ANDROID vs. iOS: IS THE iPHONE REALLY SELLING?

ANDROID vs. iOS

No, no… I am not interested at this stage as to which operating system is better: Android or iOS? Maybe we can get into that another time! In fact, I would like to see what iOS 6 has to offer and make comparisons with Jelly Bean 4.1! Anyway, aren’t you curious as to why the media keeps portraying the iPhone as the most dominant handset compared to that of Android which reportedly hits up to 1.3M per day? Why is that? Let’s have a look…

iPHONE
Is it me or is it that iOS activations for the iPhone is substantially less than Android when performing a WebNet search? At around Christmas 2011 is seems as though iOS activations had a distinct lead over Android. But in the present Android has taken over significantly. However, with Android there are many, many handset manufacturers and that is how it beats iOS. I am very curious to find out what Android handset sells the most. I have tried looking it up on the Net to no avail! But if the sales people at the various UK handset outlets are anything to go by then it would appear that the Samsung Galaxy SII and SIII are the highest selling Android phones followed by HTC One X! Interesting, no?

When I take a look at the statistics for my site and blog the stats show that only 2% of viewers come from the iPhone to Android’s 14% with the majority coming from Windows at 54%! Even the BlackBerry comes in above iPhone with a slim, but distinctive nonetheless, 3%! iPad at 1% with Nintendo Wii making up another 2% of viewers out of my 8,346 audience (which grows day by day – people are starting to take notice of my writing! Yay)!

Hmmm… What should I take from that? It could very well be that iPhone fans perceive me as a hater, which I am not! Maybe that’s why there aren’t many of my audience from the iPhone and iPad! That said, I would like to think that iPhone fans and certainly level headed iPhone users can see that I am being critical of the Apple Hype-Machine and the so-called media that appears to aid the machine!

The Galaxy SIII has sold over 30M at present and overtook the 4S in the States and presumably in the UK. More people seem to be using the SIII each day! Whenever I travel I see many people with the SIII, SII and Note!

After a search on the Interweb, the 4S has sold 35M!

At this rate the SIII continues to sell and it has had a shorter period of time than the 4S on the market.

Now will the iPhone 5 pick up the pace and eventually surpass the SIII? I don’t know… The preorders for version 5 does not seem to be all that as reported! It’s early days, and I hope to visit the Apple store tomorrow and see if I can photograph the adoring fans!

Again, with the short comings of the latest iPhone I really do not understand why the media say it is the one to beat. Surely, they do not mean that on a technical basis? Perhaps they mean that the iPhone is so well loved that its ardent fans buy it up to the point of eclipsing the SIII?

I tried looking at the sales for HTC One X and it is murkier than the Thames River!

SAMSUNG / ANDROID
The Samsung and Android partnership has turned out to be the best celebrity marriage ever! However, I did detect some disdain towards Android during the Unpacked event in Berlin when a representative declared the ATIV 8 and selection of tablets were the “…stars of the show…” I beg to differ! Seriously, the Note 10.1 tablet does look like a challenger to the iPad! I fancy having it! I certainly WANT the Galaxy Note II; having tested the Note I must have Note II!

I wonder how many people feel the same way. Again, I am seeing more and more people with the Note each day both male and female in equal amounts! So, when Tim Cook goes on about fitting comfortably in the hand I think he’s unaware of what’s going on! Honestly, I think people would rather operate a handset with a massive screen with two hands purely because of what a large screen brings i.e. better video and web viewing! Besides the user of such large screen phones only need to operate the phone with two hands when messaging – including email! It’s not like you’re going to be doing anything so special with the other hand. Again, another marketing ploy to keep people paranoid about not being able to handle large screen phones!

The iPhone 5 fever is nearly upon us and the question is: How many iPhone users are thinking of getting the Note II when it is released in October? I am predicting that Galaxy Note II sales will be just as good – if not better than both the SIII and iPhone 5! All I can think about is that new S Pen with its ability to hover and preview content without touch the screen! Then my other thoughts go on the apps that will come with it, i.e. S Note! Then I think about the usability – if the SIII is anything to go by the Note II will be amazing! Plus the Note II will ship with Jelly Bean from the start!

OTHER MANUFACTURERS / ANDROID
As you know there are many more handsets to come from many manufacturers. The LG Optimus G looks tasty! I have seen a “hands on” YouTube video that makes it look a strong contender – especially the 13MP camera and functionality! HTC could be dropping its One X5 anytime now! If the picture of the One X5 is anything to go by then it could be a hit for them that the so badly need! Of course there are the Oppo handsets… There’s still no news of when they will come to market. There’s also Sony and Huawei to come!

Let’s not forget the budget Android handsets that really sell well! Even if you didn’t fancy paying out for the top-end smartphones you can get yesteryear’s model quite inexpensively! Take the Galaxy SII for example, in some retail outlets you can pick up a contract starting at £20.50 (last time I looked). I would imagine that come the end of the year and 2013 the outlay for the SII could be cheaper still! I know that good HTC models will come down greatly in price!

I do believe that there will be a scramble for dominance amongst the manufacturers to claim the budget smartphone throne! I guess what people want from a smartphone is Facebook, Twitter and a few free or cheap calling & messaging with apps such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, etc. If you are thinking of budget be aware that these phones do not have much internal memory and that some apps do not like to run from an microSD card.

There you go! I really doubt that the iPhone sells like it does. And as far as the iPad goes, I am seeing a few more people with it on the streets but not in high numbers to suggest that it is common. I do think that if Google, Samsung, Asus, Huawei, Amazon, and Acer invest in a marketing campaign for their 7” tablets we could be seeing more and more people with tablets at the end of the year! I am convinced that parents are buying the Nexus 7 for their children! I get asked a lot by parents as to what tablet should they be investing in and, so far, I think the Nexus 7 is the best budget tablet on the market!

Tim Cook was mocking the Android tablet market or lack thereof, but I don’t know if one could tell if an Android tablet accesses the Net! I do think that Android tablets are selling steadily! Again, the Nexus 7 seems to be doing it for a lot of people who want an inexpensive tablet with a bit of longevity in it. I am definitely looking at a 7” tablet this year!

I don’t see how Apple and its iDevices can compete with all that! If you have any insights don’t be afraid to drop me a comment or two! And remember: I’m not an iPhone hater! I honestly don’t see anything appealing in it for me.

Don’t believe the hype!  

Thank you so much for reading!

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Best wishes!