Will Android over take Apple’s IOS?
Android seems to be over taking then mobile phone market with the growth of smart phone sales. To make the case a little stronger Apple’s own Steve Wozniak had this to say in an interview about Google’s Android vs Apple’s IOS.
Steve Wozniak thinks that the iPhone is tops in overall quality but also that when all’s said and done, Google’s Android platform will reign supreme in the mobile market. “The Apple phone has very few weaknesses,” Wozniak told Netherlands newspaper De Telegraaf in an interview posted today. “When it comes to quality, the iPhone is leading.” Wozniak also said, however, that “Android phones have more features” and deliver more buying options for those who don’t want to be limited to a single device. In addition, Wozniak told the publication that like Windows in the desktop OS space, Google’s mobile platform will become the “dominant” option in its own market. Beyond that, Wozniak also revealed that Apple had developed a smartphone in 2004, but never released it. According to Wozniak, the company “was satisfied with the quality, but wanted something that could surprise the world.” “If Apple comes [out] with a new product, it must have a real breakthrough,” Wozniak said. It seems that Apple felt that “breakthrough” came in 2007 when it released the first-generation iPhone. But it’s Wozniak’s comments on Android’s future domination that will likely cause the most ruckus, given that he’s a co-founder of Apple and still a shareholder in the company. That said, he’s not covering new ground with those comments. Many analysts believe Android will eventually overtake the mobile market and leave Apple far behind.
By 2014, market-research firm Gartner expects Android to own about 30 percent of the worldwide mobile OS market, while Apple will account for just 15 percent. Another research firm, IDC, expects Android to have about 25 percent of the smartphone market globally in 2014, compared with Apple’s expected 11 percent share.
Apple still offers more mobile apps for the iPhone with a number around 250,000, however Android apps are growing and are currently in the range of 100,000. Also the next update for Google’s Android mobile operating system, Android 2.2 will support date tethering via USB and Wi-Fi. The tethering function, which the iPhone has but there is limits on the data packages you can purchase, will let you share the phone’s data connection with other devices. You can either hook it up via USB, saving battery-life and acting much like a 3G USB dongle, or you can create a Wi-Fi hotspot like the MiFi personal wireless router. I do think that only being on the AT&T network is a hindrance to the iPhone.
Another big thing is the simple number of phones that run Android compared to the single iPhone. I think it will be hard to compete with the shear numbers that flood the market and the different designs that give users some choice in the size, configuration, and some features they can chose from. I must admit that I don’t have a touch phone of any kind and that I currently prefer a Blackberry type phone. But I do like the fact that if I want to develop some apps for Android I can where as I would have to get the Apple development software to allow my apps to be sold on the iStore. The number speak for itself and Apple did make a great product with the iPhone, but they can’t compete with the numbers of Android phones. So only time will tell and the prediction isn’t for them to take over the market for several years. But is has begun, but you never know one mistake by Google could cause them to fall from grace just like Microsoft with Vista. I am just throwing out my opinion with some facts, who knows what the future brings.
