I was having a discussion about smartphone sales the other day -- why yes, I do lead that kind of exciting, thrill-packed life -- and in particular the inevitable Android vs Apple bit came up. It's the elephant in the room, especially as Android sales have increased over time. Equally inevitably, somebody in the discussion made the statement that Android sales were increasing and Apple's were decreasing due to people being "sick" of Apple's walled garden ecosystem approach.

I'm not sure I totally agree. Oh, the figures don't lie; there are growing numbers of Android handsets out there, to be sure, and there's undoubtedly a few that have made the Apple to Android jump specifically because of Apple's mantra of control, control, control.
Equally, Apple's success with the iPhone has been nothing short of phenomenal; it was only a few short years ago that the target Apple was chasing was RIM, not Google. That's especially true in Australia, but once you've reached that metaphorical sales peak, where else is there to go?

But in the mass market? I'm not so easily convinced. There's some stellar Android handsets out there -- Samsung's Galaxy S III, HTC's One X/XL and Nokia's Lumia 800 spring easily to mind -- and for the mass market they're very good iPhone alternatives.

But that, I think, is the key. They're entirely alternative handsets. That's a good thing -- I'd much rather have a range of choices when I'm looking for a new phone, and I think the mass market would too.

Buy a Galaxy S III, and you're not just getting Android; you're also getting a larger screen and a different physical phone. Likewise with the HTC, or the Nokia, or, indeed, any given smartphone. I've seen plenty of consumers coo over a particular model of phone in-store, but from what they're saying, make it perfectly clear that the operating system isn't a key factor in their purchasing decisions.

If they can't identify the operating system, what are the odds that they're switching phones to "get away" from Apple?

Image: MJ/TR (´･ω･)