Comments on: Android Struggling In Europe?

By: Pera

Pera — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:37:42 +0000

FINLAND

Hi guys, I am so loved with my Nokia N97 mini, it rules. Next one I will buy Nokia N900, fully Linux based machine. No need for Android crap.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:07:26 +0000

I seriously doubt that the Android phones are “struggling” to convince Europeans. In my country the offering is very recent and somewhat limited : vodafone has HTC Magic, while orange offers HTC Hero. So it’s too soon to comment on the success of the android phones.

By: David W

David W — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:40:03 +0000

Midlands of England, small town: 4 people I know have an Android phone, specifically after seeing what my G1 can do. They’ve bought G1s (2), a Magic, and a Dext. All are pleased.

They’ll demonstrate their ‘Google Phones’ to x no. of people, and so many of those will also buy in to Google. And so the cycle goes on….

By: MarvinAndroid

MarvinAndroid — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:59:01 +0000

@Herman – I agree it is dangerous to generalize and put people into groups. But I just would like to say, for myself, I feel I have a decent background to say what I’m saying. My wife is German, I lived in Germany for five years and I am in constant touch with many Europeans on a daily basis through my job. And while it can be bad to say “European do” this or that… in the end things like sales numbers and trends cannot be ignored.

By: Gizzit

Gizzit — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:37:22 +0000

It’s the carriers who aren’t doing enough to spread the word. I’ve had my Magic since May, and have demo’ed it to everyone I know, people are impressed, but I’m shocked at just how many are still hypnotized by the glitz and empty glamour of the iPhone.

Ever since O2 lost it’s exclusivity on iPhones, all the carriers are pushing them hard. I was disappointed that the Acer Liquid didn’t get picked up by any UK carriers – a trend I think we’ll see repeated for other handsets.

I agree there needs to be more publicity, to build momentum, until that happens, I’m considering buying unlocked handsets outright, and getting a sim-only deal from the carriers.

I’ll continue to recommend Android to anyone who’ll listen, and when any of the iPhonies get all smug, I’ll just pop of the back of my handset and wave my battery at them.

By: Herman

Herman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:57:06 +0000

There are barely Adnroid phones here, and there’s a lot of competition. The Droid isn’t even for sale here.

The Hero has many faces and I don’t think it’s related to continent what people do and don’t like. I’m annoyed that people use the phrase “i think Europeans don’t like”. 1. You’re talking about people you don’t know anything about. 2. You’re talking like every ‘European’ is the same. There is no comparison here. The Milestone, for example, is available in only two countries so you can’t just throw that all on a big pile and say the Milestone isn’t doing well in ‘Europe’.

On top of that I haven’t seen a single advertisement for Android. The headline is retarded, like ‘Europeans’ would reject Android for some reason.

By: Zeno

Zeno — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:19:28 +0000

I think European who don’t like the style of hero, keyboard of the Droid, and wanna stay in budget may consider getting a Acer Liquid? It just released in Hong Kong For $3380 hkd which is about $430 usd. I think it is pretty cheap for a unlock phone with 3.5 inch screen and a snapdragon processor.
By the way, I still love my Droid :)

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:53:35 +0000

By the way, I just Googled “where can i buy android phone” and apart from your good selves, couldn’t find any clear answers. This isn’t a criticism, just pointing out the confusion and lack of information available to the non-geek public.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:49:27 +0000

I have to be honest. I live in Europe and I’ve been thinking about buying a new phone. The iPhone is the obvious choice over here, or alternatively the N96 for top of the range models. I’d love to know more the Android phone, but as your article says, to be honest, I don’t really understand it. Is it a phone made by Google? What does it look like? I’ve seen no marketing of it here in Spain. From my brief research on the web, I’ve learned that there lots of different Android phones – this only confuses me more. Which one should I buy? Where to start? etc etc

So, while I love the idea of Linux-based phone, I think realistically it’s a long way from consumer markets. I’m not a hardcode geek by any means, but I’m a lot more geeky than most consumers. And if I don’t get it, they won’t get it either.

Brian

By: fexpop

fexpop — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:39:42 +0000

It’s the carriers’ and manufacturers fault! (In Germany)
While T-Mobile and Vodafone sold their respective G1s/Magics for more than an iPhone and only with insane plans, o2 sold the crappiest Android device on the market: The Samsung Galaxy. I guess that more than 50% of these devices have or will be returned due to an almost uncountable amount of issues.

By: Morten

Morten — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:42:07 +0000

Norway here
Only one of my friends has an android. And my friends are all geeks. Though, that will change as soon as the Milestone is available. The number will surely jump to four within weeks.

By: Ryo

Ryo — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:46:42 +0000

Oh that headline…

Android isn’t struggling in Europe. There are plenty of phones sold, seeing people using it, and the numbers according to T-Mobile/Vodafone/O2 are okay.

You wonder why there are no new records set in Europe? Because we have no, really no advertisement for Android.
Sure T-Mobile made ads for G1… without mentioning Android. Samsung Galaxy is a just a phone in Germany e.g. but no company make a big ad in TV which says “with Android”. I blame Google for that. Google need to make heavy advertisement in Europe. Not only for Android.

BUT to make it very clear: Despite the non-existent ads, the numbers of Android phones sold are good, really good. But the people don’t buy it as Android phones, but as ordinary cell phones. That need to change.

By: MarvinAndroid

MarvinAndroid — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:31:36 +0000

Yeah, I don’t really get why… part of it seems to be the marketing. They definitely got the word out about Droid here in the US. My German friend was looking into getting a phone and asked me what I thought was best. I told him the Milestone(Droid) just came out in Germany and is probably the best bet for what he wants (a high-end smartphone). Well he came back telling me he was pretty sure the Palm Pre was what he wanted! It took me a while to talk him into getting the Droid. For some reason Android doesn’t click with Europeans… or maybe it really is just the advertising and the salespeople are not really pushing it. But what salesperson would steer a person away from the Droid and towards the Pre? It’s a nice OS and everything.. but it’s basically dead in the water.

By: Aux

Aux — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:20:35 +0000

I’m from Latvia, EU and I can say, that only one provider selling androids is Bite (Vodafone subsidary). If you buy Hero at them, you pay 285$ right away with two year contract and pay 40$ every month and you get only 1GB per month of traffic. So in the end Hero costs 1245$. WTF?

And the choise is HTC Hero, Magic and Tattoo. WTF? I want Droid! I want Acer Liquid! Nothing here… And these three appeared months later after rest of the world.

By: togusa

togusa — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:31:10 +0000

android is not pushed back by consumers. carriers seem to have cold feet, and there isn’t enough communication (read: marketing) going on for android.
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no carriers has the milestone, rueducommerce.fr is the only one selling it.
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i have ordered my milestone but it won’t be delivered until at least december 20th… that is waaaay too late for it to have any success for noël/christmas in france. shame !
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And let’s not forget apple has a very strong foothold over here in france.
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Marketing still sells well… android doesn’t have enough.