Will Google’s Android operating system suffer from Verizon’s recent iPhone acquirement?
AT&T’s exclusive-until-now agreement with Apple has meant that tech-hungry Verizon loyalists turned en masse to Android and Blackberry devices to cater to their smartphone needs. Recent figures have shown Android making rapid gains in market share in the past six months, mainly at the expense of Blackberry.
The pricing and specs of Android smartphones are comparable with the iPhone, but the battle between their respective fans often seems to have more to do with subjective factors and personal preference than actual technical superiority. Both phones perform similar functions involving music, wireless internet access, and applications, though proponents of either will gladly nitpick about the specifics.
Many suspect that the addition of the iPhone to Verizon’s roster will steer new buyers and upgrade-eligible customers away from the Android. Some believe that the Verizon iPhone may steal away around two million Android phone sales in the coming year.
So, how many folks have been unwilling to give up their Verizon wireless to get an iphone? I was one of those people. Now I am not sure I even want one. I think I am at the point where I want my phone to make phone calls. I also like the slide out querty keyboards. Iphone doesn’t have one. Will Verizon iphone hurt the Droids and the blackberries? Is the iphone just a small ipad that makes phone calls? What can an iphone do that an ipad can’t do? I can only think of 2 things: make phone calls and take pictures.
So tonight’s the night. Orders for the new verizon iphone start being taken at 3 am for existing customers. Who will be taking the plunge?
The one issue I have with the above is the ease in which you can h4x0r an Android phone and have fun with it.. They ain’t bad little phones but I wouldn’t maintain anything on them that was ‘private’ if you know what I mean. 😉
MH, have you tried the Torch? My wife LOVES her’s but while she wanted the slide out keyboard.. she almost never uses it.
Who makes the torch? I want the slide out keyboard even though I rarely use mine also. I know its there on my envtouch. It makes no sense. It is like a security blanket.
How does Android compare with iphone as far as hacking goes?
I thought this was the day I would live for but….I have an ipad. I just don’t think I need an iphone now. Plus I have a hard time reading cell phones. I canceled web capabilities on the one I have. I couldnt read it.
Torch is made by Blackberry. http://us.blackberry.com/smartphones/blackberrytorch/
A good portion of the security conference in DC was about remote compromise of the Andriod platform (Android is basically a rehash of the Linux Operating System) and abuse of the Google App system [to get free stuff]. A colleague mentioned the ability to ‘push’ an app to a target smartphone. That has fun written all over it.
Interestingly, the guys slaughtering the Androids we’re all using Mac’s and iPhones….
I’m not a Mac fan but the iPhone is very tight. I’m impressed.
Verizon would be nice to have as a network for my iPhone but I get a 15% discount on my fee with AT&T…that’s hard to give up.
IPad2 is supposedly going to have front and rear facing cameras, and you can use Skype to video conference and if you have the right version, you will be able to use Verizon’s data base. Of course, you mihgt want to wait another year until IPad 3 comes out with even more bells and whistles.
George, what do you mean about using Verizon’s data base?
@Moon-howler
You better ask s omeone who know more about this st uff than I do–I’m just parroting what I read on some site.
@Moon-howler
The IPad2 is supposed to have a dual core–CDMA/GSM, which allows it to be used on Verizon or AT&T. Now they have two different IPads and they cannot on each other’s parent system. Verizon uses CDMA and AT&T uses GSM. The IPad2 would be able to use either carrier.
Sort of. The current beta build of iOS there appears to be three entries for the iPad2 in the device configuration tree. Although they’re not labeled as such it would be logical for the three models to be WiFi, CDMA and GSM. Qualcomm has a low voltage hybrid CDMA/GSM chip, but it’s still in field trials. We could probably see a hybrid device late summer, but given the fact that Apple wants to launch iPad2 by April at the latest I doubt we get it this time around.
Verizon has cut off presales to existing customers after 1 day. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Posted same on FB but not everyone here is a friend. 🙂
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/02/att-to-some-iphone-users-stay-with-us-and-get-a-free-microcell.ars
The microcell is basically a mini repeater/cell tower for your home/car/whatever. So if you are in a deadspot, plug in the device and you can use your cell phone normally.
iPad2 sounds interesting but I’m going to hold out till 3. I did the same with iPhone where my first purchase was the iPhone 3G.
The problem with these things is that while the changes to the next generation are sometimes subtle, they are sometimes exponential. It’s kinda like buy a car today and then find the same car in the paper tomorrow for less. I have a four year old phone that takes still pictures and video, sends and receives text and I can make calls. If I wanted to subscribe to a service, I could do the internet, but at this point in my life there ain’t nothing that exciting and I am not so indispensible that people are clamoring to get my opinion about something.
@marinm
Very interesting. What this really shows you that all the AT&T advertising about being the best provider is baloney and has been for a loooonnnnngggg time. Consumer Reports continues to rate Verizon as the best is almost everywhere, but I can tell you that even though Verizon is big in Maine–there are a lot of wireless deserts there. Does anyone else offer thse mini-repeaters?
@George S. Harris
Yes, do a google (or bing) for Verizon and femtocell (you can also wiki femtocell to see what it is – basically just a cell signal booster).
I brought up the idea of mounting on of those along with our own WAP within our mobile command platform so that VDF officers could have a network to work with/on without having to spare a few people to lay cable during an incident. We got approval for the WAP which the state didn’t pay for.
Agreed with #11. I tend not to be a SOTA (State of the Art) fan boy as it’s too expensive and a pain the minute you go with the wrong tech/standard.
Or, of course you could be a real pain and instead of a booster you can build a jammer. Very, very, very illegal but would be fun to watch when you flip the switch at a METRO station. 😉