iOS: winning the US, losing the world

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by afv011

Nah, people know how to choose, that's about it.

Except Americans?

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by Graham

That only Americans can see?

Actually yes. Exactly what that is is not so easy to identify and quantify. But there ARE differences. For example, as MurrayPaul later wrote, outside of the USA prepaid/non-contract cellphones are far more prevalent than in the US. There is a social stigma attached to prepaid in the US that is slowly lifting...accelerated by challenging economic times.

Americans do view things differently than most of the world. For example: surely you recognize that American's view of automobiles is far different than European's view? That doesn't mean that one view is superior to the other, but simply that they're different.

The iPhone is now only starting to come to the prepaid arena (within the last 6 months) here in the US. I don't know how available a prepaid phone is elsewhere in the world. But Android phones are certainly exponentially more available on prepaid than iPhones are.

IF (I don't know if this is fact) iPhones were only available via contract in Europe, and Europeans are averse to signing on to a 2 year contract, that alone would explain the growth of Android vs. iPhone in Europe.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

Actually yes. Exactly what that is is not so easy to identify and quantify. But there ARE differences. For example, as MurrayPaul later wrote, outside of the USA prepaid/non-contract cellphones are far more prevalent than in the US. There is a social stigma attached to prepaid in the US that is slowly lifting...accelerated by challenging economic times.

Just to add some stats to that, an OFCOM document from last December said that more than half of all UK mobile subscriptions were PAYG.

[david_e]

.....

[Graham]

Originally Posted by david_e

hate-tards

Uncalled for. I can only see three posts in this thread that justify a 'hating' epithet, and they were early on.

Graham

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by afv011

It's up 8% in the USA.

Could this be an American thing? You know, American company, people buying American to help the economy and to wave the "made in America" flag. Only if it were made in America, that is...

As mentioned earlier, the true device cost in the USA is hidden behind massive monthly fees. The iPhone 4S costs $200 with subsidy, similar to Android flagships.

Back when the subsidy model wasn't in place, Apple had to quickly drop the price of the iPhone 4GB and 8GB by $100 (from $499 and $599 down to $399 and $499 respectively). Really, the subsidy model sucks. Not only do device prices get artificially inflated, so do monthly plans. Get rid of the subsidy model and market share for the iPhone in the US will probably drop big time.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

As mentioned earlier, the true device cost in the USA is hidden behind massive monthly fees. The iPhone 4S costs $200 with subsidy, similar to Android flagships.

Back when the subsidy model wasn't in place, Apple had to quickly drop the price of the iPhone 4GB and 8GB by $100 (from $499 and $599 down to $399 and $499 respectively). Really, the subsidy model sucks. Not only do device prices get artificially inflated, so do monthly plans. Get rid of the subsidy model and market share for the iPhone in the US will probably drop big time.

It's a choice. I never bought a subsidized phone because I don't want to take a mortgage to pay for my phone plan.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

Actually yes. Exactly what that is is not so easy to identify and quantify. But there ARE differences. For example, as MurrayPaul later wrote, outside of the USA prepaid/non-contract cellphones are far more prevalent than in the US. There is a social stigma attached to prepaid in the US that is slowly lifting...accelerated by challenging economic times.

Americans do view things differently than most of the world. For example: surely you recognize that American's view of automobiles is far different than European's view? That doesn't mean that one view is superior to the other, but simply that they're different.

The iPhone is now only starting to come to the prepaid arena (within the last 6 months) here in the US. I don't know how available a prepaid phone is elsewhere in the world. But Android phones are certainly exponentially more available on prepaid than iPhones are.

IF (I don't know if this is fact) iPhones were only available via contract in Europe, and Europeans are averse to signing on to a 2 year contract, that alone would explain the growth of Android vs. iPhone in Europe.

I love prepaid, haha. We have a variety of prepaid plans here and it does reflect the current situation but also offers consumers tons of choices. It was thanks to another local company that dared to offer unlimited plans at super low rates that finally made the big companies join in to keep up. What massive profit margins they must have!

[SeaKing]

I am a prepaid phone guy myself. That way I can judge devices on a cost basis.

Also and actually much more important, I am not paying for things I don't want or need.

The same goes for my television watching. No monthly packages.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by afv011

It's a choice. I never bought a subsidized phone because I don't want to take a mortgage to pay for my phone plan.

Unfortunately, in the US, just a year or so ago, if you wanted a decent smartphone, prepaid wasn't really an option. You pay through the nose for a monthly plan regardless of whether you get your phone subsidized or not. For some folks, prepaid still isn't an option due to lack of coverage.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

I love prepaid, haha. We have a variety of prepaid plans here and it does reflect the current situation but also offers consumers tons of choices. It was thanks to another local company that dared to offer unlimited plans at super low rates that finally made the big companies join in to keep up. What massive profit margins they must have!

I'm a big prepaid fan too. I've got an iPhone 4 on StraightTalk for $45/mo unlimited everything. And My VirginMobile Android phone is grandfathered in @ $25/mo 300min/unlimited text/unlimited data.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

I'm a big prepaid fan too. I've got an iPhone 4 on StraightTalk for $45/mo unlimited everything. And My VirginMobile Android phone is grandfathered in @ $25/mo 300min/unlimited text/unlimited data.

*sigh* Even then, $45/month per line is still expensive when you compare it to prepaid plans in other parts of the globe. I was actually relatively content with AT&T prepaid service for smartphones last year (10c/min pay-as-you-go + data add-on with rollover). I was able to stretch the $100 load for 8 months. Too bad they've eliminated data add-ons for pay as you go plans.

[dilo_sec]

Originally Posted by afv011

Looks like Apple is gaining traction in the US, but losing it pretty much everywhere else.

I think some of the figures can be explained by people waiting on Apple's Sep 12 event - the numbers may/will look different afterwards.

[holymadness]

Android handset makers are slowly committing suicide by exchanging profitability for market share in a pricing race to the bottom, not to mention the cash they pay out to Microsoft to licence patents. The only OEM that makes money from Android is Samsung and—surprise!—their phones and software are just copies of Apple products. Meanwhile, the Android ecosystem is fragmented all to hell, which explains why developers don't bother with it, which explain why 2/3rds of Android users don't pay for apps. Meanwhile, the popularity of iOS products netted Apple $11 billion last year.

Winning.

If losing to the competition looks like that, I am not sure Tim Cook minds.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Android handset makers are slowly committing suicide by exchanging profitability for market share in a pricing race to the bottom, not to mention the cash they pay out to Microsoft to licence patents. The only OEM that makes money from Android is Samsung and—surprise!—their phones and software are just copies of Apple products. Meanwhile, the Android ecosystem is fragmented all to hell, which explains why developers don't bother with it, which explain why 2/3rds of Android users don't pay for apps. Meanwhile, the popularity of iOS products netted Apple $11 billion last year.

Winning.

If losing to the competition looks like that, I am not sure Tim Cook minds.

You are living in an alternate universe in the "Twilight Zone"