Android to overtake iPhone?

[BabyMine]

The more and more products I see using Android I am wondering the future of the iPhone. Apple messed up by sticking with AT&T for as long as they did and frustrating customers almost forcing them to switch carriers and choose an Android smartphone.

[o_mom]

Yep. Apple bet and lost, IMO. Yes, they will always have their die-hard apple lovers, but if they had come off the ATT wagon a year or more ago, they would have had a better chance.

ATT network sucks for us and I would never switch unless there was a drastic improvement in the phone service. DH (phone through work) has dropped/missed calls on a major highway in a major city. No excuse for that at all. I think a tin can with some string would sound better than when my friends call me on their iPhones. It's like they don't have full duplex, which means that you cannot talk and listen at the same time so if one person makes a noise, the other person gets cut off.

[wellyes]

Verizon announced it is getting the iPhone next month. I think much of the Android growth was pushed by Verizon customers wanting a Smartphone.... now that the biggest cell carrier has an iPhone, it will retard the growth of android a bit.

[codex57]

I still see it as a PC vs Mac issue. Apple wants total control over the hardware, software, everything. Android leaves a lot more variety open to the various vendors. Even price. Because of that, Apple won't have a dominant share.

Considering Apple has a hard enough time with supply as it is, I think they're ok with that. It's not like Android is making Google tons of money. And the hardware makers are splitting market share themselves.

Part of the reason iOS is so popular is cuz of how smoothly and easily it runs. The lack of adjustability that critics complain about is what makes it so popular as well. It can't please everyone.

[BabyMine]

I don't see the iphone going anywhere. Yes, the iphone 5 is coming out but unless it shoots fireworks it's not really much of a change.

[crl]

Part of the reason iOS is so popular is cuz of how smoothly and easily it runs. The lack of adjustability that critics complain about is what makes it so popular as well. It can't please everyone.

I agree. I am NOT a tech person. The reason I love apple products is that I can take them out of the box and they work. I don't want to mess around with something and customize it. I just want it to work.

Catherine

[TwoBees]

The iPhone is sleek and sexy. It has a mystique about it. It's like a sports car--do people who buy a Ferrari expect it to perform well in the snow? Of course not, but they accept its limitations for other reasons. Some of that uncustomizability of the iPhone appeals to me. And some of it doesn't.

[daisymommy]

Question for you all: I only want an iPhone because it seems that all the cool apps out there are only for iPhones, and there aren't many at all for Droids. Am I wrong? DH says I am. We have Verizon, and AT&T coverage around here is awful.

[daniele_ut]

I just read that they predict that Verizon will sell 5-12 MILLION iPhones this year. I think that while Android products are great, now that Verizon has the iPhone it will stay in the lead.

[o_mom]

Question for you all: I only want an iPhone because it seems that all the cool apps out there are only for iPhones, and there aren't many at all for Droids. Am I wrong? DH says I am. We have Verizon, and AT&T coverage around here is awful.

I don't know. Apple has more (300K), but there are over 130K apps available for Android, so not like you are left wanting. I guess you would have to look at the individual apps that you wanted to see what there was.

[codex57]

Question for you all: I only want an iPhone because it seems that all the cool apps out there are only for iPhones, and there aren't many at all for Droids. Am I wrong? DH says I am. We have Verizon, and AT&T coverage around here is awful.

Give it time. Most of the cool stuff, if it isn't released at the same time, will be released on Android. And Android can have some cool apps that Apple won't allow.

The problem is, and it really varies depending on the app, phone, etc, is that while it may be on Android, it might not work as well as it does on an iPhone. Part of why things work so well on an iPhone is cuz software designers only have to make sure it works on a couple of phones, running the same software, with the same (or just a couple variations) of hardware, etc. If there's a bug, it's relatively easy to find and fix. Too many variations on Android, so sometimes an app might run a little slower, look a little funny, not work all the time, etc. This is especially true if the phone comes out after an app is released and not updated.

And while Apple has a lot more apps, most of them are crap.

Lots of people either really like Apple's iPhone or they don't. Same with Android. I could live with an Android phone, but it hardly impresses me. I never would have given up my Sprint SERO plan for an Android. Did for the iPhone.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

I agree. I am NOT a tech person. The reason I love apple products is that I can take them out of the box and they work. I don't want to mess around with something and customize it. I just want it to work.

Catherine


I totally agree and so does my Apple stock :)

[wellyes]

Question for you all: I only want an iPhone because it seems that all the cool apps out there are only for iPhones, and there aren't many at all for Droids. Am I wrong? DH says I am. We have Verizon, and AT&T coverage around here is awful.

Well, think of it this way - on this board, there's a thread about good ipod/ipad apps every 2 weeks or so. Do a search & you'll find tons of them. There's been a handful about Android apps, but it's not the same. Android may have good apps, I'm sure it does, but the watercooler talk is all about Apple apps. Whether that's because they're better or just because they're more commonly used, to me, that is a reason I'm less interested in Android.

[MichelleRC]

Question for you all: I only want an iPhone because it seems that all the cool apps out there are only for iPhones, and there aren't many at all for Droids. Am I wrong? DH says I am. We have Verizon, and AT&T coverage around here is awful.

I think there are only a handful of apps that I have not been able to get on my android phone. The only one that comes to mind at the moment is Words With Friends, and that is supposedly due out later this year.

[Globetrotter]

I have used both. Until the Android platform becomes user friendly for us non-techies, it's Iphone all the way! No competition. I do think, however, that Apple messed up by being so RIGID on so many things.

[TwoBees]

And Android can have some cool apps that Apple won't allow.




I haven't heard this. Can you explain? What types of apps and why?

[m448]

I think there's an assumed prestige with iphone that I can't seem to understand. It may be a windows vs. linux sort of thing but who knows. Perhaps it's a perceived value because of the money spent and the apple brand.

I've found the droids to be extremely user friendly and the water cooler talk? Hmmm, maybe because iphones have been out for 3-4 years while the nexus one was introduced precisely 1 year ago. I'm not a super brand loyal person so I look at features vs. brand. I do think that apple shot themselves in the foot by allowing former iphone users that were fed up with AT&T to whet their appetites with a droid.

[codex57]

I haven't heard this. Can you explain? What types of apps and why?

Soemthing as simple as video chat over 3G. Basically, you've heard of a "jailbroken" iPhone? Well, the people who do that want to do certain things that Apple won't let them. Like videochat over 3G. Android has no restrictions and all those "locked" features are available as apps on Android.

[TwoBees]

Soemthing as simple as video chat over 3G. Basically, you've heard of a "jailbroken" iPhone? Well, the people who do that want to do certain things that Apple won't let them. Like videochat over 3G. Android has no restrictions and all those "locked" features are available as apps on Android.


Okay, but, does that mean there is less regulation for the apps themselves and therefore more chance of an app containing a virus, spyware, or other malware?

[keh602]

Okay, but, does that mean there is less regulation for the apps themselves and therefore more chance of an app containing a virus, spyware, or other malware?

Yes. DH is an iPhone programmer and knows the frustrations of the app approval process, but he knows there's good reason for it.

[larig]

apple's app store is controlled closely by apple. google's is much less regulated and there are tons of different phones that have different features that they have to develop for, whereas with apple there is the original, 3G, 3Gs & 4 and the ipod touch. Developers who want to produce apps for $ have an easier time selling them and getting paid on apple's store, so in the long run there is more upside financially for them to develop for iOS first. The developer of Angry Birds explained it well, I thought.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/angry-birds-creator-expects-apples-ios-to-remain-favored-by-app-developers/