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voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
Are you mad? Anybody who wants any sort of signal will not touch 3 Mobile. Step out of a city and you can kiss Orange goodbye. T-Mobile are worthless. o2 are good but their 3g coverage is appalling.

Yea I don't get how people can argue that coverage is not an important factor in purchasing a phone. Here in the US, Verizon is not popular because it's logo is a big checkmark. It's because of its coverage and its reliability...
 

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
Yea I don't get how people can argue that coverage is not an important factor in purchasing a phone. Here in the US, Verizon is not popular because it's logo is a big checkmark. It's because of its coverage and its reliability...

Yep. If o2 hadn't of got the iPhone here first i don't think i'd have had one as i certainly wouldn't want a phone that, well, can't be used as a phone.
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
You can include the 3G Android phones too...not going to make a difference. All the 3G and 4G android phones will barely outsell one iPhone (if they even do outsell them). I only used the 4G example because android fanboys swear that everyone cares about 4G...

sorry to tell you this but it is the Apple fanboys that use that argument to bash people who like Android. I know plenty of people who really like the droid 3 which is 3G only and they jumped on it as soon as Verizon released it.

High end Android phones as a group out sells the iPhone.
in the high in for at least Android more people are choosing the OS they want first then choosing which phone. They are out selling the iPhone plane and simple.

AT&T smartphone market share of iPhones as dropped as AT&T is finally started offering some real Android phones. Market share I am referring to is AT&T smart phones only so it is small subset of the smart phone market.
 

voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
sorry to tell you this but it is the Apple fanboys that use that argument to bash people who like Android. I know plenty of people who really like the droid 3 which is 3G only and they jumped on it as soon as Verizon released it.

High end Android phones as a group out sells the iPhone.
in the high in for at least Android more people are choosing the OS they want first then choosing which phone. They are out selling the iPhone plane and simple.

AT&T smartphone market share of iPhones as dropped as AT&T is finally started offering some real Android phones. Market share I am referring to is AT&T smart phones only so it is small subset of the smart phone market.

The problem is Android fanboys seem to think that 4G is an android innovation. It's not. Eventually Apple will have a 4G iphone and that 4G iphone will outsell every 4G Android phone. There's no way to think that that won't be the case simply because history doesn't lie. Every iteration of the iPhone has outsold every individual android phone, and is barely being outsold by the android phones collectively.

You can't really be arguing that when a 4G iPhone drops, that people are not going to buy it in droves, can you?
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
The problem is Android fanboys seem to think that 4G is an android innovation. It's not. Eventually Apple will have a 4G iphone and that 4G iphone will outsell every 4G Android phone. There's no way to think that that won't be the case simply because history doesn't lie. Every iteration of the iPhone has outsold every individual android phone, and is barely being outsold by the android phones collectively.

You can't really be arguing that when a 4G iPhone drops, that people are not going to buy it in droves, can you?

And you fail to understand people are more choosing an os first. More android phones on the market means those sales are split up.
I see that argument you are making is the way of trying to dodge the fact that android is popular. Accept that fact.
I do not know where you are getting the 4G is everything. Go to some android forums and you will see that 4G is more of a bonus at best for the device but not a large factor in choosing between phones.
I have an Atrix and i would not call it 4G. At best it is 3.5 g but I spend most of my time on wifi so what does it matter. I choose carrier then os then phone. The in the high end you generally see os choose come before phone.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,998
27,082
The Misty Mountains
You pretty much hit the nail on the head. And fact that Android is just as good as iOS (although it does come down to personal preference just like OS X vs Windows), makes the iPhone seem nothing but expensive.

Personally, I'm kinda annoyed I didn't get a HTC instead of an iPhone. Having played around with many Android based phones, I see no advantage in owning an iPhone. All it does is cost me more. For the iPhone I payed £99 for the handset and I'm now £30 a month for 24 months.

For a HTC phone with an OS which works just as good and the same sort of tariff, I would be paying a massive total of £0 for the handset and £15 a month. I'd be saving £460, which for me, a guy who is 18 years of age supporting his child, means a lot. Especially when there is no real advantage for paying it.

This is one of the cases where I'd wished I'd done some research before blindly buying. I like Apple products, but the iPhone seems just overpriced to me. I'm kinda annoyed I took out that contract now, however, what done is done and I do really like my iPhone despite having to pay through the nose for it.

If sales fall off, I imagine Apple/providers will adjust prices. You can pay a last generation iphone for $35 (USD) through ATT which I realize may not be an option where you live. Providers set rates, not Apple (I believe, but don't know for sure). I realize purchase prices start at Apple and flow downhill.

Recently I saw a Droid X and it did seem impressive. However, my son had a droid and ending up ditching it due to problems and then there is the lack of App vetting... As I seem to be Apple centric, iPhone seems to be the way to go.

For anyone, if you were to summarize an Android phone's advantage(s) as compared to an iphone what would they be?
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Ok. Gotcha. I read it out of context then, I thought you were commenting on the numbers. Error on my part.

It been the same from most of these calls no matter the company. Bigger they are in the media the worse it is. This put Apple up near the top if not the top in marketing BS from the calls.

The numbers are the short of it but then you have to do major reading between the lines to get any useful information out of it as 99% of it is pure marketing BS.
Apple is one of the best companies I know at marketing. They could sell dog crap in a box and people would buy it claiming it is great. Do they sell good stuff yes they do but does not change the fact they are great at marketing.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
The numbers are the short of it but then you have to do major reading between the lines to get any useful information out of it as 99% of it is pure marketing BS.
Apple is one of the best companies I know at marketing.

They're also one of the best companies we all know at making some amazing products that the rest of the industry not only notices, but emulates with feverish abandon.

Is your perfidy deliberate, or is it just due to anger? Do you just not understand?
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Are you mad? Anybody who wants any sort of signal will not touch 3 Mobile.
Interesting. I'm on 3 and I've yet to have a problem. I live in just outside Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Nor have I had a problem with Orange (apart from their rather high Payasyougo prices). Never been on O2, so I can't comment there though.

(Aren't the iPhone and many of the popular Android handsets on pretty much all the networks anyway?)
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Interesting. I'm on 3 and I've yet to have a problem. I live in just outside Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Nor have I had a problem with Orange (apart from their rather high Payasyougo prices). Never been on O2, so I can't comment there though.

(Aren't the iPhone and many of the popular Android handsets on pretty much all the networks anyway?)

I think the point more is first rule is CHOOSE YOUR CARRIER FIRST.

I know in the US for example Verizon is great for a lot of people but I left Verizon because were at the time were I spent 9 months out of the year Verizon sucked so I switch to Cingular which AT&T bought up. I have been happy with AT&T because of where I live and spend my time it works and has worked great. No reason to change.
 

vvswarup

macrumors 6502a
Jul 21, 2010
544
225
first activation only. If I sold the phone to someone else and they activated it again it would not be counted by Google. I think they IMEI number is what is used. If I had to guess it would be threw google marketplace is how they are doing the counting. Easy place to get a single device count.



personally I do not read much from the charts. Tells me that Apple sells really well, Apple only plays in the high end market and Apple sure as hell is not passing on the savings to its customers but instead lining their own pockets.

Something I would like to know is how much profit do the phone manufactures makes from their high end phones. Remember Apple only makes the high end phones which means good amount of profit and that is were the high margens are.
HTC and others make both low end and high end. The low end you might be looking at a few bucks of profit compared to a lot of profit on the high end.

Add to it Apple specs on on the phone are generally pretty out dated by 3-4 months after release so they can still be cranking out profits while the others have moved on to something new and have reduce their profit margin.

Apple does not pass the savings on.

It seems to me that your are trying to imply that other companies basically give up profit margin in order to "pass savings on" to customers or some other altruistic reason. Utterly wrong!

Obviously, you despise Apple. Fair enough. But let me tell you this. Every company in the tech industry would kill to be in Apple's situation.

Android OEMs like HTC are not competing just against other platforms like Apple and RIM. They are competing against other Android OEMs. Price is one of the ways in which Android manufacturers try to undercut one another.

This is exactly why Windows PCs have gotten so inexpensive over the years. It's not because of some altruistic reason such as wanting to "pass on savings" to customers. It's because they have no choice. Windows PC OEMs have almost no way of differentiating their products. To a consumer, there is practically no difference between a Dell laptop and an HP laptop with identical specs. The consumer will choose the one with the lower price. When a consumer wants to buy a Windows PC, I bet most of them don't say they want a "Dell laptop" or an "Acer laptop." They'll probably say, "I want a PC."

In this manner, Android OEMs are better off than Windows PC OEMs because they have more leeway to differentiate their products. I've heard people say "HTC phone" or "Samsung phone" rather than just "Android phone." There's a big difference between the latter and the former two.

Also, have you heard of any company say, "We're making too much money so we're going to cut our prices."? I doubt it.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
Rodimus Prime said:
Something I would like to know is how much profit do the phone manufactures makes from their high end phones.

Apple makes around 50% gross profit margin, RIM around 40%, and most others around 30%. Everyone's making money. Most have record profits.

Android OEMs like HTC are not competing just against other platforms like Apple and RIM. They are competing against other Android OEMs. Price is one of the ways in which Android manufacturers try to undercut one another.

Apple is also competing against every one of the the Android (and WP7) phones, and also must use price to try to undercut them. Hence, their $49 iPhone model.

By Christmas, there might even be more than the two current iPhone models for sale. (Or three current models, if you count the Verizon iPhone separately, just as most people tend to separate out Android versions per carrier.) Apple knows that just one model cannot hit all the markets.

As for the comparison people often make to desktop computer pricing, I don't think that works very well, since many phones are subsidized, including the iPhone. Overseas, sometimes even down to free on contract.

And when phones go on sale or with BOGO offers, etc, at least in the USA it's usually the carriers setting their own sale prices to dump excess inventory... not the manufacturers losing anything.

So it's mostly competition on finding the right model mix with different price ranges, not so much on the prices themselves. A top phone is going to get top dollar, no matter what. Samsung seems to want the high end with their Galaxy series. HTC is happy in the upper middle class. ZTE and Huawei are fine with the low end. Motorola and LG are still figuring out what they want to be.
 

voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
And you fail to understand people are more choosing an os first. More android phones on the market means those sales are split up.
I see that argument you are making is the way of trying to dodge the fact that android is popular. Accept that fact.
I do not know where you are getting the 4G is everything. Go to some android forums and you will see that 4G is more of a bonus at best for the device but not a large factor in choosing between phones.
I have an Atrix and i would not call it 4G. At best it is 3.5 g but I spend most of my time on wifi so what does it matter. I choose carrier then os then phone. The in the high end you generally see os choose come before phone.

You clearly don't see the argument I'm making because there would be no argument if you did. I've never said Android isnt popular. It is. But that "popularity" is based on numbers and marketshare and those metrics are inherently skewed (to anyone who looks at it objectively, which you clearly are not).

Android is an amazing OS, but its success absolutely has to do with the fact that it is more widely available, on multiple carriers, at multiple pricepoints on multiple devices. I mean, this should be common sense, and I will never understand why it's not.

If Android is popular, then iOS is ridiculously popular to the point of disbelief. You've got one smartphone keeping pace with hundreds as a collective unit. Android is the king and queen of homecoming, iOS is the freakin school where the homecoming dance is held.

If one smartphone destroys (yes, destroys) every individual android phone, and is barely destroyed by the whole collective unit, only someone who refuses to acknowledge the iPhone would downplay its success. That's what you're doing.

And I'm sorry but I wholly disagree with your "more people are choosing an os first". Simply not the case. Carriers are being chosen first, and then the os is chosen. This is quite evident (again to those who don't have some weird vendetta against Apple) with the release of the Verizon iPhone in the US. If people were choosing OS first, the Verizon iPhone wouldn't have shattered every sales record known to man in the first two hours of its availability to current Verizon customers. It outsold every phone in history before it was even available to people who didn't have Verizon. What does that say? That people are not going to switch carriers to get a phone, but when the phone they want comes to their carrier they will get it, or settle for another phone on their carrier until they can get the one they want. Denying the obvious does nothing.

I mean they sold 20+ million iPhones last quarter. 20M! Like I said, the Charge, Revolution, and TB combined probably has not even sold 10 million (and that's being super generous). Lump in all the 3G android phones on Verizon, and they probably have not even sold 20M last quarter. Stop ignoring a fact that's right in your face. You have some odd and foolish hatred toward Apple, but when one phone can outsell multiple phones combined, and one company can post in the words of a Forbes analyst "ridiculous" profits every QUARTER as compared to the previous and YOY, denying it makes you look bizarre. I mean a 142% increase from last year on iPhone sales? And people are suggesting that Apple is floundering, or that they are not popular anymore?? Really?

I said it before and I'll say it again, the marketshare numbers are a testament to iOS, not Android. Profits, app revenue, sales all belong to Apple and iOS. People who boast about marketshare in an environment where its 300 to 1, really have no clue.

As an extra note, I find it funny, then not one droid site is talking about apple's earnings call. Sites which mention apple at the drop of a hat are suddenly quiet. This will be swept under the rug until Nielsen releases their next marketshare report at which point the iOS bashing will re-commence.
 
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kdarling

macrumors P6
I mean they sold 20+ million iPhones last quarter. 20M! Like I said, the Charge, Revolution, and TB combined probably has not even sold 10 million (and that's being super generous). Lump in all the 3G android phones on Verizon, and they probably have not even sold 20M last quarter.

Bear in mind that those 20 million iPhone sales were worldwide, and included the sales of two models: the iPhone 4 and the $49 iPhone 3GS. We don't know the breakdown between them.

Together, Samsung and Motorola sold about 20 million Android phones in the same amount of time. Sales from HTC, LG, ZTE and Huawei probably add another 30 million, for a total of _50_ million Android phones each quarter ( over a million handsets sold every two days).
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Bear in mind that those 20 million iPhone sales were worldwide, and included the sales of two models: the iPhone 4 and the $49 iPhone 3GS. We don't know the breakdown between them.

Together, Samsung and Motorola sold about 20 million Android phones in the same amount of time. Sales from HTC, LG, ZTE and Huawei probably add another 30 million, for a total of _50_ million Android phones each quarter ( over a million handsets sold every two days).

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.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
For anyone, if you were to summarize an Android phone's advantage(s) as compared to an iphone what would they be?
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.
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
For anyone, if you were to summarize an Android phone's advantage(s) as compared to an iphone what would they be?

for me on Android it would be choices.
For example
Do not like the stock SMS client change it. I dumped it for GO SMS but there are several that are really popular
Want a different launcher change it. There are several good choices.
Same with Email client.
Same with how contacts are handled.
Hell most things in the phone can be replaced with something else as the client.

It is choices.
 

voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
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.
 
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MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
Interesting. I'm on 3 and I've yet to have a problem. I live in just outside Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Nor have I had a problem with Orange (apart from their rather high Payasyougo prices). Never been on O2, so I can't comment there though.

(Aren't the iPhone and many of the popular Android handsets on pretty much all the networks anyway?)

Ahh ok. I'm near brighton and it isn't too good down here :(
 

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
Apparently AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones in the June quarter. Thats 120,000 units a day. On one carrier alone. In the US. On a phone thats a year old.

Thats pretty impressive if you ask me.
 

voonyx

macrumors 6502a
Jul 19, 2011
842
0
Apparently AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones in the June quarter. Thats 120,000 units a day. On one carrier alone. In the US. On a phone thats a year old.

Thats pretty impressive if you ask me.

It's impressive if you ask anyone, except those that refuse to acknowledge what Apple is doing (see Android fanboy)

Oh but I guess it's just a fad or the "in" thing to do...
 

Rodimus Prime

macrumors G4
Oct 9, 2006
10,136
4
Apparently AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones in the June quarter. Thats 120,000 units a day. On one carrier alone. In the US. On a phone thats a year old.

Thats pretty impressive if you ask me.

I think your math is off.
They said 3.6 million during the quarter which I believe ended in June.
It is more like 40,000 per day which is still a very impressive number when you consider it is a single carrier.

120k is way to high for daily activation as it takes up way to large of a chunk of what Apple says is there daily which was around 220k give or take.
 

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
I think your math is off.
They said 3.6 million during the quarter which I believe ended in June.
It is more like 40,000 per day which is still a very impressive number when you consider it is a single carrier.

120k is way to high for daily activation as it takes up way to large of a chunk of what Apple says is there daily which was around 220k give or take.

haha. You know what, i read "June quarter" and thought "Idiots". :D :eek:

Sorry my bad. But yeah 40,000 still buying iPhone 4's is pretty good.
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
Their "entertainment" division is a gaming console. And?

Which is getting it's ass kicked by sony :p

Actually that brings me to a thought: Sony can be an apple-esque maker. Their products are beautiful, their UIs on the phones etc look admirably nice and they have the tendency to keep a strict hold on their products. I dont get why they are wasting time on android.

If Sony picked up meego and made it their thing, made it integrated with their PSN platform as well, that would be something really nice.

It's nice to see a company like Apple pushing elegance and innovation ( seriously where were all those popular galaxies and HTCs and tablets before the idevices?) but it's disappointing to see no one else trying to take risks and match apple on the trend setting level. One tech company doing all that in today's huge world is depressing sometimes. Still, there is at least one lol.
 
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