By 
For all of those shocked and awed by the Apple’s announcement that as of last Friday they had sold 3 million iPhone 4 handsets, I’d like to take a moment to direct everyone’s attention over to John Battelle’s Searchblog. In his post he takes a rather bold stance, one much of the blogosphere hasn’t even entertained the idea of since Steve Jobs used the smoke and mirrors sales figure to distract our tech reporting peers from what has been dubbed “antennagate.” Kind of like shaking some shiny keys in front of a bunch of spoiled babies or dangling a ball on a string in front of a kitten. I can’t really put it any better than Mr. Battelle did, so take a gander at this excerpt from the full post that delves into a bit of simple arithmetic to show that the 3 million figure might not be that impressive after all:
“3 million phones in 23 days – that’s a pretty strong clip, the fastest sales of an Apple phone to date, Mashable reports. If I do the math, that’s more than 130,000 phones a day.
But did anyone in the press notice Google’s little announcement, the day before Apple launched its iPhone 4? This one? The one where Google said, and I quote: ‘Every day 160,000 Android-powered devices are activated — that’s nearly two devices every second.’
Yep, that’d be 30K MORE phones a day than Apple. And my guess is that Android’s pace is accelerating, while the iPhone 4 is probably sliding downward, given how many folks bought it at launch (Mashable reports that 1.7 million were sold in first three days, so 1.3 million the next 20 days). In fact, if you do THAT math, and divide 1.3 million by 20 days, you get 65,000 iPhone 4s sold each day, which is nearly 100,000 less, PER DAY, than Android phones.”
Granted, there is no denying that for a single handset a sales number of 3 million is beyond astounding, but we’d also venture to say that if iOS was dropping on the same number of smartphones as Android and at the same frequency the figure would be spread out quite a bit more — just as is the case with Google’s platform. If anyone should be scared about the number of phones flying off the shelves it certainly shouldn’t be Google in this case.
Will Android ever topple the iPhone? There will at least come a time where the two are no longer separated by as wide a gap in market share. A time when Google’s platform sits at the same level. Only true innovation and the continued release of simply killer Android phones will prove if Google has what it takes to become the top dog in the handset world.
[thanks to Rob Isakson for sending this in!]
Ahhh, Apple. Soon you will fall.
I love you, Google.
You know that Jobs will come out and say that they are selling an iPhone every two seconds pretty soon but I guess thats how long it takes for a sucker to be born LMAO.
Boo-ya! Take that, suckas!
There won’t ever be a single phone that kills the iPhone. Every Android phone combined will someday push iPhone though to a product with a relatively small market share.
I suspect that we’ll see Android phones everywhere from $100 – maybe $1,000 unlocked.
This is good news and as always goes underreported. This is Google’s fault however, because who ever is doing the branding refuses to engage the media like Apple(good or bad). I understand they do the OS, but it’s their brand that is at stake, and in this realm its not enough to just rely on name.
wow. i wonder though how accurate that number google gave is. or how many phones that translates too. there are also other devices with android.
still, android is destined to rule them all.
I remember hearing from a couple of Apple fanboys when those numbers were released and they said it was impossible, yet now that the iPhone is in that range, oh well that’s different.
Hey Just FYI the 160,000 android device number was actually first revealed by Andy Rubin at the Motorola Droid X presser, Rob was there he should know.
According to Global Stats, Android U.S. mobile marketshare jumped 2% since the launch of the Droid X (that’s only five days) compared with the launch of the original Droid which saw a similar spike after a full two weeks. Notice the direction of the iPhone’s chart line. ;)
Hold cursor over chart lines to view dates and percentages:
http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-US-weekly-200943-201029
Why can’t I “like” this article to Facebook? Get on it Phandroid!
Here’s another thing to note. It was reported that 77% of iPhone 4 sales were upgrades (from 3g and 3gs). If you take that into account and the 65K sales per day number. Then you’re only looking at 15K NEW iphone customers per day. Apple should be very worried about that. At some point soon all your fanboys will be upgraded and then you need NEW customers.
@SSA because facebook is lame? Phandroid don’t waste time on that crap.
I’ve been waiting for somebody to report on this since Google made the statement. Thank you Phandroid for finding and spreading at least one other person that noticed this. Well let me take that back. Android Police I think it was broke down the numbers weeks ago and showed how Android is basically murdering iOS. Its only close now because of the iPhone 4 launch…and as this guy showed not long after launch day the sales drop dramatically.
–
I’ve been beating iFools over the head with this stat for some time now but you know its not gonna go anywhere until some blog like Engadget reports it. And they will be sure to cast some doubt on it. But the next set of comscore numbers won’t lie. Androids growth will do nothing but accelerate with the Droid X and Galaxy S’s out.
It would be so nice to see an objective article. I am not an apple fanboy, as I’m currently drooling over the Evo and X. I would just like to see someone also point out that there is only one iPhone on one carrier while there are currently 9 android phones on 4+ carriers. If I do the math that suggests that despite a network that is horribly handicapped it is only 30,000 behind Android in sales. Imagine if iPhone 4 was available on Sprint,T-Mobile,Verizon as well as At&t it’d be a different ball game.
Android FTW!!
Simple as that.
Another number no one in the Apple camp wants to talk about is how many of those iPhone 4 activations were new, versus how many resulted in the simultaneous deactivation of a previous-generation iPhone, resulting in a null change in market share. My guess would be that a much larger percentage of iPhone 4 activations are upgrades than is seen on the Android side.
It’s a good arguement on whether, or when Android can topple Apple. What gets lost in it all is that regardless if that happens or not, Android is forcing Apple to do things they either aren’t ready for, or don’t necessarily want to do in a shorter time frame. Anyone that follows Apple knows they DO NOT like to be pushed around in any manner. Personally I think that’s why the iPhone has issues, it appears to me that the steps they took were to at the least to keep up with Android, and it cost them with design issues. I don’t believe that half of the new options would have been released if it wasn’t for Android phones already having them, or getting them very soon. Steve Job’s world has been restructured as consumers are more informed, demanding, and likely to jump ship a lot quicker now that Apple isn’t the only ones with a “cool” phone. That’s a win for Google in my book.
@Steve Agreed. Keep Farmvillebook away from my Phandroid!
I think google doesnt speak much like apple but the stats are what google android is doing in the market
Android activations probably include hard resets and new ROMs. Y’know whevever it tells you to “Touch the Android to begin” you’re adding to the figure. Grossly inflated for this reason.
This is not a fair comparison… Android is available on all carriers and iPhone is just on one. Also, this is not for a SINGLE model of any Android phone, but rather for ALL phones. Anyone else seeing this that way?
sergei one can imagine a lot of things. Imagine if Apple allowed google apps and Adobe. Imagine if ios4 was open source. OTOH imagine if google didn’t have a problem with paid apps in many countries.
It is totally fair. Apple could have released iPhone on all carriers if it wanted to, like the SGS. Apple prefers the closed and exclusive way of doing things.
What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular.
Fortunately, in this rare case, popular = right.
If I remember correctly Apple always rolls IPod Touch numbers into Iphone sales results. So I’m not sure how true this number really is. Don’t get me wrong the IPhone 4 is a great device.
I think it’s a fair comparison in the respect of sheer number of devices each OS runs on. With the type of momentum Android is seeing I could total see the Android install base becoming much larger then the IOS install base.
The problem Apple is going to face is probably a loss in mindshare not devices sold.
What this ignores, though, is the both RIM’s smartphone offerings, while apparently less newsworthy, still account for more smartphone marketshare than android and IOS combined and there is very little drop in RIM marketshare. Meanwhile, Nokia IS losing marketshare, and hasn’t got so much mindshare at all in the “smartphone” space, but still sells more phones than anyone else.
Somehow, reading tech news, you get this idea that there’s a massive showdown between Apple and Google for #1 smartphone OS, but in reality, the contention is actually for second place in the smartphone space. When you look at phones in general, though, Symbian is by far the most common phone OS.
To be fair, once the iPhone gets on Verizon, T-mobile and Sprint, their sales will go up a lot. I don’t think this will stop android from gaining a much larger market share in the end, but it will certainly postpone it. Android just offers a lot more choice from a hardware perspective. My wife could never use an iphone because the screen is too hard for her to read. Imagine if all apple laptops had 1080p 12″ screens. This is pretty much the equivalent of a 3.5″ iphone 4 screen.
@sergei Well if we’re going to be objective lets paint the whole picture. Prior to Android the exclusivity of the iPhone on one carrier and that single recognizable handset is what help to drive its outrageous sales. Even now look at how easy it is to say iPhone and have everyone know exactly what you are talking about. Remember Apple is about simplicity. Had Apple come out with multiple models and styles on multiple carriers they might not have seen the success that they did. So its really not safe to assume that having a single phone on a single carrier is limiting them.
It’s totally fair. Apple decided to hold iOS for itself. Google decided to give Android away for free. Both are different business models. Both have pros and cons. One obvious pro for Google’s strategy is that they have a better chance of getting a bigger marketshare. The strategy seems to be working great.
@trashbin and dogby:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I will assume that these are global numbers that are being quoted here, so although the iphone is sold on only one US carrier, it is still sold by several carriers worldwide, so carrier unavailability doesn’t necessarily distort the stats.
What I am curious about; however, is whether these numbers also include everything IOS and Android run on (ipad, ipod touch, tablets, toaster ovens, etc).
@Dave…I’m not really so sure the iPhones market share will jump all that much if it went to the other carriers now. Its not as attractive as it once was with Android devices along side of it. Yes it will have huge SALES but how much of that will be people leaving AT&T vs new sales. And the longer they have to wait the lower the new sales will be. People that want a modern smartphone are buying Android and once they get used to the services I don’t think they will be switching. Once the music service comes out and Cloud2Device hits its stride its pretty much a wrap for Apple on pulling away Android users.
So a BUNCH of phones sell more than ONE phone. Gee, what a surprise!
I wonder how many Droid Xs, Incredibles, or Evos are sold per day
Long Live Android.
PS: The Three G’s
God, Gold, Google
“Yes it will have huge SALES but how much of that will be people leaving AT&T vs new sales”
very good point. This seems to bear that out.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2010/05/24/att-could-lose-40-of-iphone-subs-to-verizon-davenport-says
But, 17% of Verizon users are interested in getting an iPhone.
http://www.slashgear.com/verizon-wireless-customers-want-the-iphone-2486847/
160,000 are ACTIVATIONS per day. Not Handsets sold per day.
The difference? About a month ago, I reset my G1 and gave it to my wife. She’ll ACTIVATED it using her email address. Its still the same handset.
Nowhere did Google mention how many handsets they’ve sold. They’ve always talked about activations.
And no, I’m not an apple fanboy. I loved my G1 and I now love my Galaxy S.
wow ACTIVATIONS huh? now im very interested in sales
Activation has always meant activation of a voice minutes plan. If you have evidence to suggest Google is using a different interpretation of the word, then please cite it.
@jason
Activation of a voice minutes plan is mostly used in the US there the carrier subsidizes the handset and activates a new plan.
In other countries, specially in Asia, people will just go out and buy the phones outright, put in their existing sim and start using the phone.
The AT&T exclusivity means Apple can secretly charge between $650 and $800 per iPhone sold in the USA. If they were to sell it to Verizon tomorrow, Apple would have to instantly lower the price per phone to $400 like all the Android devices that are out there. Apple doesn’t like the idea of going from $500+ profit per iPhone to $250, that would be halving of their profit margins if they were to stop the AT&T exclusivity.
Apple fanboys need to understand Apple only cares about making as stinking much money as they can, no matter how many evil tricks they have to throw at their users. The antenna happens to be defective? Apple doesn’t want to do a recall, they’d rather give everyone a piece of plastic that costs them less than $0.50 to make. But maybe some class action lawsuits will force them to do a global recall on iPhone 4. Apple can afford it, but it will delay international launch and hurt their image.
Today Android is selling 3x faster than iPhone. By the end of the year, Android may be selling 10x faster than the iPhone. By then, Android will have taken over iPhone in worldwide market share.
You are comparing apples to oranges here… You have one handset that the hardware and software are manufactured by the same company. You then have an operating system (android) that is ran on dozens of handsets (hardware). These shouldn’t be compared, because there isn’t anything to compare them with. Of course there are going to be more handsets with the android os on them selling daily, there are at least 20 different handsets that run android, but only 1 (two if you include the 3gs) that runs iOS.
Not only that, but this isn’t including international sales numbers for the iPhone 4 seeing as how it hasn’t even been released outside of the US yet. Also if we are counting operating systems then there should be a number of all devices running iOS from the iPad to the different hardware versions of the iPhone.
Basically what I am trying to say is that comparing the iPhone sales to ALL hardware sales that have android running on them is silly and pointless. I don’t own either an iPhone or an android based device (still own a stupid sidekick), so I am not taking either side.
Android appears to be becoming the new Windows of the mobile marketplace. Hardware manufacturers are including bloatware that is next to impossible to remove from the devices. The OS is not as responsive as the iOS devices I have seen. Whereas the iPhone limits the choice of hardware and features the consumer gets. If I want a larger screen and to be able to create my own wifi hotspot, I can’t do that with the iPhone.
iOS and Android OS have their places to be compared, but comparing the iPhone sales as a whole (which you did point this out) to all other hardware running android OS isn’t really saying anything. It would be like me comparing Toyota Camry sales to Michelin tire sales.
Two problems with this theory. First is that this it only takes iphone 4s into account. If you were to combine all of the iphone models with these numbers, they would certainly be higher. Second, part of the reason that the numbers dropped off is that the iphone 4 became harder to find after launch. Same thing could be said for some of the to of the line android handsets too but there are plenty of mid to low range androids available everywhere.
@Satirical Duck
Seeing that there is only 1 manufacturer of the iPhone, and it’s the same manufacturer as the OS that is on it, those are apples to apples. If Apple decided to make more than one type of phone, then you would have a good point. They decided not to so that’s where it is. Regardless, I don’t think people are cheering for Motorola to take down Apple, nor HTC, nor any of the other manufacturers. A lot of people are cheering for Google to take down Apple so this article has validity behind it. And as pointed out earlier in the comments, Apple isn’t even #1, but they act like they are and that’s why people don’t like them. Apple’s arrogance has gone on long enough, comparisons like this will continue until they are knocked down a notch or two.
From what I remember of the Apple vs. Google market share info was that the gap was shrinking with Apple dropping and Google rising. How many of these iPhone 4 activations were just upgrades from old iphones? It’s probably greater amount of all the phones sold. I don’t know about the google side but if market share is rising and shrinking it must be more new activations for Google then Apple.
Also doesn’t Iphones market share data include iTouch and iPad because of the OS tracking or does androids include all of its spinoffs as well?
Entertaining numbers but remember: an activation is not the same thing as a purchase.
For example, let’s say I bought a Droid X, activated it, and then I decided that I don’t like it anymore. I sell it on Craigslist and buy a Blackberry. The person I sold it to activates the phone. That would count as two activations, but only one android phone sold.
@Rob Schoenfeld
No, actually. Steve specifically pointed that out in his Keynote.
@Satirical Duck
So in the mobile industry Apple is still Apple, whereas Microsoft has been replaced by Google. Sounds like Apple is not doing too bad…
A lot of good points are made here. I like the one PTC makes about Google basically keeping their mouth shut and Apple/Press reports are tooting Apples horn. Look, Apple makes great products. I love (and am currently using) some of those products. I love my Droid and all that it does. However, I would never want to sound like the jealous kid in the school yard stating that his toy was better than the other kids toy for attention. If your toy truly is better no one has to say that it is (especially you); it just ends up being proven over time. Maybe Google’s silence as stated above is for that very reason; they know their toy is awesome and eventually others will too. My wife and 14 year old both use an iPhone. They would never consider hacking it for more capability. I on the other hand would like to squeeze every bit of “does” out of my toys and therefore I am an Android Fan. On another note, I like a laptop that boots and shuts really fast and I have the advantage of not being tied to corporate policies. Therefore I use a Mac Book Pro. That doesn’t make me an Apple FanBoy. Just a user picking the best bang for my buck. Okay, the medication is kicking in; I am starting to ramble. Thanks to all manufacturers whose product “does” what I need!
Mac
Majority of Android activations are on the non-AT&T network. So Android has no competition. What you are seeing is the normal renewal cycle on Verizon, Sprint and T-mobile. We have to wait and see if iPhone takes over when it arrive on these other carriers. But, we do know this much, most Android activations are for version 2.1 and lower. It’s not a very encouraging fact. It probably is telling us that people are just getting phones that look like an iPhone. Probably one of the reasons why Palm failed. It has nothing to do with the software.
Sorry guys.
Wait till the Gingerbread man comes to town…The iphone OS will be obsolete. With minimum processing speeds of 1 ghz you can expect some big things from the gingerbread man. Catch me if you can I’m the gingerbread man LOL
Common Sense, Android is on every Carrier and every phone manufacturer makes an Android version. Iphones are expensive and usually require better credit to get one, Now why would Android not be excelling in this market especially since it has the best OS of the two?
sorry singer but the Foxconn-produced iPhone will be stuck on AT&T. The other carriers won’t want their network reputation ruined by a phone that needs duct tape just to make a call.
I’m an Android fan, but the damn iPad and iTouch are also drumming up some nice business for them. Until we get some Droid pads and media players on the market, Apple will still be gaining market share.
The real gap is always going to be the iPod Touch. Android may achieve parity with the iPhone or even beat it.
But developers like the fact that hundreds of children run around with the iPod Touch and buy software for it. No true competitor to the iPod Touch exists and that is why it will continue to get more developers. Parent’s don’t want to buy their kids a smartphone.
Archos has some nice slates, but it will be nice when more slates and tablets and laptops, as well as the Android-powered set-top box and appliances are released.
APPLES AND ORANGES PEOPLE.
Apple still made a killing because its the hardware manufacturer, att made a killing because its the only carrier with the iphone. All android devices are divided by manufacturers and carriers, forget talking about countries.
Will android take a bite into apples share, yes. But for the time take a look at this for more info http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN5PoW7_kdA
good point about the touch. Fortunately, samsung is coming out with a media player and tablets based on the galaxy s core.
There is going to be regional variations in sales figures for the devices. In the UK, the iPhone is available on most of the main networks, with the exception of 3 and T-Mo. Android is available on all the networks. This gives the iPhone a larger customer base than an exclusive deal with one carrier and the same applied for Android. However the difference is marketing. All the networks (vodafone, Orange, O2 and Tesco) make a huge song and dance about the iPhone, whereas only Vodafone and Virgin really advertise Android, and these ads have to explain what Android is and what it does. The knock on effect is that the British public think that Android isn’t very good because it needs explained, and they then make the (in my opinion, wrong) assumption that iPhones are better. Denting the sales of Android. If Google, Motorola, HTC etc advertised their phones better in the UK, then sales will improve. Instead I’m stuck explaining and showing off what Android can do.
The real truth is if you factor in the other IOS Devices Google is still getting beat, even with multiple vendors. With the Ipad and Ipod Touch Apple would clearly be selling more that you beloved Android. Google didn’t say 160,000 smart phones it clumped together all devices. So the comparison should be to IOS Devices not just the IPhone 4. Their quote was cleaver enough to fool you guys though!
And people will soon tire of buying a device that is obsolete the next month because the same company releases something else before the you can figure out how to buy the one you just bought. Oh wait,your new phone may not even be compatible with the software version that is on the new one that just came out, if the carrier decides you deserve to get it. Its up to them to update. If sales were not up to par on your model because they cannibalized the sales with another similar phone, they may skip your update all together. Apple typically supports at least three years of updates not three months
it took Apple 3 years of updates to bring an OS that still isn’t up to par with Android 1.6’s features.
@58
All those apple numbers always include all ios devices.. like ipod/ipad in term of apps sold etc…. and besides how many non-phone devices have you seen someone with in person.. I have yet to see anyone in person own an android mp3 player or tablet or netbook.. and these numbers are insane and its only going up from here .. by this holiday season android will be selling upwards of 230k per day… in the long run even when the exclusivity agreement runs out.. ios will be the minority… the pundits have stated this for eons even before android came out.. they said android would be the next symbian for smartphones and that it would control the market and surpass Apple or ios devices by 2012…. apple wont keep up and the os is inferior … and it will look extremely lame come gingerbread… weep all you want apple lovers… numbers never lie… like to boast when there in your favor and then complain when they are not.
Things to look forward to:
-Flash on android vs nothing on iphone. “Here’s a website on Android. Here’s the same website on iPhone. Any questions?”
-if N1 can trash the iphone4 on javascript, surely the Droid X and SGS will totally dominate once they get froyo
-Droid and SGS competing to see how many killer games they can bring to the platform. For example, SGS now has TV ads promoting Gameloft games
-Cisco pushing android at the enterprise
This article is like comparing oranges and bicycles. The comparison is meaningless when you are talking about sales of a hardware device versus software. Logical fail.
So what? Let me point out that the iPhone is ONE phone. And in 3 weeks it sold 3 million units. One phone did that. Lets look at his statement. He said 160,000 Android devices (phones and tablets alike) are being activated in the world each day, when the iPhone is in a select number countries and rounds off to about 130,000 a day. Big whoops if Android as a whole sells more, I’m more impressed that one phone sells that much.
I just wanted to note to all those posters on here pointing out that it’s an unfair comparison since the iPhone is on one carrier and has only one manufacturer- whose fault is that? Apple’s greedy, controlling, close-minded fault, and no one else’s. So stop whining. That is all.
They cant be compared, really it is apples and steak lol
All this fanboyism is pathetic, I have passion for the Android OS. I love to see it grow but using figures that dont even relate to each other to try and ‘win’ against an opposing and still very threatening competitor is just childish.
Oh and @Jeff, yeah youve worked out that most of the Iphone4 sales were to exisiting customers so you say the number of new customers is much smaller than new Android customers. You are right BUT the Iphone4 is firstly offered to existing customers and then offered to new sign ups after. So again these are facts but they dont relate to each other, nonsense!
Please someone tell me what the difference is between activations and sales. When apple anounces sales they call it sales. When Google does they call it activations? I mean you can buy a phone off eBay and call that an activation even though it’s not a new sale!
When is Google going to give us some real numbers. If you actually look at the sales of all Android phones that have come out in the US total so far you actually don’t get over about 7 million actual sales total.
This activation stuff sounds fuzzy to me!
Even before I was an android user, and apple bounced around with their sales numbers, I always thought, “but Android offers soooo many more options.” Whether I want a smooth running, cool, lower end smartphone, to the gadgety, blazing fast superphone, Android has you covered. Iphone… one option… take it or leave it.
I think it is more than 160K now. Samsung Galaxy S and Droid X and countless other phone were released after June 24, i think the figure is close to 200K per day now. By year end it will be close to 1 million per day. Android will be pushed onto feature phones in India and China. 1 million per day is not such a big number, Nokia sells 3 million phones per day and all those symbian users are gradually transitioning to Android
oops nokia sells 330K per day
You guys might want to take a look at this. It provides interesting insights into the mobile market.
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/
If you have time, after you finish the first page, go further and read his comments on things like his rant against the US Cellular Carriers etc. Very interesting and entertaining albeit a little long-winded.
“Activated”, not “sold”. I’ve probably activated my phone 10 times just flashing the ROM and stuff.
I like both Apple and Android, and not a fanboy of either, but sometimes your site, well, takes on the guise of a Android Fanboy Site. Please, stop with the “Apple sucks, Android rules” stuff, and stick to informative, useful information that all can use.
My wife has an iPhone and for the past (2) two days I have had the (Samsung) Captivate. After finally getting my Captivate back from her (im sorry, prying it out of her hands) she began to tell and show me as to why the Android system is better than what iPhone offers. I dont know what the apple does, i dont do apple. My prior was a dumb Trio. The android system works great for me and more of my coworkers have switched from iPhone to Android than the the other way around.
Since the Droid Eris came out first. Does that give Htc the right to sue Apple for coming out with a phone that lost signal bars when held awkwardly? Oh no wait, holding the phone with your left hand near on the bottom third isnt awkward. Everybody does that. Nevermind
Lets not forget many iPhone 4 sales are to previous iPhone users.
It’s articles like this that pisses me off….and it’s idiots like you that should be denied a domain name. Seriously!
Will Android overtake iOS as the predominant mobile OS? Yes.
Is Android on par with iOS? Yes.
Will the Marketplace ever catch up to the AppStore? Yes.
Listen its simply a matter of time before all your prayers are answered so stop hating on Apple Fans like myself that simply like a little quality. For instance….
When I switched my .hotmail account to .gmail, it was because of quality.
When I switched my Ford for my Acura, it was because of quality.
And when I dumped my PC for my Mac, you guessed it right dummy…..it was because of quality.
Listen there’s a reason why Eric sat on the board of Apple, Steve respected him and thought he brilliant- he is. I have a similar respect for the people over at Google, but Apple has yet to disappoint me and Android has yet to provide me with a good enough alternative. So until such time I will continue to hand over my hard earn dollars to a company I perceive is working diligently and purposefully for my ultimate satisfaction.
BTW, here’s a little bit of logic for you; Android is simply and iOS(Apple) substitute. This position historically has been occupied by Microsoft. So please don’t be surprise when WinMo 7 comes out this xmas and you see your marketshare start to diminish . People are grabbing up Droid systems for a multitude of reasons:
1. iPhone is not available to them (ATT only)
2. No viable alternative on their network
3. De facto alternative to iPhone
Expect all this to change in the next 24 mos, with the release of Windows Phone 7, HP WebOs, RIM and everyone else coming online.
OH and Android activating more phones……DUH….its call 2 for 1 deals…..IDIOT. iPhone sells at premium prices and is still on par with your Buy 1 Get 1 Free phones……can you seriously begin to wrap your mind around that concept……SERIOUSLY!!!
Whilst it has been my contention for a while that Google are activating more phones than Apple (Hence the market share numbers of late) there is one glaring omission. The iPhone 3GS is still selling and the iPhone 4 was probably not launched world wide.
Still the hardware that runs Android is usually superior to the iPhone hardware. Android is a free and open eco-system. Android phones tend to be cheaper. Android simply gets my love. I have never owned and see no reason to ever own an iPhone.
To Apple I would like to say: “Take your arrogant walled garden and play with yourselves. I love the openness and freedom of Android.”
Android…FTW!
It if of course not like for like unless you are considering it from an app developper perspective ie how big is my target audience, how many users are there on a particular OS
The idea that Android is a wider used OS will push more app developpers that way. The fact you dont have to authorised by Apple is a huge plus. The APIs and support on Android are very good.
Once we get more and more app developpers targetting android for their first release this will start to snow ball the sales
He makes a good point. But I wouldn’t gloat about Android numbers until they beat all iOS devices.
Apple still have iPads, iPods and 3GS’s to sell.
It won’t be long though, it’s inevitable.
apple sold 3.27 IPads + 8.4 million IPhones(including 3gs and the big launch of IPhone) in the last quarter, so comes to 11.67. Android is activating 160K per day which comes to 14.4 million per quarter. Android is already beating IPhone + IPad combined. IPod touch no idea, but I guess their numbers must be falling.
Well, don’t forget that Apple’s new iPhone 4 isn’t available in a LOT of country’s yet! But good job for Google here :)
Well said Well Said!!!… Only thing missing is Video and Audio chat for Gtalk…. Come on Google flip the switch and let us do video and audio with out Android phone using Gtalk!!! I bet it will double the sales if you do!!
Apple IPhone 4 is available in the major countries(except for australia and canada). All the other countries are pretty small. US, UK, Germany, France and Japan are the biggest countries in terms of smartphone sales. US alone accounts for between 40-45 percent of total smartphone sales worldwide
And with Windows Phone 7, Gingerbread 3.0 release and Blackberry 6.0 devices to be released around oct-dec time frame, the market is going to fragment further. And if as I expect Symbian^3 is well written and Nokia has finally a good top-end phone as I expect, things are going to be interesting and very very fragmented
There’s something about white people and the love of hate.
How come Verizon/Motorola don’t have (*UNTIL NOW*) the sales numbers for the weekend launch of Droid X? Will they soon roll out the BUY-ONE-GET-ONE offer and include the numbers all together to have decent figures? Reports have it that Droid X only sold 65,000 units in the weekend launch.
Awwwwwwwww !!!
Andoid devices could be anything other than cell phones… How many MAC products of any stripe were bought during the same time? I like how google-reader was what brought this article to my attention. I think Windows and MS will win out in the end, they have some good shit in the pipeline.
Why is Google comparing Android activations against Iphone 4 sales? I wonder how many Droid X sales were due to upgrades? Hmm, we will never know because Verizon will not release the number of units sold. Can someone remind Google that their own Handest, the Nexus One, was dropped due to lack of interest, maybe they should google it for a reminder!!
Android’s 160k activations per day will rise this summer. There are so many new phones being released on so many carriers. How awesome is this!
Android is second. Apple is third.
Google’s Android has the OBLIGATION to be more popular than iPhone’s iOS in the phone market since iPhone is the ONLY smartphone that uses iOS while there is a whole army of half-crappy phones using Android.
That’s the whole quantity vs. quality debate all over again.
Do you have numbers how much Motorola, HTC, Samsung and other companies gain selling Android phones? What’s Motorola, HTC, Samsung margin?
How much money were spent on advertisement of Android phones by all these companies?
I am really happy to see Android advertisements everywhere.
“There will at least come a time where the two are no longer separated by as wide a gap in market share. A time when Google’s platform sits at the same level.”
Google will far outsell Apple handsets in 18months, thats not even in question. Question is who will be top dog, Nokia? maybe, but it will be close.
Profits is another story, here Apple can compete.
I have spare time today to surf n tan across this page. I’m trying to make sense out of the whole anti Apple or IPhone mindset u people have. Ok, u don’t like the IPhone… who cares. Most people who own an android is from a long awaited release of a smartphone comparable to the iPhone tht is not with AT&T. Response to sells. The iPhone 4 is one phone. The android is an operating system that operates on several mobile devices. What that means is that the iPhone 4 is battling not one, not two, but several phones with the android os, all from different manufactures. If u look at that I’d say iPhone 4 sales are pretty impressive. Also, let’s give credit to Apple for bring us the iPhone in 2007 which revolutionize the way we use mobile phones completely creating an outbreak of iclones that are useful to us all on different networks. I imagine the won’t get posted but I felt like not enough brainpower was being used on this page.
but that’s not exactly apples vs. oranges. a more reasonable comparison would be to compare the highest-selling android smartphone’s sales vs. the iphone4.
while we could say that the figures discussed compare the android OS to the iOS, it’s an irrelevant comparison given that apple intentionally closes its OS to 3rd parties whereas google fervently proselytizes, so uptake is not reflective of how good the operating systems are.
so in the end, i don’t understand what argument, if any, is being made here. to compare ALL android phones to the iphone4 is rather weak and fanboi-ish.
Android fans gonna throw a party once the number of mobiles using Android surpasses the number of mobiles using iOS…
…but hey, only the iPhone uses iOS while an army of trashy mobiles uses Android.
Keep in mind that half of the Android devices out there are stuck to versions 1.5 and 1.6.
First smart phone I’ve ever owned is the Droid Incredible. It’s… incredible. This IS the droid I’m looking for!
hahah fail. there are hundreds of android phones and they barely beat ONE phone in sales. GZ! morons.
How many companies are selling Android-based phones? And how many are selling iOS-based phones? Of course it’s just a matter of time before the Android OS is market leader. Anything else would be a real failure.
I love Google – but I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t stand Fandroids any longer.
GOOGLE DIDN’T SELL A DAMN THING.
Their Nexus One failed – their Android OS is FREAKING FREE – THEY DIDN’T MAKE A DIME.
The point of a company is to make a profit and distribute the wealth among shareholders (using various strategies).
Yes – when you put a free OS on 100 devices, they will, absolutely, move more product than iPhones – a single device with a single OS.
To me – listening to the Fandroids logic goes something like this:
Did you hear Tostitos brand chips sold XX in the first 30 days?! WOW!
Fandroid: Yes but I read that _other_ chips _with salt_ are soon going to take over Tostitos sales!
…
China is making a custom Android build that won’t support the Marketplace, There are already 4 or 5 different versions of the OS on various carriers here in the US – you all say “Android” like it’s a single thing. It’s not – like Windows 95 is not 98 is not XP is not Vista – but they’re all “Windows”.
Who the f@#% cares how many phones _run_ Android? Why does running this OS matter? Are the companies who us it to make money actually profiting? Are they doing 15.7 billion in quarterly sales? Maybe some are and some aren’t – why don’t you all focus on the finances – the only purpose for a business to exist – instead of making apples to the sum of all other types of fruit comparisons?
WHEN Android takes over iPhone market share – and it will – what will you have accomplished? Not a damn company using it will be nearly as profitable as Apple is at handset sales and it’s subsidiary revenue from the App Store, iTunes music, magazine subscriptions, etc.
Android does not and will not ever have the smooth, tightly integrated user-experience of the iPhone – they CAN’T because they don’t CONTROL the OS anymore. They released it to the wild, three cheers for open source, now let’s see someone make a s@#% ton of money with it – then start flapping your tongues again.
This does not surprise me that Android users are holding onto to any hope that they may have a better phone than the iPhone 4. Sorry. This is still not the case.
Apple does it best and cheap imitations will never outshine the iPhone 4! Just sayin’..
You c’ant compare an iphone with android. The first is a phone+os the second is only an os. Do the math as to which is making more money with a “unit” sold and what can then be further developed with it.
The important thing is if everyone is happy with the phone they have.
We will always have thank apple for opening the door to 100% tactile phone that no other constructor really had the balls to do for a decade. One everyone saw the popularity it is a bit easier to jump in …
Just because lots more people are buying a certain system doesnt mean it is actually better, otherwise Windows would not be in the place it is today.
Personally I’m glad Android is succeeding, as there needs to be at least two viable systems to maintain competition. But I just wish the handset makers were adhering to more of Androids open past. Much of the useful stuff in Android is now tied up in patents, meaning no one else can use them. Many of its core services such as location are tied up in proprietary license deals with the data providors.
So in short, Android is no open and free system competing with the proprietary giant, but in the end, I think Apple will still be happy with 20 or even only 10% of the market, because its customers are the one who will pay 80% more money overall to its application developers.
Andriod still suffers from one of the major problems Windows does today – it was far to easy to write crap applications.
In linux, the apps actually have to be really good to get wide acceptance as most are competing on the same cost – free. So if you choose OpenOffice over Google Docs, it is because it is better for you, and the way you work. It may not be true for someone who prefers to have their head in the cloud. On OS X, the community is quite small, but vocal, and well connected. Good apps rise to the top of the pile quickly. And all the free ones from Linux probably are available too (I switched my desktop from OpenSuse to OS X without having to change a single major app from Linux). Windows is getting better, but the large install base means it is also exposed to the most malware.
Android at the moment seems like where Windows was against OS2 back in the 90’s. Limited deployment of OS 2 let MS take the initiative with NT and the Win32 architecture. They let anyone install it for a fee, and took over the world.
However Apple now are nearly as big as MS, the revenue is nearly the same, but completely different markets. MS has 90% with a 1% margin, and Apple have 10% with an 80% margin – or at least feels that way with their prices, but the product is perceived as good enough value it makes it worth while.
1) Apple didn’t say they sold 9 million Iphones to end users they sold them to resellers. Come here in Europe and you’ll find many unsold Iphone 3 types sitting on store shelves getting dusty. Almost all of those are going to end up getting sent back to Apple.
2) You can use an Apple on any of the carriers here. In the US Apple blames all problems on ATT. People here know better.
3) An Iphone (Which isn’t even the latest at the moment) costs at least 20% more then something like the latest Samsung. The people willing to pay that premium have basically all moved to Apple already. There is almost no room for Apple to grow here unless they slash prices. Problem is Apple needs to fund it’s costs while the third party Android makers obviously have no need to fund Android.
Now ask yourself this. If you’re a carrier what do you gain by subsiding the Iphone? You know the people who want one already have one. You know Apple will blame you for the problems in the phone. You know you can make more money selling something else.
Now lets assume Apple actually improves the Iphone/Ipad. How many Mac sales does this steal? How many of the people here would be happier with something like the Samsung P1000 tablet/phone instead of two devices? Apple can’t improve the Iphone/Ipad too much without hurting itself.
We’ve seen this movie before. Apple tried to force people to do things it’s way before. If you’re old enough you remember when Apple was the largest PC maker in the world. When it’s PC OS had a similar hold on the PC market that the Iphone has now.
Apple’s closed model always ends up with higher costs . It leads to openings for other companies to make something better.
To the comment that Apple is one maker versus many. That’s the whole point. Apple needs to be perfect 100% of the time. Android makers don’t. If the best Android phone this week comes from Samsung,LG,Sony, my maiden aunt it doesn’t matter. Apple is fighting with clubs when everybody else is using nukes.
GO GOOGLE!! Its about time someone takes out the iPhone! Don’t get me wrong I love Apple I owned the 2nd & 3rd generation iPhone but I have to say the Android Phones are doing work. I own the Evo 4G and can’t imagine going back to the iPhone for christ sake it took them 3 years to put add a flash on the phone!
So, lets forget market-share for 1 second and talk profit-share….you know, the green stuff…yeah thats what I thought.
Also in the news, McDonald’s sells more meals than OR
Ford sells more Fiestas than BMW OR…
you get the point
What are you people talking about. You can talk about apple selling 3 million iphones. It is Apple OS phones vs Google OS phones. (Just like PC VS Mac) Like Pc vs Mac; PCs includes HP, Dell, IBM, Acer, Gateway, Generic PC, Custom Build PCs. These PC’s usually runs windows and windows come from Microsoft. Which Microsoft has outsold Apple. That is why Microsoft is touted as a “Monopoly.” Yes there are linux PCs but for sakes of just numbers we can say the majority are Microsoft Windows. Just like PCs with windows Google Android is the Windows for phones..(Yes there are windows phones but for the sake of just numbers there are mostly Androids OS phones.) An android OS phone includes Evo, Samsung Galaxy, G1s, Nexus 1, Droid X, Incredible, Eris and more. Same operating system(Google Android), different hardware(Flavor), with different carriers. According to the sales Google Android OS is winning than Blackberry OS and finally Apple OS comes in third. Apple(Iphone) comes in third place in sales! Iphones sales can’t even beat the Blackberry in sales; that includes the iphone 4. Here are the proof and the numbers 33% of the belongs to Android with 28% going to RIM and 22 % to Apple. You can argue with facts and the fact is in under 3 years Google OS has overtaken the most popular phone which was the Blackberry OS. Apple is not even close. Google Wins period.
For Geezer, I wouldn’t talk about the green stuff since google is bigger than apple. You know the search (web stuff) that your using on your iphone.