Add to that he fails to understand the consept of splitting market among multiple sellers.
If you want iOS you have 1-3 choices (depending on how you divide it up) while Android you have 5+ for each carriers. The addition phones do not really increase you market that much. Instead it splits it up so each person gets a smaller piece of the pie.
I also find that a good part of his argument breaks down when it is pointed out that for the most part iPhone is on most carriers and really it is only in the US that it is limited and even then it is what 70+% of the market has their choice of getting the iPhone and yet people choose Android in large numbers.
Again, I've already explained the 70% choosing Android in large numbers, and you again fail to see that. Yes iPhone is on most carriers, but does iPhone offer subsidies on most carriers? The average price of the iPhone worldwide is something like $600US. In my previous post I already mentioned the multiple pricepoints as another reason why Android is chosen. That's not a slight to Android. They did it right, by offering multiple pricepoints, on multiple carriers to multiple OEMs. I'm speaking logically, and you're getting emotional about Android.
My point is, and it's a point that you refuse to see, that Apple is in NO WAY worried about anything considering the numbers they put out every month every quarter every year. I'm talking to the people who are silly enough to suggest that Apple is floundering, is not popular anymore, or that Steve Jobs is biting his fingernails trying to figure out how to save his company from bankruptcy. I mean some guy on an android blog actually told me "Wait till the iPhone5 tanks and then you'll see"...I mean really?? The iPhone5 is gonna tank? Foolish statements like that make me realize just how sad the android community is. Be happy with your OS's success, sure, but stop trying to detract from another company's just because you are a follower who regurgitates the same crap about cults and kool aid that every android fanboy does. The truth of the matter is, in this economy, people are still shelling out hundreds of dollars every quarter to the tune of 20M iPhones sold, for an iPhone.
I'm not trying to slight Android, I'm trying to say that market share is irrelevant because Apple is not struggling to move units because people are choosing Android in "large numbers". Their one device (or since you guys want to split it up into 2 devices, which you would never do for Android) is outselling every single individual android phone and barely being outsold by the collective group (barely is a relative term, meaning it's not like Apple is suddenly facing losses and scrambling to figure out how to recoup). In fact, Apple, as I mentioned should be quite happy with how things turned out.
Sales, profits, revenue, app revenue, developer interest, and desirability are all with their product. Like I said, I'm quite certain that Steve Jobs is not crying himself to sleep every night because of the Android onslaught. Apple gets more app revenue in one quarter then Android as a collective unit gets in an entire year. Developers flock to iOS because that's where the money is at. Sales records being shattered are a given, it would be more of a shock if they didn't set records. Industry experts can't begin to explain how Apple is such a successful company in spite of the current economy. Ridiculous, unbelievable, unreal and amazing are some of the words these analysts (who I'd say know a little better then you or I) are using for Apple's success.
Android fanboys like to tout marketshare left and right, and post blogs about Apple's lack of marketshare, but not one android blog mentioned the earnings call. Why? Because it's easier to sweep Apple's success under the rug then acknowledge it. When the Nielsen share stats come out again, you better believe every android blog will have it happily posted on their front page, proclaiming victory over "Uncle Steve" and his "Kool Aid" drinking "disciples". Android fanboys are easily the worst type of fanboy on the internet, and the internet is chock full of fanboys.
Give credit where it's due, like I'm doing. Android is an amazing OS with amazing success, but it is no way destroying Apple. The only thing Android has is marketshare. Apple has everything else, and quite handedly I might add.
Good question. Freeness of the OS is the only one I can think of. However, if you were to reverse the question, tight integration with Apple products would be the only answer I can think of.
How is this "freeness" (debatable) really benefiting the majority? It's not like every android user is rooting, running custom ROMs, applying themes and overclocking and flashing updates themselves. The average user is dumb and just uses the phone as is. They're not on the internet searching ways to hack their phone. "Freeness" is a silly buzzword found only on android forums as a way for people to think they have some advantage. The amount of people actually taking advantage of this "freeness" is quite small.
Choice is a better advantage. If you can't afford the high end phones, you can still get a cheap or free smartphone. If you want the cutting edge tech you can get that too. Freeness is not an advantage.