Google-Apple operating system war heats up as Android overtakes Apple’s iOS

New statistics show that Google Inc.’s Android platform has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone operating system (iOS) as the companies battle for handset supremacy in a market offering both closed and open platforms. Carmi Levy, an independent telecom and media analyst in London, Ont., said in an interview that Google’s free mobile operating system is succeeding as part of the company’s business strategy of being a free “gateway” to services. “What Google wants to do is be the gateway for online services. Just as Google gives away its web services, it doesn’t charge you to use Gmail or Google search. But by getting you hooked on them, it connects you to its advertisers,” Levy said. “It is doing everything it can to spread this code to the four corners of the world.” Google offers its mobile operating system free to any manufacturer that will be part of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of about 80 technology and mobile companies that seek to accelerate mobile innovation on the Android platform. In 2010, Google’s Android operating system had the highest growth rate of any smartphone platform, at 57 per cent month-to-month, according to Cisco System Inc.’s 2011 Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, released last week. Also last week, another new report from U.S. research firm Gartner Inc. said that, in the competition for market share, the Android operating system has overtaken Apple’s iOS and Research and Motion Ltd.’s operating system on BlackBerrys. The Feb. 9 report said that, in 2010, 67,224,500 Android phones sold, amounting to 22.7 per cent of the market. That number increased from only a 3.9 per cent market share in 2009, or the sale of 6,798,400 Android units. In 2010, RIM sold 47,451,600 units for 16 per cent of the market and Apple sold 46,598,300 for 15.7 per cent, Gartner said. Nokia’s Symbian platform, which like the RIM and Apple operating systems is not open source, held the top ranking with 111,576,700 units sold in 2010, amounting to 37.6 market share. Levy said Android will continue to grow because it appeals to new users entering the smartphone market. “Google has gone from zero to 60 much faster than any smartphone vendor has ever accomplished. This reinforces just how rapidly an open source strategy can drive adoption and growth,” Levy said. ‘ are looking for a full-featured phone at a good price that is available from their carrier in a relatively stress-free transaction. Google has positioned itself very well to be front-and-centre when people walk into a retail store the next time they want to upgrade their phone.” Cisco also reported that, overall, Apple’s iOS experienced a higher use rate than Android in 2010, but that its growth rate averaged at only 2.5 per cent monthly. The Android operating system is popular amongst technology hobbyists and computer programmers because the open source code allows for continuous development and personalization. News reports say that Apple is working on a new, less expensive version of the iPhone, called the “iPhone Mini” or the “iPhone Nano,” to compete against the march of cheaper, Android-enabled smartphones. Bloomberg reported last week that the new Apple smartphone would retail for about $200 contract-free and may be unveiled this summer. “Instead of targeting 25 per cent of the global mobile-phone market, Apple would be going after 100 per cent,” Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, told Bloomberg. Sean P. Aune, editor-in-chief of American technology website TechnoBuffalo.com, said in an interview that Android’s more open system doesn’t necessarily make it more consumer friendly. “It’s open and you can do whatever you want, but your average consumer isn’t going to do anything with it other than go into an app store and download some apps,” he said. “While there is a drawback of Apple controlling everything that goes into iOS, that also creates an ease for the user because they know that everything is going to work,” Aune said. Aune said there are cases of manufacturers halting Android updates on handsets once they stop selling them, leaving users stuck with out-of-date versions of the operating system. “With Android, there is a fragmentation of the marketplace because there are so many different versions of Android and not every manufacturer is updating Android at all times,” he said. Chris Carter, business development manager of Toronto mobile application developer Silentblast Interactive, said in an interview that Android could present itself as a potential security hurdle for Google. Unlike Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry, many users have access to the Android software and code. “With closed source and propriety language and technology, where the creators of the operating system are also creators of the device, it’s always easier to meet the demands of privacy and security,” he said. Carter said he predicts the next big wave in the mobile market will be using handsets for financial transactions. “You will be able to use your phone as a scanner to perform virtual financial transactions … It will be a significant security hurdle to allow financial-based transactions, certainly with the larger financial institutions, like banks.” Levy said he agrees security could be a challenge for Google, but it won’t be impossible to overcome. The company will not leave security at the door as it pursues both consumer and corporate markets, he said. “The highly secure corporate market isn’t owned by Research In Motion. It’s preferred, to a certain extent, by those to whom security is most important, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily always going to be the case,” Levy said. Aune said that even though the Android platform is open source, Google still has control over it. “Android is not the same type of open source technology as something like Linux for desktops, where anyone can go in and make changes and release new versions of it. With Android, all of the versions are coming directly out of Google, so they are controlling any of the security issues that pop up,” he said. Aune said he does not believe Apple or RIM will move towards open source. “They are so locked into their own operating systems, I can’t see them letting anyone else mess around .” Wendy Bairos Rozeluk, a spokeswoman for Google in Toronto, said by email that developers like Android because they can give users “what they want” and manufacturers like it because the can “differentiate their phones.” She said the platform is constantly being improved and that it “helps connect people to the web. Increased Android adoption means more web searches and more opportunities or advertising revenue and growth, which is not only good for users, it's also good for Google.” asmith@thewirereport.ca

Google-Apple operating system war heats up as Android overtakes Apple’s iOS

News | February 14, 2011

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