Android Is World's Biggest Smartphone OS

[Ben]

Google's Android mobile operating system has unseated Nokia's Symbian as the world's biggest smartphone OS by shipments after staggering 615% growth year-on-year for Q4 2010.

This is, perhaps, unsurprising when the sheer volume of manufacturers shipping Android is factored in, none of which ship more devices than Nokia itself. Still, it has finally happened - Symbian has been unseated.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/softwa...t-Mobile-OS/p1

[Hands0n]

This is, I think, good news. Regardless of it's history the plain fact is that Symbian has had it's day. It is no longer relevant.

My own direct experience with Symbian^3 over the past couple of weeks with the flagship Nokia N8 has been one of utter frustration. It was like slipping into some kind of time warp and I really do not care if I never repeat the experience.

Android is a formidable vehicle for manufacturers to get product speedily to Market. As an OS in its own right it ranks with the best of breed, let down only by hardware that is not yet up to the demands of that OS. The dual core devices in the pipeline for 2011 availability are likely to address this final hurdle.

Android can only carry on up.

[miffed]

Wow - Microsoft sure are giving "others" a run for their money !!

[Ben]

You mean with that encouraging year-on-year decline? Har, I'm sure they'll make a go of it eventually, they surely can't concede the entire mobile space to, gulp, Google and Apple!

[Hands0n]

That may just be what happens in fact. At least in the primary retail sector. Corporate may change to the WP7 devices once they get a better commitment from Microsoft who seem to have told the enterprise zone to stay with WM 6.5! But then again, maybe not - the WP7 devices are currently quite expensive and there are not too many different models about. Although it is admittedly very early days for the OS and its devices.

[miffed]

^^ This is the major problem with WP7 IMO , there appears to be no "entry level" device , - While Apple didn't offer an entry level iPhone , they did have the iPod touch which enabled people to test the water , and Android (once it gathered a little momentum) offered devices like the T-mobile pulse and others in the A

[3GScottishUser]

Rumour today in the Sunday Times is that Nokia may offer Android on some top end handsets. So what happened to WM7? Maybe they will offer both?

[The Mullet of G]

This is, I think, good news. Regardless of it's history the plain fact is that Symbian has had it's day. It is no longer relevant.

My own direct experience with Symbian^3 over the past couple of weeks with the flagship Nokia N8 has been one of utter frustration. It was like slipping into some kind of time warp and I really do not care if I never repeat the experience.

Android is a formidable vehicle for manufacturers to get product speedily to Market. As an OS in its own right it ranks with the best of breed, let down only by hardware that is not yet up to the demands of that OS. The dual core devices in the pipeline for 2011 availability are likely to address this final hurdle.

Android can only carry on up.

That is a personal opinion that is clearly not supported by the market data available. Despite the fact there is about a billion different manufacturers making Android handsets, the combined sales were only a couple of million more than Nokia/Symbian, thats hardly impressive considering.

If Symbian is no longer relevant, then surely it would have sold hardly any units, instead it obliterated sales of iPhone and managed to sell almost as many as a billion different Android handset manufacturers combined. Also if Symbian is no longer relevant then why did Nokia sell almost 10 million more Symbian handsets this quarter than it did in the same quarter last year? Surely sales of hardware bearing an OS that is no longer relevant would be going down, not up?

Please take the time to answer these questions rather than the usual attempts at side stepping.

[Ben]

How can you wax so lyrical about an OS that has plummeting market share vs others that have growing, and in the case of Android rapidly so, share?

Of course Symbian sales aren't going to cease overnight. But the market is growing far quicker than Nokia's sales are, suggesting, no, confirming that Nokia are losing ground in the smartphone space.

I couldn't say whether or not Symbian is relevant any longer as I haven't used it recently. It's certainly still out there, and as you've observed sales of Symbian devices are still increasing. But it's groundbreaking that the world's first smartphone OS has now been superseded in terms of market share - Google Android is the new king, and many, many manufacturers have been flung into the public consciousness to boot.

[Hands0n]

That is a personal opinion that is clearly not supported by the market data available. Despite the fact there is about a billion different manufacturers making Android handsets, the combined sales were only a couple of million more than Nokia/Symbian, thats hardly impressive considering.

If Symbian is no longer relevant, then surely it would have sold hardly any units, instead it obliterated sales of iPhone and managed to sell almost as many as a billion different Android handset manufacturers combined. Also if Symbian is no longer relevant then why did Nokia sell almost 10 million more Symbian handsets this quarter than it did in the same quarter last year? Surely sales of hardware bearing an OS that is no longer relevant would be going down, not up?

Please take the time to answer these questions rather than the usual attempts at side stepping.

Blimey! Of course it is a personal opinion - and one borne of my own direct, practical, hands on experience of Symbian^3, Nokia's shiny new version of the OS, running on their N8, supposed flagship handset of 2010/11. And seriously, if that is the best that Nokia can do then they need to just get on with manufacturing their handsets for the Third World because the West are clearly turning their backs on the product.

I really do not care if Nokia sold 20 million, or 20 billion, of their handsets with dodgy hardware quality and even worse operating systems rooted in the 1990s. We are now in 2011 and a very evidently growing market is in modern devices capable of delivering Internet-born services to the customers. The same customers who are getting more savvy with each iteration. Out of some 50-odd people that I know who have bought new handsets in the past 18 months only one has got themselves a Nokia N8 - and is now bitterly regretting it and (in his own words) will continue to do so.

I think that anyone with eyes can see that Nokia's market share in this genre of mobile device is eroding. There is even talk, unsubstantiated, of Nokia about to take on Windows Phone 7 OS to prop up their flagging sales in this arena.

So yes, for me and a great many people in the world Symbian^3 is utterly irrelevant. It does not compare or deliver like iOS or Android does today. The chances are that Symbian is incapable of catching up, let alone overtaking these modern OS.

[miffed]

Out of some 50-odd people that I know who have bought new handsets in the past 18 months only one has got themselves a Nokia N8 - and is now bitterly regretting it and (in his own words) will continue to do so.

Ah , you need to explain to him that "That is a personal opinion that is clearly not supported by the market data available" , I am sure he'll feel much better about his purchase then.

[The Mullet of G]

How can you wax so lyrical about an OS that has plummeting market share vs others that have growing, and in the case of Android rapidly so, share?

Of course Symbian sales aren't going to cease overnight. But the market is growing far quicker than Nokia's sales are, suggesting, no, confirming that Nokia are losing ground in the smartphone space.

I couldn't say whether or not Symbian is relevant any longer as I haven't used it recently. It's certainly still out there, and as you've observed sales of Symbian devices are still increasing. But it's groundbreaking that the world's first smartphone OS has now been superseded in terms of market share - Google Android is the new king, and many, many manufacturers have been flung into the public consciousness to boot.

You might want to check that market data you linked in your first post, as Gartner and IDC are disputing those figures, they say Symbian is still the market leader and despite the fact Android handsets outsold Nokia's Symbian devices, when you factor in Symbian phones from other manufactures it actually outsold Android by 44 million units. That right there is why I can wax lyrical about it.

Considering Nokia went from having no competition to facing fierce competition, I think your use of the word "plummeting" is somewhat odd, especially given how slowly Nokia's market share is actually declining in the face of said competition.

So with that in mind Symbian is still king and I'll just be sitting over there ----> looking super smug about it.

Blimey! Of course it is a personal opinion - and one borne of my own direct, practical, hands on experience of Symbian^3, Nokia's shiny new version of the OS, running on their N8, supposed flagship handset of 2010/11. And seriously, if that is the best that Nokia can do then they need to just get on with manufacturing their handsets for the Third World because the West are clearly turning their backs on the product.

I really do not care if Nokia sold 20 million, or 20 billion, of their handsets with dodgy hardware quality and even worse operating systems rooted in the 1990s. We are now in 2011 and a very evidently growing market is in modern devices capable of delivering Internet-born services to the customers. The same customers who are getting more savvy with each iteration. Out of some 50-odd people that I know who have bought new handsets in the past 18 months only one has got themselves a Nokia N8 - and is now bitterly regretting it and (in his own words) will continue to do so.

I think that anyone with eyes can see that Nokia's market share in this genre of mobile device is eroding. There is even talk, unsubstantiated, of Nokia about to take on Windows Phone 7 OS to prop up their flagging sales in this arena.

So yes, for me and a great many people in the world Symbian^3 is utterly irrelevant. It does not compare or deliver like iOS or Android does today. The chances are that Symbian is incapable of catching up, let alone overtaking these modern OS.

Show me the actual data to back up this statement that the West is turning its back on Symbian or Nokia or any of your other statements, you keep making statements but provide no evidence to back any of them up, and when your challenged about it you sidestep and generally try and avoid the questions, this tactic is futile and I'm not buying it.

The rest of your post follows the same pattern, more sidestepping than an 80's pop video, complete with anecdotal evidence that again isn't backed up with any actual data other than "this guy you know bought one" kinda thing, in fact the actual real data tells the opposite story.

If your going to share your opinions then do so, but don't try and pass them off as facts, or I reserve the right to challenge them robustly.

Ah , you need to explain to him that "That is a personal opinion that is clearly not supported by the market data available" , I am sure he'll feel much better about his purchase then.

Ok...maybe someone should tell the millions of happy Nokia N8 owners that they should hate their phones because this one guy that HandsOn knows didn't like it.

[miffed]

*chortle*

https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.p...-platform-memo

[Hands0n]

The "data" is widely available to read on almost every single website or blog that discusses Nokia. Elop himself realises that Nokia have lost their grip and is introducing key changes to the company and strategic direction. If, however, there are those who wish to persist in the belief that Nokia is bang on track, that there is no impact to their sales figures, that their tarted up but nevertheless legacy smartphone OS is relevant, well that is all well and good. It is their opinion and I would not challenge it other than to suggest reading the material that is out there.

Millions of happy Nokia N8 owners? Jeez, and I get accused of passing off opinion as fact. Pot, kettle, black methinks - smiley or no smiley.

[Ben]

When the Nokia CEO says their "platform is on fire" it's time to stop defending Symbian, and Nokia's past few years generally.

[3GScottishUser]

Android has now overtaken Blackberry in the USA for shipments and Tesco UK have stated that Android now outsells Apple OS in their stores.

It'll be interesting to see what the new and improved versions do for Android in 2011.

[Ben]

Indeed it will be interesting to watch the continued rise of Android.

Yet, and I could be wrong, it seems to me that Android is not eating into iOS market share. The slew of 'reasonably priced' Android handsets is actually cannibalising the dumbphone market.

The smartphone market is growing rapidly. But this too has its subdivisions, and Android does not rule them all.