Android is killing iOS with nearly 75% share in Q1 2013
Gartner’s latest market share results are in and they show Google’s Android operating system gaining significant market share in Q1 2013 to nearly 75%. That is a jump of almost 20% in just one year.
I see this increase as significant in that Q1 2012 to Q1 2013 comparisons are a good like-for-like comparison coming after the holiday selling season and before new product launches. What it says to me is that Android is in reach of gaining Windows-like dominance in the mobile handset market unless some other competitor can prevent it from doing so. As usual, it was Samsung leading the way for Android with an increase in share from 27.6% to 30.8%. Meanwhile Apple tumbled from 22.5% to 18.2%. Notice, however that the next three largest smartphone handset makers were all Android manufacturers and they all gained share. This goes back to what I have been saying for some time, that it is not about Apple vs. Samsung because there are a lot of other handset manufacturers that are making competitive products, and most of them are using Android. Blackberry, Windows and Nokia are nowhere to be seen.
(source: Tech Crunch)
When one looks at the numbers for total handset sales, Nokia re-enters the picture at number 2 with a 19.7% market share. These are actual sales for Q1 so that’s telling you that Nokia is still selling a lot of product. The question for the future is about getting users onto their chosen Windows phone platform.
(source: Tech Crunch)
Nokia is coming out with a new top end handset, the Lumia 925. It announced today in London in fact. The reception is ho-hum because there is nothing whizz bang about the phone and the features are nearly identical to the last model that Nokia sold. It seems that Nokia would do well to concentrate on the low end of the smartphone market and in essence entice users to take a smartphone over a feature phone. There is no reason that the 19.7% of handsets purchased which were Nokias can’t be smartphone purchases – except for price. If Nokia were to get all of these users to opt for a smartphone again and again for a number of quarters, you would have a game-changing battle in the mobile arena.
As I see it now, however, Android is running away with mobile.
More technology links below
P.S. – I think it’s largely irrelevant that Apple users are more engaged, use their devices more and utilize more bandwidth. It is also irrelevant whether the handset manufacturers are profitable. This market is about the operating system’s grabbing share right now and locking in as many network effects as you can before the transition to smartphones is complete. Yes, people will switch platforms from time to time. However, if one operating system takes 75-90% share, all software development will shift toward that platform. And then users will stay on that platform. This is inevitable. And we’ve seen it before.
“Gartner has just released its Q1 figures for mobile handset sales, and the key takeaway is that Android continues to steal the show, led by handset maker Samsung. Google’s mobile platform now accounts for nearly 75% of all handset sales, a jump of almost 20 percentage points on a year ago, and equating to 156 million devices sold in the three-month period. Smartphones sales grew by 63 million units to 210 million for the quarter, making up nearly half of all mobile phone sales overall, at 425 million. With the number of mobile handset sales up by a mere 0.7% on a year ago, it’s clear that higher-end devices are very the much growth engine for the mobile industry at the moment.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the more interesting figures from Gartner.”
BBC News – Nokia Lumia 925 slims down its flagship Windows Phone
“Nokia describes the Lumia 925 as a “new interpretation” of its predecessor, which remains on sale.
It weighs 139g (0.31lb), making it 46g lighter than the Lumia 920 – and at 8.5mm (0.33in) thick is 2.2mm thinner than the earlier model.
Its Snapdragon S4 processor and 2,000 mAh battery remain the same but the 925 has half the amount of internal storage at 16 gigabytes. A 32GB version is, however, planned as an “exclusive” for Vodafone.”
Nokia’s real innovation is happening on Asha, not Windows Phone — Tech News and Analysis
“The Lumia 925 is a fine-looking device and it successfully answers criticisms levelled at the plasticky 920 and 928. However, it’s very similar to other high-end Nokias. The company’s real “wow” moments happen at the low end.”
“Under the hood there’s a 1.5GHz Dual-Core Snapdragon chip, and 1GB of RAM. On board memory is 16GB (Vodafone will also get a 32GB variant) plus 7MB free cloud storage on Microsoft’s SkyDrive. The 4.5 inch AMOLED display has a resolution of 1280 x 768. Dimensions are 129 x 70.6 x 8.5mm. The 2000mAh battery is good for up to 12.8 hours of talk time on 3G, or up to 6.6 hours video playback, according to Nokia.
A ‘true PureView’ Windows Phone device — codenamed EOS — has been rumoured for several months, and the Lumia 925 looks to be that device. However it certainly does not include the 41MP sensor and pixel oversampling techniques featured in the Symbian-based 808 PureView. It seems unlikely that bona fide PureView technology will ever make it to Windows Phone, not least because it’s something of a camera pro curiosity, rather than a consumer-friendly mainstream feature. Rather Nokia is extending the PureView branding — to associate it with a range of camera-centric features, not just that original huge sensor.”
Third Point’s Loeb pressures Sony – FT.com
“Third Point is taking on Sony at a time when the company is trying to shake off a long period of financial weakness. Last week it reported its first net profit in five years, though its once dominant television manufacturing operation remained in the red, having lost competitiveness to South Korean rivals such as Samsung.
Entertainment was its second most profitable business area, after finance – Sony still owns a 60 per cent stake in the separately listed banking and insurance arm. But Mr Loeb said Sony was not doing enough to exploit the “hidden value” of its entertainment assets, which include a huge library of Hollywood films and popular music.
Foreign activist investors have taken on Japanese companies before, but none as prominent as Sony. “
Hedge fund ‘calls for break-up of Sony’ – Telegraph
“American hedge fund tycoon, Daniel Loeb, has reportedly called for the break-up of Sony after building up a 6.5pc stake in the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant.”
Netflix Keeps Web Use Lead Ahead of Hulu, Amazon, HBO – Sandvine – Peter Kafka – Media – AllThingsD
“For the last three years, Netflix has accounted for a third of the Internet traffic zipping into North American homes every night.
But Web video competitors like Amazon, HBO and Hulu all say they’re seeing significant growth. So is anyone cutting into Netflix’s lead?
Not really, says Sandvine, the broadband service company that tracks Internet usage.”
Comments are closed.