Let me rephrase this just a bit to see how this statement holds up:
"And the cons side for Car newcomers is sorting out which car to get or why they don't all look the same."
In every other thing we buy, we compare and determine what performs best and has the best features before we buy. That's not a con. It's called choice.
Now we're getting somewhere.
That's a perfect example of a mature market without fragmentation.
Allow me to build on your example. There was a time not long ago where choices were pretty simple - you basically bought a Motorola, a Sony-Ericsson, or a Nokia. It was like that. If you wanted something esoteric for business, you got a BlackBerry.
Things evolved, every nut and his uncle got a foothold, everyone wanted smart phones, Apple saw the opportunity and marketed the concept: iPhone.
Despite it's strengths or weaknesses, it became a market force.
Now, something called Android comes along to serve that same market, only better, as well as the market that the iPhone can't and never will serve.
That's my starting point for the discussion, it's simple, it goes like this:
1. With 58 million Android buyers this year, how can we do better? Are we missing something?
2. Yes.
3. Anecdotal example: Joe and Mary Blow go to cell phone store. They're not sure what Android phone is, but they've heard it's better than an iPhone, so they know they want to check it out. They're the typical, reasonable, well-informed consumer. (Think about it - for non-forum dwellers and a lot of people - that is well-informed, and we would agree they're on the right track.) At this point, their entire mindset is
integrated.
4. They've seen ads for or have seen an iPhone. They know it's a thing. They ask to see the Android Phone.
For a great many, this is their introduction to Android being a not a thing but a class of things.
5. The response
dis-integrates their mindset. Step one, accept that Android is a class. Step two, choose within the class.
6. For a great many people, the bridge between step one and step two is huge. They've just had their approach to their purchase decision invalidated.
7. The buyer at that point can be validly said to be perceiving, in their mind, a fragmented situation. They haven't made the leap to choice, they're cavitating at their decision process being wrong.
And like it or not, many will then turn back to the iPhone, not because they're stoopid, old ladies or have insufficient gentalia - but because it's just a phone and they have more important things to think about. They have lives.
If you go back and look at the original post I made, I'll think you'll find that I never made the huge deal about fragmentation that's been laid on me.
Originally Posted by tmaxey1:
Android is selling 160k phones a day. That was from google at the Droid X release today. Imagine that. 160k per day. Sure it takes some getting used to. But that is changing more each day. I dont think a person will have a hard time figuring out an evo. Its not that complicated.
Emphasis mine. I reasonably questioned that. I didn't argue. I even said I was
leaning towards disagreeing with that.
First thing I did was to help everyone out, and provided a web reference supporting the claim by tmaxey1.
Next thing I did was re-phrase the numbers - 58 mm Android vs. 44 mm iPhone projected sales in next year.
Next thing I tried to point out - in my own, calm way at the time - is that there's a lot of selection in Android. I used the proper term - to the newest shoppers, it's fragmented.
The obvious intelligent conclusion is that I'm questioning how suddenly EVOs are so easy to figure out, in a sea of Android, against a unified product with maturity.
I simply raised the freaking question. I made only claim against him:
Android, to the unwashed, is some "thing" better than Apple - but until there's much more momentum than this, the choice to an Evo might not be as simple as you make it sound.
I can defend every word I've said, but I'm frankly disgusted with being the target of anyone who wants to take my words out of context (tmaxey1) or not bother to read what I said in the first place (tmaxey1 and LoyalServant) and put words in my mouth.
I use real English, and real terms. I'm not responsible for lazy thinking or lazy reading by others.
You, at least, focused your question, and I appreciated it. I hope my answer was clear.
The rest of this post uses the rhetorical you.
I don't in a forum world. I live in a world where my wife's friend was pretty sure my wife didn't have an Android, because it looked nothing like our other friend's Droid.
In her own words: "Hey. iPhone. Android. It's simple EarlyMon - that's not an Android. You should have gotten an iPhone, because you're pretty confused."
Took about one second to set that right.
So go out and teach people about classes, kids.
Or sit around and lecture me about how I'm an Apple fanboy and not as smart as you.
And when you folks encounter friends similar to mine, give them the nickel lecture about multi-tasking and the Steve Jobs reality distortion field.
While everyone's beeotching about what I don't know, I've influenced 22 people to start shopping for Android this month alone, and three dropped their iPhone 4 purchase plans, one has an EVO on order, one with a Droid, and one is going to decide on an EVO or a Droid X when he's back from travel. (My wife's friend is now one of the 22, probably leaning towards Moment, probably next month when finances free up.)
All because I told them it's simple. I told them it was a little fragmented, but it's ok because Android isn't a thing, it's a class of things. I told them that the iPhone was behind in innovation and to check out several Androids because maybe one would be better than another for them.
That's all I had to do. Tell the truth, including the fanboy-dreaded-and-fully-charged fragment word.
So, please, tell me one more time how I'm the one that doesn't understand what helps people to make the right choices for themselves.
Tell me one more time that I'm the iPhone fanboi.
And while you're at it, tell me what you've done for Android lately.
PS - I don't work in the cell phone industry in any way.
PPS - How many ads have you seen for Android? How many for Droid? How many for EVO? Point.
