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from the reality-distortion-field-is-impenetrable dept.
Chris Smith writes that Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking during the WWDC 2014 opening keynote, took clear hits at his company's main rival, making fun of Google's Android several times. "Over 130 million customers who bought an iOS device in the past 12 months, were buying their first iOS device," Cook said. "Now, many of these customers were switchers from Android." "They had bought an Android phone... by mistake," Cook added, igniting the crowd in attendance, "and then sought a better experience, and a better life, and decided to check iPhone and iOS." Cook went on to say that nearly half of Apple's customers in China in the past six months came from Android.
Cook took another hit at Google for its fragmentation issues. "If you look at a broader group, over a third of [Android] customers, are running a version of Android from four years ago," Cook said. "That's like ancient history." Cook also addressed Android's vulnerability to malware. "Android dominates the mobile malware market," the exec said, because of its fragmentation. "No wonder experts are saying things like this," Cook said, quoting ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: "Android fragmentation is turning devices into a toxic hellstew of vulnerabilities."
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Nerdfest on Thursday June 05 2014, @02:47AM
While the vulnerabilities knock is true, the interesting part is that unlike with iOS devices, there is almost nothing in later Android versions that can't be done with apps. Sure it's nice to have them built in, but for the most part it's not required. I thought he seemed a little arrogant for someone releasing a product quite demonstrably playing 'catch-up' to its competition.
I think a good advertising approach for Google would be to point out that the latest iOS devices now have most of the capabilities of Android, but have only a single hardware provider and a single source of software. Historically, being tied to a single company rarely ends well for anyone but that company.
Just a thought.
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:27AM
Perzactly.
Hey, Tim - 3M TA3.
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 1) by kwerle on Thursday June 05 2014, @04:41AM
Yeah, that'd be the fragmentation issue. There is no google phone. And I don't have TV, but I'm pretty sure there is no google phone advertising.
Yeah, that's true - and frustrating.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by evilviper on Thursday June 05 2014, @07:15AM
People aren't going to be afraid of the abstract potential economic disadvantage. It would be insane to advertise that...
Instead, go after the single model you get to choose from... Android has larger screens, longer battery life, slide-out physical keyboards, user-replaceable batteries, etc., etc. Those are MUCH better advertising fodder.
Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
(Score: 1) by jpkunst on Saturday June 07 2014, @04:54PM
Models with slide-out keyboards are getting harder and harder to find, unfortunately. I had to order a "new old stock" Sony Ericsson from 2011 which runs Android 2.1.
(Score: 2) by evilviper on Saturday June 07 2014, @06:09PM
You shouldn't have to get that desperate. Even smaller carriers have at least one slider with 4.x. I've stayed away from RepublicWireless because of their selection of one non-slider phone, but anybody larger than them should have something decent... even if re-certified.
Previously, physical keyboards made up 30% of phone sales. Not sure what the penetration is now, but manufacturers ignore the market at their own peril.
Hydrogen cyanide is a delicious and necessary part of the human diet.
(Score: 1) by jpkunst on Saturday June 07 2014, @07:24PM
I'm in Europe, I have a prepaid SIMcard, so I need an unlocked phone. And over here an Android with physical keyboard turned out to be hard to find.
(Score: 1) by karmawhore on Thursday June 05 2014, @11:39AM
I'm not sure that's a point that Google would be eager to make.
=kw= lurkin' to please