back to article Android phone sales up 1,309%

It's been a good year for Android-based smartphones: their worldwide sales are up 1,309 per cent, year-on-year, according to research outfit Canalys. "With Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson all delivering large numbers of Android devices, and with focused efforts from many other vendors, such as LG, Huawei and Acer, …

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  1. Spanners
    Linux

    Sales Methods

    A colleague told me today that, when he went into an Orange shop, the place was "wall to wall" with the new Windows phone but decent Android phones were all mysteriously sold out.

    So he left and has placed his order online for what they would rather not sell him...

    1. Gary F

      Interesting

      Yes, Orange are rather keen to push Windows 7 phones, presumably they did a cheap license deal with Microsoft on the condition they heavily promote it. Strangely their Orange online shop only has 1 HTC model (Desire) which is often out of stock. But they do have a good supply of cheap San Francisco Android phones which I will continue to rave about - £99 on PAYG. It's a rebadged ZTE Blaze. There are some excellent new ROMs for it on Modaco.com

      Sorry Bill. Too little and far too late.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Competition

        "Sorry Bill. Too little and far too late."

        I'm not too sure. As much as I dislike Microsoft on the desktop, it's great they are finally here for the smartphone party - more competition will make Apple/Android/everyone take notice and hopefully work harder to make all the platforms better.

        There's nothing worse than a single platform wiping the floor with the others... we want CHOICE - and everyone one their toes working to *try* to beat the others.

        1. Chemist

          "we want CHOICE "

          Just like our desktops ??

        2. Spikey
          Jobs Horns

          About that CHOICE

          I agree with you in theory, but Microsoft doesn't have a history of competing fairly. Rather, they have a history of stiffing innovation. I am not happy to see them enter this market, because they will not compete 'fairly'.

          Reading some of the posts above, Orange seems to be 'heavily marketing' the WP7 phones, to the detriment of others. This is the kind of crap we can do without. That doesn't foster competition, that just overshadows the competition via blunt force.

  2. regviewer

    Android smartphone up 1,309% worldwide?!

    That's insane! Despite Apple's strong marketing strategies, Apple still can't stop the Android Army. I guess iPhone's are no longer the trend anymore...Android smartphones have invaded and have now taken over!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

      iPhones were never meant to take over the world. They have constantly been priced and marketed to be on the top tier of phones. The fact they have done so well is probably a huge surprise for Apple as much as everyone else.

      Android is perfect to take over every other part of the marketplace. Cheap (inexpensive) phones filling every other niche, right up to phones as good as/better than Apple/whoever.

      Anyone who didn't see this happening wasn't looking very hard were they?

      1. Tim Bates
        Thumb Down

        priced and marketed to be on the top tier of phones

        If only they actually WERE the top teir instead of touch screen version of my old Nokias.

        1. KnucklesTheDog

          Top tier

          I would say Apple are top tier regarding usability, which comes with obvious compromises, leaving them less than top tier regarding functionality when compared to the top spec Android devices.

          As for Nokia, they haven't been top tier since the Communicator days which was short lived after the arrival of the Sony Ericsson P series (earlier ones anyway). Their new Symbian 3 device can't even compete with the SE Satio released around a year ago now.

      2. Tigra 07
        Thumb Up

        RE: AC

        "Anyone who didn't see this happening wasn't looking very hard were they?"

        I foretold this ages ago but the fanbois would always mark me down.

        Noone in the right mind could expect iphones to be dominant compared to cheaper competition with more features and less Orwellian control from Steve Jobs.

        "I guess iPhone's are no longer the trend anymore"

        They lasted until a decent priced alternative came about, iphone share will fall fast now.

        I only know 1 person with an iphone, 6 people with a HTC Desire, 2 with a droid of some sort and 3 with an X10 or X10 mini.

        Androids have won

      3. CmdrX3
        Alien

        Tough times for the iPhone??

        The problem for Apple here though is as better smartphones start to move into the mid range & budget market, people using them will become more accustomed to Android and will be more likely to upgrade to something they know with better features that will likely still be far less expensive than the iPhone with as good as features. With a phone like the HTC Wildfire leading the way, higher end phones like the iPhone will become more & more irrelevant. It will become less of a must have useful device and more of a very expensive phone with features that can be found on cheaper devices. It will still have a market in the Apple fans that will steadfastly refuse to buy anything else, but for many it will no longer be a justifiable expense as better, cheaper Android phones are released.

        1. Tigra 07
          Flame

          RE: CmdrX3

          Careful CmdrX3, tell the truth about apple and the fanbois will bare fangs and mark you down.

          They don't like it to be pointed out how they support a greedy overpriced brand that will steadily upgrade at half the rate of others and cost twice as much as them

  3. Octoberon
    Coat

    1039%? whoosh!

    How'd ya like them Apples, er, Androids!

    Yeah, alright. Mine's the one with the Cox's Pippin.

  4. Wang N Staines

    I want my cut

    says Oracle.

  5. semprance

    Sorry to put a downer on it.

    But someone has to mention the fact that no individual android phone comes close to taking out the iPhone from a device perspective rather than OS.

    1. Rattus Rattus

      Nonsense

      The hardware in current top-end Android phones is comparable to, and in some cases slightly better than, the iPhone 4. The 3GS, of course, is now some distance back in the pack.

  6. ratfox
    Boffin

    Infinity %

    Last year, that is by how much Android sales went up: Infinity %. From zero to more than zero.

    This year, sales of Windows 7 phones will go up by infinity %. with only 1,309%, Android phones are clearly beaten.

    @regviewer: learn statistics.

  7. billyad2000

    All Android devices are not equal

    TBH, I'm not sure the sales numbers can be used as a representation of peoples preference of Android vs iOS.

    Personally I own an Iphone 4, and I love it, but there are Android phones that compete with the iPhone quite well on function and performance such as the Galaxy or Desire, while dirt cheap phones such as the ZTE Racer cannot really compare to either, and does not suggest a prefference for Android, merely a preference for a cheap smartphone.

    I guess what I am trying to say is that a big part of the numbers are not comparable, a similar comparison would be android tablet sales compared to the ipad. I dare say that there are likely more android tablets manufactured than the ipad, they are everywhere, yet with only a few exceptions, they cannot really be considered compitition.

    To be honest, I have to wonder if this sort of comparison may ultimately damage Android, since it seems to suggest that all Android phones are equal, and for a person who buys a cheap android device, it may be that the first device will be the last.

    1. Ian Yates

      I agree

      but I think what this does show is how people are starting to understand their needs slightly more.

      <anecdote>

      My sister (29) was going on about getting an iPhone for over a year (waiting for contract to end), and then she suddenly called to tell me she had a Galaxy S and was crazy in love with it.

      Weird thing: she hadn't even tried one before. I'll never understand how phone shops expect to sell phones without letting people try them out, but they seem to do okay.

      When I asked her why, she said that the Galaxy S did everything she needed. She had almost no understanding of what Android was (she thought it was something to do with the market), and that's possible Android's biggest strength.

      Despite what people say about OEMs not being able to distinguish their product with Android, I don't think average consumers really care, as long as they're told that the phone does what they want it to do.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Linux is a disruptive technology

    So it's only doing its job ;-)

  9. Gary F

    Android is blimmin good though

    I've had many makes of smartphone for the last decade but I was seriously impressed with my new Android phone. It's so intuitive that I found my 4 year old had picked it up, worked out how to unlock it (she can't read yet) and load and play various games.

    It looks like Android will go from strength to strength as it appears on cheaper phones. You no longer need to pay £500 to own an iphone when a Android phone can do pretty much all that from £99 upwards. iVery iSmart iPhones iThat iAren't iActually iPhones(TM)

    1. BorkedAgain
      Happy

      Extremely intuitive...

      I also have a non-reading four-year-old who has figured his way through the UI and is capable of unlocking my phone, firing up Angry Birds and amusing himself on the rare occasions when he finds my Desire unoccupied. This is inexpressibly cool to observe. Of course, being a Geek Dad, I can't wait to get him started on App Inventor. Okay, we'll have to start with "See Spot run" but still... :)

      Is the iPhone as easy? Maybe. I haven't played (let alone worked) with one yet, so it's hard to be sure. I know all my colleagues who "upgraded" to iPhone4 have had a lot more trouble with their handsets than I did with mine, but that's just anecdotal evidence from a biased source so I'd ignore it if I were you...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Title Here

    First time Android user after three Windows Mobile phones - and you'd have to take the Desire HD out of my cold dead hands. Love it, and love the OS - so much work has gone into it, and it shows.

  11. Adrian Jones

    There do appear to be a lot of Android devices out there...

    Just from those running Tweetdeck:

    http://blog.tweetdeck.com/android-ecosystem

  12. Mage Silver badge

    The survivors

    Will be Android, Nokia and Apple

    RIM Hp/Palm and MS are doomed

    1. zanto

      not so sure about nokia

      they need to either bite the bullet and embrace linux, or work a miracle with symbian. They've already pretty much given up on chip design preferring to concentrate on software. And right now apple and android are mopping the floor with them.

      1. Mage Silver badge

        Nokia have embraced Linux

        Symbian will be used for dumb, feature and also some smart phones. Why? Because it will run well on a much cheaper platform than Android or iOS.

        Meego will be on high end Smart phones. Linux without the Sugar pastry creepiness of Google's Android based on Linux.

    2. Ian Yates

      </title>

      I can't disagree, but I would hope WebOS passes on some genes. There are some things that WebOS does so much better than the others.

  13. Ty
    Jobs Halo

    Right now let's be sensible..

    ...and look at the figures.

    Apple has 3.9% of the GLOBAL handset market and takes 47% of the entire industry profits.

    Now who is in the rear view mirror?

    Keep buying your wannabe iPhone copies cheapskates.

    Apple are laughing at you.

    1. Tim Bates
      WTF?

      What?

      Why on earth would Apple laugh at people who don't buy their products?

      Your own numbers show it's Apple customers that should be laughed at for being so gullible. According to those numbers, Apple must be ripping people off to the tune of around 10 times the going profit margin!

    2. iamapizza

      Re: Now who is in the rear view mirror?

      Android is catching up - soon we can have the signal loss problems and lack of copy paste and lack of multitasking too. You'll see.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Coffee/keyboard

      @ Ty

      "Apple has 3.9% of the GLOBAL handset market and takes 47% of the entire industry profits."

      I hope Steve had the decency to kiss you first. And to not go in 'dry'.

    4. billyad2000
      Thumb Up

      I couldnt agree more

      The iPhone is no more expensive, and often cheaper than it's competiton. The Galaxy s for example is £400 - £450 depending on where you buy it. When you consider the fact that you will also need to buy a [slow] MicroSD card, the price is not that much lower than the iPhone 4 and about the same as the 3GS.

      If your figures are accurate (you provide no source) then you have only confirmed my earlier comment where I suggest that Android is only outselling the iPhone because of the cheap and nasty handsets that are available, and that the high end handsets that every one uses to rave about the virtues of android are not coming close to the sales numbers that the iPhone has.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        The Samsung Galaxy S is a huge bestseller

        Samsung sold over 1 million Galaxy S in the US in the first 6 weeks. http://www.pcworld.com/article/204398/samsung_sells_1_million_galaxy_s_phones_in_us.html

        They sold over 5 million worldwide in a little over a quarter.

        http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/06/samsung-galaxy-s-sales-surpass-five-million-world-domination-pl/

  14. MacroRodent
    Happy

    Re: Right now let's be sensible..

    "Apple has 3.9% of the GLOBAL handset market and takes 47% of the entire industry profits."

    A precarious position. Some event (eg an exceptionally good Android phone) might make many iPhone fans may realize they are paying a lot of extra for nothing, and that would wipe out Apple's profits.

    Wonder what would happen if Nokia introduced an Android with a really good hardware? Ok, it will be a freezing day in H*ll when Nokia switches. (But then, Finland did win the Eurovision song contest a few years back, with a monster rock band, which most people considered an equally improbable situation...).

  15. selenagomez
    Thumb Up

    Not sure about Ipad

    Hey, guys I’m looking for some sleek, smart Android Device and my budget is under $200. It would be my pleasure, if anyone let me knows about this…

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