
Apple still owns tablet market, but Android narrows the gap - shawndumas
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/strategy-analytics-apple-still-owns-tablet-market-but-android/
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JCB_K
" Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous
brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus and others have been driving volumes."

The Kindle Fire really shouldn't be counted as an Android device. What's next,
a press release stating Linux hits an all-time high market share, running on
devices such as the Mac, iPhone, all Android phones and the Raspberry Pi?

~~~
bad_user
First of all - the world should acknowledge that Linux, the underdog, does
power dozens of millions of Android devices.

Also, customers would probably not hold their Kindle Fires right now if it
weren't for Android. Developing an OS is an awful lot of work. And while
Amazon's intentions are to fork Android, I'm pretty sure they'll come to their
senses and just treat their version as a branch.

They'll still insist on having their own curated app store and their own
browser of course, but it will be an Android device nonetheless.

~~~
Tyrannosaurs
That's true but by the same logic the Mac is a Free BSD device. That's a
technically correct description but in terms of understanding the market it's
not that useful.

The issue with the Fire is that it's forked, that there may be future
compatibility issues, that it will never officially become an ICS device and
that those things may hold Android back in may ways (for instance app
developers always having to work to a low baseline to access the Fire users as
a potential market).

So yes it's an Android tablet but it's one that may be a mixed blessing for
Android and deserves some subtlety in the distinction.

~~~
bad_user
It remains to be seen, but I think Amazon will shoot itself in the foot if
they won't keep up with the latest versions, simply because some developers
will ignore the Kindle Fire because of this (while some will do as you say).

I'm seeing this "fork" more like that of Debian and Ubuntu: different software
bundled by default, different repository, different philosophies and policies,
different management, overlapping user-base, but for practical purposes, they
aren't that different.

~~~
Tyrannosaurs
One breakdown I saw suggested that of the 39%, 24% was Kindle and Nook (that's
an absolute 24%, not 24% of the 39%). That's a massive percentage of the
market to ignore as a developer.

~~~
bad_user
That was for tablets, right? I'm not surprised considering how shitty the
Android tablets have been.

But developers are targeting the phones first, tablets second, because a phone
is always in your pocket, always online and _everybody needs a phone_. In
December Google reported 700,000 activations per day. In 2010 alone there were
67 millions of Android devices sold, with the total number of mobile phones
sold being measured in the hundreds of millions.

So Kindle Fire does great as far as tablets go, but it can't compete in
numbers with Android phones and Android phones are targeted first, unless
you're talking about stuff like interactive eBooks that really need the bigger
screen.

I'm also seeing this happening on iPhones and iPads. Unless an app really
needs the bigger screen, then the iPad is a second class citizen to the
iPhone.

~~~
Tyrannosaurs
Yep.

That's a good point about phones leading the way. I'm guessing that in large
part that's because the number of phones (iPhones and Android) dwarfs the
number of tablets. I'm always slightly surprised at the number of apps that
don't work well on the iPad but it makes sense that you wouldn't put your
energy there, at least not in the first instance.

But for those applications that do want to develop a tablet app, it's still a
big call to exclude the single biggest selling Android tablet out there (which
is probably the Fire).

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padobson
Apple's supply chain (still thinking about it from NYT article on Sunday) is a
big reason that Android's numbers aren't even bigger.

I ordered my ASUS Transformer Prime 3 1/2 weeks ago, and Amazon says I'll
still be waiting another 2 weeks at least.

The Prime is the first true example of hardware spec superiority to the iPad
in the tablet market - granted it may only keep that position for a few
months.

However, a multiplatform operating system breeds hardware competition.
Hardware performance attracts the games market, and that is one of the
software bellwethers.

I think Android is going to continue to push the power of what we can do with
a tablet, and we're going to see a similar environment to what we have in the
PC market where Apple's offerings plateau in terms of performance much more
quickly than its Android counterparts.

~~~
tomflack
_Hardware performance attracts the games market_

The benefits of a homogeneous set of hardware far outweigh any performance
advantages of the anything goes approach. The iPad is "good enough" and
predictable.

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robinwarren
If these numbers stack up (see other comments) then any budding entrepreneurs
out there could do worse than to get into some Android development. I
appreciate the arguments about how iOS users purchase more apps but I think if
android user numbers are growing then that balance will change as the
demographics change.

Comparing the number of these tablets about with the amount of development
work available should give some idea of how many apps are being developed
currently. The stats here <http://jobstractor.com/monthly-stats> (my site)
suggest android apps could still be relatively wide open.

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noonat
Does shipments reflect the number of devices manufactured, or the number of
devices purchased by consumers? I can't see how the former matters, given the
abysmal retail failure of devices like the Playbook.

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mrich
I didn't realize Android had 40% marketshare, quite amazing! Anything that
creates competition is good for the customer.

~~~
batista
Only in the "global market".

I.e they add not only Kindle Fire (a custom version which has little to do
with Android), but every kind of junk tablet sold all around the world where
people can't afford Apple or Apple doesn't have a presence, Applestores etc.

Can we see the same numbers for the US market?

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jonrob
Does anyone else think there's something strange about these figures?

There's still more iOS tablets being sold than Android, so how did Android
manage to gain market share? Surely for that to happen, Android would have to
be selling substantially more units?

Would love to be enlightened on this!

~~~
fpgeek
They're talking about share of current sales, not share of installed base.

~~~
jonrob
Ah, current sales would make sense. Thanks for pointing it out.

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berntb
Are these numbers sell through to real buyers?

I remember high Android tablet sales in the news a year ago -- later, it was
found out they counted deliveries to shops.

