Android's Achilles Heel

[nube_android]

Android's Achilles Heel- Despite it's large marketshare (That's actually declining due to people wanting a better experience on IOS and WP) Android has a huge problem.
It grew as an alternative to the iPhone, not as a good OS. From the start, Android was able to grow because manufacturers wanted something to defend themselves against the iPhone and the iPhone was on few carriers. In addition to this, OEMS loved (And still do) putting a bunch of bloatware on it. But then, over time, the iPhone was available on more carriers and lower price points. In addition to this, Windows Phone came along and set a great example of a platform that could give a great UX to all ranges of smartphones.

Over time, IMHO, Android's marketshare will decline slowly and it will look like Symbian or WinMobile in the last days. Anyways, the point is, Android is not a platform that grew because of a distinct trait. In fact, Android does not fit any profile of a distinct advantage (Besides more plastic phones) over any competitor. It's not a great messaging platform, and the apps aren't top notch. It's not secure. It's not smooth and unique. It's not a gamer's platform. It doesn't really have an ecosystem besides a few Google services. It has just taken off as a cheap alternative, and now people are realizing it is not even the best alternative.
That's my rant for today. :smile:

 

[MattMamba2012]

Lets hope the competition can capitalize on this. Android certainly has the minds of many due to its marketshare. Im hoping Microsoft and Nokia take away a big chunk of that share.

 

[martinmc78]

You've got to also remember that although Android has a bigger market share by devices activated Apple still dominate in terms of profit and their sales are still increasing quarter on quarter. Android isn't making any profit off device sales and activations and while that continues to happen I believe their market share will start to decrease when apple releases iOS7.

The article below from last month makes some good points

http://techpinions.com/androids-market-share-is-literally-a-joke/16709

 

[WanderingTraveler]

I'm thinking that as Samsung releases high-end Tizen phones, high-end Android will crash and burn.
Mid-end Android will fall slowly but surely, since WP and BB10 (yes, they'll stay) will eat mid-range Androids for lunch in terms of support, fluidity and general awesomeness. Heck, iOS might even take over this market if Apple plays their cards right. Mid-range is normally the abandoned baby of the smartphone market *cough*720*cough*820*coughcoughcough* and a lower-end iPhone might be the boost Nokia needs. Nokia traditionally is the king of the mid-range market.
Low-end is a different story all together. If Google plays their cards right, Android will stay there. End of story.

Also, Halo. All arguments not in the favor of WP are now considered null and void /s

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

WP at 5.6% from what I just read, YAY!!!! We're growing and we keep growing!!!! I don't wan't MS to take over the market with WP and I don't see them doing it either, but I do hope they get to >= 20% of the market sometime soon...tha twould be nice, its good to see that devs are finally considering wp as a viable platform for apps.


Personally, I would love for samsung to completely stab google in the back with Tizen and take away a good chunk of their marketshare from google. Its funny because samsung is proving that they don't need google, just like they don't need MS, samsung can do it themselves. (I guess thats the case when you make almost all or your own parts in-house)

Speaking of BB, I do want them to come back. I think WP is solidly cemented as 3rd place for now, but I also really like the BBOS 10, its very fast and well-designed, which I am surprised to say this as I didn't really care for BB earlier...

 

[anon(5650876)]

We are becoming like fanboys. I don't think Android will become like Symbian, Never. Times have changed, and people are so much used to Google services, there will always be consumers for that green robot.:winktongue:

I love Windows Phone.

 

[maylea31]

We are becoming like fanboys. I don't think Android will become like Symbian, Never. Times have changed, and people are so much used to Google services, there will always be consumers for that green robot.:winktongue:

I love Windows Phone.

I think former google users like me will find WP 8 and love its beauty so much they slowly close their accounts. I love WP8 so much I am closing sections of my google accounts. What is holding me back from completely closing my account is my google tablet. If it could be converted to MS....... I am so totally googled out and don't like their privacy policies.

 

[anon(6038817)]

Some good points, but I don't think Android will go the way of Symbian any time soon - not if Google has anything to say about it. Google sees Android devices as, first and foremost, information gathering tools. Specifically, they are gathering information about you. What apps you use, you location, your search engine queries, what websites you visit, who you call & when you call them, the content of your emails, your shopping habits...any and every way you interact with your Android phone is tracked and recorded by Google with the intent of selling YOU to companies that want to advertise to you. Google's ad business is still their biggest moneymaker, and Android is an integral part of their business model.

Also, Android, like iOS, is designed around content consumption. The focal point of Android is Google Play, and the focal point of iOS is iTunes. Communication features, along with OS functionality and configuration seem to be afterthoughts on those platforms. If you want to have access to the biggest app libraries and purchase a lot of books, music and movies, then iOS and Android are for you.

If you want a device that is designed primarily around communication and getting things done with excellent OS design and functionality, then there are better alternatives.

I've just sold my Galaxy Nexus and am now trying to decide whether to go with BlackBerry or WP8. I love the new BlackBerry 10 OS and the top-notch security of BB devices. I'm also quite fond of physical keyboards.

But WP8 appeals to me because I prefer Microsoft cloud services like SkyDrive and Outlook.com over Google's services and I would love to have a phone that seamlessly integrates those services.

Anyway, I don't see Android dying altogether, but I can see a scenario where it yields market share to BlackBerry and WP8 as those platforms come into their own and people begin to see that they offer compelling and welcome alternatives to the iOS-Android paradigm.

 

[kalo88]

Most android apps are quite poor to be honest... esp compared to the equiv ios ones.

Some of the WP apps I've used seem to be far better than the android equiv ones also, just wish more 'official' developers would get on board.

Android will always look like a big fish because so many companies make so many phone variants and almost all of them ship Android.

Look at Sony and Samsung alone, they make a new phone every other day!

Despite what people say about Android being 'buttery smooth' on 4.2.2 it really isn't, my nexus 4 was very choppy and apps would crash often (I had about 3 of them). My Xperia Z was choppy, my htc one was quite fluid mind.

The shocking thing is though, MOST phones still run android 2.3 rather than the latest software which is the real achilies heel of Android. OEM's have so many phones they have to optimize for and they simply can't keep up (Sony.. I'm looking at you!) Also, android seems to be caught in a specs war that just doesn't seem to affect other platforms as much.

 

[trwrt]

What do you guys think the business model for bing and outlook.com is, if it's not collecting information about you to sell to advertisers? The only reason to feel more comfortable with Microsoft doing it over Google that I can think of is that Microsoft probably still sucks at it.

 

[tgp]

Android's Achilles Heel- Despite it's large marketshare (That's actually declining due to people wanting a better experience on IOS and WP) Android has a huge problem.

According to this cnet.com article, in 4 years WP's market share will be roughly equal to iOS. The increase will come from iOS and others, with Android being approximately the same as what it is now. Where do you hear that Android's market share is declining? Maybe declining a little, or sales may drop slightly when Apple releases a new iPhone, but otherwise it's staying the same.

 

[anon(6038817)]

What do you guys think the business model for bing and outlook.com is, if it's not collecting information about you to sell to advertisers? The only reason to feel more comfortable with Microsoft doing it over Google that I can think of is that Microsoft probably still sucks at it.

Bing does indeed track your search history and delivers targeted advertising based on it.

Outlook.com, however, does not scan your emails for the purpose of targeted advertising (at least it openly claims it doesn't). It does, however, scan your emails to detect spam.

 

[Bobert_123]

Android's Achilles Heel- Despite it's large marketshare (That's actually declining due to people wanting a better experience on IOS and WP) Android has a huge problem.
It grew as an alternative to the iPhone, not as a good OS. From the start, Android was able to grow because manufacturers wanted something to defend themselves against the iPhone and the iPhone was on few carriers. In addition to this, OEMS loved (And still do) putting a bunch of bloatware on it. But then, over time, the iPhone was available on more carriers and lower price points. In addition to this, Windows Phone came along and set a great example of a platform that could give a great UX to all ranges of smartphones.

Over time, IMHO, Android's marketshare will decline slowly and it will look like Symbian or WinMobile in the last days. Anyways, the point is, Android is not a platform that grew because of a distinct trait. In fact, Android does not fit any profile of a distinct advantage (Besides more plastic phones) over any competitor. It's not a great messaging platform, and the apps aren't top notch. It's not secure. It's not smooth and unique. It's not a gamer's platform. It doesn't really have an ecosystem besides a few Google services. It has just taken off as a cheap alternative, and now people are realizing it is not even the best alternative.
That's my rant for today. :smile:

Sorry, but I gotta disagree with your second paragraph. Android has a boat load of features that no other OS offers at the moment. All flagship androids (S4, HTC One, Xperia Z, etc) are stable, smooth, and VERY unique. If anyone's going over, it'll be apple and their iphone. There are very few features on ios that competitors don't already have. ios is old, and not customizable at all. Their hardware never REALLY changes (both specs and design) in each iteration of iphone, excluding the jump from the 3gs to 4, which was ages ago.

 

[nube_android]

Sorry, but I gotta disagree with your second paragraph. Android has a boat load of features that no other OS offers at the moment. All flagship androids (S4, HTC One, Xperia Z, etc) are stable, smooth, and VERY unique. If anyone's going over, it'll be apple and their iphone. There are very few features on ios that competitors don't already have. ios is old, and not customizable at all. Their hardware never REALLY changes (both specs and design) in each iteration of iphone, excluding the jump from the 3gs to 4, which was ages ago.

I agree, they do have many features that iOS and WP don't yet. But how many people actually use them?

 

[fatclue_98]

I agree, they do have many features that iOS and WP don't yet. But how many people actually use them?

I gotta agree with both of you. To say that Android doesn't have an ecosystem and only a few Google services is naive at best. Do their apps lack personality? Oh yeah. Even the WP eBay app looks 10x more refined and visually appealing than the Android app. Same goes for any iOS app, they are far and away the most well thought-out apps. Can't argue that point but WP is gaining quickly.

 

[Dave Blake]

I guess I would say that Android is Android it has always been a mediocre OS. Google is huge and loved by many. People think if its made by Google it must be great so that is what they want/ get. It borders on the same level as the iPhone phenomenon.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

I guess I would say that Android is Android it has always been a mediocre OS. Google is huge and loved by many. People think if its made by Google it must be great so that is what they want/ get. It borders on the same level as the iPhone phenomenon.

You've described Android in its current state. The thing is, it's like the Windows of the Mobile OSes.
It can still improve. Remember, they took over the market while it was still in its mediocre state

(Slightly off topic: Whoa. Don't use the word mediocre. It's been copyrighted by Janne at MyNokiaBlog )

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

I don't like android and I do disagree with Bobert123 when he says android is butter smooth and unique...I played around with the new galaxy tab 8.0 note and it stuttered in some places, even on just swiping between homescreens and that has an exynos quad core. I also wouldn't say android is unique, putting a skin on something doesn't really change it that much, let the failures of symbian and blackberry (the storm) doing that for touch and how awful it ended up being, skinning a product doesn't make it unique, building something from the ground up like BBOS10, WP, iOS, webOS, android (but not the skins), make them unique. The sony skin, vs touchwiz, vs sense, are different, but not entirely so as you still have for the most part, the same app center, settings, many of the stuff right under the skin are identical.

I do agree that android is the most feature packed OS and you can do more on it than any other phone OS at the moment too...but I personally find that its by far the worst user experience out of all of them. Also, with reguards to apple, apple wont decline, they know that iOS has been stagnant , hence the need for the redesign of iOS in iOS 7, which knowing apple, and that jony Ive is doing the design, will probably be done very well and be well though out. Also, realize that apple also has one of the strongest fanbases in the world, apple's goal with devices isn't to take over the market, they really never have, their goal is to create good products that people come back to over and over again. Sure the iphone hasn't really changed much since the iphone 4, but the thing is that apple users know that every iteration, while it may not have top end specs, will have a solid user experience, and with the 1 exception of apple maps, I haven't seen apple fail on making a solid user experience for a product...ever.

Android on the other hand, is all over the place, some high end phone do run fairly smooth and some have gorgeous hardware, like the HTC ONE. But I find most mid-range and low end phones suck on the user experience, and no, I'm not talking about that they miss features, more that the interface is slow and laggy. The problem I've noticed with android users is that they don't have much loyalty, sure, people might like their android phone, but the second something better comes along, I've seen android users have no qualms about jumping ship, unlike many apple users who would rather not have a phone at all than switch to another platform..

I'm not saying google won't make android better either because so far, they have been actively trying to make it better, I just thing the core OS is garbage personally, thats just my opinion though.

 

[vish2801]

I use Nexus 4 but I don't think Android is appealing to me. The way MS created sexy Live tiles, you actually feel you live in Digital world. The only reason I use Android is openness (some,not all) and apps but it's not fluid like wp,even my 520 is smoother than Android. WP needs features and some freedom, let people control the OS, MS doesn't need to restrict people to be dependent on Desktop Windows because we all use Windows,period. WP just needs better integration with Windows,better APIs, that's it,Nokia will rest assure.WP will be massive hit.

 

[Golfdriver97]

My take on the whole thread is Android does have some drawbacks. The bloatware sucks, but with the introduction of 4.0, and even more refined in 4.1, much of it can be disabled. Once a user gains root access, it becomes a whole different story. Any app can be frozen for deleted.
Samsung is probably the worst for crippling the Android OS with TouchWiz. They need to trim down how much processing it eats up. As for Tizen, I think it will either take off like it's out of control, or flop big time. I don't think there will be an in between. Yes, I am a Samsung user, but when offered a Tizen phone, I am quite sure I will pass. There is already so much competition for OS, I don't know how much more room there could be, especially with the introduction of FireFox OS.