(Credit:
eMarketer.com)
Data from a new report shows that the iPhone may finally have a true competitor with Android phone users' profile appearing very much alike that of iPhone users'.
According to eMarketer.com, the marketing intelligence firm comScore found that 37 percent of U.S. mobile users had heard of Android in November 2009, up from 22 percent in August, and "likely due to the Verizon Droid ad campaign." More interestingly, "17 percent of mobile users in the market for a new smartphone in the next three months planned to buy an Android phone compared with 20 percent who would pick up an iPhone."
The report also shows that usage patterns for Android and iPhone owners were very similar in terms of media consumption, Web browser, and application usage, but e-mail usage on Android devices oddly tracked behind that of other platforms. This is likely because of the immaturity of the e-mail application that ships with Android and not a change in use patterns.
This news obviously keeps the iPhone in the dominant position, but shows that other smartphones finally present a real challenge. It's notable because BlackBerry and iPhone users have always seemed worlds apart, whereas Android users seem to be using their devices at parity with the iPhone crowd.
The fact that the Droid runs on Verizon instead of AT&T no doubt helps with data usage, though only time will tell if Verizon can handle the traffic or if T-mobile can handle the pressure of a huge influx of new Google Nexus One phones running Android.
... Read MoreNew data on the top 10 mobile phones puts Apple on top due to the sheer number of iPhone owners. But both Research In Motion and LG actually control more market share because they sell multiple, popular models.
Nielsen's data on the top 10 phones in use in the U.S. from January through October shows Apple with 4 percent market share, RIM with 6.3 percent, and LG with 6.4 percent. But the trio lead a very fragmented market. In fact, the top 10 phones account for just over 20 percent of the total devices in use.
With an estimated 271 million U.S. mobile subscribers at the end of 2008, accounting for about 88 percent of the U.S. population, even 1 percent market share is significant.
RIM BlackBerry devices and LG handsets--voluminous in offering compared with the singular iPhone also have the benefit of longer time on the market and of promotion by the carriers that don't have the iPhone. LG is the No. 3 handset maker behind Nokia and Samsung. RIM and Apple have nowhere the number of models offered by the top three handset makers, yet they enjoy a stronger market share.
The Nielsen data shows both the opportunity and the challenge of creating the next big thing in mobile devices. Just a few years ago, Motorola's Razr was the belle of the ball, and RIM was firmly fixed as an enterprise device. However, the convergence of voice, e-mail, and browsing, as well as new 3G networks, brought the smartphone to the forefront and helped push both RIM and Apple to the top.
All hope is not lost for currently less popular handset makers, as the market can very quickly change dramatically.
Indeed, there is a big challenge under way from Android-based phones such as the Droid that could thrust laggards such as Motorola back into the spotlight, provided that Google doesn't stomp all over the developer community that has been building up around the new mobile operating system.
| Top 10 Mobile Phones in Use (U.S.) - January -October 2009 | ||
| RANK | Device | Embedded Base of All Subscribers |
| 1 | Apple 3G iPhone | 4.0% |
| 2 | RIM BlackBerry 8300 Series (Curve, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i) | 3.7% |
| 3 | Motorola Razr V3 series (V3, V3c, V3m, V3i, V3i DG, V3) | 2.3% |
| 4 | LG VX9100 (enV2) | 2.1% |
| 5 | LG Voyager | 1.7% |
| 6 | Samsung SPH-M540 (Rant) | 1.5% |
| 7 | RIM BlackBerry 9530 series (Storm) | 1.4% |
| 8 | LG VX9700 (Dare) | 1.3% |
| 9 | LG Vu series (CU915, CU920) | 1.3% |
| 10 | RIM BlackBerry 8100 series (Pearl, 8110, 8120, 8129) | 1.2% |
| Source: Nielsen | ||
And mobile phones are not just for those on the run. Nielsen's Convergence Audit (PDF), an annual survey on voice, video, and data products, "shows a rise in households who have 'cut the cord' by trading their traditional landlines for wireless cellular services and an increase in mobile media device usage among a diverse set of households."
In the second quarter, the report said, 21 percent of households were using wireless cellular service only--compared with 18 percent a year earlier. "This increase comes from...households who have dropped their landlines as well as from young adults that started new households with just a wireless phone service," the report said.
Odds are that these percentages will continue to climb as young mobile users reach adulthood and as adults look to their mobile devices to do more than just make calls.
As consumers increasingly purchase sophisticated smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Droid, they are developing expectations for how these phones allow contacts, calendars, e-mail, and social networks to remain in sync across all their devices.
One of the big challenges is that users don't always maintain the same source of inputting data--they switch from browser to desktop application to smartphone as their data access and entry point, introducing many variables into the data chain. And data integrity will only get more complicated as more applications become browser-based and keep no local data storage.
Most enterprise users have a local store in addition to the cloud storage, something that I still find puzzling from the T-mobile Sidekick outage, where consumer data that should have been in multiple locations (or at least present on the device) was thought to be lost.
The most common sync services are not provided directly by the mobile operator. Generally this is a good thing, as the more you can dis-intermediate the carrier, the more control you have over your data. But because the sync services are provided by others--notably Microsoft, Google, and Apple--you end up locked-in to their data structures as well as whatever privacy and data management issues that might arise in relation to advertising or other usage of your information.
Today, you can fairly easily sync your mobile device with most common online e-mail and PIM services although the BlackBerry, Droid, and the iPhone differ in their approaches--or at least in the visibility of how they work. For example, you can sync with Gmail and other services on the iPhone, but it rather perversely requires the Microsoft ActiveSync protocol.
By controlling the address book, Google and Apple effectively lock-in users to their sync service, leaving the carriers and devices to be easily replaced (minus the cancellation charges.) The user would barely notice the difference, aside from the sticker on his phone that says AT&T or Verizon.
Mobile operators do not want to cede control of the address book to Google or Apple, but they are late to the game and do not yet have sync solutions of their own. As a result, they are scrambling to add this functionality, but building a sync solution that works with all different devices and email services is no easy task, thanks to the widespread problem of device fragmentation in the industry.
One option is to deploy a white label solution, like the open mobile cloud sync offered by Funambol. Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco told me the company has been approached by many of the top mobile operators, with several of them looking to setup sync services for their customers. They all recognize the issue, and according to Capobianco can turn to Funambol as a way to quickly bring a high-quality solution to market.
With all the different players in mobile sync, users will begin to question who owns their data. Enterprise users, in particular, should have privacy concerns about trusting their data to someone else. In the case of Android users, there is a growing anti-Google sentiment, and if Google already owns your email, calendar, and search queries, do you really want them to own your phone contacts as well?
From a software and cloud perspective, the iPhone represents an ideal world of development functionality mixed with an ability to use mobile services. However, the App Store approval process and AT&T's wonky network will still prevent us from reaching nirvana.
I tried to chronicle the issues I've had, but the truth is, the service (and therefore the device itself) ranges from excellent to sporadic to unusable, so I'll just list out the broad issues for those considering a move to the 3GS.
Battery life--the battery life is abysmal. I've gone on every forum, tweaked every setting, and done several tests to see what works best. The hacks that people suggest (turn off push, 3G, and Bluetooth) defeat the purpose of the device. Users shouldn't have to handicap themselves because of a lack of attention from the manufacturer.
If Apple really wants enterprise and business users, this is the most important issue that must be resolved.
Phone --I haven't been a fan of AT&T mobile service in the past (Verizon Wireless is my carrier of choice) and it continues to range from terrible to mediocre for me. Bizarrely, the worst call quality occurs when talking to another AT&T user. I did a conference call the other day with two other iPhone users and none of use could decipher the others' words.
I gave up on the 3G network both for the battery drain and the calls that dropped after 10 minutes (I took notes for 2 days) and every call dropped. A recent survey says that 34 percent of those polled won't buy the iPhone because of AT&T's network.
... Read MoreCorrection: This report misstated which BlackBerry version recently got a big marketing push from Verizon. It was the Storm.
New data from NPD Group suggests that RIM may have caught up with some of the iPhone marketing hype, taking the top spot in U.S. consumer smartphone sales for the first quarter of 2009. The BlackBerry Curve (of which there are several models across multiple carriers) bested the iPhone for the first quarter of the year, with RIM taking three of the top five spots.
We get a lot of Apple fanboy grief here in the CNET Blog Network, but I'm a BlackBerry user. Personally, I prefer the BlackBerry keyboard and form factor but feel that the iPhone interface and applications are superior.
But more important than the applications or the interface, I need my phone to work. I want it to be able to make calls, receive calls, send e-mail, etc. The iPhone, for all its glorious features, is at best a mediocre phone with occasionally terrible coverage.
AT&T, the lone iPhone carrier in the United States, has been slow to fix network issues and slow to respond to customer complaints, and it lacks a certain amount of customer service social grace. Most of the gadgety or techie types of people I know who don't use the iPhone avoid it entirely because of AT&T.
Realistically, there should always be more BlackBerrys sold than iPhones simply because of network diversity. While the iPhone may be acceptable--even good as a business smartphone, the spotty coverage and weak customer service makes the device a questionable choice for on-the-go business users.
The Blackberry Storm got a big marketing push from Verizon that no doubt helped grow the customer base, but the Storm is not an iPhone killer.
I'm looking forward to seeing what RIM has to offer in the future, as well as seeing if/when Verizon will finally get the iPhone. Until then, I'll stick with the BlackBerrys, which, despite the occasional random java error and simplistic user interface, have served me extremely well for the last five years.
Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom
BoyGenius Report got their hands on the BlackBerry Gemini 9300, which introduces a larger screen and 3G capability to what looks very much like the existing Curve model. As a dedicated Blackberry user, this new model looks nice, but it's not that big of a thrill.
I've seen more and more long-time Blackberry users switch to the iPhone for the the user interface and App Store (while lamenting the lack of keyboard) and I have to say that as BB fan, I don't see a lot of compelling new things in recent products. Of course, that's probably OK for most users, but the gadget world is moving way too fast for RIM to put out only a few new devices on relative timescales.
The Blackberry remains the dominant enterprise mobile solution but with so many other options starting to show up, one has to wonder how long this lack of serious innovation can last.
I was checking out the Gizmodo review of the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 (formerly Javelin) and wondering why Research In Motion insists on putting the majority its new devices into the clutches of AT&T, the exclusive iPhone provider, first.
RIM recently announced an application store, as well as the new Storm, which is the BlackBerry rival of Apple's smartphone, and plans to soon release this Curve 8900. The products (and soon services) have never been better, and yet it would seem logical to use one of the carriers that doesn't have the iPhone as the point of entry.
Wouldn't it make more sense to launch the majority of devices on Verizon Wireless or Sprint, where there is no iPhone competition? Or at a minimum create some exclusivity like AT&T has with the iPhone?
Verizon is getting the Blackberry Storm first, but that's still not enough. Network issues (GSM, CDMA, etc.) can all be resolved if RIM wants them to be. This seems to be more of a marketing and product strategy issue than a technical one.
I suppose the argument is that in order to compete with the iPhone, BlackBerrys have to also be available from AT&T, but I'm not sure that such a strategy makes sense.
Anyway, Giz likes the new Curve, but the Bold still seems like a better device.
The Bold is more substantial, exuding "executive" to the Curve 8900's "middle manager," or "normal person." It's clearly more powerful, and has a bigger screen. The keyboards are way different, too--personally, I prefer the Bold's larger, squishier keys to the Curve's smaller, stiffer ones. But obviously, the biggest thing is 3G. The Bold has it; the Curve 8900 doesn't, and we missed it sorely.
Storm aside, the Bold will be on AT&T first. And users will be stuck with GSM as their only option (which I've found to be surprisingly bad in the US.) Verizon announced the BlackBerry Storm, with global 3G, to be launched this fall, there is no word on when it will actually land.
Meanwhile, the iPhone continues to get better, and people care less and less about switching to AT&T just so they can have the device. When was the last time someone switched to Verizon or Sprint to get a BlackBerry? I am sure the Storm will do well, but I doubt Verizon will get the iPhone uplift that AT&T saw in the last quarter.
I've been using a BlackBerry and Mac combo for at least five years, and it's never been particularly easy. A few years back, BlackBerry started providing PocketMac for free and it kinda works, but it's not as feature-rich as the Windows desktop and nowhere near as well-integrated as the iPhone.
Enter BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac as reported by Boy Genius on Tuesday. Hard to tell what exactly is in there, but it's nice to see that Windows-centric companies are taking the Mac seriously.
I keep flip-flopping on the iPhone. I still have the Crackberry addiction despite the fact that the iPhone is such a nice device. Too bad it's stuck on AT&T.
More pics over at Boy Genius Report. I really hope this isn't some kind of hoax.
It seems like the marketing team at RIM has figured out a way to compete with Apple's marketing prowess...leaks, leaks, leaks.
Fortunately, the items they are leaking are actually pretty cool. Via CrackBerry.com and BoyGeniusReport.com, we have the BlackBerry Storm user guide and pics of the upcoming BlackBerry Application Center--something long missing for BlackBerry users, especially amid the iPhone App Store hype.
Details remain sketchy, but Gizmodo thinks the BlackBerry App Center has some rough edges:
RIM's take on an app store is much less ambitious than Apple's for one fatal reason: the store will be run on the carrier's side, which will give your mobile provider the chance to veto an app even after it's been approved by RIM. The apps--and this is pretty weird--are actually downloaded through the device's browser, as the App Center is only able to search, monitor and delete programs from the device. Yeah, that's right: the App Center program can't directly install apps.
I still have a week to go on my iPhone test-drive. And while I have come to like the device and its functionality, I still struggle with AT&T. The ease of use and integration with the Mac desktop and the ability to get new applications are hard to fight. It would be a huge boon for BlackBerry users to have as good of a user experience.
The Crave blog discussed the upcoming Blackberry Storm launching soon on Verizon and just a few hours later a leaked version of the launch video is up on YouTube.
The Storm looks like a decent challenger to the consumer-y iPhone with all the nice Blackberry features. I'm still not convinced on the whole touchscreen thing, but it's nice to see the iPhone have some competition and RIM get a sense of design.
Via Gizmodo
