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Interview With Android Boss, Sundar Pichai

52 points by AndrewDucker 14y ago

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
marknutter 14y ago
How is popularity being measured here? Sheer number of devices running Android? Is that really a good measure of popularity?
- jfb 14y ago
  More to the point, what, exactly, is being "revealed" here? This is standard tech "journalism"; a marketing handjob thinly disguised as a story.
  - bornhuetter 14y ago
    It was pretty hostile toward the interviewee for a "marketing handjob"
- MatthewPhillips 14y ago
  I see you didn't read past the title.
  - Samuel_Michon 14y ago
    The article states: “Android grew to the world’s most popular mobile OS (it’s now on 750 million devices worldwide, with 1.5 million new activations every day)” Given how it’s phrased, it must be referring to Android installed base. 8 months a go, Eric Schmidt announced[1] that Android has an installed base of 480 million users and that 1.3 million Android devices are activated per day. So it’s entirely possible that Wired’s figures are correct, and that Android is the most ‘popular’ mobile OS, in the literal sense of the word (lots of people use Android devices). ‘Popular’ also has other meanings, like ‘regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general’. For that, it’s more useful to look at surveys measuring user satisfaction and consumer purchase planning. Those surveys tell a different story: consumers are far more satisfied with iPhones than with other smartphones, and more Android users switch to iOS than vice versa. [1] http://www.androidcentral.com/google-reaches-13-million-device-activations-day-install-base-480-million http://www.androidcentral.com/google-reaches-13-million-devi...
    - FigBug 14y ago
      From the stats I could find, I estimate about 0.5% of them are running CyabogenMod. I had expected it to be more.
      - sbuk 14y ago
        Which I think raises an interesting point/question. We all know that these 'forums' are essentially echo chambers for all sides of the discussion and are hardly representative of typical use patterns. With that in mind, how much of the market is actually using their device? In my little corner of the world I see them (smartphones) used for photos, IM/SMS, the odd game and Facebook. On occasion the more savvy user has email enabled and may use maps for directions. Is there data out there for this? not that it changes the figures, but it could potentially alter what they mean and therefore have an impact on how we design apps etc.
    - bane 14y ago
      > and more Android users switch to iOS than vice versa could you provide some source for this? All statistics I've ever seen seem to indicate the opposite is happening.
      - Samuel_Michon 14y ago
        http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/smartphone-market-2012-2013-infographic/#more-8558 http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/smartphone-market-201... http://www.vyralize.com/1655/analysts-predict-iphone-will-topple-android-marketshare-by-2015/ http://www.vyralize.com/1655/analysts-predict-iphone-will-to... http://allthingsd.com/20130411/blackberry-tops-iphone-and-android-in-a-dont-want-poll/ http://allthingsd.com/20130411/blackberry-tops-iphone-and-an... http://www.tomshardware.com/news/iPhone-Apple-Consumers-iOS-Android,18843.html http://www.tomshardware.com/news/iPhone-Apple-Consumers-iOS-...
        bane 14y ago
        Thanks for the sources! These appear to be predictions similar to the ones I've seen before, I wonder how tracking after the fact maintains these predictions?
- danmaz74 14y ago
  Yes.
  - sbuk 14y ago
    I disagree.
- bane 14y ago
  Can you provide a different measure for something that means "used by the most number of people"?
  - marknutter 14y ago
    Popularity is more nuanced than a simple number. Android phones cover a much broader price range than iOS or Windows phones so people who might otherwise have chosen an iPhone are forced to choose a cheaper Android phone, which doesn't really count as a "vote" for Android. Choice of phone also depends on a person's cell phone provider. For a long time iPhones weren't available on networks other than AT&T's.
    - thomholwerda 14y ago
      ...seriously? You do understand that this choice that you speak of is simply a strength of the Android platform? You can't just push that aside just to maintain your own world view. Android is the most popular mobile operating system right now - it might or might not be the best or most valuable, but it IS the most popular.
    - jckt 14y ago
      By your metric Windows is not the most popular OS on the Desktop, and that each year since 2000 has indeed been Year Of Linux On The Desktop.
- lnanek2 14y ago
  Android is 75% of shipping smartphones now. I don't think anyone could argue it isn't the most popular OS now. It's winning in tablets now too, although just barely.
ocean12 14y ago
I thought that the more interesting part of the interview was this answer about why Chrome OS and Android both exist: q: But can’t it be confusing having two operating systems? a: Users care about applications and services they use, not operating systems. Very few people will ask you, “Hey, how come MacBooks are on Mac OS-X and iPhone and iPad are on iOS? Why is this?” They think of Apple as iTunes, iCloud, iPhoto...The picture may look different a year or two from from now, but in the short term, we have Android and we have Chrome, and we are not changing course.
- Zigurd 14y ago
  I could readily argue that Microsoft incurs huge costs for making all their products Windows. Technology is usually a minor cost, and having one, two, or three technologies to address a wide range of use cases and markets will wash out of the costs if the technologies are appropriately used.
  - scholia 14y ago
    Microsoft announced a Windows Everywhere strategy in the 1990s, and Windows has taken its annual turnover from $1bn to $74bn. (That includes doubling under Steve Ballmer.) Some people would call that "putting all the wood behind one arrow." Microsoft did try developing a new and different technology for different use cases with Windows CE. That's what it's replacing with Windows 8.... http://www.economist.com/node/107364 http://www.economist.com/node/107364
    - Zigurd 14y ago
      Are those numbers due to The Age of PCs, or is that because Windows actually went everywhere and and is a tier 1 competitor in those categories, i.e. servers, tablets, handsets, cars, TVs, media players, etc.? On servers, Microsoft is on a supposedly even footing with Linux, but I have not seen traffic-weighted statistics. Apart from that, where is Windows? It looks like Microsoft has created a bottleneck for itself, where all innovation has to get stuffed through the Windows product line.

52 points by AndrewDucker 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

How is popularity being measured here? Sheer number of devices running Android? Is that really a good measure of popularity?

jfb 14y ago
More to the point, what, exactly, is being "revealed" here? This is standard tech "journalism"; a marketing handjob thinly disguised as a story.
- bornhuetter 14y ago
  It was pretty hostile toward the interviewee for a "marketing handjob"
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
I see you didn't read past the title.
- Samuel_Michon 14y ago
  The article states: “Android grew to the world’s most popular mobile OS (it’s now on 750 million devices worldwide, with 1.5 million new activations every day)” Given how it’s phrased, it must be referring to Android installed base. 8 months a go, Eric Schmidt announced[1] that Android has an installed base of 480 million users and that 1.3 million Android devices are activated per day. So it’s entirely possible that Wired’s figures are correct, and that Android is the most ‘popular’ mobile OS, in the literal sense of the word (lots of people use Android devices). ‘Popular’ also has other meanings, like ‘regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general’. For that, it’s more useful to look at surveys measuring user satisfaction and consumer purchase planning. Those surveys tell a different story: consumers are far more satisfied with iPhones than with other smartphones, and more Android users switch to iOS than vice versa. [1] http://www.androidcentral.com/google-reaches-13-million-device-activations-day-install-base-480-million http://www.androidcentral.com/google-reaches-13-million-devi...
  - FigBug 14y ago
    From the stats I could find, I estimate about 0.5% of them are running CyabogenMod. I had expected it to be more.
    - sbuk 14y ago
      Which I think raises an interesting point/question. We all know that these 'forums' are essentially echo chambers for all sides of the discussion and are hardly representative of typical use patterns. With that in mind, how much of the market is actually using their device? In my little corner of the world I see them (smartphones) used for photos, IM/SMS, the odd game and Facebook. On occasion the more savvy user has email enabled and may use maps for directions. Is there data out there for this? not that it changes the figures, but it could potentially alter what they mean and therefore have an impact on how we design apps etc.
  - bane 14y ago
    > and more Android users switch to iOS than vice versa could you provide some source for this? All statistics I've ever seen seem to indicate the opposite is happening.
    - Samuel_Michon 14y ago
      http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/smartphone-market-2012-2013-infographic/#more-8558 http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/smartphone-market-201... http://www.vyralize.com/1655/analysts-predict-iphone-will-topple-android-marketshare-by-2015/ http://www.vyralize.com/1655/analysts-predict-iphone-will-to... http://allthingsd.com/20130411/blackberry-tops-iphone-and-android-in-a-dont-want-poll/ http://allthingsd.com/20130411/blackberry-tops-iphone-and-an... http://www.tomshardware.com/news/iPhone-Apple-Consumers-iOS-Android,18843.html http://www.tomshardware.com/news/iPhone-Apple-Consumers-iOS-...
      - bane 14y ago
        Thanks for the sources! These appear to be predictions similar to the ones I've seen before, I wonder how tracking after the fact maintains these predictions?
danmaz74 14y ago
Yes.
- sbuk 14y ago
  I disagree.
bane 14y ago
Can you provide a different measure for something that means "used by the most number of people"?
- marknutter 14y ago
  Popularity is more nuanced than a simple number. Android phones cover a much broader price range than iOS or Windows phones so people who might otherwise have chosen an iPhone are forced to choose a cheaper Android phone, which doesn't really count as a "vote" for Android. Choice of phone also depends on a person's cell phone provider. For a long time iPhones weren't available on networks other than AT&T's.
  - thomholwerda 14y ago
    ...seriously? You do understand that this choice that you speak of is simply a strength of the Android platform? You can't just push that aside just to maintain your own world view. Android is the most popular mobile operating system right now - it might or might not be the best or most valuable, but it IS the most popular.
  - jckt 14y ago
    By your metric Windows is not the most popular OS on the Desktop, and that each year since 2000 has indeed been Year Of Linux On The Desktop.
lnanek2 14y ago
Android is 75% of shipping smartphones now. I don't think anyone could argue it isn't the most popular OS now. It's winning in tablets now too, although just barely.

ocean12 14y ago

I thought that the more interesting part of the interview was this answer about why Chrome OS and Android both exist: q: But can’t it be confusing having two operating systems? a: Users care about applications and services they use, not operating systems. Very few people will ask you, “Hey, how come MacBooks are on Mac OS-X and iPhone and iPad are on iOS? Why is this?” They think of Apple as iTunes, iCloud, iPhoto...The picture may look different a year or two from from now, but in the short term, we have Android and we have Chrome, and we are not changing course.

Zigurd 14y ago
I could readily argue that Microsoft incurs huge costs for making all their products Windows. Technology is usually a minor cost, and having one, two, or three technologies to address a wide range of use cases and markets will wash out of the costs if the technologies are appropriately used.
- scholia 14y ago
  Microsoft announced a Windows Everywhere strategy in the 1990s, and Windows has taken its annual turnover from $1bn to $74bn. (That includes doubling under Steve Ballmer.) Some people would call that "putting all the wood behind one arrow." Microsoft did try developing a new and different technology for different use cases with Windows CE. That's what it's replacing with Windows 8.... http://www.economist.com/node/107364 http://www.economist.com/node/107364
  - Zigurd 14y ago
    Are those numbers due to The Age of PCs, or is that because Windows actually went everywhere and and is a tier 1 competitor in those categories, i.e. servers, tablets, handsets, cars, TVs, media players, etc.? On servers, Microsoft is on a supposedly even footing with Linux, but I have not seen traffic-weighted statistics. Apart from that, where is Windows? It looks like Microsoft has created a bottleneck for itself, where all innovation has to get stuffed through the Windows product line.