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Christopher Dawson
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Android phones dominate CTIA: Is Apple a 1-trick pony?

By | March 24, 2010, 10:28am PDT

Summary: With 115 phones either on or near the market, Android is poised to offer Apple a real run for its money. Got competition?

Special Report: CTIA Wireless

There’s little doubt that the iPhone remains the smartphone to beat. At around a quarter of the smartphone market (depending upon your reckoning - regardless, it’s a lot), iPhone sales remain extraordinarily strong. There’s good reason for this - it’s a great phone with a kajillion (give or take) apps. However, the attention being paid to Android-based “superphones” at this year’s CTIA conference makes me wonder how it will continue to compete in a market with countless choices on the Android platform.

As a consumer, if you want an iPhone experience (access to the App store, Safari, slick gesture and multitouch, iTunes, etc.), then you can buy an iPhone. Sure, it can be black or white and it can be a 3G or 3GS. It can have 3 different hard drive capacities. But it’s still an iPhone from Apple. It’s being sold unlocked now, but you’re also fairly limited on carrier choice.

On the other hand, if you want an Android phone, your choices are a bit more varied: Googleandblog.com lists 115 phones currently running Android. While some of these are spread across different countries and a variety of carriers, the point is clear. Consumers (and enterprises) have a whole lot more choice looking at Android as their platform of choice rather than iPhone.

If the iPhone is your thing, then great. However, in terms of market penetration, wouldn’t it seem that a platform with phones specialized for messaging, for multimedia, for voice (heck, the HTC EVO is a 4G hotspot for up to 8 computers), etc., is a bit more compelling than Apple’s single offering?

Perhaps the iPhone is just so good, there only needs to be one offering. After all, Apple’s approach to computers as the sole source of OS X offerings has continued to pay dividends. Tier 1 PC vendors have to compete with each other for increasingly low margins while Apple can charge a premium for their equipment (even if their MacBook and MacBook Pros are looking a bit long in the tooth).

However, as consumers, it’s hard to argue with choice and competition. Android has certainly injected a bit (OK, a lot) into the smartphone marketplace. The iPhone 4G better be really cool.

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Topics

Apple iPhone, Phone, Apple Inc., Choice, CTIA, Android, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Christopher Dawson

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

Disclosure

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.). He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change. He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have). Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others. Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair. Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards. Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap. Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff. Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable. Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.

Biography

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson grew up in Seattle, back in the days of pre-antitrust Microsoft, coffeeshops owned by something other than Starbucks, and really loud, inarticulate music. He escaped to the right coast in the early 90's and received a degree in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. While there, he began a career in health and educational information systems, with a focus on clinical trials and related statistical programming and database modeling. This focus led him to several positions at Johns Hopkins, a couple-year stint in private industry, teaching high school math and technology, and 2 years as the technology director for his local school district. Most recently, he started his own consulting business and is now the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network provider. He lives with his wife, five kids (yes, 5), 2 dogs, and a hateful cat in a small town in north-central Massachusetts. Although he is no longer teaching, his roles with WizIQ and ZDNet allow him to continue helping students and teachers add value to education with technology rather than merely adding to the bottom line.
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2.1
dave@... 23rd Apr 2010
Is on my Droid, nice improvement, and works perfectly. You are
appparently ill-informed about the Android world.
View in thread
0 Votes
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Do the sum of those phones
John Zern 24th Mar 2010
equal that of the iPhone?

Sure, you can put Android on 1000 different phones, but will they collectivelly outsell the iPhone?
0 Votes
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Predictions...
drphysx 24th Mar 2010
...are that they will collectively outsell the iPhone by the end of 2010.

But you don't even need the sum of those phones. The HTC Evo or Desire alone are much better than the iPhone, both hardware and software (aside from the smaller Marketplace) and I highly doubt that Apple will release something that's competitive to the Evo in June. It's only the brand that still sells iPhones, the phone itself can not compete anymore.
0 Votes
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I agree......
OhTheHumanity 24th Mar 2010
My droid phone does everything I need it to do and does it just as good or better than the iphone. I just love not having to be pinned down my Apple's terms. I know Google wants me to use their services extensively with my phone, but I don't have to and usually I don't. But the phone is fast, slick, and even has a better camera than the iphone. Not sure where the iPhone can beat the droid? If anyone has the answers I would like to know them.

And the absence of the Apple Logo does not count.
0 Votes
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The camera.
Bruizer 26th Mar 2010
Side by side, my iPhone 3GS takes much better (sharper/in
focus/detail/exposure) than my two buds with a Droid.
0 Votes
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My prediction
Cobra7fac 24th Mar 2010
Apple will not be able to keep up with the rest of the market. Apples closed system will lower market share. Any time apple releases a new iPhone, it will be good for a few weeks or a month then a new Android or Win7 phone comes out. iPhone will get the reputation of being on outdated hardware. Only the Mac die hards will keep it going.

As far as the app store vs Android Market? Android market will win. Developers are nor going to spend tons of time and money making apps with the possability of being rejected vs being able to put it on an open market. App store got as big as it did because it had no compatition, now it does and app development will slow, android will pick up even faster.

Poof, it's 2014. Now what you do is you buy a cell phone with a carrier and YOU decide what OS you want. You could but a HTC Hero and load Win7 moble for example (this technology has already been shown). You will be able to buy any phone and put on any OS, except Apple. Apple will not allow iPhone OS to be put on anything but iPhones (like MacOS X already is). iPhone will loose even more popularity and it will become the nitch "cool" device that people buy to be different just like everyone else they hang out with.

Every so often Apple will supprise us and make a cool inovation for iPhone, some will buy it but then other companies will come out with something better and iPhone goes back down again.
0 Votes
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Interesting scenario, Cob, but....
Userama 24th Mar 2010
I don't think I'll sell my Apple stock just yet.
0 Votes
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Nor would I (If I had any)
Cobra7fac 24th Mar 2010
I'm not saying apple will crash and burn. I think it's a great company to invest in. I just think market share will go down.

Personally I'd like to see iPhone/Android/WinMob all around 30% and others (Palm/Blackberry for example) at 10%. Think about price drops and new tech these guys would make going for every 1%.

Forget the numbers, they were an example. Essentually the best ones close to even with other players lurking in the background makeing money to stay in and inovate the market and ready to jump to the top should they get that great idea.
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Words
dhays 25th Mar 2010
"with the possability" (possibility)
"no compatition" (competition)
"nitch "cool"" (niche)
evidently spell checker not used.
As far as the phones are concerned, don't need a smart one, don't care who wins. My Razr makes and receives calls just fine.
0 Votes
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Another prediction...
Bruizer 25th Mar 2010
There will be three winners here. RIM, Apple and Google. Win7, while
looking pretty good, is still 9 months out and starting at 0.00% market
share. Nokia will continue to slide but will hold on to Africa but will
loose much of Europe/Asia.

The handset makers for Android will be fighting for the lowest end.
Android, while doing pretty good in shear numbers, will make the
handset makers very little actual money. As a result, they will cut cut
cut costs and Android will get the reputation of being the "cheap
phone."

RIM and Apple will keep control of the hardware and be able to keep
profits a bit higher. RIM will do a decent job continuing their push
into the consumer space and Apple will do OK with the exception of
their reliability on iTunes. If Apple can get away form iTunes, the
iPhone will win the "Enterprise" market doing even better than RIM. I
do not think iTunes is going away, however, so look to see weak
adoption of the iPhone in Enterprise.

Fast forward 2013. Flash will be dead and HTML5 will rule the web.

Developers will still be flocking to Apple, however, and Android will
continue to see weak development as it has since it came out.
Consider this: Apple's App Store is only 4 months older than the
Google Market Place. At the end of the day, Google will be the only
company making money off of Android. Developers and handset
makers will be squeaking by. Only die-hard Android developers will
continue to develop for Android because:

1) iPhone OS users are over 4X more likely to actually purchase an app.

2) iPhone OS users are about 10%-20% more likely to actually
download an app.

3) Device fragmentation. Google is doing a poor job of dealing with
this. While this is not a major Developer concern it is a major User
concern. The problem with fragmentation is it is NOT a developer
concern but should be. Many of the Apps my "Droid" friends
download format pretty poorly. Several look correct (coded to the API)
but many are coded to a device. This gives a poor quality appearance
on Android.

4) AdMob data is greatly understating iPhone OS because they started
throwing out iPod Touch usage after Google bought them. Makes
Android look better.
0 Votes
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On what basis?
Sleeper Service 26th Mar 2010
"Nokia will continue to slide but will hold on to Africa but will loose much of Europe/Asia."

Since share went up in 2009?
0 Votes
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Nokia's overall trend is downward.
Bruizer 26th Mar 2010
In Asia and Europe. Africa seems to be their one strong point in the
world.

Nokia's world wide market share in the smart phone arena plummeted in
2009 by about 7%. This continues a general slide down as a result of
Android.
0 Votes
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Err... no.
Sleeper Service 27th Mar 2010
EMEA had a slight decrease, Asia Pacific went up considerably.

Also, do try to remember that the market itself has expanded with a lot of that expansion in the US where Nokia have no presence. In terms of sales Nokia sold 8 million more smartphones in 2009 than in 2008.

Android on the other hand has had little if any impact in Europe or Asia.

Those are the facts. You can check them with IDC, Gartner and Canalsys.
0 Votes
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Err... Yes.
Bruizer 27th Mar 2010
Selling more smart-phones is not the same as increasing market share.
When you competitors are growing faster than you in an increasing
market, that is not a good thing and is an erosion of overall market
share.

Sorry to bust your bubble.
0 Votes
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More than half of Android's apps are free.
dave95. Updated - 26th Mar 2010
57% to be exact. While iPhone is at 25% free 75% paid for.

http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-brief/48579-android-has-most-free-apps-blackberry-apps-most-expensive

What does that mean? While users of Android may look at that as some positive (they get their free Apple App Store rejects), developers may think the very opposite. There is no money to be made in a store where the majority of Apps are currently free. And a platform where users may very well become so accustomed to getting free Apps they may not want to pay for anything. The big name developers may shy away from the platform because of this user expectation.
0 Votes
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On the desktop....
dave@... 26th Mar 2010
... once there was Apple, and no PC, and they
did quite well. The PC came out, the Mac came
out. The PC was kind of a joke to the casual
user compared to the Mac, but it did a few
things that business valued... in particular,
it crunched spreadsheets 100x faster than other
computers, including every Apple.

So Apple's hit on another thing no one gave
much though to -- the consumer smart phone.
RIM, Microsoft, and Palm were largely focused
on business, and, oh-by-the-way, some consumers
use them. So Apple was able to do very well
here, beating Palm and Microsoft (well, as
least when they weren't beating themselves).

But now there's Android, a consumer-oriented
smart phone OS that's more powerful and more
open. Maybe not as slick, quite yet. But Apple
didn't fall to 5% of the PC base by not being
slick, they fell because it was Apple versus
the entire PC industry using Windows (desktops
here, of course Linux is significant
elsewhere). And while Android hasn't beaten
Apple, yet, there are good signs.

For one, the Droid alone beat the iPhone to the
one million mark. Sure, the iPhone blazed the
trail, but that's a good sign. Secondly, it
really is everyone in the phone business other
than Nokia, RIM, Apple, and Palm behind
Android.. similar enough to the early days of
the Mac and PC.

Apple's already behind on technology. They're
using old-fashioned screens (480x360 is for
$100 and below smart phones, not your
flagship), they're slow on the network (384kb/s
upload, max), and their UI is easy but dated.
No multitasking, which Palm, Android, Nokia and
others have proven works just dandy on
smartphones. No Java, no Flash, etc. makes them
second class on the web, while other smart
phones are first class.

Some of these are problems Apple might fix,
others, not so much. This time, they're
actually going to help Android bet them, I
predict, by adhering to Steve Jobs draconic and
arbitrary rules, which serve only Apple. Not
the customer.

Which is good... I'm happy to see Android win.
So's my Droid.
0 Votes
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Dodgy analogy.
matthew_maurice 28th Mar 2010
And as far as the Droid/Android goes-how's the 2.1 update working out
for you? The fact that the manufacturer of the most successful Android
handset can't get the latest rev of the software to work on it isn't a good
sign.
0 Votes
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2.1
dave@... 23rd Apr 2010
Is on my Droid, nice improvement, and works perfectly. You are
appparently ill-informed about the Android world.
0 Votes
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Remember Iphone is shoddyly made
Fletchguy 25th Mar 2010
You also have to take into account alot of people have to buy multiple iphones as they are poorly made and a very fragile unit. As an electronics repair tech Id say 90% of broken phones brought in are apple iphones. The cost for most parts can quickly make it cheaper to just buy a new phone. The iphone in its sleekness and uselessnes is made very soft so Id dived half of apples sales as being same customers buying replacement phones for thier broken apple junked phone.
0 Votes
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As an electronics repair tech
Pete "athynz" Athens 25th Mar 2010
just how many broken iPhones do you come across in a day/week/month/year? - I'm assuming you work for Apple or an authorized dealer to be able to report on this issue with such accuracy.
0 Votes
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Fragile???
Bruizer 25th Mar 2010
I have dropped mine so many times (think 4-5 feet on to concrete) I have
lost count with no serious damage; how do you get them as "fragile"? I
have some scuffs and the fit to form is not as good as "new" but I have
abused this thing.

Short of sitting on it (and that can break any phone, yet alone one with
lots of glass), iPhones are tough.
0 Votes
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Documented 30% Failure of iPhones!
i2fun@... 26th Mar 2010
I could link to them, but you search it out! wink

Here's the break down (haha) of iPhone's failure
rate and return for service. Excluding replacement
of the battery.

10% of all iPhones have failed due to software or
hardware malfunctions (mainly the touchscreen).

20% are returned for service due to faulty
connections, drops and related accidents.

Contrary to Motorola's Razr with an over all
service returns rate (including accidental drops,
etc) of less than 16% to date!!!

So either Apple iPhone user are clumsier than other
phone users or it has some basic weak/cheap design
flaws.

Along with your ridiculously being forced to return
EVERY SINGLE iPhone for a new battery! wink
0 Votes
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But nothing from a reliable source.
Bruizer 27th Mar 2010
That is the problem with the 30%. It is, at best, innuendo. I saw it on the
internet so it must be true.

Steven
0 Votes
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Outsell iPhone? Android Phones Will Collectively Outsell iPhone!
i2fun@... 26th Mar 2010
Every business analyst in the World knows that. It's
been predicted as early as next year. But by 2012
Android will still be 2nd to Nokia (Apple 3rd in
Smartphones). They'll run on their new Intel/Nokia
developed version of Linux, MeeGo. What you should
really be asking is why iPhone/iPad will become an also
ran product over the next 10 years.

The answer is simple! "Closed" vs "Open" and the fact
that while in the past control of the entire computer
market has been tied to proprietary software and
hardware. Closed Standards Software and hardware have
severely stifled innovation. Now manufacturers have
realized this and that is why Hardware innovation has
outpaced software over the last 10yrs. But manufacturers
have formed alliances and partnerships to break the back
of closed proprietary standards in software (including
OS's). Our hardware now far exceeds any software
capabilities!

For instance "Multitouch" has been a part of Touchscreen
technology's capabilities, since it was invented in the
70's (used in Bank ATM's). Apple was NOT the first to
harness Multitouch in their products software either.
Display tables, gaming devices, etc have been shown at
CES yearly since at least 2002.

First touch screen phone was an HTC in 2002(remember
iPaq). HTC was actually the first out the door with a
finger gesture touch phone 4mos before iPhones were
being sold. So a software patent taken out after the
fact, proves nothing. The actual physical arrival of a
product on the market takes precedence and provides
proof in court of it's prior existence!

HTC's own documentation will prove they were working on
it prior to iPhone even being a concept and they
launched the Advantage Touchscreen Phone in 2006 (1yr
prior to iPhone).

I really hope these lawsuits get advanced into a trial
by jury. HTC has an irrefutable reputation as
innovators. Much more so than the Thieves at Apple and
that is easily demonstrated from the first time Steve
Jobs stole "Blue Box" calls from AT&T. Then was bold
enough to walk into PARC and take their Desktop and
Mouse ideas. Claiming them as his own, like he's doing
now with Cell Phone innovation. They didn't invent the
Cell Phone or MultiTouch Screens or finger gestures and
their Garden Walled Proprietary Prison isn't new either.
AOL Hell and WebTV used them for ages before they
failed! grin

Final note: Proprietary Standards have always stifled
innovation that hurts DEVELOPERS most. It's Death March
began on Game Consoles. Platforms that have not shared
anything in common with others have died. The biggest
reason for the perceived failure of Sony's PS3 is it's
locked proprietary nature. It's why Nintendo has far
fewer games than all other next generation platforms.

Today Developers can ill afford to spend upwards of $50
million for a game that only runs on one platform. The
cost of development of software has quadrupled over the
last 10 years. Due in part to Lawsuits, Software patents
and closed proprietary platforms. The Proprietary
Business model is DEAD, but Apple & the public still
don't know it. Now these bogus Software Patents need to
be put to death by a 12 person firing squad in court!!!
0 Votes
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Thanks for the laugh.
Bruizer 27th Mar 2010
While I question software patents in general, your analysis of the HTC
work and how it related to Apples patents almost made me laugh out of
my chair.

I needed a laugh.
0 Votes
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Quantity=Quality
gigabot71 24th Mar 2010
That's why Windows Mobile has always been so awesome. It's
on so many phones.
0 Votes
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Regardless...
drphysx 24th Mar 2010
...the best Android phones (HTC Desire and Evo) are MUCH better than the iPhone.

As much as I'd like to see an iPhone 4G with a 4.3" WVGA screen, 8mp camera with dual LED flash, 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM and high quality materials...

...it's most likely not going to happen...

...not to mention the better software that Android is.
0 Votes
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as always a useless feature list
bannedfromzdnetagain Updated - 24th Mar 2010
how are they better than the iphone? because they have empty bullet
points on a feature list. or the screen is bigger? by that logic a 5"
phone would also be better. how stupid. it's aphone, is has to slip in
your pocket.

in most tests over the last few months the 3 mp iphone camera takes
better pictures than most others smartphones (and probably even you
know that megapixel is a useless number for camera quality). just
google it.

the screen looks much better than oled screens with higher
resolutions (again a pretty useless number) google it. one of the tests
was here on zdnet a few weeks ago.

the touchscreen of the iphone is much more accurate than any other
touchscreen. have a look here:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/moto-touchscreen-
comparison-recruits-robotic-implements-for-heig/

i know it is hard to grasp, but empty feature bullet points mean
nothing. real world built quality is important.
0 Votes
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And it makes better calls!
Hogleg 25th Mar 2010
Oh, wait. Maybe not.

Little important for a cell phone.
0 Votes
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My crappy Verizon phone
Too Old For IT 25th Mar 2010
My crappy Verizon phone can call circles around the iPhone in most locations in the continental US.

It's the network, stupid.
0 Votes
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I disagree with the Megapixel comment
Rick_K 29th Mar 2010
in most tests over the last few months the 3 mp iphone camera
takes
better pictures than most others smartphones (and probably even you
know that megapixel is a useless number for camera quality). just
google it.

To be more accurate it is the Megapixels at a specific sensor size.
When specifically speak about a particular sensor size there is a
threshold at which higher resolution no longer improves the image.
With many DSLRs the answer is simply to use a larger sensor. The
image quality on a larger sensor, with higher resolution is evident
(when enlarge by 400%). I have seen this first hand when comparing a
Canon 5D vs. a Canon 5D MkII. The 5D MkII uses a larger sensor, as a
result the RAW Image quality, I did not check the JPEG images, is
noticeably better.

I do agree that given the relatively small sensors used in phones the
threshold seems to be in the 3 to 4 Megapixel range. The same is also
true of displays.There is a threshold that is determined by the size of
the display. In theory you could have a 15? display, with a resolution
of 3840 by 2160 (twice that of 1080p HD). But to make the anything
viewable it would have to be scaled. When you start enlarging
graphics, text, etc., you create jagged lines. Take an image and blow it
up 500%, you will see jagged lines. So there is an optimal resolution
per square mm, once you exceed that there are no benefits, and
potentially more negatives to image quality.
0 Votes
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Thus far EVERY post you've done here
Pete "athynz" Athens 25th Mar 2010
has been subjective... you say that the HTC Desire and Evo are better... better HOW? Give up some real specs here...

And are you basing this on personal experience with all of the involved products (i.e. the iPhone, the Desire, the Evo) or just using experience with one of those and filling in the rest with FUD and misinformation?
0 Votes
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You're right...
dave@... 26th Mar 2010
.. but you're also making the argument for
Android. Some people will find the HTC Desire a
better phone than the iPhone, others will not.
Some will like the Droid or the Eris or the
Nexus One better, others not.

The basic problem is, Apple has one product
with a few different memory options. The
Android world offers 100+ options, all pushing
for market position. That's the kind of thing
that pushes innovation, not making essentially
the same product every year with a few minor
tweaks, as Apple has since the first iPhone.

The set of people who find the iPhone their
best choice will shrink as real competition
rises.

It's further hurt by the iPhone being
restricted in their network support, like AT&T-
only in the USA, or on Unicom in China (the #3
carrier) versus Dell, Lenovo, HTC, and others
with Android at China Mobile (earth's largest
phone carrier.. more subscribers than we have
people in the USA), etc.
0 Votes
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Quantity has a quality in itself
LBiege 24th Mar 2010
Lenin was once saying sth like that.
0 Votes
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Does Android offer too much?
CowLauncher 24th Mar 2010
Buying a smart phone is a commitment beyond the sum of
it's parts. What do you get in a market flooded with Android
phones with tons of unauthorized apps? When you buy an
iPhone you can be pretty confident in what you are getting.
There ain't no devil like the devil you know.
0 Votes
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RE: Does Android offer too much?
drphysx 24th Mar 2010
Money is a good indicator.

You can't expect a 200$ Android phone to beat a brand new iPhone.

If you buy a Nexus One, HTC Desire or Evo, you can be sure you get something better that an iPhone.

And I have yet to find any bad apps in the Android Market. It was a lot easier to find bad apps in the iPhone AppStore when I had an iPhone!
0 Votes
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Dear god! It's a mac guy gone linux guy...
ericesque 24th Mar 2010
that's like some kind of brain screwed uber evangelist!!

I do have to ask, what happens when the RDF encounters the alternate reality where Linux doesn't suck? Can the RDF actually enter the alternate reality? Or do you have to leave it at Upstart?
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Yes, Linux sucks
Great Kahuna Updated - 24th Mar 2010
It sucks more than anything
that's ever sucked before.
.

It sucks, it sucks, it sucks!
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I can...
dave@... 26th Mar 2010
I paid $100 for my Droid. It's better than a brand
new iPhone. Q.E.D.
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Heard this with the iPod
itguy08 24th Mar 2010
There were millions of MP3 players. Yet only one dominates, what 70% of the market?
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Because of iTunes, not the player.
Great Kahuna 24th Mar 2010
.
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Re: iTunes
Arm A. Geddon Updated - 24th Mar 2010
Funny reply. I thought with all the talk around here(ZDNet) no one would want a device running iTunes?

p.s. Why do all these phones try to imitate the iPhone?
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imitate??
brad1000 24th Mar 2010
is that like Firestone asking Goodyear why there tires are round and claiming its a copy.

I do not know who was first above, but things like touch screens, icons, multitouch - they were inevitable revolutions of technology like a tire being round. This is also not getting into the whole who did what first thing either because HTC could of very well been first in their own invention of touchscreen technology, and if they weren't they certainly did not have time and scope to understand the importance it would have on society nor the time to know what they were "copying" other than they developed such technology upon their own R&D which is not copyright infringement regardless of who got patent first.

Just because Apple with the Iphone has a better and more known product with the ipod and carried that already built marketable product over to the cellphone business does not mean that innovated products such as HTC was putting out at the time and the directions those companies were going were copying just because Apple had an idea already and the marketplace of apps available based on Apple's name and its marketability.
You like Apple and and are a fan and I get that, but to call any android product garbage based on the os itself is crazy, ludicrous, and just ignorant of reality as it is a great OS, and judging by Apple's desperate lawsuit against HTC, they obviously feel is is something to worry about too.
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Where did I say Android is garbage?
Arm A. Geddon Updated - 24th Mar 2010
All I've said is all phones are starting to look like the iPhone and the fact, that every phone that comes out someone has to call it the iPhone killer. It may be one but let the market decide. Yes, I do like some Apple products but I'm a big supporter of Linux. Btw, I like Microsoft Windows 7 too.

Another thing, there's already the talk of the iPad killer. Does that make sense for a product that's not even on the market yet?
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my mistake
brad1000 24th Mar 2010
i read so many of these posts so i apologize. guess my reply was my answer to a sum of posts and not necessarily to you.

I do agree with this post. I do get tired of this term "iphone killer" because it gives disrespect to how good the android OS really is. Does there have to be only one OS? I am sure there is plenty of room for both Android, Iphone, and Windows OS in the mobile market, so yeah I do agree with you in that these readers should rather judge the technology based on themselves rather than comparing them to just one other.
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I agree.
Arm A. Geddon 24th Mar 2010
There's room for everyone. Also, most here would agree too that competition is good.
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Flattery
Partners in Grime 25th Mar 2010
Because prior to the iPhone all the tire manufacturers had square tires.

ps Without the iPhone there would be no Android.
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Nope
dave@... 26th Mar 2010
There's this amazing invention called a
Calendar, that lets you actually check on
assertions like this.

Google bought Android, Inc. in 2006. Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007. So yeah, there
would have been Android without the iPhone.

It's true that the iPhone's acceptance helped
Android... the market for a consumer-oriented
smart phone, which most smart phone companies
didn't believe in, was proven by Apple.

Don't forget that Android was founded by
telecom people: folks from Danger, Inc. and T-
Mobile. They knew what they were doing, before
the iPhone came out.
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Yup
dave@... 26th Mar 2010
Before the iPhone first shipped, EVERYONE
pretty much knew what they wanted in the
iPhone. The rumor mills were running rampant
that Apple was working on a phone, or an "all
screen" iPod. The end result of the iPhone is a
design that's largely a non-design... a big
screen, and a button. I had something very much
like that, before the iPhone, in my Palm TX...
a big screen and four buttons.

Finger touch... everyone in tech who saw
"Minority Report" in 2002(among other things,
including presentations at the TED conference)
thought about using hands or fingers to control
things, rather than a stylus... if they weren't
already. That's why iPhone, Android, and
Microsoft's Surface all came out in 2006-2007
doing much the same things, yet with no cross
influence. You could even add the Zune, which
was more iPhone like than the iPods of the day,
GUI-wise, before the iPhone shipped.
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Every hear of the AppStore???
Bruizer 26th Mar 2010
Just wondering. The Market Place is a sad joke in comparison.
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You can't "cut and paste" success...
frankz00 25th Mar 2010
Yes, the limited model did work for the iPod,
but it's not going to work for the iPhone. The
iPod succeeded because every other mp3 player
bumbled and stumbled their way into making
products. Not so with Google. Google is
actually putting out something that works well
and is so far doing what Microsoft couldn't (a
multi manufacturer scalable phone OS). The
iPhone CANNOT and WILL NOT win without
background audio for the developers, a faster
app approval process, and some liberalization of
the the API and the content they allow. I'm an
iPhone owner but I'm switching to Android at the
end of my contract because that's where the real
innovative action is taking place. Apple would
really have to hit it out of the park with OS 4
for me to be interested...

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