Android predicted to outrun iPhone by 2012
updated 02:50 pm EDT, Thu August 5, 2010
Android variety could overtake iPhone in 2 years
An aggressive estimate by iSuppli today has Android passing iOS for share by 2012. While Apple still has a comfortable total user base today, Google is accelerating quickly enough that it could claim 75 million active phones by 2012 where Apple would grow to just 62 million. That ratio could widen further in the following two years to where Android would have 22.8 percent share, at over 100 million phones, where iPhones and related devices would shrink in relative share to 15.3 percent.
Analysts at the group said they still thought the iPhone would set a standard for smartphones but that Apple's insistence on a vertical design, where it makes both the hardware and software, would limit its potential. Google has the advantage of many hardware manufacturers that can reach carriers, countries and prices where Apple isn't necessarily willing to go.
Apple has routinely insisted that it's concerned with providing the best experience and not necessarily making sacrifices in quality or control to get to that objective. Some have criticized Apple, however, for potentially repeating what they see as repeating the mistake it made in the 1980s of refusing to license its OS early on and thus giving up its potential reach.
Other analysts have disagreed and note that much of Apple's problem stems from its exclusivity in the US. Verizon is the largest individual seller of Android phones in the world. Suspicions have been raised that a Verizon iPhone could mute Android as many customers might simply be buying the Droid line out of loyalty to the carrier or the cost of jumping to AT&T.
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Android predicted to outrun iPhone by 2012 - Reall
If Android did not overtake Apple at some point - now that would be a surprise. The sheer number of vendors will make it impossible for Apple to keep up in numbers.
This game is not about quantity but QUALITY at least for some of us.
I got my iPhone because it was functional, did what I wanted to do and was gorgeous. And most importantly for it never failed me, not once, not even AT&T's poor service caused a failure.
I will probably never buy another brand of phone. And say what you may my iPhone 4 - not a single problem - works as advertised.
I am willing to bet a $1 that by 2015 the Android market will be another PC market - fragmented, with poor quality and horrible service.
So who really cares about the Android market. I wish Apple would raise its prices but spend more on quality I am willing to pay the extra money for a better product.