iPhone demand strong months after 4S release CES 2012 Week Apple and Samsung are rapidly establishing themselves as the two key smartphone sellers - in the States at least. So says market watcher ChangeWave Research after taking a look at the results of the latest in a regular line of 4000-buyer polls it conducts. Its most recent figures, produced in December 2011, …
It's what everyone knows but many people do not want to acknowledge - for 'most' normal people (i.e. not techies who want to re-rom their toaster) the iPhone is the phone they want and once people have an iPhone you are unlikely to want to change (downgrade).
I'm not a mega Apple fanboi - I have used both Android and iOS and know a lot of people with both devices - by far the iOS users are much happier with their handsets and most of the Android users are looking to switch to iOS.
Major concerns with Android were security (malware) and lack of availability of updates - often leaving their fairly new phones without new features or security updates. One colleague with a Samsung Note is still stuck with an old version despite having the phone for months whereas colleagues with Apple iPhone 3GS phones got the latest version of iOS when everyone else did.
Renewed O2 contract last Wednesday. Two white 64GB iPhone 4Ss arrived Thursday. Outstanding.
Now fully loaded with Apps, Music, Photos, Movies etc. Makes six iPhones in total we've had. My wife is thrilled. Superb screen, camera & video camera. We might also use them for phone calls.
Complement two iPads, two Macs, eight PCs.
Plus Android Motorola Xoom & Galaxy Tab 7" bought for R&D (Conclusion: Android is very much a "Work in Progress" but getting there slowly).
Baaaaaaaaaa
(Sheep with cashmere wool)
Samsung did a good job of copying the iPhone - but my concerns with Android still stand - security is a big problem and privacy (would trust my data to Apple more than Google as Google make a business out of selling ads which they 'target' by using your data).
The Galaxy IIs is a decent phone - but it's not an iPhone running iOS.
I'm my POS work bb 8360 was good I would seriously consider a BB as my next consumer phone.
Instead as its got an OS and keyboard bettered by my last 2 Winmob 6x handsets - they haven't got a chance.
Having a BB mandated as a corp phone is an upsell opportunity that almost no other vendor has and BB are completely failing to leverage it.
'Users' care about things like service and support and frankly Apple are streets ahead - you can walk into an Apple store and speak to someone who knows all about the product, can help you set it up / fix any problems. I would not say the same about buying a Samsung 'Android' handset from a mobile operator / high street phone store.
Yes there will be exceptions but of poor Apple service and exceptional service from another manufacturer but in general the support Apple provide is very good. I also recon iOS handsets have a longer life - people have 3GS handsets still going strong yet manufacturers and the mobile companies lose the enthusiasm to support or update older handsets meaning they end up junked (the cynic in me says all the care about is that you see out the 12 month warranty or 18 month contract). Long term these are important factors and big plusses for Apple.
"Isn't BB's poor satisfaction rating due to the fact that an awful lot of them will be corporate-issued 'work' phones, about which the user had little choice?"
True - not many people would 'choose' a BB these days when there are so many far better Android or iOS handsets. Blackberry used to be all about their messenger and email apps - no more as Android and iOS do it the same / better. I had a BB years ago - the push email was a constant nag and I recon a productivity killer.
Now the people who buy BB either don't know better, teenagers whose friends have BB's as well (a volatile market) and corporates who spent a ton on BB servers and are reluctant to change it.
HTC are the top smartphone manufacturer in the US (Q3 2011). So either HTC will rapidly plummet, or this speculation survey should be taken with a pinch of salt. My guess is the latter. Nokia and Samsung consistently outperform Apple in the market, but we only hear about the surveys in the press that make Apple look better.
"for 'most' normal people (i.e. not techies who want to re-rom their toaster) the iPhone is the phone they want "
No, for most people, Android is number one, Symbian is number two - IPhone number three. That's a fact. It's only (some) techies who seem to think that Apple are the thing everyone should have.
Also remember that IPhones are the most expensive on the market - so firstly, comparing them to platforms which include much cheaper phones is misleading. *Of course* people will, on average, "want" the more expensive phone. Whether they actually get it is another matter, and that's what counts.
Similarly, people who have spent on average £500 on a phone are obviously going to be more satisfied than platforms where the average might be £200 or less. How do the platforms fare if we restrict it to comparisons at a given place? (Also you have the RDF effect where people will be happy with Apple no matter what, because they think it's amazing you can do basic things like make a phone call and email, and don't care if it can't do 3G or copy/paste; where as users of other platforms know that phones are capable of more than this, so are disappointed if it doesn't yet have a quad core 4GHz processor.)
"and most of the Android users are looking to switch to iOS."
So if this is really true, we should see Android plummet from it's >50% share, and IPhone rocket from 3rd place to 1st place, within the next few months. Will it happen?
"Samsung did a good job of copying the iPhone"
Samsung were in the business before Apple I believe, Apple did a good (or bad) job of copying Nokia, you might as well say.
From the article: "Nokia, incidentally, scored 23 per cent, putting it on a par with RIM. These two really have some work to do on their handsets."
No, they don't - I love my 5800 just fine. We're just not raving fanatics who think our company invented or "popularised" the smartphone. (Oh wait - Nokia did!) We've heard these doom and gloom surveys for years, yet Nokia are still number one in the mobile market.
When people buy Android they don't care if it's a Samsung, HTC or anyone - a lot of the time hey are getting the phone as a free upgrade from a Nokia / old style phone - so anything is an upgrade.
Think Apple even give a 30 day money back guarantee on their phones - I bet very few return them. Would be interesting to see the numbers of how many people would return Samsung Android handsets (especially if they had an iPhone to do a side-by-side comparison). My bet is a LOT more would.
Most people choose an iPhone but get given Androids as 'free' upgrades.
Symbian is a joke - people get it by default on cheap-as-chips phones. Android is not a bad OS but again people get it as they are upgrading from old style phones to a smartphone and it's on cheap(er) phones. Android also sells more as it's pushed by more manufacturers are branded for phone operators to offer cheap but pretty average 'smart' phones.
Samsung were in the business before Apple I believe, Apple did a good (or bad) job of copying Nokia, you might as well say.
That is completely pointless - Samsung copied the iPhone - whether they 'existed' is irrelevant in that context as is saying Apple copied Nokia - well in so much as Apple copied the Walkman in that they can both play music.
I love how these statistics are always wrong when they side with apple.
Whether it's highly technical users or complete idiots the fact of the matter is that the stats show iphone users AS A WHOLE are more satisfied, surely that means other companies need to create more user satisfying experiences.
I am not saying android should lose it's openness or customisations, but as a standard product it needs to be easier to use.
I used android for 3 years, had several custom mods etc. and have recently moved to a 4s. I am now more satisfied (although it helps that the hardware of the 4s is well beyond the spec of my previous android device).
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
