5 ms·

Android has competition in form of iOS. Windows doesn't have any competition with same level of polish. Linux experience is still broken for many people, from t

Android has competition in form of iOS. Windows doesn't have any competition with same level of polish. Linux experience is still broken for many people, from the moment of boot (many display changes, flashing loading screens, text messages scrolling on the screen), through broken drivers, hunting online for magic commandline fixes to common problems, ending up with lack of software support for the platform.

pjmlp 10y ago
iOS is irrelevant in many countries where the average population can't afford "devices for rich people". Hence why Apple is trying to bride their way into India with their 2nd hand and refurbished devices.
- simonh 10y ago
  That's true, but why is that a significant problem for Apple? They're already being slammed by some pundits because the iPhone GS 'might' be reducing their average selling price. You others are slamming them for not selling into the ultra low-end. The real question is do they have a viable, long term sustainable business and market presence.
IshKebab 10y ago
Are you seriously forgetting OSX? Maybe you excluded it because it only runs on Apple hardware, in which case Android has no competition either.
kbart 10y ago
"Android has competition in form of iOS" iOS share is <15% and declining(1), while Android has ~85% of market and is growing fast. I would not call that a fair competition.. 1. http://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-operating-systems/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-shar... EDIT: provided a more accurate link
- adamlett 10y ago
  Market share can be a misleading metric. There may be many more Android phones sold at any given moment, but a majority of them are very low-end phones that have a short life-span. In contrast, most iPhones get used for a long time. If they don't break, they typically get handed down or resold when their owners upgrade. This means that there are (relatively) more old iPhones in use than old Androids, which means that the usage share is closer than the market share would suggest.
- simonh 10y ago
  Both graphs for iOS and Android are zig-zagging up and down far more than the overall trend. If you're trying to use this data to say Android has no competition from iOS then that's absurd. Their 'share' might have declined a little but during that time their actual installed base ballooned dramatically and is only a little less than half that of Android. Furthermore most of the sales growth for Android is ultra low-end devices that iOS doesn't even pretend to want to compete with.
  - kbart 10y ago
    If one manufacturer keeps selling 85 of every new devices produced and another sells only 15 and this trend continues for 3 years now, I can say assured that one's share is increasing fast, while other's declining. That's statistics and I'm not going down with "iOS vs Android" fanboys fight (I don't belong to either) which one is better. We can only talk about competition in selected few markets (though lucrative ones), but worldwide trend is clear.
    - macintux 10y ago
      I....don't get your math. Additionally, Apple mobile devices are typically in use longer than Android (updates available, hardware+screen more robust than the majority of Android devices), so 85/15 sales doesn't translate directly into 85/15 install base.
      - simonh 10y ago

pjmlp 10y ago

iOS is irrelevant in many countries where the average population can't afford "devices for rich people". Hence why Apple is trying to bride their way into India with their 2nd hand and refurbished devices.

simonh 10y ago
That's true, but why is that a significant problem for Apple? They're already being slammed by some pundits because the iPhone GS 'might' be reducing their average selling price. You others are slamming them for not selling into the ultra low-end. The real question is do they have a viable, long term sustainable business and market presence.

IshKebab 10y ago

Are you seriously forgetting OSX? Maybe you excluded it because it only runs on Apple hardware, in which case Android has no competition either.

kbart 10y ago

"Android has competition in form of iOS" iOS share is <15% and declining(1), while Android has ~85% of market and is growing fast. I would not call that a fair competition.. 1. http://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-operating-systems/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-shar... EDIT: provided a more accurate link

adamlett 10y ago
Market share can be a misleading metric. There may be many more Android phones sold at any given moment, but a majority of them are very low-end phones that have a short life-span. In contrast, most iPhones get used for a long time. If they don't break, they typically get handed down or resold when their owners upgrade. This means that there are (relatively) more old iPhones in use than old Androids, which means that the usage share is closer than the market share would suggest.
simonh 10y ago
Both graphs for iOS and Android are zig-zagging up and down far more than the overall trend. If you're trying to use this data to say Android has no competition from iOS then that's absurd. Their 'share' might have declined a little but during that time their actual installed base ballooned dramatically and is only a little less than half that of Android. Furthermore most of the sales growth for Android is ultra low-end devices that iOS doesn't even pretend to want to compete with.
- kbart 10y ago
  If one manufacturer keeps selling 85 of every new devices produced and another sells only 15 and this trend continues for 3 years now, I can say assured that one's share is increasing fast, while other's declining. That's statistics and I'm not going down with "iOS vs Android" fanboys fight (I don't belong to either) which one is better. We can only talk about competition in selected few markets (though lucrative ones), but worldwide trend is clear.
  - macintux 10y ago
    I....don't get your math. Additionally, Apple mobile devices are typically in use longer than Android (updates available, hardware+screen more robust than the majority of Android devices), so 85/15 sales doesn't translate directly into 85/15 install base.
    - simonh 10y ago