A new opinion report is suggesting the death of Android courtesy of iPhone 5.
Game Over Android, according to PC World blogger Tony Bradley, even calling the popular Google mobile operating system a copycat of Apple’s iOS/iPhone platform.
Of course, it’s like an article written with fanboyism knowing that he called the Android a “copycat” while enumerating his reasons why the so-called death of Google’s mobile OS is coming, or happening when the iPhone 5 hits the United States market. If I’m not mistaken, he’s talking about the possible decline of Android in United States only, and obviously doesn’t include the rest of the world including the emerging China market.
Bradley thinks that Verizon’s inclusion as one of Apple’s iPhone 5 launch partners will destroy the momentum of the Android (including Verizon’s own Droid branding), explaining that a lot of Verizon customers are still not jumping the ship and buying the iPhone 4 because they’re aware that the iPhone 5 is coming. The author of PC World also added that the possible unlocked iPhone 5 will attract more customers because they can insert their own SIM card, and giving the user the opportunity to choose a carrier.
So here’s my question, if the iPhone 4 is really a “super popular” device compared to other Android handsets, then what’s the reason behind the 2.9% market share decline ONLY of the Google operating system after Verizon introduced the iPhone 4? And after introducing another iPhone 4 last April, the white iPhone 4?
Plus, another iPhone 4 was introduced recently, the unlocked iPhone 4, which is also considered by some as a T-Mobile iPhone, and yet, the momentum of the Android is still up and running. MacWorld even posted an article explaining how to use an unlocked iPhone and a T-Mobile SIM, and yet, customers are buying HTC Evo 3D, or HTC Sensation 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II via online retailers, etc?
The secret of Android is availability and variants, because not all customers want a full touchscreen smartphone, and not all customers are fans of iTunes, and there’s Amazon helping Android to grow with their very own Android application market place, plus, a lot of smartphone customers want to view flash content.
Another reason given by the anti-Android blog is the iOS 5. Apparently, the iPhone 5 will include this new iOS update that wil introduce new notification system (that exactly works like the Android’s), better syncing, cloud-based services including the “Picasa-like” photo sharing feature of the iCloud, and the iTunes Match.
Obviously, majority of Apple customers are “non-techy” users, or customers that are not into a device that is congested or tweakable, while Android attract more yuppies, tech enthusiasts and tech-loving community that love to hack, root and unlock their devices. iOS 5 is still “a closed” device, and will remain closed (you can’t still change the keyboard and use third-party keyboards). Period.
Knowing Apple, I’m expecting that the iPhone 5 is an upcoming piece of art, and a lot of customers will surely love the design, whatever it is, because it’s an Apple product with an iconic Apple logo. But not all customers love Apple, or love the Apple ecosystem, that’s why the Android grew, and will continue to grow because it’s more open that iOS. Of course it’s not a perfect operating system (Fragmentation, ehem), who’s perfect in this world? You?
Apple and Android can coexist, and Android will not die on the release date of iPhone 5, trust me. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop even admitted that Apple allowed Android to grow. He said: “Apple created Android, or at least it created the conditions necessary to create Android. People decided they could not play in the Apple way, and they had to do something else. Then Google stepped in there and created Android… and others jumped on the Android train.”
Android’s market share will surely get a decline post iPhone 5, but it will get a bounce back after a couple of months because there’s still a huge percentage of customers that still want an option, it’s called “freedom.”
