iPhone and iPod Touch rule the world — sort of and for the moment
By Gareth Powell
Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch software currently rules the world of mobile devices. That is not just stating the obvious — which it is — but the statement is supported by reports from two different firms who analyze such figures although, of course, only on a current basis.
From the Global Intelligence Alliance Group (GIA) comes a report that the Apple App store — apps for iPhone and iPod Touch — has the leading app store for such devices, while Net Applications says Apple’s Safari is the most popular web browser among mobile device users.
The data indicate that Apple not only leads the market place on both counts, but its main competitors lag way behind the iPhone.
The numbers from Net Applications’ analysis of mobile web use for February 2009 (note the date for it is important) gives the iPhone a gigantic slice of the mobile web browsing world with 66.61 percent.
Following Apple at a distant second are browsers based on Java’s ME application platform with a mere 9.06 percent, and Windows Mobile takes the bronze at 6.91 percent. Which must make Ballmer, who has been saying quite rude things about Apple, feel a bit silly.
The rest of the top five are Symbian, found primarily on Nokia handsets at the moment; and Google’s Android. Research In Motion’s Blackberry devices rank seventh taking only 2.24 percent of mobile web browsing activity.
Note that this is a moveable feast. It seems absolutely certain that Google’s Android, when it gets its act together, will be moving up the list.
GIA says Apple’s success is due to its ground-shaking concept that a smart phone is not just a piece of hardware with a bunch of features, but a software platform that embraces third-party applications developed from both corporations and start-ups. Yes, that it true and it is also true Apple was also one of the first and most popular app stores to launch. And the fact that people were already accustomed to making purchases through iTunes made it easier for iPhone users to figure out the iPhone App Store.
But these are figures and, as always, figures and statistics can be read in many ways. We are, in this area, in a major state of flux and the picture probably will not be clear until next year. As a report it is an useful guide — but not much more than that. The situation is still far too fluid to call. Give it a year before making definite claims.
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