[gollum18]

Give this a read. It has some good points, and bashes both on apple and Google while praising them for some things.



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[teerone]

Pretty interesting stuff.
I don't agree on the point of android being "cheap" yes there are cheap android phones, but its more of a value not cheap.
Cheap is what you get when you buy a china knock off..

[Lanhoj]

I think initially yes it sold like crazy because they were significantly cheaper than iPhones but that's no longer the case as-of devices launching with ICS & up so this article isn't relevant.
It should have been titled "People USE to buy Androids because they WERE cheaper".

[Ry]

More relevant in the early days of Android. Less relevant in 2013.

iPhones cover the same price points as Android devices now.

But if people continue with the mindset that iPhones are expensive, Android will never shake the "Android is cheap" myth/stigma.

[paul-c]

Yeah, the price tag for the 2013 stuff is decidedly not cheap at all.

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[Shadowriver]

Android as a system is not even cheap.... its free ; p so as result phones are cheaper in production and more money can be spend on hardware

[megamaster5]

My phone was.. pretty pricey. And it is also good.

[Dark Penguin]

My phone was.. pretty pricey. And it is also good.

Exactly. Comparing Android devices to iPhones doesn't tell us much, because Android devices range from cheap to expensive, and vary accordingly in capacity, specs, and performance. By comparison, all iPhones are expensive, assuming we're not talking about aftermarket or other private transactions. So it's rather like comparing apples and oranges.

[Ry]

Exactly. Comparing Android devices to iPhones doesn't tell us much, because Android devices range from cheap to expensive, and vary accordingly in capacity, specs, and performance. By comparison, all iPhones are expensive, assuming we're not talking about aftermarket or other private transactions. So it's rather like comparing apples and oranges.

lol.

[xlDeMoNiClx]

Exactly. Comparing Android devices to iPhones doesn't tell us much, because Android devices range from cheap to expensive, and vary accordingly in capacity, specs, and performance. By comparison, all iPhones are expensive, assuming we're not talking about aftermarket or other private transactions. So it's rather like comparing apples and oranges.

Not entirely true. The S3 actually had a higher price than the iphone did when it was released I believe.

[Seronac]

Exactly. Comparing Android devices to iPhones doesn't tell us much, because Android devices range from cheap to expensive, and vary accordingly in capacity, specs, and performance. By comparison, all iPhones are expensive, assuming we're not talking about aftermarket or other private transactions. So it's rather like comparing apples and oranges.

Or, Apples and Androids, as the case may be.

I agree with other posters. Perhaps in the beginning, people did buy Android devices because they had lower prices than iOS devices, even if quality and usability wasn't up to par, but that is no longer true. Current Android devices have a wide range of prices, but the Android OS has experienced consistent and significant improvements to quality and usability. I've been using Android since Froyo, on a number of devices, and now find iOS devices to be almost primitive in comparison. The Gizmodo writer is clearly biased, and not treating the subject fairly.

[Shadowriver]

Or, Apples and Androids, as the case may be.

I agree with other posters. Perhaps in the beginning, people did buy Android devices because they had lower prices than iOS devices, even if quality and usability wasn't up to par, but that is no longer true. Current Android devices have a wide range of prices, but the Android OS has experienced consistent and significant improvements to quality and usability. I've been using Android since Froyo, on a number of devices, and now find iOS devices to be almost primitive in comparison. The Gizmodo writer is clearly biased, and not treating the subject fairly.

Well we don't have percentage shere of android phones, there ton of cheap Android phones, and they might be the one that drives the numbers.

But the real reason why Android is gaining more numbers is not either price or quality but of large number of different models and Apple whatever you they do they won't able to beat it. People here seem to easily forget about mid-range and low-range phones (some even shock that they exist like with Galaxy S3 Mini).... including older iPhones that Apple sal..... i mean give for free under contract... so price seem not matter

[Julie Edwards]

My S3 is quite good.

[_X_]

Give this a read. It has some good points, and bashes both on apple and Google while praising them for some things.



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There is nothing ever good about gizmo they are extremely biased towards Apple. Case in point look at the tile.Their premise is offensive, I picked Android over Apple because it ess as a better product

[nolittdroid]

Apple has done a spectacular job of feeding the massive with its one size fits all iPhone...that is comparable to a rooted droid from 2 years ago. They're sour because Samsung won't supply them with innards anymore.

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[xlDeMoNiClx]

There is nothing ever good about gizmo they are extremely biased towards Apple. Case in point look at the tile.Their premise is offensive, I picked Android over Apple because it ess as a better product

Almost every tech Site is biased towards Apple. CNet is one of the worst.

This is from me, on my EVO 3D.

[sting7k]

I don' think is really news. It's practically Windows and Mac OS all over again. The only real difference being the business models this time.

[Unicorn Rancher]

It's a false dichotomy. Cost is one of the reasons people buy Honda cars but that doesn't mean they're not good.

[Shadowriver]

It's a false dichotomy. Cost is one of the reasons people buy Honda cars but that doesn't mean they're not good.

Great this starts to reminds me game console fanboy wars ; p

[xlDeMoNiClx]

Great this starts to reminds me game console fanboy wars ; p

Those were the days. :P

[Shadowriver]

Those were the days. :P

They still are maybe it' smaller in community but hoter then iOS vs Android as it is 4-way war (4th player are PC gamers that hate consoles overall)

I remember people referencing cars there too XD

[xlDeMoNiClx]

They still are maybe it' smaller in community but hoter then iOS vs Android as it is 4-way war (4th player are PC gamers that hate consoles overall)

I remember people referencing cars there too XD

Lol oh yes. I'm personally a PC gamer but it's funny to watch.

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[vienna01]

The iPhone story is easier for non-techie folks to understand.
It's confusing to folks- Android: different flavors[Jellybean, Ice Cream ...] by different manufacturers and with different hardware configs.
Of course folks who are price sensitive select lower priced Android based devices after they find out the Apple prices.
They really wanted an iPhone and settled for Android because they could afford it.
They see the "free" or "$99+" HW cost with a 2 year subscription as a great deal.
They don't calculate how much more the subscription will cost them over 2 years.
Because Apple charges carriers most of the list price for resale of an iPhone, carriers can't offer the iPhone for $99, or such. Apple squeezes carriers because they can-NOW.
Consider how long it took before Verizon decided to sell iPhones. They finally had to do so because ATT did. Same story for Sprint.
I think things are changing.
Samsung is beginning to gain market share. Samsung doesn't squeeze the last possible dollar out of carriers.They want a good return plus growing market share.
Non-techie folks are beginning to equate DROID with quality. This is reinforced when they find the DROIDs are affordable[ or more affordable]
Even as an Apple OSX user[Macintosh] I selected the Nexus 10 for quality of integration, capability, "openness" and because like Apple, the HW is controlled by the same company [Google] as the software. It is much easier to assure things work if you control both HW & SW.

[Ry]

The iPhone story is easier for non-techie folks to understand.
It's confusing to folks- Android: different flavors[Jellybean, Ice Cream ...] by different manufacturers and with different hardware configs.
Of course folks who are price sensitive select lower priced Android based devices after they find out the Apple prices.
They really wanted an iPhone and settled for Android because they could afford it.
They see the "free" or "$99+" HW cost with a 2 year subscription as a great deal.
They don't calculate how much more the subscription will cost them over 2 years.
Because Apple charges carriers most of the list price for resale of an iPhone, carriers can't offer the iPhone for $99, or such. Apple squeezes carriers because they can-NOW.
Consider how long it took before Verizon decided to sell iPhones. They finally had to do so because ATT did. Same story for Sprint.
I think things are changing.
Samsung is beginning to gain market share. Samsung doesn't squeeze the last possible dollar out of carriers.They want a good return plus growing market share.
Non-techie folks are beginning to equate DROID with quality. This is reinforced when they find the DROIDs are affordable[ or more affordable]
Even as an Apple OSX user[Macintosh] I selected the Nexus 10 for quality of integration, capability, "openness" and because like Apple, the HW is controlled by the same company [Google] as the software. It is much easier to assure things work if you control both HW & SW.

- An iPhone can be had at the free-on-contract and $99-on-contract price points.

- Um. What's Samsung's market share again?

- Samsung is a business. All business have to squeeze out as much as they can.

- DROID is a Verizon brand licensed from Lucas.

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