Who will win Apple or Droid?

There are many on both sides of the fence.  Some say that Android is taking over and will win this fight.  The main reason being is that it is open source.

Myself, I think that the Iphone will stay strong and Android will disappear.    

Currently they both have market share and are growing.  Android a lot faster than Iphone.   However, whilst android grows a lot faster Iphone still continues to grow s well.   I cite this as part of the recent research by the Gartner group.  http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1689814

 The big losers in this battle are Symbian and Microsoft.  Symbian as an operating system appears to be all but over and will disappear over the next year or so.  And therefore, a replacement is needed to fill this void.  Nokia has chosen Microsoft to be its next replacement for this.  But I think that it is more likely going to be android.

It will leave us with a market that is Android for the low and middle markets and Iphone for the high end.   

So, I can still see android growing and becoming a stronger presence.  But Apple Iphone will only get stronger as well.  And long term for smart phones I think it will be Iphone, not Android. 

My reasons are fairly simple and very clear and have been learnt many times over the last 4 decades of computers as to why.

Iphone is feature rich, easy to use and aspirational. Android is cheap, will do the job, but a bit harder to manoeuvre around.

Feature rich

Apps, apps, apps. Everywhere.  Iphone has them all.

Ease of use

You buy it, connect to your PC and it works. 

If you lose it, buy another one and all your apps come back to your phone without you even thinkng about it.

A new OS comes out, it is automatically updated when you sync next time.

Easy to buy and update apps.

Aspirational

It is the flagship phone worldwide.  Android is the cheap cousin that you buy when you cannot afford an Iphone. 

MP3

Remember the battle that went on between MP3 and Ipod over the last 10 years.  In the end the Ipod was the clear winner in this.  MP3’s are still sold but the market is gone for them.  And why; I feel it was the same reasons as what I have said for the Iphone.  Ease of use and aspirational.

Never over estimate your audience.

People want simple to use.  The android allows you to have too many options and you have to know what you are doing.  And there is a section of the market out there that are happy with this, as they are the geeky elelment that like to play with techno gadgets.  But the majority of people want to get a phone, download their apps and music and be on their way.  And apple allows this to occur with the minimum of fuss.

Conclusion

Iphone and Android will dominate the market and both co-exist.  Android for the lower and  middle market and Iphone for the high end.

Where will it end.  Somehow I feel it will go the same way as the MP3.  in 3 years time Android will be around, but its place may be usurped  by another operating system.  And Apple Iphone will be ruling the high end smart phone market.