iPhone Still Outperforming Android, Jobs Says
The iPhone versus Android battle is in full swing now that Android phones are multiplying and Apple has released the new iPhone. And Apple CEO Steve Jobs took time to point out that, contrary to reports that Android was ahead, the iPhone is still on top.
The news came during Jobs' announcement of the iPhone 4 today. Before getting to the phone itself, Jobs rebutted some reports that Android had larger market share than the iPhone .
"There have been a lot of stats floating around, market research, studies. Some are okay, some are questionable," he said.
Jobs then cited a Nielsen report that revealed RIM (maker of BlackBerry smartphones) has 35 percent of U.S. marketshare, iPhone has 28 percent, Windows has 19 percent and Android has 9 percent.
"Nielsen said we're over three times the marketshare of Android," Jobs said. "Here's another one: mobile browser usage. iPhone is at 58.2 percent and Android is at 22.7 percent. That may help you put things in perspective."
Jobs taking time out of the iPhone announcement , not to tout iPhone marketshare but to specifically rebut claims that Android was overtaking iPhone, is a reflection of the growing battle between the iPhone and Android.
"The gap is closing between Android and iPhone as the number of Android handsets explodes. Android is affecting the iPhone market, and Apple can't deny that [Android] is competitive. Android handsets are everywhere, on every carrier and at every price point. You can't help but consider Android if you're looking for a smartphone," said Gene Munster, senior research analyst for Piper Jaffray, in an interview with TechNewsDaily.
Even though the numbers are disputed, it's clear that iPhone and Android will be going head-to-head for some time to come, not just in phones but in tablets, too .
"It will be the age-old battle of open versus closed," said Michael Morgan, mobile devices analyst for ABI Research, in an interview with TechNewsDaily. "History has shown that open systems (Android) traditionally beat out closed systems (iPhone). But we only have a few years of smartphone history, so we don't know if it follows the same rules as other technologies. We don't know how this will turn out."
