Yesterday’s BOMBSHELL claim from the NPD that the rampant Android hardware conglomerate outsold the iPhone in North America during Q1 of 2010 has today been SLAPPED DOWN by Apple, with the hipster company claiming the NPD data was “limited” in that it only polled 150,000 (!) people to form its conclusions.
Here’s what Apple said to tech site The Loop:
“This is a very limited report on 150,000 US consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide … IDC figures show that iPhone has 16.1 percent of the smartphone market and growing, far outselling Android on a worldwide basis. We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131 percent and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon”
The remarkable thing is not the data itself, it’s the way Apple has gone from being an aloof and untouchable giant, to a clearly worried company that has to issue statements disrespecting the competition and making picky statistical counter-claims to save face.
Could we have imagined the mighty Apple would be so touchy and reactive this time last year? It is so very, very rattled by Android’s lightning emergence.
It’s smooth to use, the 1080p display is sharp, clear and bright, the device is extremely light and thin and therefore very pocketable and portable — much more so than other 5-inch phones we’ve used. And yet… we’re a bit unimpressed by the overall package…
A relatively high-spec smartphone, with a 4.5″ display running at 480 x 854 resolution and powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, plus the Ascend G510 arrives running Android 4.1.1 — albeit potentially hindered by Huawei only sticking 512MB of RAM inside it..
The Panasonic Eluga marks the company’s return to the European mobile phone scene years after several years of absence, and it’s come back to us with a moderately high-spec Android model that features a rather stylish, slim case.
Sony returns with an all-new mobile design for 2012, pairing a dual-core processor with a 720p display. It’s a lovely phone, but is it enough to end our Samsung and HTC obsession?
LG’s updated Prada phone comes with an absolutely crazy black & white theme, but is it just for fashionable suit wearers who want to make themselves look a bit more interesting?
Tom Hermans
/ May 12, 2010People will see “OPEN” is the way to go..
Niels C
/ May 12, 2010Oh yes, the future is open for business. If (and that’s a pretty damn big IF) Android wasn’t in any way, shape or form relevant Apple wouldn’t have bothered with this survey, but as Gary writes “very, very rattled.” The future is all ahead of Android.
Anonymous
/ May 12, 2010Dude, android oerating systems is exactly as it sounds; an operating system. That’s it.
Mark
/ May 13, 2010Of course if NPD said that Apple outsold Android, Apple would be singing from the rooftoops about how American consumers are voting with their wallets etc etc etc.
Everyone knows (including Apple) that 1 manufacturer selling one phone cannot compete with a better OS from 18 manufacturers and over 200 different hardware devices.
Right now, you would have to be insane to NOT be porting your apps to Android, as it’s where the marketshare is and will continue to be.
Gary C
/ May 13, 2010Anonymous, you’re being a bit silly. You know exactly what is meant. “Android” is just a bit easier to type than “the collection of mobile phones that use the Android OS”.