Counterpoint: Android surging because it gives consumers the gift of choice.

For the most part I agree. In my small circle of close friends 9 have droids and 1 has an iPhone. Why? ATT coverage in my area is terrible. But a point that I think is being totally misread by the experts and carriers is the openness of the platform. Of the 9 having droids all but one is now rooted (and I had to help with 6 of them). Are 8 of 9 geeks? well perhaps but the primary reason they ALL updated was the fact that Verizon lied about the ability to tether and use wireless tethering and now wants to rip them off by charging again for data they already pay a fortune for. Several had already used pdaNet but prefer the rooted experience as it is so much smoother. Just thought I'd toss this in. Besides myself the only other rooter who did it for other reasons wanted his business logo as his boot screen.

 

I agree with the OP completely! Since owning my Droid (and even before rooting), my iPhone has become just an iPod Touch with a contract. AT&T actually has better service at 90% of the places I go and I still prefer Android over iOS. IMO, the biggest plus to iPhone is the cover flow with the built in iPod. But, I can buy an iPod Touch and tether it to my Droid without paying an extra $100 a month for a service I don't use. It (iPhone) will be cut off in a month or two..just haven't decided whether I want to keep the actual phone or not. I love the openness and customization of the Android platform vs everything being closed on Apple's end. Not to take anything away from the iPhone though because it changed phones forever and is an amazing piece of equipment but, Android shines brighter IMHO.

 

This is an interesting argument, and I particularly appreciate the use of data to help support the story. I still remain unconvinced, though. A few thoughts:

(1) Is it possible that the US market has a different personality from the Europeans? Certainly we differ in the basic pricing model: we go for cheap, subsidized phones, while Europeans tend to pay $400-$600, keep the phone longer, and gain the advantage of carrier portability. Who knows how that influences the success of the iPhone here versus abroad.

(2) The use of the domestic Galaxy S data is hard to argue with. I wish I knew more about the phone, and what its user base looks like. Are the users like Droid1 owners? If so, then the majority would (probably) never go for an iPhone. It might be easy to explain by assuming the typical owner is reluctant to change carriers (though some are keen to do it often)...and that there are many AT&T people who are just cut from same cloth as us.

(3) The most serious question is what happens when Verizon offers the iPhone. I think WE ALL KNOW a HUGE number of Verizon customers will jump on it. Come on people, most of us are sheep. That's not the issue though...the real problem is how that affects Android development, and more importantly, device sales. Worst case scenario (I'm just saying) is that when the iPhone comes over, one by one Android phones start to sell like the Nexus1 (niche owners only).

Really, it's the last issue that isn't considered in the report: how will the appearance of the iPhone on Verizon change the Android development landscape?

-Matt

 

This is completely true. EVERY SINGLE PERSON I have talked to that has an android phone on verizon or sprint or TMobile has said if the iPhone was available on their network they would buy it. Im in the same boat. I completely disagree with how Apple locks everything down and love how open Google is, but the FACT (not opinion) is that the iPhone is thinner, has a better screen, has more features than any CURRENT android phone, better apps and games, has a much, much smoother and superior interface. If Android were to come out with a phone that was actually AS good, doesnt have to be better, but needs to be AS good. If the iPhone came out on Verizon or another network, it would be almost game over for android IMHO

 

I really hope you are kidding, if not you and your friends have no idea what you are talking about. I know several people who sold their Iphones just to pick up the Droid X. What makes you think the Iphone has more features, because it dosn't. I know for the Droid X we have HDMI out, memory cards, options for batteries, DNLA, bigger screen, WIFI cloud, and the holy grail of web surfing on a mobile device Adobe flash just around the corner. None of these features are available on the iphone. The only thing the iphone has is a front facing camera, big deal. Have you ever been on the Android market? Any good app available for the Iphone has an equivalent for Android. I for one would not buy an iphone over the Droid X I purchased.

 

+1! I was one of the idiots that bought the $500 2G and it was stolen a month later (found out insurance wasn't an option the hard way)! Features??? Hahaha! Ok! You couldn't even do MMS messaging until last September (3rd edition of the iPhone), couldn't zoom on the camera until the 3GS (3rd model), no video recording until the 3rd model, and my FREE phones have always done that! The GPS is a joke! Heck, a flash for you camera wasn't even available until the FOURTH model! I'd rather have an iTouch than an iPhone! Talk about apps, Apple has a ton...of duplicates. Who in the world would/could have 200,000+ apps on their phone? Give Android credit! It has grown from 10,000 in March to 70,000+ currently (more than enough for me)! As an iPhone owner too (2G, 3G, and 3GS), I would never go back to another one since learning Android!

 

Given the fact that Apple also makes computers and anyone can buy them, are they the most popular OS in the world?

That being said, if the iPhone were available on Verizon at the same time as they were on AT&T, I might've had one. Maybe not. Nowadays if the Droid Pro came out at the same time the iPhone comes to Verizon, I'd probably go with the Pro.

 

ya mind sharing what apps/games are missing from android? and what features are better? anyone can make random claims like that, BACK IT UP.

 

+1!! That is sooooo true!! dancedroid

 

ahhh doubt it i believe the consensus is that windows>>mac thats why hackers dont make viruses for mac, thats what ive heard