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2 Out Of 5 American’s Are Choosing Android?

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Neilson has released new stats regarding the status of the top 3 smartphones for the US and while Apple and Blackberry are still able to maintain their gold and silver medals, respectively, the stats for Android’s growth are nothing short of incredible.

The race for the lead in U.S. smartphone operating system (OS) consumer market share is tighter than it has ever been. According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40%) makes it the leading OS among recent acquirers.

But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall consumer market share, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1%) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. In other words, RIM remains statistically tied with both Apple for first and Android for third. Apple’s clear lead over Android notwithstanding, this race might still be too close to call. (Official Nielsen Blog)

Note: Emphasis mine.

Unfortunately Nielsen doesn’t distingquish between the iOS devices (which include the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) which inflates Apple’s numbers ahead of their rivals.

Despite the iOS dilution, the fact that 2 out of 5 Americans are choosing Android as their next device spells trouble for RIM, Windows Phone 7 and to a much lesser extent iPhone (who still seen among the masses as the premier smartphone in the US).

With Samsung about to challenge the iPod with their Galaxy S Player, 2011 could be the year Android steals the crown as the top mobile/music player OS (at least in the US).

Originally posted on January 3, 2011 @ 3:39 pm

Can iPhone Survive In A 4G Android World?

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For those of you who have been following the latest updates about CES upon Twitter, various blogs, etc. the one thing I’ve noticed is the fact that many (if not most) of the Android devices being touted by carriers are 4G phones.

Some of them (like Motorola’s Atrix 4G) boast not only 1 GB of RAM, but also 4G speeds (aka LTE) will run laps around the iPhone 4 (at least as far as browsing the web goes).

While Apple will probably leap frog the current competition in specs in June of this year, there are reports that the next iPhone will not support 4G speeds, giving their Android adversaries a critical advantage over Steve Jobs mobile device.

Companies like T-Mobile are already playing ads on TV mocking 3G speeds, and if iPhone is the only major smartphone lacking 3G support (note: I’m ignoring Blackberry here), then they could see even more users choose Android over the competition.

Despite the fact that 4G has yet to roll out to most of the country (as it’s still only available in select cities within the US), Apple’s lack of 4G adoption could result in the iPhone being eclipsed by Android sooner rather than later, ensuring Google’s mobile dominance for the foreseeable future.

Although 4G smartphones do have some major disadvantages against their 3G brethren (battery life being chief among them), Apple is going to have to figure out a way to once again wow the masses this summer if they want the iPhone to be seen as a leading contender in the smartphone industry.

Image Credit: Motorola, via Mobile Crunch

Originally posted on January 5, 2011 @ 5:19 pm

Verizon Launching 4G Android Phone?

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Despite boasting the “most reliable network” (as their numerous TV commercials boast), Verizon has yet to produce a killer phone for their 4G service like Sprint has done with the Evo 4G.

In 2011 however that may all change as rumors are surfacing about a mysterious Android phone going by the name of “Thunderbolt” after an ad (to a broken link) appeared upon Android Central.

Click the ad, and you’re taken to a page that doesn’t actually work. Oops.

But look at the URL (emphasis ours). http://www.htc.com/4G?extcid=Thunderbolt-4G-Disp. So Thunderbolt (or maybe Thunderbolt 4G) definitely is in play, and we should see it announced on Verizon Jan. 6 at CES in Las Vegas.

Thus far there is no other details regarding the device, although I wouldn’t be surprised if HTC was attempting to release another “iPhone killer” (as their last 4G phone not surprisingly fell short).

With Verizon expected to inherit the iPhone this spring, HTC is probably attempting to ramp up interest in their device before the media predictably becomes obsessed with iOS, although hopefully they will provide more details at CES (like price, specs, Android version, etc.) instead of teasing everyone with broken 404 links.

Originally posted on December 27, 2010 @ 5:27 pm

Will Android Music Players Threaten The iPod?

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Apparently Samsung is rumored to be releasing a music player based upon Android which will be similar to the iPod Touch.

Samsung has announced a new Android-based Galaxy Player that will be showcased next week at the CES 2011. Samsung says the new music player takes inspiration from its successful Galaxy S phone and is spec’d similarly sans the cellular connectivity. (Samsung Hub)

With Google releasing a music app for Android (as shown in the video below), it looks like Apple’s rein over the digital players may soon be coming to an end.

While I have no doubt that Samsung’s Galaxy Player will sell millions (and will probably be copied by other Android manufacturers), it’s presence may not threaten Cupertino’s iPod (at least not entirely) due to a couple of factors. [Read more…]

Originally posted on December 28, 2010 @ 3:45 pm

Google’s Other Social Network Mimics Facebook

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Although fairly unknown within the US and Europe, Google’s other social network orkut is just as popular in India as Facebook is within America.

Over the Christmas holidays the orkut team rolled out a minor update to the social network which should help them compete against Facebook (who has gained tremendous popularity upon the Asian sub continent).

Have you ever wanted to comment when your orkut homepage shows that a friend you haven’t seen in a while just got married? Or maybe when someone you know just got to a new phase in a game you really like as well?

So have we! And we’re now happy to tell you that now you can comment on virtually any update coming from your friends on orkut, such as when a friend joins a new community or changes his relationship status[.] (Official orkut Blog)

Truth be told this update should have been rolled out from the very beginning (note: I was a huge orkut fan way back in the day), although might help the social network retain its prominence within India whose enormous market share dwarfs places like America.

Despite failing to gain popularity in the US, orkut is probably Google’s best shot at thwarting Facebook’s rise globally (at least in the east), and hopefully the search engine giant continues to pour resources into orkut instead of axing it like Google Wave.

Originally posted on December 27, 2010 @ 4:10 pm