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Verizon iPhone: How Will It Affect Android?

chrstdvd said:
The Atrix makes me want to switch to AT$T, but sometime this year, I am sure we will see something similar on Big Red. iPhone does not stand a chance in the long run if they do not keep up.
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It has been Android that has been following. It STILL isn't up to par with the iPhone from a polish standpoint ( media handling, jerky ui etc... ) The iPhone ( just announced ) being available on Verizon is gonna seriously impact droid etc... sales. Study after study has many a droid user saying they'd switch. The opposite is not true. This is coming from a Droid X user.
 
If the iPhone on VZW had happened this time last year, Android would not have done as well since at the time most people only considered the iPhone to be the only smartphone worth considering. I'd venture to guess that regardless of actual higher quality, Android would have not be nearly as popular as it is today by virtue of it just being second.

Now that Android has functionally been around for a year now, there area lot of people vested in their Android / Google experience and aren't willing to change. Sure there will be an initial dip in Android sales, but a year from now, it'll be great to see the sales figures.
 
I really think it's all about perception being reality. Apple has successfully pushed the iPhone as the shiznit and the be all and end all of everything smart phone wise. They've marketed it as the gold standard in the smartphone arena and the measuring stick by which all other phones are measured. They've hyped their "retina display" (which isn't really a retina display) and how "innovative" and "open" their platform is. None of that stuff is true, but it doesn't matter. People think it is and that's what is important.
 
Make no mistake...The iPhone on Verizon will be a HUGE hit! Is it better than every other phone? Define better...

From a specification standpoint, the iPhone is just another high end device. But Apple is to the phone market as Mercedes is to the car market. The perception is that it's better and thus becomes a status symbol.

What Apple has done is to wrap up the important features that most people want/need, optimize those features, put it in an attractive package, make it easy to use, and give it a pretty interface. It will sell for Verizon just as well if not better than it has for AT&T. It's a great concept!

Are any the Android phones announced at CES for Verizon "better" than the iPhone? Yes!...to me that is. A 3.5" screen is a major fail and I couldn't go back to that! 4" screens seem a bit small to me honestly.

Competition will increase as a result of the iPhone which is a good thing for us Android fans! The beauty of Android is that there is not one "Android phone" to compete with THE iPhone...there are several! Different screen sizes, different form factors, different optimized feature sets, different price points, etc.

So this is good news...as long as the AT&T iPhone users don't all jump ship at once and kill Verizon's network :D
 
All my friends who are on Verizon and have high end Androids are sticking with them so far. They find it interesting that that the iphone is now available but it no longer seems like the 'cat's meow'. They like their Androids. I don't think there is going to be any huge exodus of Android users dumping their phones for the iphone. At least not here in the metroplex of Arizona where I live. I think that iphone waited to long to make the switch. They missed the opportunity to do this before Google Android basically took over the market. My friends who have Blackberrys are also switching to Android. Also, in this economy there are many who could have previously afforded to make the switch just for the sake of experimenting but not everyone is in that position anymore.

I just think, like UBrocked said, that most now are looking to new and bigger screens that are offered by Android Manufacturers and the lure of the iphone with it's smaller screen has now decreased significantly.

Kind of like the Rolex watch. Why pay 10 grand for a watch when you can get one that looks just like it, does more things, is highly attractive and costs far less.

On the other hand there will always be those who seek the status of what is considered to be 'the ultimate'. So some women will always carry Louis Vitton handbags and Rolex will always be viewed as a 'sign of success'. And the iphone kind of falls into the same category.

Android is the future now.....until something better comes along. :P
 
This will have no affect towards ANDROID. When they have a low end and a mid range model iphone then maybe..
 
Just talked to an iPhone fanboy who hates Android because "the notification bar drains the battery". He's happy for this announcement.
 
It's not the notification bar that drains the battery, it's just Android in general that is not very battery friendly. Hopefully with each new generation, they will work on that.
 
I think this move will motive manufacturers to push the limits on the Android platform to increase market share. Especially now that AT&T is finally bringing in nice Android phones (such as the Atrix). If anything, this move by Apple might increase the exposure of Android phones since people can walk into a VZW store and do a side-by-side comparison. It should be interesting if VZW offers the iPad 2 and the Xoom under the same roof.

The iPhone is a nice piece of hardware and will be a seller on VZW, but the Android platform is not going anywhere.
 
Short term, I think its bad for AT&T. Apple has done a fantastic job of making sure AT&T remains the sole whipping boy for most of the "negatives" around the iPhone. Until the antenna fiasco with the iPhone 4, it was considered heresy to consider that some of the issues with the iPhone were related to the phone itself, not just AT&T's crap network. Well, kids, we're about to find out if it really was the network. If it is, then AT&T loses out short AND long term. If it the problems continue to surface on VZW's network, its going to be hard for Apple to quietly point the finger at AT&T.

As far as Android, it will not be dramatically affected. The iPhone is available internationally with no exclusive deals like here in the USA, and Android has no problems competing with the iPhone.

For us, the end users, its a win all the way around. Android will have to step up its game and quicken the pace of improvement, especially if the iPhone sells as well at VZW as it does at AT&T. You'll definitely see a renewed focus if they see numbers that show android sales dropping in favor of iphone sales. Competition among the manufacturers is good, especially since we can't get it among the providers, at least not in the USA.
 
I'm looking forward to it. It means the iPhone will get a new radio, and about a month after this, Chinese knockoffs running Android will flood the market, and they'll work on VZW.
 
iphoneverizon.png


Behold the Verizon iPhone 4.
 
I hope thats just a really bad rendering, and not an actual screenshot. Otherwise, iPhone is in more trouble on VZW than I thought.
 
From a business stand point this a genius idea from both Apple's and Verizon's standpoint. They're both, more than likely, going to see a pretty good spike in users. What is the biggest problem other carriers target when they're ripping on the iPhone? At&t's crappy service.. And what seems to be a big reason why an average shmuck picks up an android phone from vzw? because they don't want to deal with crappy service and they want an iPhone "substitute". To be honest an average person when holding an iPhone next to an android in a verizon store is probably going to choose the iPhone. THis is becasue (as mentioned before) iOS is nicely polished with a really easy to use ui. Where as android as more of a learning curve. I don't believe that people with android phones will move to an iPhone because they've already learned an android and learned of its awesome power. However, new customers looking to get their first smart phones are going to pick iPHone, more than likely 8 times out of 10. Not because of functionality but because of the brand on the back of it. It sucks that we live in a world where people make purchases based off of a brand name rather than functionality. As for at&t, I think they're screwed. They'll have to start marketing hard.. really hard to prove their worth. But as said before in the end, we all benefit from this, it's time for google and all it's manufacturing partners to crank out some unreal technology.
 
I think it'll have a heavy impact in California, where I live. Nearly everywhere you look theres an iphone. Its almost ridiculous. But I still want one, I think its a great phone and simple to use with minor issues compared to the problems I'm having with android, so therefore I will gladly dump my Droid for it. I have MANY friends with Voyagers and such that have upgrades, but have been holding out to get an iPhone from Verizon. Sure they could have gone Android at any time, but most of them would pick up my phone and have no idea how to use it, or they'd get too frustrated with the glitchy touchscreen and apps.
 
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