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In ‘war’ with Apple, Schmidt says Google is ‘clearly’ winning

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While CEO Larry Page is a bit more reluctant to openly talk about Google’s competition with Apple, chairman Eric Schmidt wasn’t shy about voicing his thoughts in a recent Bloomberg interview. In comparing the current mobile landscape to the home computer market of the 1990s, Schmidt said that Google is “winning that war pretty clearly now.”

As was the case with Microsoft so many years ago, Google is relying on hardware partners, advertisers, and developers to create an expansive ecosystem that is attractive to more and more users. The model is working, with a recent Gartner report revealing that Android’s stranglehold on the market grew to 72 percent in the third quarter of 2012. It’s a dominance that is expected to extend for several years.

Schmidt said, “the core strategy is to make a bigger pie,” but admitted, “we will end up with a not perfectly controlled and not perfectly managed bigger pie by virtue of open systems.” Apple’s strategy, on the other hand, has always been to offer software and hardware as a packaged deal, seeing one as the natural extension of the other. In the early days of home computing this model prevented the company from overtaking Microsoft, but a successful string of relatively cheaper products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad have helped to grow their business as a whole.

Many argue that Android will ultimately be doomed by its size, scope, and fragmentation, with the entire ecosystem eventually buckling under its own weight. While that could be a reality someday down the road, Schmidt and company will be riding their wave of success for the foreseeable future. But Google shouldn’t rest now. They may think the war is over, but we’re sure Apple sees things a little bit differently.

[via Bloomberg]

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52 Comments

  1. Believe it or not, I think Google is the new Microsoft.

    1. minus the raving lunatic Ballmer. Mind you, he keeps us entertained… hmmmmmm.

      1. Actually, apple is the new microsoft.

    2. Not necessarily a bad thing either, I like google and their products and I hope they stay competitive and innovative through the coming years… Maybe in about 5 or 6 years there will be a new contender to consider in the fight for who gets into our pockets as far as OS goes who knows maybe blackberry will make a strong comeback hahaha no but seriously someone one day will take google’s crown I hope not soon but the world goes on.

    3. One big difference is that MS sold their OS. They had an incentive to produce WinME and Vista and 8. Google makes android the best it can be at each iteration, though i really wish I knew why google could not put adhoc networking in android nor why they never answered the thousands of inquiries on such. (And I know about WiFi Direct now; you still cannot connect to a phone that creates an adhoc network with a stock-OS android tablet.)

  2. Yeah I like how Google is only worried about the here and now. People are going to leave Android before it buckles. The lack of unified updates and patches across the board leaves something to be desired. Also, 3 months after a device is released, it goes on legacy support. Devs need to invest more in their devices like Apple does, even though I hate them with a passion.

    1. Google is doing something that is unheard of, which is changing the landscape once more in the mobile arena. They are selling fully unlocked phones for $350. I have 2, and they are absolutely awesome.

      If Google continues this move, Apple will either have to begin selling at an incredibly low profit margin, or lose sales to people wanting a great unlocked phone at an unheard of price. The lack of LTE was something I was worried about, but since getting the phone on T-Mobile, I am no longer worried. I was a Verizon customer for years, and I am happy to be paying $40 less a month, and not have to worry about contracts.

      Apple cannot compete with this, as they rely on huge profit margins to continue breaking the bank. Google is getting awesome press with their Nexus 4, which will receive updates for a long time, and this is what Apple is fearing.

      1. Nexus is great, only problem is that its only great on tmobile.

      2. So now that T-Mobile announced LTE what will happen as hspa is put to rest?

      3. I completely agree with you…I just purchased a month old Samsung GS2 from Kijiji for my wife for only $200 just 3 weeks ago. That converted my wife from BlackBerry. Our daughter has an iPhone and before I got my wife the GS2, she too wanted the iPhone, but people still want like $400-500 for a used 4S…so I made that decision for her LOL. Apple products are way overpriced and that’s why she didn’t get her iPhone, as we want to stay away from signing contract deals (just to get a cheaper phone). Turns out, my making the choice for her has made her very happy and she’s loving her GS2 Droid…just as much as I love mine.

    2. “People are going to leave Android before it buckles.”

      Thanks, Carnak. While you are prognosticating, would you care to divulge next week’s lotto numbers?

    3. I don’t see how it could buckle. Can you explain?

    4. So um…? People will leave a phone because it doesn’t get updates? Who are these people that will leave? I’m waiting for Jelly Bean for my Epic 4G Touch. Don’t think I’d leave since I still like the phone. If I don’t get it within the year, I’ll just use my upgrade to get a 4.2.1 or higher phone. I’ve used Jellybean and it’s really nice, but I don’t NEED it. I can still play all my apps just fine.

      Oh, and my iPod 2G was updated to 4.0. I still remember when I got it. I was happy that I was going to be able to add wallpapers. NOPE!! My device didn’t get the full update. How stupid. If I get an update I want everything that update has to offer, or I don’t want the update at all. You can’t tell me my iPod’s hardware didn’t allow it to be able to have a wallpaper for a background. I felt like Apple was calling me dumb.

      I dropped my plans on getting an iPhone and picked up my 1st Android phone, the Nexus 1.

      So far your argument doesn’t make any sense. Sorry.

    5. Apple has 1, ONE, UNO, l’UN, 之一, JEDAN, एक, Один….. One line of devices to manage! and ALL OF THEM ARE NEARLY THE SAME DEVICE! hmm.. I wonder why Apple is able to do that… hmm it really irks me, How the heck on earth does apple support all their one line of iPhone products of which are all identical in every right of the word through the coming years? Hmm you know what apple devices just must be all magical! Yeah that must be it! Santa must just be sitting up in his high chair at the north pole updating everyones iPhones every year! because the iPhone line of apple devices are just that good! /sarcasm

    6. I believe you are making some assumptions that may not be true. There is no way to know whether a person owning a ‘minority’ Android OS phone is dissatisfied with his/her purchase if it works as they want it to. Leaving a system probably means that they have encountered enough problems that they consider either upgrading or changing systems altogether neither of which can be predicted for the whole of Android OS phone users.

  3. Google’s era under Eric Schmidt had involved into multiple crimes in Stanford which is fascism by nature.

    Google’s Eric Schmidt had abused Google resources to financially and politically support a criminal suspect named Gabriele Scheler, along with a Stanford Computer Science faculty Sebastian Thrun, against ruling from Stanford and U.S. authorities. During their fight with Stanford, Eric Schmidt’s side had murdered an innocent Stanford student May Zhou in 2007 to threaten me and to terrorize Stanford. When they found I would not compromise a bit but actively tried to clarify the case, Eric Schmidt’s side did plot a murder on me as well. The only reason they didn’t make it a reality is because they were closely watched by police and they are afraid of leaving evidence (not because they have any mercy on me as a human being, fascism by nature.) Eric Schmidt lost his CEO position because of his involvement into these crimes.

    These accusations stand still which Eric Schmidt and Sebastian Thrun dare not deny to the public. Eric Schmidt and Sebastian Thrun had not paid for their crimes and they would have to.

    1. ????

      1. Not enough question marks. There will never be enough question marks…

    2. “Palo Alto Online : Police confirm May Zhou committed suicide”

      See a professional and get some medication/therapy, friend. You need it. Badly.

      1. But he was there! He was involved!

        ” When they found I would not compromise a bit but actively tried to clarify the case, Eric Schmidt’s side did plot a murder on me as well.”

        OH EM GEEEEEEEEE!!!!

        1. This should be headed to dateline… or lifetime. either or.

    3. Tin foil hat a bit tight?

    4. DUN DUN DUN…… is this your new novel?

    5. Tell us your life story about how google raped you in the a why don’t you

      1. If they just bought him breakfast afterwards then he wouldn’t be spewing random nonsense.

    6. You’re a Stanford student. If you have such strong claims perhaps citations are in order. Don’t drag down the school’s reputation. :(

    7. Wow he found Phandroid. This guy posts his dribble on Huffington Post’s tech section on anything Google related.

  4. Is PeterCaoLaser from Colorado or Washington? lol

    1. No, he’s just nuts. I hope police finds him sooner rather than later.

      1. I like how his first post was 100% Chinglish, and the second post is relatively proper.
        Me thinks ctrl+c was used, hmmmmMMMMMM?

  5. As much as I love Google, I think this has to be said. In ‘war’, Google might be winning against Apple but the manufactures who use Google’s product are not. Apple continuously attacks them rather than Google itself. I hope Google stays on top, they might not be perfect, but they’re far better as a whole than Apple and their somewhat brainwashing ways,

    1. They aren’t attacking Google itself because none of their patents hold up against Android, if you look at all the patent cases against HTC, they were all hardware related, and the case against Samsung was all based on TouchWiz, look and feel, with patents like scroll bounce which have been taken away from Apple since so Samsung might not even have to pay them. The only two patents that Apple has used to go directly against Android was swipe to unlock and universal search, the swipe to unlock dint hold up at all and with universal search they found an easy loophole and patched it up the next day.

  6. Google will continue to grow strong and in reality only a few battles remain for the war to end. Apple, Microsoft and RIM make fine devices but what android as a whole offers trumps their competition. The only real problem Android will have in the future is if some of the OEM’s completely move away from Android which I truly do not foresee happening. The Android OS has finally reached a maturity level that even mainstream users see that you get the most value choosing an Android device instead of the competition.

    1. “Why Android’s Market Share Is No Threat To Apple’s iOS Platform”
      http://techpinions.com/why-androids-market-share-is-no-threat-to-apples-ios-platform/12800

      Read it….you might learn something :-)

      1. Really? Then why was Apple inches from going belly up while they had 25% desktop market share before Microsoft stepped in and saved them from bankruptcy? Apples argument didnt make sense then and the market proved them wrong. It doesnt make sense now either.

          1. History is much more reliable than this opinion in a blog you keep posting.

          2. Unfortunately for you, ignorance of history makes you look stupid. Those who try to compare Android to Microsoft are missing key points of information: Microsoft made a gazillion dollars off windows because instead of giving it away, they licensed it. Also, they retained full control of the software and didn’t allow companies like amazon to hijack it and cut Goigle out of the process. So you have a bunch of companies using your derivative OS, which isn’t bringing you a dime in licensing fees and very little ad revenue, because mobile ads are not nearly as valuable as desktop ads…..Androids “dominating” marketshare numbers could not be more meaningless….

          3. Stick with that convoluted thinking, rather than observing reality and go down with the ship. Today Walmart put the iphone 5 in their bargin bin of phones for $127 cause they are simply not selling close to expectation. Most people are actually able to discern a bad product when they see it. (ergo apples continuing falling market share)

          4. Dude are you serious??? Are you THAT delusional??? Walmart discounts EVERYTHING they sell, including the S3, which, btw, has been discounted everywhere from radio shack to best buy for as low as $99. Meanwhile, demand for the iPhone 5 is AHEAD of the iPhone 4S, which set sales records for a single smartphone, and analysts are expecting at least 45 million sold in the December quarter ALONE: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/12/13/apple-piper-survey-sees-sustained-iphone-5-demand/

            “Most people are actually able to discern a bad product when they see it. (ergo apples continuing falling market share)”

            Three Trends Underlying Apple’s iPhone Market Share Surge
            http://www.forbes.com/sites/darcytravlos/2012/11/28/three-trends-underlying-apples-iphone-market-share-surge/

            Pure, unadulterated IGNORANCE….

          5. Android now has 74% smartphone market share. Which is higher than last month and the month before. Vendors have never discount the current iphone model until its replacement model was out. However several vendors are now deeply discounting iphone 5 after being out for just a few months because of its poor sales. Despite the clear evidence apple lemmings will follow and even defend the bad products apple is now releasing. Its amusing to observe.

          6. Nothing you’ve said addresses the corrections I’ve made to your faulty assumptions about the demand for the iPhone and its “eroding” marketshare, so I’ll translate that to mean that you really have no valid rebuttal for it, which I already knew when I posted it…
            As for its “poor sales”, I hardly think that a phone that is responsible for propelling the Apple to the top of the smartphone heap is selling poorly: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/11/27/iphone-5-sales-drive-apple-to-top-smartphone-spot-in-the-us/

            Keep the ignorance coming….makes my day :-)

          7. Are you ten years old. You going to double dare me next? So, you have discerned that Iphone having less than 30% marketshare is “top of the smartphone heap”. Amazing.

            My father warned me not to have a battle of wits against an unarmed man. Im sure apple is happy to have you as a proponent. You are made for each other. Bye

          8. No….I have determined that WALKING AWAY WITH 71% OF THE INDUSTRY’S PROFITS is the top of the smartphone heap. You marketshare clowns have no clue what being in business is all about. What is the point of marketshare without profits???? Anytime you can walk away with nearly 3/4’s of the industry profits THERE IS NO SMARTPHONE WAR….do yourself a favor….get a clue

      2. Thanks, learned a bit. Also made me realize just how much you really cannot compare iOS to Android due to how they each exist in the user landscape. It’s like comparing Jellyfish to coral. The success of one really does not affect the success of the other directly.

  7. I am a Android user and I love it. However here is the flaw. They will NEVER be able to compete with IOS are updates to devices. Unless it is a Nexus. I understand you can root, I understand there is all kinds of things. June of 2009 the 3GS comes out and Sept 2012 it is still updated. There is no Android that even comes close. Not one. We blame the HTC, Samsungs, …then we are blaming carriers. Fragmentation…..it does suck.

  8. Is he clearly on crack? I love Android, but has he walked into a Walmart or a mall. Compare android third party devices made for Android compared to IOS devices. Google is not winning. It’s doing very well, and will increase in the future. However, IOS devices and third party devices still rock the market here in the US. Regardless of how popular the nexus 4 is it still doesn’t compare to the popularity of the iphone products. Only thing that came remotely close is the galaxy s3

    1. clearly they are….hence OPEN…ANYONE!!!!!!

  9. Nobody wins when they have to look at your butt-ugly, pit-ridden face Eric.

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