Will Droid Surpass the iPhone?

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Permalink Reply by Sara Croft on October 20, 2009 at 10:10pm

I highly doubt it. Apple has the apps! Apps are fun! Everybody likes fun things! I love my iPhone and I'd never give it up. Although I'd rather have the better service that Verizon provides, in the end I cannot complain. I guess that, in the end, we'll all have to get our hands on it before we can really determine which is best.

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Permalink Reply by James Switzer on October 21, 2009 at 12:06am

I am a B2B Rep for a Sprint/Nextel Dealer, I have played with our Android OS on the HTC Hero. I will say that the iPhone is a great device and when I ask iPhone users what they love about their iPhones, they always tout about how it has the most apps available. But when I ask which apps do they use and couldn't live without they give me the basic apps that are available on any other smart phone. The Palm OS (which is a dead operating system, making way for the Palm Web OS) still has over 50,000 apps available to it. Unfortunately for Palm they never had the marketing know how that Apple has. The Android OS flows very well and there are already over 10,000 applications and widgets available. The Palm Web OS is a great platform as well but is slow for application development. Android has widgets that are alot of fun, widgets are applications that can run resident to the palmtop of the Android OS much like sidebar gadgets on Windows Vista. Apps are fun, but that is it. Most people still only use it for their basic application (Email/Calendar/Tasks) ninety-nine percent of the time. When is the last time that a Light Saber or Calorie Counter application closed a big business deal for you.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Coyle on October 21, 2009 at 8:49am

Sounds like you're leaning toward the Droid?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Marsh on October 21, 2009 at 8:46am

Maybe. A lot of iPhone users are iPhone users because they automatically buy anything Apple makes that is declared to be "the next big thing." ...But the rest of their customers bought one because it did what they wanted and was the only option that wasn't a Blackberry when they first came out.

Things are a little different now: Android and the plethora of phones it represents are a legitimate threat, possibly the first with a real-chance of getting the iPhone out of the spotlight--not because it attacks them from the "coolest thing ever" angle, but from the "inherent weaknesses of a closed-source software application" angle.

We've got a small but growing Android Users Group here on SI, Droid fans drop by and say "hello."

http://smallerindiana.com/group/androidusers

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Permalink Reply by Pat Coyle on October 21, 2009 at 8:50am

Thanks for highlighting the open source element, Tom. Seems to me that's the big (potential) game changer. Perhaps even Apple can't out-create the crowd?

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Permalink Reply by Sara Croft on October 21, 2009 at 11:20am

I agree that a lot of people jumped on the iPhone bandwagon because they do buy anything Apple makes. I think that really came out of the beginning of the iPhone, back in the early stages, before the iPhone became more affordable and more popular. And YES, it was the only option besides the blackberry.

However, I think Apple will continue to have this battling relationship and might be somewhat equal with the droid, but the droid won't surpass it.

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Permalink Reply by Chip McComb on October 21, 2009 at 8:57am

Of all of the phones out there, I think the anDroid has the best chance at surpassing the iPhone. However I agree with James unofficial survey, I don't think that it's necessary for AnDroid to win the app war in order for it to be successful. The app store seems to be more about perception than true utility. What the iPhone does have is a simple and fun user interface and a perception that their phone can do anything you need. This perception is supported by a frictionless ecosystem (iTunes and App Store) that never gives anyone a reason to think that they need anything else. Can anDroid do this?

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Permalink Reply by Toni Carr on November 4, 2009 at 2:01pm

For me it's going to be about whether or not Verizon locks down the apps on the droids. They claimed their envy had apps.. which it does. Problem is not only do you pay to download the app, you have to pay a monthly fee as well! if the Verizon Droid is truly open source, I'm excited about it!

T-mobile has had some wonderful droid phones for years, they just don't have the coverage that I want.

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Permalink Reply by Bethany Harris on October 21, 2009 at 4:47pm

Possibly. It seems many iPhone users are loyal to Apple, and that's a good thing. If something works well for you, keep it going. As a PC and Android user, I presently can't think of a reason why I would give up my G1. It's a great mobile assistant and I'm still learning something new all the time. With so many apps available, there is something for all. I know many individuals that don't care for T-Mobile much, but now that the Droid has more availability as far as carriers, I see a lot more users coming on board.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Stallsmith on October 21, 2009 at 11:40pm

I personally believe that in the long run google's approach will prevail, but it is taking android a long time to get their legs under themselves...I do not hang my hat on what verizon says about the phone....the previous smartphones they had fell far far short of an iphone....I actually bought a couple of them and took them back.

I have been a lifelong verizon customer (gte before that) I travel around rural indiana for work. ....I really really wanted a good smart phone (not a blackberry)..I waited and waited for verizon to come out with something. Finally I could wait no longer so 2 weeks ago I got an iphone. I kept my verizon account too .... just in case I needed to make a call.

After 2 weeks I have found the following.
1- the iphone is as good as they have been raving about
2- the iphone has a short battery life. Far shorter than I imagined possible.
3- apple steers you toward the mobile me account (cost=100 per year) to get the most from your iphone.

To get to the point...I believe that in a few years that google may surpass the iphone in users, but for now the Iphone has a very strong lead.

2 days ago apple announced it had sold a record number of iphones in the last quarter....so android has it's work cut out for them

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Permalink Reply by Mike Seidle on October 23, 2009 at 9:15am

With over 50 devices headed to market and 12 on the market - including the new Nook eBook reader, Android is not just a success, but it is the future and will swamp Apple's numbers about as quickly as IBM compatible computers did the Apple III in 1982 and 1983.

The killer application on iPhone is music. People that have $700 worth of old DRM'd iTunes music aren't leaving anytime soon. Everyone else will be fair game for Android phones.

All the other stuff is basically already on Android. iTunes is not. Oh, and Android developers don't have to deal with the App Store's review process and are held accountable by user reviews via the Android Market.

Android applications do more than their iPhone counterparts because they can multitask. iPhone only allows Apple's applications to multitask. Being able to upload files, browse the web, monitor twitter, navigate with GPS real time, sync your address book and talk on the phone at the same time is useful.

Andorid is now available on most carriers.

Corporations can develop applications and distribute them to their users without permission from Apple. With iPhone you have to apply for their Enterprise program to avoid the App Store. If you want a mobile business platform, Android, BlackBerry and WinMo are it, period - and two of the three were obsolete four years ago.

I've had a G-1 for about a year, and at first it was buggy. Two software updates and T-Mobile rolling out 3G in Indy and that G-1 is incredible.

Reality is that Apple can't make enough iPhones to keep up with Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Hauwei and other Android device manufacturers.

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Permalink Reply by PK Koduri on October 23, 2009 at 10:30am

As always great insights!

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