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Android adoption rate six times that of the iPhone, mobile to surpass PC in 2013

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Mary Meeker, best known for her yearly Internet Trends report, provided an update to some of her figures from earlier in 2012 while speaking at a Bloomberg event in San Francisco. Her focus was strong mobile growth, which was highlighted by news that the adoption rate of Android smartphones is now six times that of Apple’s iPhone. Back in May the figure was four to one.

By the end of 2013, Android is expected to far surpass the 90 million devices shipped per quarter quoted for Q1 of 2012, which is double the expected number for Apple. Meeker’s estimates have 80 million iOS devices shipped per quarter by the end of the next calendar year.

The numbers all contribute to a growing mobile field that will overtake the PC industry by the middle of next year, according to Meeker. With an expected 6 billion mobile users (1 billion of which are smartphone users) by the end of 2012, the combined install base of tablets and smartphones will outnumber the install base of desktop and notebook computers. Android has already overtaken Windows PCs in terms of units shipped per quarter.

It all adds up to a reality that is becoming more apparent every day as users shift from a single computing experience to one that features multiple devices backed by cloud storage. Has the smartphone completely replaced the personal computer for anyone out there? It would be interesting to see if Meeker’s figures correlate directly to user habits in that way.

[via TechCrunch]

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31 Comments

  1. Sorry, but with all our phones/tablets, I can’t see mobile devices replacing desktops in our household any time soon.

    1. Deal with it…..Microsoft is useful just for work……like for me now

      1. Deal with it? haha. You really think your life applies to everybody else?

        Good luck living in your bubble. And sorry the election didn’t go your way :)

        1. So why we use android for all at home, can you explain that? Deal with It, read the first comments here, deal with it :)

          1. Don’t use “we” to refer to your own experience. “We” don’t use android all the time at home.

          2. deal with the same statement from Microsoft ;)

          3. My comment has nothing to do with that. You said “we” use android all the time at home, thinking that your experience applies to everyone (get over yourself). I never made mention of mobile devices being used more in the future, but you seem to think everyone uses mobile phones all the time at home, which simply isn’t the case. Like Ahhk said, good luck living in your bubble (there’s a whole world out there just so you know).

          4. I am on my laptop right now, you know the one capable of playing Starcraft 2 and Guild Wars 2…. and stuff like that seeming as the gaming aspect of Android still has a lot of room to grow. Even iPhone has way more quality games than Android…

          5. now, but you have to see a future and even Microsoft said it would be all just in mobile devices, so do you see now? :)

    2. Why should they have to replace desktops? People will use both.

  2. Between my smartphone (g’nex) and my tablet (Nexus 7) I’d say my PC usage has probably dropped 80-90% in the last 2 years. My PC usage is almost exclusively business related now. I don’t see myself ever completely replacing the PC but I sure do use it less.

    1. Well, I guess if someone only uses their desktop for browsing, email, and social, then I can easily see them not needing the desktop. But for someone like myself that does design, development and audio/video production…..it ain’t gonna happen.

      The tablets are great for playing AB in bed/keeping the offspring entertained during road trips, and the phones are great for staying connected while mobile, but…..

      1. So do you understand now? MS just for work like you, is it clear now?

      2. I was/am a PC “power user” but I also do a lot of browsing, e-mail and searching. I never suggested you could do video production on your tablet or smartphone and would never do that myself. I do use my PC a LOT less that I used to, which was my point. I also get by with sharing a “family PC” now that I could never do before. Times change.

        1. Well, sure, I think most people probably use a PC “less” now. I don’t even think that is debatable. But, what I was discussing was the actual question of the author:

          “Has the smartphone completely replaced the personal computer for anyone out there?”

          And, to that question, I still say (for me) that no, I can’t see it happening any time in the near future. I was only referring to myself/my family. Not suggesting what anyone should or shouldn’t be doing with their pocket vibrators. I’ll leave that to people like anywherehome :)

          1. so how could you explain all the predictions that Android is going to surpass Windows soon?
            deal with that youre wrong :)
            so even now we use PC less and eg I do not need a PC at home now…so yes even now is able to throw PC away
            and youve probably forgotten about elder people…they do not need PC at all

      3. Even if I just want to browse, I do not want to browse on a 10″ screen!

    2. Same here. I pretty much only use a PC for school and at work

      1. Only for school and work? Mathematically, you’re implying that school + work only accounts for 10-20% of your time awake each day. That suggests that you’re either VERY independently wealthy, or in Kindergarten.

        1. Errm, no. I use a PC often at work but most my time spent at work is not on a computer. So you’re probably right that I only spend about 10-20% of the day on a PC.

    3. I actually can’t see myself giving up more time to my mobile devices than traditional computing. There’s just not enough flexibility in mobile yet, though it’s come a very loooooong way.

  3. No phone screen not big enough. I need phone for calls. But maybe my nexus 7. Hardly use pc at home mostly work.

  4. My phone and tablet are nice for some casual browsing and gaming, but they still account for less than 20% of the time spent on my desktop. I can’t see myself doing actual work or gaming on a tablet.

  5. I would say that my PC is on about 90% less now that I have my phone and maybe only turn the PC on two or three times a week for half and hour each. Also a single Android on a stick replaced a 3 year old server and my media PC, saved me tons on electricity. But for work it’s still 100% PC.

    So I guess it’s per the job at hand for me.

  6. My desktop PC is more like a file/print server and for downloading and storage of files, but I usually surf, watch videos (using Skifta) and do most of my emailing and social media participation via my Nexus 7 or my Galaxy Nexus. The netbook I bought a couple of years ago is collecting dust. I use a PC at work all day so I’d rather not have to as much at home. If there’s something I need to do on my home PC I usually just use Splashtop 2 so I don’t have to get off the couch!

  7. I will always game on PC, because console gaming looks 8-bit to me after playing 3D @ 1920×1080

  8. For me i cant see anything replacing my desktop this decade and its unlikely to in the next.
    I am a power user who likes gaming, likes multiple screens for various tasks and enjoys the speed benefits of a pc.

    I can really see Surface RT/pro replacing many of the standard users PCs though, especially with A15/big.LITTLE/haswell having good enougg performance in a convenient form factor.

  9. This is the end of Apple

  10. Really the only thing I ever use my laptop for is porn, other than that I use my smartphone (Samsung Droid Charge) for everything!

  11. Laptops and Desktops will never be replaced completely….I’m not trying to do photoshop on my phone and be serious about it.

  12. Surfing for porn on a 4.6″ screen just isn’t as good as having a full size screen… So I would say for personal use; I use my computer at home somewhat less, maybe 50% of what I used to.. but I still use it! :)

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