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The market is saturated with Android devices. Of course it's going to overtake the iPhone market. If there was only one Android device available at any given ti

The market is saturated with Android devices. Of course it's going to overtake the iPhone market. If there was only one Android device available at any given time, that'd be a completely different question.

lukejonesme 16y ago
I realise my response seems more targeted towards sales than reviews, but it covers both sides.
- ZeroGravitas 16y ago
  I've heard that said many times in terms of sales. Do you really think that it applies to review scores as well? I mean you could suggest that some niche android-powered device might so neatly fit some weird need that it gets full marks from the 3 people who buy it, which would be higher than the average of all iPhone reviews. But the example in the article is the multi-million selling Galaxy S. (Note also it's UK focused, so AT&T versus Verizon doesn't apply)
will_critchlow 16y ago
I think the point is that if you look at the average across all devices, the iPhone is still ahead, but if there was only one Android phone (and it was one of the good ones e.g. the Samsung Galaxy S) then Android would be ahead. The average Android review score is pulled down by the crappy Android devices. Having an open market creates higher highs and lower lows than Apple controlling everything (it seems).
- Terretta 16y ago
  And not whatsoever related to a biased agenda among the reviewers? Very different things matter to those who gravitate to one or the other. iPhone users rate it down if it doesn't work miracles without them even thinking about it. Android users rate it up for maxing out tech specs and embodying "open" principles. True, I exaggerate. But these self-selecting groups rate on different criteria.
  - will_critchlow 16y ago
    Yep. True. Not unbiased in the slightest. I find it interesting nonetheless as I would not have guessed it to be true... You (and other commenters saying similar things) are definitely right on this point, but I remain interested :)
  - ergo98 16y ago
    True, I exaggerate. Again, Android is now mainstream. The iPhone is now mainstream. Any delusions that denizens of places like HN are the typical sort of buyer are terribly far off reality. The average buyer has no such desire to hoist the flag. And every time Android comes up the anecdotes appear about how everyone anyone knows with an Android is so disappointed and just can't wait until the day that they can trade it in for an iPhone, etc. Which of course is garbage, but there it is. Android as a mainstream platform has gotten dramatically better. Aside from improvements in the versions, the application ecosystem is what is really improving perceptions of the device. It is less common now that Android users feel like they have some sort of knock-off device, finding themselves left out of the application game.
ergo98 16y ago
While I do think you were confused when you wrote this (although even relative to sales it's questionable: Apple came along and decimated the entire field of J2ME devices), I would actually agree that relative to best device it is true. Why? Because there is intense, endless competition in the Android space, with dozens of companies kicking and screaming to get on top of the pile. The pace of change on the hardware side has been blistering (less so on the software side, though Google is the critical impediment there) because of that. It is an evolutionary ecosystem. The iPhone side of course adapts to competition, but with just a single vendor and a single set of interests, it does so much more slowly. When the 3GS came out it was, by far, the top of the herd. When the 4 came out it was tight, but it was a bit above the best of the Android pack. With the iPhone 5...I'm not so sure. I don't know what they could reasonably do to catch up to the ridiculously equipped devices coming out now.
bane 16y ago
It sounds like your advice is for Apple to release more devices to compete at different levels of the platform.

lukejonesme 16y ago

I realise my response seems more targeted towards sales than reviews, but it covers both sides.

ZeroGravitas 16y ago
I've heard that said many times in terms of sales. Do you really think that it applies to review scores as well? I mean you could suggest that some niche android-powered device might so neatly fit some weird need that it gets full marks from the 3 people who buy it, which would be higher than the average of all iPhone reviews. But the example in the article is the multi-million selling Galaxy S. (Note also it's UK focused, so AT&T versus Verizon doesn't apply)

will_critchlow 16y ago

I think the point is that if you look at the average across all devices, the iPhone is still ahead, but if there was only one Android phone (and it was one of the good ones e.g. the Samsung Galaxy S) then Android would be ahead. The average Android review score is pulled down by the crappy Android devices. Having an open market creates higher highs and lower lows than Apple controlling everything (it seems).

Terretta 16y ago
And not whatsoever related to a biased agenda among the reviewers? Very different things matter to those who gravitate to one or the other. iPhone users rate it down if it doesn't work miracles without them even thinking about it. Android users rate it up for maxing out tech specs and embodying "open" principles. True, I exaggerate. But these self-selecting groups rate on different criteria.
- will_critchlow 16y ago
  Yep. True. Not unbiased in the slightest. I find it interesting nonetheless as I would not have guessed it to be true... You (and other commenters saying similar things) are definitely right on this point, but I remain interested :)
- ergo98 16y ago
  True, I exaggerate. Again, Android is now mainstream. The iPhone is now mainstream. Any delusions that denizens of places like HN are the typical sort of buyer are terribly far off reality. The average buyer has no such desire to hoist the flag. And every time Android comes up the anecdotes appear about how everyone anyone knows with an Android is so disappointed and just can't wait until the day that they can trade it in for an iPhone, etc. Which of course is garbage, but there it is. Android as a mainstream platform has gotten dramatically better. Aside from improvements in the versions, the application ecosystem is what is really improving perceptions of the device. It is less common now that Android users feel like they have some sort of knock-off device, finding themselves left out of the application game.

ergo98 16y ago

While I do think you were confused when you wrote this (although even relative to sales it's questionable: Apple came along and decimated the entire field of J2ME devices), I would actually agree that relative to best device it is true. Why? Because there is intense, endless competition in the Android space, with dozens of companies kicking and screaming to get on top of the pile. The pace of change on the hardware side has been blistering (less so on the software side, though Google is the critical impediment there) because of that. It is an evolutionary ecosystem. The iPhone side of course adapts to competition, but with just a single vendor and a single set of interests, it does so much more slowly. When the 3GS came out it was, by far, the top of the herd. When the 4 came out it was tight, but it was a bit above the best of the Android pack. With the iPhone 5...I'm not so sure. I don't know what they could reasonably do to catch up to the ridiculously equipped devices coming out now.

bane 16y ago

It sounds like your advice is for Apple to release more devices to compete at different levels of the platform.