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"The beauty in Android is that it doesn't have to be the best ... it just has to be good enough + shipped on cheaper phones ... just like Windows did." The "ch
by ergo98 16y ago
"The beauty in Android is that it doesn't have to be the best ... it just has to be good enough + shipped on cheaper phones ... just like Windows did."
The "cheaper phones" bit has never been Android's advantage, though it always gets brought up as if Android is the poor man's iPhones.
It isn't.
The Droid isn't less expensive than the iPhone was. Neither was even the miserable G1. The Galaxy S isn't a cheap phone. The Evo 4G isn't a cheap phone.
My Nexus One cost me $550. How much did your iPhone cost you?
Kids with part-time McJobs have iPhones that they paid for with their own income.
Android's advantage is that there are a lot of vendors aligning and running in the same direction, and the innovation is reaching an extraordinary pace: Android has gone from a bit of a joke that some of us held onto purely for philosophical reasons a mere 12 months ago, to now undoubtedly being the #1 hardware platform, and is becoming a strong contender for the #1 software platform.
No, it really is. The improvements to the quality of software across the board is incredible.
Which, I suppose, is exactly how Windows succeeded: Microsoft set up a system where a lot of very capable, very energetic companies were motivated to help Microsoft succeed, and it worked dramatically, from storage system vendors to graphics card companies.
Compare that to Apple whose only real partners are media outlets who think it'll save old media (though that provides tremendous free advertising), along with lots of 1-man software shops who, at least for a time, were singing the Apple song on sites like HN.
- simonsarris 16y ago> The Droid isn't less expensive than the iPhone was. Neither was even the miserable G1. The Galaxy S isn't a cheap phone. Nonsense. > My Nexus One cost me $550. How much did your iPhone cost you? The iPhone is $599 or $699, depending on model. In the UK it is £499 to £599, equates to $780 or $950. In the UK the Nexus One was just under $550, though VAT could take another bite out of the wallet. Right now in Europe the Galaxy S is €500 ($615), less than either iPhone.
- ergo98 16y ago>Nonsense Obnoxious. >The iPhone is $599 or $699, depending on model. Ignoring the laughable notion that $549 compared to $599 makes one "cheap" relative to the other, my delivery price of the Nexus One was greater than walking into the telco and buying an iPhone 3GS (the option at the time) for full retail. Regardless, the number of iPhone owners who paid full retail approaches zero. It wasn't even possible until very recently, and is under very little demand. Instead most consumers can only stomach the illusion of spending $49 to $199 on a phone, even the faux-rich iPhone illuminati. Which is a price point that is shared by virtually all smartphones. Add in that with any smartphone you're looking at a comparable monthly servicing fee.
- robin_reala 16y agoIt wasn't even possible until very recently That might be true for the US, but it’s basically untrue for the rest of the world.
- botrak 16y agoSo you spent $599 or $699 on you iPhone? Odds overwhelmingly say no. And in the end every smartphone costs virtually the same $3000 or so.