pie has a lot more than 3 years of growth left. We are talking about this arbitrary thing called "the smartphone market" but Apple doesn't really compete in "the smartphone market". Apple competes in a tiny corner of "the smartphone market" called "the $450+ smartphone market".

I remember when Apple competed in a space called "the $300+ music player market". And how it "felt pretty much like PC vs Mac again" when cheap mp3 players were taking market share. And then Apple brought out a $250 music player and then a $200 music player and then a $100 music player etc. Now Apple found a bigger market to play in then music players but I'm saying that I doubt there's a bigger market to play in then pocket computers with wireless broadband [1]. And Apple can keep having amazing success in that market by doing both (1) what they did in 2007 (make a much better pocket computer with wireless internet than what was currently in stores), and (2) what they did in the portable music player market (by continually addressing a larger share of that pie).

What's called the iphone in 5-10 years may look radically different, maybe it's Siri on steroids, maybe it's brain control, maybe it's holograms and haptics, maybe it's Kinect, maybe it's aug reality ala Glass, maybe it's smellovision... But what's essential about that product is that it will replace the functions of the current smartphone.

If you're asking me if Apple can keep growing at it's current rate the answer is clearly that they can't long term (law of large numbers). I do think Apple will enter other markets -- luxury watches, tv/console gaming, search and cloud services are the obvious areas. I don't think they will make as much money in all of those put together as they will in the pocket computers with wireless broadband category though.

[1] There are bigger markets of course (cars, houses, health care, education, etc) and there will be bigger new markets (girl robots lol?) but none of them play to Apple's strengths.

Re: Android now powers 75% of all smartphones sold

#170
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's this rubbish? iPhone 5: thinner, lighter, higher quality construction, better battery life, better cpu, better gpu, superior display quality (full sRGB, IPS, higher ppi), better ecosystem, better apps, will be regularly updated for years, better customer service, etc. GS 3: bigger screen diagonal, more RAM, NFC, better front camera Go back to Engadget kid.

You pop up in so many threads to defend Apple that I recognize your username by now. Do you work for Apple's PR department or something? If so, I sure hope they're paying you overtime for being here on a Friday night. Well, here we go... > thinner Yeah, by 1.2 mm. If you're wearing skinny hipster jeans like your average Apple fanboi, it makes a difference, but for the rest of us, that's insignificant. > lighter Again…

"If you're wearing skinny hipster jeans like your average Apple fanboi,"

Christ, what an asshole.

"but for the rest of us, that's insignificant."

Mentioned in almost every professional review but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

"Again, 21 g. Not a big deal"

Mentioned in almost every professional review but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

"so many people reporting chips"

That sounds scientific. Maybe every time an apple product is released and 4-10 million people get their hands on them in the same weekend perfectly normal quality issues are magnified by the size of the release pop and tech blogs who want click traffic.

Almost every professional review says higher build quality but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

"iPhone's slightly longer battery life"

+60% > web browsing. Almost every professional review says the same thing but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6330/the-iphone-5-review/13

"is a result of its puny screen."

+14% hotspot battery life with the screen off. Same link.

"

http://www.mophie.com/

"1.3 GHz dual-core processor, whereas the Galaxy S3 has a 1.4 GHz "

Newsflash: different ARM processors have different Dmips/Mhz making this an Apple's to Oranges comparison. Samsung's cortex A15's at 2 Ghz are twice as fast as the A9 chips at 1.5 Ghz.

North American GS3's don't even have the quad core 1.4 Ghz chip tho, they run a dual core Snapdragon.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6330/the-iphone-5-review/10

GS3 not shown in all charts on the page but:

Anand: it's clear the iPhone 5 ... tends to outperform the latest ARM based Android smartphones.

FWIW I'll say the international GS3 is very close and ahead in some benchmarks but this is paid for by even worse battery comparisons and heavily mitigated by the gpu difference.

"that the iPhone has a better display is far from a foregone conclusion"

From your article:

"Another study done by DisplayMate, which conducts testing for manufacturers, found that the iPhone 5's display was "state-of-the-art accurate," and only fell short to the new iPad in terms of accuracy and contrast.

DisplayMate president Raymond Soneira blasted the study, arguing that the color gamut test IHS conducted was based off of an old standard that has led to incorrect conclusions.

Jakhanwah declined to comment on the new standard or Soneira's comments.

So lols and all the superior quality of Apple's display is mentioned in almost every professional review but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

" Are you kidding me?"

No. Almost every professional review says the same thing but whatever, I'm clearly on Apple's payroll here.

"Let me know when there are functional Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Voice apps for the iPhone"

Besides the fact that asking for first party titles on another platform is total bullshit there actually are substitutes for all of those and have been for awhile. There's actually a Gmail app as well, I haven't used it because there's better.

""

Zing. Maps for Android is indeed better. Google Maps has never routed anyone off into a comical place. One of those statements is laughingly false.

"I'd rather not have updates"

Well I can see why you're so happy with Samsung.

"Go back to Daring Fireball kid."

Go back and look at the post I was responding to. Do you really want to encourage the sort of empty derp OS cheerleader comments like that?

Despite being wrong about everything (as cited) above you probably thought you were right. You probably still think you are. But I'll leave you with someone else who thought the iphone 5 wasn't that great until he used it as his phone and learned something on Daring Fireball which is a good blog that I have many criticisms of:

I’ve made a huge mistake. I’ve had the iPhone 5 for about a week and a half, and I’m still annoyed about the dock connector thing. But it’s a small problem, and in retrospect I was wrong to allow myself to become overwhelmed by dock-based frustration.

That’s because, in all other ways, the iPhone 5 is the best phone ever to grace the earth. It beats every single rival on just about every metric you can think of, including speed, battery life, and especially beauty and workmanship.

...

I could have remained silent about my reversal. It’s been weeks since the iPhone 5 went on sale, so there’s no real point in my writing a review—dozens of critics, and more importantly millions of actual customers, have had a chance to use the device, so the opinion of one more tech writer isn’t really a big deal. But I decided to speak up after reading John Gruber’s review of the phone...

Farhad Manjoo:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/10/...

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