Android vs. iOS: Going Into 2012
Just read an intriguing article (Android’s hollow revolution and hope for 2012) by a writer who is actually pro-Android but is realizing what a mess the Android platform is—and its not just about device fragmentation, it’s also about carrier intrusion and the creation of a system more closed than what Apple’s iOS is frequently accused of being. Personally, I have found it baffling when Android users bash iPhones for not being “open” because I haven’t found one person able to explain why that’s any sort of an advantage other than confusion for the average user and an opportunity for Android geeks to spend a lot of time hacking a phone to be able to do what you want it to do when an iPhone does that out of the box.
Also, MacObserver had a good article (iPhone Crushes Android at AT&T Corporate Stores in December) where they shared how AT&T moved 981,000 iPhones compared to only 126,000 Android devices. Ouch. (clarification: that is AT&T corporate stores only—but still impressive).
I don’t even try to really debate these things too much, with user experience being so subjective and in these matters, so incredibly biased (including yours truly), but I really think you are going to begin seeing the Android reality distortion field begin to wear off as the numbers will begin reflecting what the public has begun to realize after a few years of real-life comparisons between the two platforms and for the first full-year, the ability to purchase the iPhone from your preferred carrier (apologies to T-Mobile customers).
And if all that weren’t enough, just wait until Apple announces the (real) iPhone 5 and and the iPad 3 (sooner rather than later) in 2012.
I think you may require sources for your numbers as android has gained almost 50% market share. They couldn’t have done that being outsold almost 9 to 1 by apple.
My post was only to direct the reader to another intriguing article–so it wasn’t really my job to require sources other than the link. And, if you’ll notice, the article makes it clear that its only analyzing the segment of buyers from AT&T corporate stores. So, it is a wildly exaggerated segment to be sure, but an intriguing one nonetheless. I just think by the end of 2012, platform segmentation will have come home to roost for Android and people will be looking at iOS devices in an even better light. The numbers may not be so rosy for Android in the long run.