

China Now Leads the World in New iOS and Android Device Activations - kopsai
http://blog.flurry.com/bid/83261/China-Now-Leads-the-World-in-New-iOS-and-Android-Device-Activations

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edwinnathaniel
Will this also increase the piracy number of paid apps?

One segment of the app market that will definitely rise to a new level is
online game that support virtual currency. I know many people in Asia (not
just in China) are not shy to open their wallet for virtual items but still
resort to piracy when it comes to regular games (NFS on iPod/iPad, etc) and
apps.

There are businesses in Asia that specialized in jail-breaking your devices
and stock them with pirated software and the service is dirt cheap.

Imagine the following scenario: you bring your newly bought iPod/iPad to a
store, you pick 10 games for $3 bucks total (numbers are there for
illustrative purpose), you leave your devices there for 1 hour or so while
mommy goes shopping, come back and have everything there!

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beatle
There are two types of consumers.

-People who are willing to spend a lot of money on a device they love (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch) will spend money on apps.

-People who got their 2nd-rate, poorly built device ( _most_ android devices) for free from their carrier or for $50 from a flea market. They are not going to spend money on apps and are most likely to pirate apps/content.

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huggyface
_There are two types of consumers._

There are two types of commentators-

-People who naively bisect a hugely complex, graduated marketplace

-People who understand it's far more involved than that.

Seriously, though, I think it's a bit perverse to see all of the proud
boasting about the spend of iOS owners -- _it often amounts to less than $100
per user, where $2.99 is considered an expensive app_. Is this _really_ the
future that developers were hoping for? Dancing for pennies, hoping to be that
incredibly rare break-out viral hit?

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beatle
let me guess. you're a web developer threatened by the explosion of apps on
mobile devices?

~~~
huggyface
Your original comment was the sort of partisan garbage that HN does not need
(leave it to the Engadget comments), and I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
Now, however, your stripes are a little too obvious.

~~~
beatle
pls. answer the question. it will give us perspective of where you're coming
from (why you hate apps).

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huggyface
Are you this boorish in real life?

I don't "hate apps" at all, and your claim to that effect makes you look a
little juvenile, continuing your bizarre "bisect the world" fetish.
Nonetheless in a discussion where you herald the spend of iOS buyers (the
devices are "expensive"? They are some of the least expensive options in their
respective realms), it is kind of humorous considering the actual reality that
most iOS users in aggregate spend very little. Just tried to load up my new
iPad and it was actually difficult to get much past $75...a few days ago I
spent $600 on Vegas Pro for the PC.

~~~
beatle
I apologize.

Anyway, how about books/song/movie purchases?

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nextparadigms
This will increase Android's lead over iOS. Samsung's lead is over 3x bigger
than Apple's in China, and it keeps growing. Apple only has about 7% market
share there.

~~~
Steko
What we've seen in the US is that Android's market share lead eroded as the
iPhone became available on more carriers. You may expect that trend to
continue as they fill out tiers they aren't competing on.

Considering that not being on China Mobile in China is the equivalent in the
US of being exclusive with Sprint... you'd imagine the same thing will happen
in China once "the new iPhone" comes out with China Mobile.

Which isn't to say Apple will win China's market share, they'll probably still
trail but their disadvantage is less then you're suggesting here except in the
short term.

[edit] Even in the short term I doubt it's accurate because iPhone just
launched on China Telecom in the last two weeks so that effect has yet to be
fully seen. [/edit]

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usaar333
That's really not true.

Here's the graph: [http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/09/ios-marketshare-up-
from-26-...](http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/09/ios-marketshare-up-
from-26-in-q3-to-43-in-octnov-2011/)

The iPhone started selling on Verizon in Q1. There was a small dip in relative
Android sales, but not many. The only time the iPhone came close to Android in
sales was Q4 2011 after nearly 1.3 years of pent up demand for an upgrade.

Edit: Looking at graph again, in Q1 2011 android:iphone sales ratio
significantly decreased. Android went from a 2.5:1 to just under 2:1

In China, a poorer country, I'd suspect Apple will never come close due to its
large premium over medium-end Android devices.

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Steko
Your graph directly supports my assertion:

Android had a 34% market share lead in Q4 2010 and a 22% lead in the iP4
launch quarter prior.

After opening on Verizon at highest tier only in Feb 2011, that lead "eroded"
immediately to 24% and 23% for the following quarters.

Q3 and Q4 2011 it's well known that iphone sales lagged waiting the new phone
and then surged but taking these quarters together you get a gap around
19-20%.

How is that "really not true" to say that Android's lead eroded when that's
exactly what your chart shows?

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usaar333
Sorry, I was interpreting your word 'erode' as sharper than I should have
interpreted and was looking at Android market share among all platforms. You
are correct; after the Verizon launch, the ratio of Android:iPhone sales fell
significantly.

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Steko
This is why I love HN; you sir win the internets and my upvotes today.

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mromanuk
I should consider translating my game to Mandarin :)

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zht
Or even better Simplified Chinese which people of all Chinese dialects on the
mainland can read.

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pixelcort
From my understanding, Mandarin is a spoken dialect and there is no such thing
as "written Mandarin." Simplified Chinese is one of two common written forms
of Chinese.

~~~
newsoundwave
That's basically correct, although there are certain phrases and grammatical
patterns that don't quite match up in Mandarin/Cantonese - most will try to
avoid those.

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misterhaywood
duh.

