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Yes, it's amazing how much Android has lagged, releasing best-in-class phones like the HTC Once and Sony Xperia Z1 that have no match in the iOS world (and that

Yes, it's amazing how much Android has lagged, releasing best-in-class phones like the HTC Once and Sony Xperia Z1 that have no match in the iOS world (and that cost the same as Apple's 'low-end' 5C). As well as inexpensive mid-range products like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 making modern well-made smartphones and tablets accessible to all. Not to mention the open ecosytem and OS that all kinds of companies are innovating on in all sorts of ways a single company could never dream of, both hardware and software. Summarizing the Android market by looking at the low-end devices shows a complete lack of understanding of the Android market and the smartphone market as a whole.

pinaceae 13y ago
so what are the sales numbers of the cited best-in-class phones? HTC in particular seems like a dead man walking.
- JohnTHaller 13y ago
  We were discussing quality and innovation. If you want to talk sales, Android smartphones had nearly 5x the sales of iOS smartphones last quarter.
  - grandalf 13y ago
    Have you ever been to a Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T store? There are commissioned salespeople ready to lie about the phone and sell a contract. I'd guess that 80% of Android purchasers didn't really buy the phone, someone aggressively sold it to them, and, especially if it was a cheapo phone with lots of carrier add-ons, they probably hate it and are resentful of being locked into the contract. Chances are few of them ever compared their phone side by side to an iPhone. If Apple times it right, when this wave of disgruntled customers come out of contracts, a lower priced iPhone could take much of that market share.
    - JohnTHaller 13y ago
      And, at the same time, Verizon was forced to push the iPhone to customers who otherwise wouldn't want it because they had to buy a certain number to get Apple to let them sell the iPhone in store... and Verizon is on the hook for upwards of $14,000,000,000 to pay for all those phones even if they can't sell them. (Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/12/links-12-july-verizon-could-owe-apple-14-billion-over-insufficient-iphone-sales/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/12/links-12-... ) So, it cuts both ways. And Apple diehards have been using the argument about unhappy Android users getting out of contracts and begging for iPhones for years now. Again, we were originally talking about the quality of high-end Android phones (to compare apples to Apples instead of comparing high-end/expensive iPhones to low-end/inexpensive Android phones) and someone tried to move the goal posts of the conversation to talk about sales (which Android also wins). Are you looking to move the goal posts yet again or can we end this?
      - grandalf 13y ago
        That was so that Verizon could get the exclusive deal... I'm rooting for Android, but I seriously question any product where phones with abysmal battery life routinely ship. Most recent data point: Friend was using my old iPhone 4S and recently switched to a Nexus 4 after the price drop. The 4S was over two years old and his experience with the brand new nexus has been noticeably inferior battery life. Same app usage pattern, etc.
AJ007 13y ago
I think the previous commentor's thoughts may have been correct a few years back. The most recent generation of Android phones and tablets are fantastic. At $230 for the Nexus 7, both the iPad mini and iPad just don't make any sense to purchase, short of the buyer already having a huge library of iOS apps. Apple still has great potential. There should be a formidable alternative to Android even if it is a closed platform.
- grandalf 13y ago
  I haven't used the latest version of the Nexus 7, but the previous version is not even comparable to the iPad in terms of usability for web browsing.
  - bryanlarsen 13y ago
    I'd rather have a Nexus 7 2012 for internet browsing than an iPad 2. The iPad 2 has a better screen and 10" is better than 7" for browsing, but the way tabs keep getting discarded from memory make it very painful to use when you have a poor internet connection.
    - grandalf 13y ago
      True, but you can download google chrome for IOS to solve that problem.

pinaceae 13y ago

so what are the sales numbers of the cited best-in-class phones? HTC in particular seems like a dead man walking.

JohnTHaller 13y ago
We were discussing quality and innovation. If you want to talk sales, Android smartphones had nearly 5x the sales of iOS smartphones last quarter.
- grandalf 13y ago
  Have you ever been to a Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T store? There are commissioned salespeople ready to lie about the phone and sell a contract. I'd guess that 80% of Android purchasers didn't really buy the phone, someone aggressively sold it to them, and, especially if it was a cheapo phone with lots of carrier add-ons, they probably hate it and are resentful of being locked into the contract. Chances are few of them ever compared their phone side by side to an iPhone. If Apple times it right, when this wave of disgruntled customers come out of contracts, a lower priced iPhone could take much of that market share.
  - JohnTHaller 13y ago
    And, at the same time, Verizon was forced to push the iPhone to customers who otherwise wouldn't want it because they had to buy a certain number to get Apple to let them sell the iPhone in store... and Verizon is on the hook for upwards of $14,000,000,000 to pay for all those phones even if they can't sell them. (Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/12/links-12-july-verizon-could-owe-apple-14-billion-over-insufficient-iphone-sales/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/12/links-12-... ) So, it cuts both ways. And Apple diehards have been using the argument about unhappy Android users getting out of contracts and begging for iPhones for years now. Again, we were originally talking about the quality of high-end Android phones (to compare apples to Apples instead of comparing high-end/expensive iPhones to low-end/inexpensive Android phones) and someone tried to move the goal posts of the conversation to talk about sales (which Android also wins). Are you looking to move the goal posts yet again or can we end this?
    - grandalf 13y ago
      That was so that Verizon could get the exclusive deal... I'm rooting for Android, but I seriously question any product where phones with abysmal battery life routinely ship. Most recent data point: Friend was using my old iPhone 4S and recently switched to a Nexus 4 after the price drop. The 4S was over two years old and his experience with the brand new nexus has been noticeably inferior battery life. Same app usage pattern, etc.

AJ007 13y ago

I think the previous commentor's thoughts may have been correct a few years back. The most recent generation of Android phones and tablets are fantastic. At $230 for the Nexus 7, both the iPad mini and iPad just don't make any sense to purchase, short of the buyer already having a huge library of iOS apps. Apple still has great potential. There should be a formidable alternative to Android even if it is a closed platform.

grandalf 13y ago
I haven't used the latest version of the Nexus 7, but the previous version is not even comparable to the iPad in terms of usability for web browsing.
- bryanlarsen 13y ago
  I'd rather have a Nexus 7 2012 for internet browsing than an iPad 2. The iPad 2 has a better screen and 10" is better than 7" for browsing, but the way tabs keep getting discarded from memory make it very painful to use when you have a poor internet connection.
  - grandalf 13y ago
    True, but you can download google chrome for IOS to solve that problem.