• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Has The I Phone Bubble Burst

Android has matured/maturing to the point where its very competative with Apple and also there are some fantastic handsets out which surpass the iphone and will most likely rival the ''4G''

also the pace of Apple innovation has slowed to a crawl with very little interesting or new functionality actually coming to the iphone (OS4 seems to be more of a catch up to Android)
 
Upvote 0
I don't think it's burst but it is deflating.

One rumour I've read suggests that the iPhone 4 won't cost so much up front; Apple are aware they are losing sales to equally capable smart phones (in some case far more capable) and they are usually free with your contract, while you have to stump up a fair amount of money for the iPhone and then pay your monthly tariff.

People are realising that Apple aren't the only ones making sexy tech smart phones - frankly a grid of icons is looking more and more like yesterdays interface - especially compared to the kind HTC provides.

It's the app market that keeps the iPhone in peoples minds; it's the key selling point for it. Hopefully Android will get more and more branded apps to narrow the gap and with Google behind it I'm sure this will happen.
 
Upvote 0
I say the same. I don't think the bubble has burst, but it certainly isn't growing any either.

Apple took advantage of a huge headstart in the 'smartphone for standard consumers' market, built on the shoulders of all the previous "i" devices that had come before it.
Like the iPod, iTouch, etc... the phone just worked, had a bunch of useful apps and just generally was cool.

This isn't a sexist or anything like that statement, but if you market your device to a 16 year old girl who doesn't read forums, doesn't know a thing about hacking, who just wants to pick up the phone and have it do what she wants without needing to think about it, then you're gold.
Apple has done this.

Phones running Android have had to do two things.
Create devices that are as easy to use as the iPhone and not get lumped into the same group as Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices, which regular folks tend to stay away from.

Android devices are very nice and good, useful apps are finally coming on board, but they are still a bit overwhelming. Many OS versions, some apps work on some models, but not others, etc and Google needs to clean a lot of that up.
The iPhone is basically a console. What works for a developer WILL work for a user. It's fire and forget as far as the developer is concerned. Write the app, debug it, release it, sit back and watch the downloads. Enchancements are always in the pipe, but that's a different story.

Android devs seem to alway be tweaking and changing their apps because of incompatibilites between devices, which makes the end user experience not quite as clean.

But it's getting better every day and the sales figures show the picture.
Android devices are finding their legs and are starting to give iPhones a run. And it's enough of a run that people are beginning to think twice about just buying an iPhone because it's "the" device to have.
 
Upvote 0
Whether we realize it or not, Apple has been grooming themselves to be around for quite a long time in this market. One major reasons why is iTunes.

Let me explain. No, it doesnt just have to do with having a program that allows for syncing like iTunes does. Sure, that would be awesome to have for Android, however, that is not what ultimately keeps people tied down to Apple products. It's the fact that so many people have purchased iTunes music, iTunes videos, iTunes movies, iTunes TV shows, and iTunes apps that jumping ship to Android could be a very costly proposition.

I have a buddy who would love to come over to Android for the increased customization, the quicker firmware updates, and the always exciting new devices being released on an almost monthly basis. However, he has over $500 invested in things purchased through iTunes that he would love to have on-the-go (mostly music) that would become practically worthless to him on Android. Apple did a very good job of tying down customers in a way where their customers didnt even realize what was going on until it was too late.

However, Apple, having tasted what it feels like to be the hottest thing in the cellphone world, wont go down without a fight by any means. Steve knows what it is to fight from a corporation standpoint, as he brought the company from the brink of disappearing, to the giant it is today. So he obviously wont be letting the iPhone and its OS just fizzle out.

But, Android has a few things going for them. One would be a quicker turnaround on new Firmware versions. Apple gets one a year, and that's about it. Android recently has been getting them in about half that time (although it may also slow to once a year as I just recently read, and hope is not true). Second, would be the pace at which new android-supported devices are released. Again, Apple gets one refresh a year, and that's it. Whereas Android is getting a new device out on an almost monthly basis! How exciting is that?! It allows for Android to always be on the freshest/fastest technology available for not just cellphones, but other things like tablets, alarm clocks, mini-tablets, etc.

It's a very push and pull sort of deal between Android and Apple, but I feel that Android is certainly holding their own more and more, and it will (and already is) a force to be reckoned with.
 
Upvote 0
The market is normalizing now that there is actual competition for the iPhone.

I don't think that Android has a significant learning curve compared to the iPhone. Are there some applications that can cause issues? Sure, but if the user understands proper PC etiquette then using an Android device is not an issue.

If my mom can do it, so can you.
 
Upvote 0
Let me explain. No, it doesnt just have to do with having a program that allows for syncing like iTunes does. Sure, that would be awesome to have for Android, however, that is not what ultimately keeps people tied down to Apple products. It's the fact that so many people have purchased iTunes music, iTunes videos, iTunes movies, iTunes TV shows, and iTunes apps that jumping ship to Android could be a very costly proposition.

I have a buddy who would love to come over to Android for the increased customization, the quicker firmware updates, and the always exciting new devices being released on an almost monthly basis. However, he has over $500 invested in things purchased through iTunes that he would love to have on-the-go (mostly music) that would become practically worthless to him on Android. Apple did a very good job of tying down customers in a way where their customers didnt even realize what was going on until it was too late.

im listening to music bought on itunes and podcasts downloaded through itunes perfectly fine on my Desire (just copy/pasted from the itunes program lol)...how does it cost me anymore?
 
Upvote 0
Hi Bnice.
The reason I started this post is for several reasons.
I suppose the main reason is that I want to contribute interesting and worth while posts/ questions to this great forum. If only one person replies then at least one person thinks its interesting. Secondly I have an android phone (Xperia X10) and I think this gives me a right to post to a android forum. My son and daughter both have i phones and believe me I cannot win its i phone this and i phone that, with the reply s and info I receive from this forum it gives me help in trying to convince them that android is the way forward. Im an old man a silver surfer just trying to keep up with technology and i hope this has answered your question.

Thanks In Advance

Colin
 
Upvote 0
I wouldn't say that iTunes will keep people on the iPhone. iTunes will export music just fine to a USB keyfob, and that's what an Android phone looks like as far as iTunes is concerned.

The entire iPod ecosphere of which iTunes is an integral part, on the other hand, is a different story. I have an iPod-enabled nightstand radio, and an iPod-enabled car stereo, and so forth. If I switch to Android, I can send my music to these via the auxiliary port, but it's far less convenient than plugging in my iPhone, selecting which playlist I want to play or which artist's music I want to hear today, and using the iPhone's controls to move around if I don't like it -- *or* use the car stereo's controls (because it's an iPod-enabled car stereo, it knows how to send the correct USB commands to tell the iPod, "go to the next song" or "stop playing" or whatever, and it does this *within the playlist that I selected*, rather than within a big glop of songs on a USB keyfob). So basic deal is that if I switch to the phone I want (the EVO 4G), I end up buying an iPod and carrying two devices. Which sucks.

I'm not sure what it would take to make Android work with the iPod ecosphere. Maybe there's an app for that? All I know is that unless you need tethering or want other functionality that Apple refuses to allow on the iPhone, this is going to keep a lot of consumers buying iPhones. Maybe iPhone sales have stopped growing... but Apple still has a *huge* market of iPod owners who will make the logical leap to buying an iPhone once their iPod battery wears out and quits working (another Apple touch -- guaranteed 2 year max lifespan for their products before they're useless due to battery death, since none of them have replaceable batteries).

I'm trying to escape Apple's walled garden because the game of jail-breaking the iPhone every time a new release comes out just to use basic functionality that AT&T doesn't want you to use is getting old, not to mention that Apple keeps making it more and more tedious to do so. But there's a lot of people who who don't care that it's a walled garden, who just want an iPod that happens to have a phone too so that they don't have to carry both an iPod and a phone. I expect iPhones will continue to sell well for the foreseeable future because of that.
 
Upvote 0
In my opinion, Android will NEVER "beat" iPhone because iPhone offers everything that 95% of users want, whereas the things WE love about Android (customisation, openness, etc) aren't that important to most people.

I have friends who have looked at Android instead of iPhone and ALL have gone to iPhone because (a) there's SO much of a community and infrastructure for it (accessories, support, etc) and (b) the apps are STILL so much better and more plentiful.

I know that Android is catching up, but really - most people don't want to be on the catch up, they want to be with the leader. Remember how long it took Skoda to get an market share? Cars did just about everything that Ford's did, Skoda was the better choice when you weighed up the facts but people kept with the leader, the established, the better supported.

I love my Desire and feel that I took it at exactly the right time. Things are coming together for Android and I have another ten months on this contract to see if the OS settles down, if bigger developers get bigger and better apps out and, more importantly, if I will finally be able to buy a radio/dock, etc. If not, then my next phone will almost certainly be iPhone.
 
Upvote 0
Whether we realize it or not, Apple has been grooming themselves to be around for quite a long time in this market. One major reasons why is iTunes.

Let me explain. No, it doesnt just have to do with having a program that allows for syncing like iTunes does. Sure, that would be awesome to have for Android, however, that is not what ultimately keeps people tied down to Apple products. It's the fact that so many people have purchased iTunes music, iTunes videos, iTunes movies, iTunes TV shows, and iTunes apps that jumping ship to Android could be a very costly proposition.

I have a buddy who would love to come over to Android for the increased customization, the quicker firmware updates, and the always exciting new devices being released on an almost monthly basis. However, he has over $500 invested in things purchased through iTunes that he would love to have on-the-go (mostly music) that would become practically worthless to him on Android. Apple did a very good job of tying down customers in a way where their customers didnt even realize what was going on until it was too late.

HomePipe streams your iTunes to Android, other files too -- Engadget

problem solved (not that it wasn't before...)
 
Upvote 0
the iPhone will continue to sell like hotcakes and be the single best selling smart phone. Android phones will start knocking on the door of Blackberry overall in the not too distant future. kudos to Android for that (and Froyo will play a big part). but Android isn't a single phone like the iPhone so we're not comparing apples to apples here.

now, the new competition is awesome. just yesterday AT&T lowered the data rate plans for 98% of their customers on the iPhone. this makes the iPhone cheaper. i was all set to switch to an EVO for my wife and me and since she uses 100MB of data/month, i am now strongly considering the new iPhone over the EVO (i have 4G promised here some time this summer). the decision isn't so cut and dried any more. i love having this problem.
 
Upvote 0

Yes, you and I know solutions exist, but then again, we're already Android users, and we're posting on an Android forum. I'm talking in terms of those who are currently Apple iPhone owners. They hear we have no native syncing application, and they hear the words Apple DRM, and they think all of their investment will just go to waste. It's not like I just made up this concern, as it's one that has been voiced by iPhone-owning friends of mine. They dont realize these solutions are out there, and because of that, they often dont give Android the consideration that they probably should.
 
Upvote 0
just yesterday AT&T lowered the data rate plans for 98% of their customers on the iPhone. this makes the iPhone cheaper.


Come again?

I would say AT&T realigned there rates; in doing that, they actually make more money. I do not agree that it is positive for consumers in the long run.

I do agree that competition is good, and Apple raises the level considerably.

I think the iPhone will continue to sell very well for the considerable future. The previously mentioned Apple-iTunes ecosphere is a part of it; I also believe nobody markets like Apple. You could sell a glass of air with a half eaten fruit logo.

I read somewhere that one of the largest segments of iPod purchasers are iPhone owners.

Telling. They will make money for a long, long time.
 
Upvote 0
Yes, you and I know solutions exist, but then again, we're already Android users, and we're posting on an Android forum. I'm talking in terms of those who are currently Apple iPhone owners. They hear we have no native syncing application, and they hear the words Apple DRM, and they think all of their investment will just go to waste. It's not like I just made up this concern, as it's one that has been voiced by iPhone-owning friends of mine. They dont realize these solutions are out there, and because of that, they often dont give Android the consideration that they probably should.

there is no way to sync an android phone as well as the iphone/itunes method, yet. I am a former iphone user, it frustrates me to no end that there is no native central solution..i have a huge library of music, non of it is drm protected...the android alternatives do not even come close, i have tried them all, itunes agent is the best one for me but it is still, clunky and un reliable as the others...
 
Upvote 0
Apple isn't going anywhere, and I am glad they aren't. In a world without Apple, we wouldn't have the iPhone and that probably means we wouldn't have Android (before the iPhone the masses were going nuts over the LG Chocolate of all things). Competition drives innovation, which in turn drives more competition.

In terms of your question, I whole heartedly agree with admile3 on their assessment of iTunes and its tying people down. Yes, there are alternatives to using iTunes but lets be honest there isn't a seamless 'even-my-mother-can-do-it' way of organizing/bringing music and videos to a droid device just yet. This can change of course in time, and I think the first thing they need to do is make the marketplace more user friendly.

Another thing that I think Apple has going for it, is the fact that they only build-release one piece of hardware. We all enjoy variety (especially with Android) but with a single piece of hardware hundreds of companies can create a variety of accessories that cater to that product. In the case of Apple its two fold since most of the iPod Touch accessories are interchangeable with that of the iPhones. I think for many non-techie people, customizing starts and ends at which iPhone case they decide to choose.

Just my two cents.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones