Android Sales Jump Ahead of iPhone in US with Help From Surprising Source: Sprint

[dgstorm]

According to Kantar Worldpanel, during the last three month period ending in January, Android smartphone sales in the U.S. climbed over iPhone sales once again, but this time they had help from a surprising source: Sprint. Apparently, the third largest carrier in the United States has been selling Android handsets like crazy and mostly at the expense of their own iPhone sales. Here is a quote with some additional detail, followed by some more statistics,

“Part of Android’s increase in the latest period can be attributed to its large gain in share within Sprint’s smartphone sales,” Kantar Worldpanel analyst Mary-Ann Parlato said. “In the three-month period ending October 2012, sales on Sprint were divided almost 50/50 between Android and iOS. However, in the latest period, Android’s share of Sprint sales increased by 22.6% points from 49.3% to 71.9%.”

Here are some of the stats of those increased Android sales at Sprint:

• Sprint helped Android rise 6.4 percentage points to account for almost half (49.4%) of all U.S. smartphone sales. During this same timeframe iPhone sales dropped 4.7 points from a year ago settling at 45.9% of U.S. smartphone sales, and sales of Windows Phone shares also increased to 3.2%.
• The Galaxy S III was 14% of all smartphones sold by Sprint in October. - Sales increased to 39% during those three months and are still growing thanks to a price drop from $199 to $99 over the holiday season.
• Samsung devices accounted for 60.3% of smartphones sold by Sprint during the period.

It certainly looks like what we can take away from this is that Sprint sold quite a few more Android devices, and a vast majority of them were Samsung. Either way, it looks like Sprint is figuring out what Verizon figured out... that selling Android devices is more profitable than selling iPhone devices because of the huge difference in subsidies. Plus, it's probably easier to sell Android smartphones because they are less expensive than iPhones.

Does this mean that Apple's iPhone is just a big marketing gimmick for the two carriers? Entice people to come in looking for an iPhone, but then sell them an Android by illustrating that it is a better value...

Source: BGR

 

[bazar6]

With how many times I see that commercial of Sprint saying "I have the right to be Unlimited with my iPhone5", I would've never guesed they sold more Android's ... which I'd much rather see that one than AT&T's overplayed "I'mmm absolutelypositive"

 

[kodiak799]

One wonders if Apple didn't fleece VZW, but especially Sprint, with those deals to sell the IPhone. Now while the IPhone sales have increased with the general market, it's market share (predictably, at least for me) has remained relatively flat. It begs the question if VZW and Sprint hadn't signed those deals if they people would have simply instead bought an Android phone - I say that would have been the case, as everyone who had to have the IPhone already had one on AT&T.

 

[kodiak799]

With how many times I see that commercial of Sprint saying "I have the right to be Unlimited with my iPhone5", I would've never guesed they sold more Android's ... which I'd much rather see that one than AT&T's overplayed "I'mmm absolutelypositive"

Surprising perhaps....But remember, 95% of people don't need unlimited or really use that much data, and will stick with their current provider if they are satisfied with their service. The second thing is the mass market tends not to pay the premium for the Apple products, and to the extent they are value buyers that means Android.

 

[StupidGenius]

With how many times I see that commercial of Sprint saying "I have the right to be Unlimited with my iPhone5", I would've never guesed they sold more Android's ... which I'd much rather see that one than AT&T's overplayed "I'mmm absolutelypositive"

That's the only Sprint commercial I ever see now. You'd think they don't even carry Android phones anymore. But I guess when you make such a huge investment in a product, you better market the heck out of it.