Droid Outsells iPhone?
| by Rob Jackson on March 16th, 2010 |
Flurry, a company that has analytics tracking code on at least 1 app on 80% of iPhone and Android devices, has just released some incredibly interesting statistics. With that level of reach, the company is confident they can accurately estimate/report on unit sales of individual phone models. Want to see their estimate of Motorola Droid sales vs. Apple iPhone sales after each phone was on the market for 74 days?
That’s right – the Motorola Droid beats out the iPhone (first generation) by a hair. Pretty amazing accomplishment if you ask me. And as the Android army grows in numbers on a number of levels – carriers, manufacturers, form factors, etc… – the statistics will only get more impressive.
[Flurry via MobileCrunch]
1. steve wrote on March 16, 2010
Who beats iPhone?…Droid Does.
2. Jonathan wrote on March 16, 2010
Why is this impressive? A 2nd or 3rd gen Android device outselling a 1st gen iPhone by 5,000, that doesn’t seem so amazing to me, especially considering the iPhone 1G came out in 2007, when smartphones were really just beginning to come mainstream and not be just the purview of business users.
3. Kyle Slattery wrote on March 16, 2010
It’s also important to keep in mind that the iPhone initially was unsubsidized, so you had to drop around $500 to get one. With the Droid, you only had to pay $200.
4. Chris Brown wrote on March 16, 2010
The one poignant thing that I take away from this report is that Google really should have opened up the carriers for the Nexus One at launch or at least partnered the exclusivity with a larger carrier. Granted, Google wanted to respect the alliance T-Mobile formed with it during Android’s early stages (i.e. G1/Hero, Magic) but realistically T-Mobile doesn’t have the appeal or marketing punch that the other carriers can produce. The limitations on T-Mobile existing customer upgrades also likely did not help this situation either.
I’m very, very, very much looking forward to seeing the Nexus One make the jump to other carriers (Sprint please, oh pretty please). At the moment, my next phone upgrade will be the Nexus One, Supersonic or Scorpion (if that materializes), but I’m sticking with Sprint regardless.
5. Kunal wrote on March 16, 2010
Yes, but you have to also take into account that droid came out when iPhone and other smartphones had already saturated the smartphone market, whereas when iPhone came out, there were no good smaprtphones, so most people would have to purchase iPhone. Droid had a tougher market to beat than iPhone.
6. Josh wrote on March 16, 2010
Both MobileCruch and Phandroid are retarded for posting this. No comparison by either on the price of the devices when they were sold or that the Droid was started selling DURING THE FREAKING HOLIDAYS while the iPhone was sold in the summer.
Nice link bait, tho.
7. Jon wrote on March 16, 2010
@Josh/Kyle $500 in 2007 was much more affordable than $200 in 2009 for many (most?) people.
8. brad wrote on March 16, 2010
@ jonathon.
it’s 50,000, not 5.
@ josh,
who is at fault for that?
9. Scott Melchionda wrote on March 16, 2010
It’s also worth noting that there were thousands of apps available at the Droid launch, versus no App store even in existence at the iPhone launch.
10. Calvin wrote on March 16, 2010
We can stop being fanboys. I love my Droid (Well, I love my Nexus one more than the droid :3~). However, it’s really pointless to compare the two, reason? Clearly stated in the survey…
Factors include the timeframe of release and subsidy.
1) The iPhone was released in a time when the market was not really ‘opened’ for the public users. It wasn’t established or developed
2) The original iPhone was not subsidized, albeit being a great device.
I know I’ll be flamed for this, but I love my Android, my Nexus One… But I really don’t like how we’re all becoming like the iSheeps. They’re annoying, I don’t want the team I root for – to be just as annoying… If not more.
11. Jogi wrote on March 16, 2010
Also keep in mind that Droid was released in holiday season with huge ad effort.
12. nickdeuva wrote on March 16, 2010
IPhone also had a built-in user base with all the iPod owners out there. Apple had already built its loyal following. The Droid was essentially out of left field from Motorola with no reason to trust the quality of the device. I suppose this is another reason the numbers mean less. There are just too many differences to compare, but I’d argue the Droid had a number of obstacles that the IPhone didn’t and vice-versa.
13. Screamster wrote on March 16, 2010
numbers are number people. who gives a crap when, where or how. they are just that… numbers.
will any of your points change the stats? no.
droid does… period.
14. A man wrote on March 16, 2010
Not to mention… Droid is a 1st gen phone. Unless Motorola has made 2 more of these that I never knew about.
15. Al wrote on March 16, 2010
Flurry stats are useless for things like this.
16. Droid Hater wrote on March 16, 2010
C’Mon You can just wish the Droid could do better… but no way Sorry Guys dream on Droid is just for iPhone haters… or just Mediocre Consumers… well I guess there is a Market for everyone.
17. Peter wrote on March 16, 2010
I love my Droid and VZ is an awesome network.
People also love their iPhones and will always love them (even though AT&T 3G is horrible)
I see a lot of iPhone users moving to VZ once iPhone does.
Let’s leave it at that.
18. Android App Reviews wrote on March 16, 2010
The Droid is an impressive phone :D
Shocked me again :D
19. Bobarazzi wrote on March 16, 2010
Where the iPhones sold worldwide? Are these worldwide sales numbers?
20. the destroyer wrote on March 16, 2010
where the fuck is my comment
21. the destroyer wrote on March 16, 2010
@peter
yea i love my iphone and att is great where i live
and i would switch to verizon but not cuz att is horrible but because the iphone.. im sure u would do the same id droid moved to a different network…
i just got my backflip and i like android
22. Darkseider wrote on March 16, 2010
The iPhone while a nice device is beginning to wane. Users are becoming more demanding and more advanced and now require a more flexible and powerful platform. The iPhone 3GS while being a capable device lacks in many places where Android devices are now offering out of the box. Mostly due to the operating system and not the actual hardware. This is why the uptake of Android devices has been so spectacular and until Apple revamps iPhone OS to be as feature complete as Android I forsee this trend to continue. It also doesn’t help that Apple is locked to AT&T as their only outlet.
23. Artem wrote on March 16, 2010
Cool. I like Moto Droid
24. DarwinOS wrote on March 16, 2010
keep in mind that the iPhone was effectively unavailable for 21 of its first 74 days on sale.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/47083-why-a-million-iphone-sales-in-74-days-is-better-than-you-think
25. impartial wrote on March 16, 2010
I think that the point of this survey is not about generation of device or what season it was released in.
Fact is that both devices are currently available at similar market price points and the iPhone has lost it’s strong hold on the market (which is predominantly stole from Blackberry).
Without a compelling reason to buy an iPhone ( compounded by the devices physical limitations, coupled with the carrier limitations) people are in fact adopting other platforms in large numbers.
For many of us however, what this means is that IT shops will still need to worry about writing apps based on platform – and that a write once run any/everywhere concept is still a distant dream.
26. Chip Douglas III wrote on March 16, 2010
Kunai put everything in perspective.
@darkseider…Apple opening their platform is against their company style and policy. They are a bunch of control freaks.
27. Darkseider wrote on March 16, 2010
@Chip yeah I know which is why I believe they are going to see a drastic decrease in new iPhone sales. We as consumers are beginning to demand more from our devices as well as full control of them. The iPhone now offers neither the features OR control this new generation of users is looking for. Again as a piece of hardware it is more than capable but the greatest limiting factor is its’ locked down OS, DRM and to a lesser extent lack of expandability via SD card.
28. Jerry wrote on March 16, 2010
No 1 android phone will ever be as popular as the Iphone .. but the point about Android is that we have choice of different devices and carriers…
29. JAG wrote on March 16, 2010
that means second gen Droid maybe will sell over 3 million XD
thats great
30. Rob Schoenfeld wrote on March 16, 2010
For everyone that likes being told what to do and how to use it because it’s pretty there’s the Iphone. For everyone else there’s Droid.
31. me wrote on March 17, 2010
The iPhone is and always will be a dummy phone. That fact and Apples huge iPod fan base is the only reason why it even sold as much as it did.
32. jeep wrote on March 17, 2010
You can’t compare a 2nd generation Android phone’s launch sales to a first generation iPhone’s launch sales. It would be much more honest to compare the iPhone 3G to the Droid.
33. Vulpine wrote on March 17, 2010
It seems everyone is overlooking a number of important points, most significant of which is that during the Droid’s first 74 days, A) Motorola has already had to cut the price by nearly half and B) Apple sold some 3.5 million iPhones. Yes, I accept that compared to the iPhone’s first 74 days the Droid has done better, but that’s because the iPhone basically created the consumer smart phone market. Based on these three factors, if the Droid were really doing as well as so many people want, they should have sold three times as many over the same time period–without having to cut prices.
34. Tom wrote on March 17, 2010
This graph and stat is absolutely useless!!! Who compares selling number to a 1st generation device 3 years ago. I work in sales and if I threw this comparison on my bosses desk he would ask me what the heck I was trying to prove. I’m an Android fanboy but seriously, this makes Google/Android look like a loser who grasping at straws for something to brag about.
This was total linkbait. I can’t believe Phandroid even stooped to publish this junk.
35. Hank wrote on March 17, 2010
I don’t think the value in this is to say that Droid/Android is *now* better than the iPhone (it always was). I think the value in these stats is to remove one more argument by the iPhone people. We all know that the iPhone lovers were saying things like “Even the first gen iPhone sold better than any Android phone.”
It is ridiculous to think that any phone will ever have the fanaticism of an Apple product. Apple lovers would wait in line for 12 hours to buy Steve Job’s used underwear….no one can compete with that.
36. Rob wrote on March 18, 2010
It seems like the most salient information from this data is NOT the iphone/droid comparison but rather the iphone/droid’s high numbers compared to the minuscule numbers nexus 1 is pulling in. What exactly this means is up to interpretation.
37. John wrote on March 18, 2010
iPhone may have popularised the smartphone industry and a good thing too, the general iphone sheeps have put a lot of money into the industry to spur much needed innovation and cash. Us geeks have used and understood the power of smartphones many eons ago, ever since we hankered for a tricorder! the iPhone has done its job as far as i am concerned and today I am enjoying the power and flexibilty of my Nexus one (what a phone!)because of of it! I just could not give that up for a corporate controlled, inflexible, toy (albeit beautifully built) that is the iphone, nooo sireee… But i’m gratefull to its users spurring on the market as it does..
38. Jonathan Frei wrote on March 18, 2010
I’m not surprised. The iPhone has hurt itself by being so closed off.
39. Verizon HTC Incredible Coming In Two Weeks? | Android Phone Fans wrote on March 18, 2010
[...] task though, as an unprecedented advertising and promotional campaign helped Verizon and Motorola sell more than a million Droids in the first 74 days it was [...]
40. ari-free wrote on March 18, 2010
That iPhone may be 1st gen but it has benefited from years and years of Mac development. It didn’t just spring out of nowhere.
41. .nate wrote on March 19, 2010
@Jonathan (re: Comment #2):
“Why is this impressive? A 2nd or 3rd gen Android device outselling a 1st gen iPhone by 5,000, that doesn’t seem so amazing to me, especially considering the iPhone 1G came out in 2007, when smartphones were really just beginning to come mainstream and not be just the purview of business users.”
I would consider the complete opposite. In a year where the market is already flooded with smartphones, Palm entering the arena again, and Blackberry starting to look sexy finally, it would stand to reason there is less of a chance for this kind of market domination repeat.
42. Ben wrote on March 23, 2010
All of these comments are absurd. In fact the comparison is absurd. You’re really comparing apples and oranges. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Droid owner. However, one of my best skills is being objective.
Here are about a dozen things to consider that will make the apple (pun intended) look more like an orange, and the orange more like an apple.
Before the individual stuff, the price comparisons are absurd. For the original iphone, you did not need to buy a $30/month data plan. That’s why it was unsubsidized. If you look at the true costs of ownership the are basically the same so stop whining (apple people). Also,they both had GIGANTIC marketing pushes.
Reasons we should give credit to Droid:
-Launched into a saturated market
-Launched without solid reputation (motorola) whereas apple was booming
-Droid was launched during the worst recession in recent memory and is a luxury item.
Reasons that make numbers incomparable:
Different devices on different OS’s
Different carriers
Different timeframe/market
Overall, the differences make these incomparable. I see more of a future in the droid and subsequent Android devices because they are open source.
More importantly they can multitask. Because of limited functionality,ability to customize, and lack of multitasking, the iphone will not be a serious business tool. With the enhanced integration of emaila nd google calendar/appointment sharing I see android devices capturing some corporate marketshare from blackberry. Then again, apple marketing is a powerhouse (I mean they managed to sell 200,000 ipads, which are essentially gigantic ipod touches). The iphone will continue to sell amongst kids and especially females because its trendy and pretty. The dorid will continue to sell more to males and people that know how to use technology.
43. Tag wrote on March 23, 2010
Lol..
Love when someone touts there own horn and burns badly. Ben’s best skill is being objective yet he claims a fat growing market is saturated. Motorola, a long standing cellphone maker has no reputation vs apple, launching their first phone has a better reputation as a phone maker.. (hunh what?!)
So much for your best skill ben…
44. Derek wrote on March 29, 2010
I have a droid….it rules. Much faster on the net than the iphone. I raced web browsing with a buddy of mine…killed him.
45. JP wrote on April 28, 2010
Can’t wait to get a droid – I have heard lots of good things. My partner has an iPhone and the reception (bars) is not that great.
46. eric wrote on April 28, 2010
I hope iphone and droid continue to sell so if I ever decide to switch to an iphone they are still competitive with the droid and vice versa bolth phones are good and they keep pushing the other phone so as not to fall behind. All I need now is a droid app to run iphone apps
47. jesse wrote on May 12, 2010
actually I had an iphone and moved up to a droid cause 1 the iphone speaker is a joke you have to hold the phone to your ear in public like an idiot cause apple is so hard over thin that they ruined the speaker 2 the screen is much sharper 3 free making of ringtones right on the phone apple charges 99c to make a ring tone from your own music criminal 4 google voice turn by turn nav built in for free vs crap on iphone 5 removable battery 6 you can take a picture in the dark duh hey steve people live at night too u know yah cheap bastard how bout a flash it was invented a long time ago and its magical 7 now in the end of may android gets flash 10.1 watch how funny its going to be when the commercials start to roll with the droid is next to the iphone showing flash playing and cut to the iphone oops just a lego block oohh that sucks by by
48. bdubby wrote on May 30, 2010
I saw a comment that iPhone was the first smartphone. Wrong!!!!!! Blackberry was! For years they were the only smartphone. Get y’all facts straight. And android is taking over! Don’t hate. IPhone is to uptight.
49. android.jem wrote on July 16, 2010
Droid simply bomb! iPhone nervously smoking in aside
50. Tony wrote on July 17, 2010
Who cares? There’s room for everyone in the market, more competition means better phones for consumers. That said, Motorola invented the freaking cell phone over 30 years ago, they launched the Droid during the holiday season at a subsidized price of $200. Apple had never ever made a phone before and the original iPhone didn’t have apps and didn’t even have 3G. I would have expected that a phone like Droid would’ve come out long before the iPhone given Motorola’s LONG LONG history with cell phones, why did they have to wait for Google to develop Android? Why didn’t they develop their own OS? Why are all these comapnies that have been selling phones for 15 (RIM), 20 (Nokia), 30 (Moto) years all coming with touch screen phones and copying a company that has been making phones for 3 years? Moto, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, etc. should have owned this market long before Apple showed up 3 years ago. It’s their own fault!
51. jet wrote on July 27, 2010
aaaah….like people keep saying, Apple was once a thing of the past with all of their stores closing, this is when the PC took over and is still the dominant one today, the same thing will happen when the Android market takes over, then iphone will be a thing of the past because the Android market WILL take over the market just like the PC have done, it is not a matter of IF, it is when.
You cannot survive by remaining exclusive to yourself, you will get crushed into little pieces..
We all know that Apple is getting scared of the DROID X because they even made a video and tried to compare bars dropping on a cell phone if you squeeze it to death, why would they even entertain the idea of making this if they didn’t smell trouble, Droid can because Droid Does…