Android blunted, world awaits iPhone next
Who would have thought it possible? Android was clearly on a roll, but the platform’s heady growth in the U.S. was staunched by the arrival of the Verizon iPhone. Apple added a single carrier to the mix and, boom, the Google juggernaut has been neutered.
Assuming Andy Rubin’s claim that Android is experiencing 500,000 new device activations every day is correct, there must be significant cannibalization and bleed. That is, people jumping carriers to buy new Android devices and/or a significant, unknown number dumping Android so something else — how else can you add so many while holding steady at 27 percent market share?
That’s the figure conjured by market research firm Nielsen (Wired) and it underscores the zeitgeist of recent months That is, in the run up to the Verizon iPhone launch, phandroids were predicting market domination and that obviously hasn’t come about.
Android’s growth has most likely been stymied by a surge of iPhone purchases, according to Nielsen’s data. Over the same four-month period, recent iPhone purchases jumped from 10 to 17 percent. This was probably driven by the release of the iPhone 4 on Verizon’s 3G network on February 10, which allowed a flood of new customers who weren’t thrilled about AT&T’s service to buy Apple’s phone.
Phandroids have been stunned into silence by this turn of events — Leo Laporte is a perfect example of overt become reticent. As Android tablets failed utterly, the world has stopped to wait, but not for anything out of the Plex.
Quite the contrary. Everyone, including Google, is waiting for the future, Apple’s next iPhone.
All eyes on Cupertino
The other shoe is in air, somewhere, and will drop in August, September or perhaps even as late as October. That’s when Apple’s next smartphone(s) are expected.
The crazy thing is that we don’t have many solid clues about what we’re waiting for. Well, let’s turn that around — we have lots of clues and hints, but don’t know how they all cogently fit together in a finished product that’s coming sometime soon, a few months hence.
NFC, LTE, world phone, 8MP camera, edge-to-edge display, A5 processor, pre-paid plans, iPhone nano, etc? Only Apple knows for sure and they’re characteristically silent.
Further, as demonstrated by Apple’s “revolutionary” new pro video editing app, Final Cut Pro X, it’s impossible to guess what they’re really up to or what it will mean when product actually ships.
This is a most incredible state of affairs…
What’s your take?
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July 1st, 2011
Probably the same as with Macs. People go through 2-3 Dells in the time a person goes through a Mac. So, probably a larger number of iPhone activations are new customers than Android activations.
July 1st, 2011
I am a huge Steve Jobs & Apple loving but Microsuck hating geekazoid…. but you Ronald O Carlson are one cringe worthy little fanboy.
The likes of you are a disgrace to the everything the simple yet elegant reputation Apple stands for. Yuck!
Blorge bloggers like you needs to have proper training in ethics.
July 1st, 2011
I too, switched from iphone to android with the Motorola defy, but the knowledge that I’m ALWAYS going to be three or four versions behind the latest android version has put me off. I’m back to the iphone now…