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Does anyone else find this hard to believe? 550,000 activations a day

rocknblogger

rocknblogger

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 2, 2011
2,346
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New Jersey
Does anyone else find this hard to believe? That there are 550,000 Android device activations a day http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/16/googl...activated-worldwide-550000-activations-daily/

That amounts to about 16 million a month. That means that there should be well over 200 million active users. I know they aren't saying there were that many activations from day one that Android was introduced, but still...

I'm not calling anyone a liar but these numbers have to be skewed somehow. What do you think?
 
I found something related to this at

http://ffenyxia.com/2010/10/22/4-overlooked-points-on-the-android-vs-iphone-statistics/

... it's not a great article, but some illuminating info nonetheless.

As to whether the stats are believable, I'd say they probably are. That sounds like a huge number, but there are over 5 billion active cell phones in the world. As far as a comparison with Apple, I feel like android is built for a different market than ios. I feel that it's available to more phone makers, and that it's relatively less expensive to build for than ios, (at the cost of stability, of course). With these things in mind, you have to realize that in spite of the proliferation of ios devices over the past few years, the android system may be more palatable to a bigger market than the ios.
 
To be honest I wasn't making an Apple to Android comparison as a matter of fact I don't even know what the Apple numbers are. It just seems like such a huge number. I guess if you add all devices together it makes some sense.
 
Its very believable actually. Dumbphones are being replaced by smartphones. Blackberrys are declining. Android is on hundreds of different devices and more are being released almost every day. Android is the OS, not the phone. Google likes to throw that number out there to look superior to Apple. Google's game is marketshare, Apple's is not. For more accurate comparisons, compare the iPhone 4 to any other single model phone and see how the numbers add up.
 
rocknblogger said:
Does anyone else find this hard to believe? That there are 550,000 Android device activations a day http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/16/googl...activated-worldwide-550000-activations-daily/
Click to expand...
There should be a name for that phenomenon where something like Two and a Half Men is the most popular show on television yet you know NOBODY who actually watches it. (Yet somehow Community is somehow getting cancelled)

I dont think that odd popularity fully applies to Android because I know a fair share of users but a majority of my circle are iPhone users so how is it that Android is really that popular?
 
urkel said:
There should be a name for that phenomenon where something like Two and a Half Men is the most popular show on television yet you know NOBODY who actually watches it. (Yet somehow Community is somehow getting cancelled)

I dont think that odd popularity fully applies to Android because I know a fair share of users but a majority of my circle are iPhone users so how is it that Android is really that popular?
Click to expand...
I hearby dub it the "Pauline Kael Effect", after the woman who famously did not say: she couldn't believe Nixon won because noone she knew voted for him.

And btw, two and a Half Men is stupid, but it's stupid funny. Nobody wants to admit watching it; i don't watch it myself. Chevy Chase hasn't been funny since the 70's, i had to look up the show to know who is on it.
 
android is coming in pay as your go phones as well so high numbers like that probably are true. but who cares since we all know iphone is king :D
 
When you think of the # of Android phones that are out there, about 200 bagillion (estimate), it does not surprise me. They are over-saturating the market. As someone mentioned, the pay as you go phones have android, many android phones are free with contract. I'd say a fairer comparison would be to look at the top 3-4 high end android phones, which changes every week, and compare those activations. I'd bet you see a much much smaller number.
 
Yeh I'm not surprised, you have almost every carrier with a bunch of various "Droid" phones, and new ones coming out all the time.
 
At the end of the day here is what the average consumer cares about. Will it make a call? Can I text? It's cool I can get my email on my phone. The rest is "Just cool". It matters not if the phone is encapsulated in plastic or glass (which then gets wrapped in plastic/silicone). With that said, the market is flooded with Android handsets so it isn't a shock. People are watching their money now a days. If they can get a phone for $99 that does what another can for $299, they will.
 
GraphicsGeek said:
Its very believable actually. Dumbphones are being replaced by smartphones. Blackberrys are declining. Android is on hundreds of different devices and more are being released almost every day. Android is the OS, not the phone. Google likes to throw that number out there to look superior to Apple. Google's game is marketshare, Apple's is not. For more accurate comparisons, compare the iPhone 4 to any other single model phone and see how the numbers add up.
Click to expand...

well said.
 
urkel said:
I dont think that odd popularity fully applies to Android because I know a fair share of users but a majority of my circle are iPhone users so how is it that Android is really that popular?
Click to expand...
The "fair share of users" you know isn't a statistically meaningful sample. Consider the millions and millions of devices out there.

Assuming that you know 1,000 users (unlikely and probably a very high number) and that there are only 1,000,000 devices (not true and a VERY low number) then you know 0.1%. Since you probably know fewer users and there are most certainly millions more devices you know much, much less than 0.1%. Even 0.1% doesn't represent a significant portion.
 
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COST FACTOR:

Android Phones = FREE

Apple iPhone = FREE (3G) up to $499

ATT told me they still have some 8GB 3's

Android phones are being "sold" at a loss to get them out there.

Of course when their FREE Android breaks, and it will, they have to go back in a buy another one.
 
takeshi74 said:
The "fair share of users" you know isn't a statistically meaningful sample. Consider the millions and millions of devices out there.

Assuming that you know 1,000 users (unlikely and probably a very high number) and that there are only 1,000,000 devices (not true and a VERY low number) then you know 0.1%. Since you probably know fewer users and there are most certainly millions more devices you know much, much less than 0.1%. Even 0.1% doesn't represent a significant portion.
Click to expand...
I never said it was. I clearly gave an opinion based purely on my inconsequential circle and I related it to television so shove your "me so smart" stats in someone else's face.
 
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Totally believable

If you want a phone these days it's either an iPhone or an Android phone.

Take my parents for example, both moved from Nokia and blackberry 2 years ago. Mum has an iPhone, Dad has a HTC Desire.

I have had nothing but iPhones and Android phones now for several years.


Android numbers may look quite impressive because they flood the market with cheap, low rent, low spec 2.1 version handsets.

I would be more interested with how many of those 550,000 activations are actually phones with iPhone 4 and greater specs, i.e. samsung galaxy s2 and up. I'd bet, not as many as you think.
 
Not enough information to judge one way or another.

What percentage of those activations are new Android users and what percentage are current users upgrading a device? Does the statistic exclude users who switch carriers and need to reactive their phones?
 
harcosparky said:
COST FACTOR:

Android Phones = FREE

Apple iPhone = FREE (3G) up to $499

ATT told me they still have some 8GB 3's

Android phones are being "sold" at a loss to get them out there.

Of course when their FREE Android breaks, and it will, they have to go back in a buy another one.
Click to expand...

Its the 3GS that's free on contract. The iPhone 3G isn't sold by ATT anymore nor supported by iOS5.
 
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