Why Android really is the new Windows

[Asrokhel]

Summary: The figures don't lie: Android not only has almost three-quarters of global mobile device sales, but it's outselling PCs too. So the Linux-based OS is the new Windows, not only due to its ubiquity, but because it represents a key aspect of Windows that Microsoft is throwing away: openness.

Analyst figures can be a dry affair, but sometimes they're so stark that they make the future a bit clearer. That's the case with the mobile sales numbers that came out of Gartner yesterday.

It seems that Android really is the new Windows. By extension, that means Linux ? on which Android is based ? is currently whipping ten shades out of Microsoft and indeed everyone else. How times change.

Gartner's figures cover mobile device sales in the third quarter of this year. Android has gone into overdrive: unit sales more than doubled year-on-year to 122.5 million, and the platform has a market share of 72.4 percent, up from 52.5 percent a year before. That's in mobile devices, not just smartphones.

Apple's iOS is in second place, with quarterly device sales up from 17.3 million to 23.5 million, but its market share down from 15 percent to 13.8 percent. Other mobile OSes are all in the single digits, from RIM's 5.3 percent share down to Microsoft's 2.4 percent.

Now compare this data with what Gartner said a month ago about PC shipments in the same quarter. The grand total for Q3? 87.5 million units. A year-on-year drop of 8.3 percent, since you ask.

In other words, Android device sales have an almost 3:2 ratio compared with PC shipments ? and remember that shipments are always greater than sales (unless the product sells out). At this rate, the ratio will be 2:1 within a quarter or two.

Ouch

Caveats apply, of course, but I don't think any are major enough to provide an alternative explanation for this trend. Maybe people delayed PC-buying decisions in anticipation of the Windows 8 launch? Microsoft's upgrade programme cancels out this theory to some degree. Also, this is the back-to-school quarter.

No, this is a real trend. And before you go, "Ah, but smartphones and PCs are not the same thing", well, for many people they are. Think of all those in emerging markets who have never owned a PC and never will. They're increasingly getting their windows on the web ? which is the real winner here, in some respects ? through handsets and tablets.

Even in the so-called developed world, these devices are usurping the PC for many functions, from web browsing to communications, and even for light document editing.

And Android is winning, on cost and (drum roll) on openness.

Open for business

Why openness? Because there are many app stores out there for Android, and because apps can even be loaded without getting it via a marketplace at all. You and I in the US and Europe may not ever venture outside the confines of Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, but believe me, the alternatives are out there and heavily used, particularly in countries such as China and Russia.

You know what's funny about this? Android is winning, partly because it represents what Windows used to represent: flexibility.

It may seem a bit unfair to say "used to" there, but it's really not. Microsoft has been very clear that starting with Windows 8, it now wants to control its app ecosystem Apple-style.

It's correct in calculating that this will lead to a higher standard of app, but it's wrong if it thinks this will give it any kind of edge against Apple (which offers the same deal but is far further down the road in terms of building an ecosystem). It's also utterly deluded if it thinks most people care about the "uncontrolled" nature of Android.

The desktop won't go away ? it's still needed for many types of content creation, and that will stay the case for a long time yet. But the smartphone and the tablet are computers too, and in the overall picture, Android is taking over the world.

http://www.zdnet.com/android-really-is-the-new-windows-7000007450/

[MarkusDarkus]

To all those who laughed when I said 2012 is the year of linux.......

They're liars coz I never said that. :p

[Muhammad Farrukh]

No.

Edit

By the way, thats one of the most stupidest articles in recent memory

[Gaffney]

Why is probably won't be the new Windows:

-Fragmentation.

-Lots of potential competition.

-Patent issues.

-Might have already peaked in terms of sales.

Android hardware producers:

-Samsung are the company dominating the sales, their Android phones are a big part of their revenue but not the majority of their $247bn revenue.

-HTC the second biggest get the majority of their revenue from Android sales, they are struggling to get over $10bn of revenue.

Windows hardware producers:

-HP get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $127bn.

-Dell get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $63bn.

-Intel $54bn

[seta-san]

if if this is true the trend will be easily reversible if tablets make themselves obsolete as quickly as I think they will. If they are on an upgrade schedule close to cell phones than it's anybodies game at any time.

[YouSuck]

No.

Why is probably won't be the new Windows:

Fragmentation.

Lots of potential competition.

Patent issues.

Might have already peaked in terms of sales.

Also your sale figures, a teenager will maybe get a computer every 5 years, some longer and some shorter. A family may have one computer but could have 2,3,4+ android devices. So you can't directly compare the sales directly of mobiles and PC's. A slightly more fair comparison would be android tablets to Windows.

(Y)

[Crimson Rain]

I know why 99% people around me use Android: easy to pirate. Go figure.

[selphj]

Sorry android, not happening. Windows is still Windows. Everyone still wants a PC, they still want it to be Windows. Businesses aren't throwing them out to buy tablets. They are adding tablets into a dominent Windows infrastructure. Android devices are just an additional thing people buy now. Just like when Microwaves came out. You didn't throw out your old oven. It just gave you more flexibility.

[Detection]

I know why 99% people around me use Android: easy to pirate. Go figure.

Yea and as if windows is any more difficult

Android would / will never be a PC OS, it would be horrendous, its bad enough on a tablet at times

[MDboyz]

Maybe that analyst should get off his butt and join the work forces. He will see himself surrounding with Windows OS.

[SharpGreen]

Why is probably won't be the new Windows:

-Fragmentation.

-Lots of potential competition.

-Patent issues.

-Might have already peaked in terms of sales.

Android hardware producers:

-Samsung are the company dominating the sales, their Android phones are a big part of their revenue but not the majority of their $247bn revenue.

-HTC the second biggest get the majority of their revenue from Android sales, they are struggling to get over $10bn of revenue.

Windows hardware producers:

-HP get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $127bn.

-Dell get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $63bn.

-Intel $54bn

That fragmentation bit is BS. None of the top 4 mobile OSes have 100% of the user base using the latest version, yet Android is the only one who gets crap for it.

[Luis Mazza]

Why is probably won't be the new Windows:

-Fragmentation.

-Lots of potential competition.

-Patent issues.

-Might have already peaked in terms of sales.

Android hardware producers:

-Samsung are the company dominating the sales, their Android phones are a big part of their revenue but not the majority of their $247bn revenue.

-HTC the second biggest get the majority of their revenue from Android sales, they are struggling to get over $10bn of revenue.

Windows hardware producers:

-HP get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $127bn.

-Dell get the majority of their revenue from windows hardware, revenue of $63bn.

-Intel $54bn

You should know that past performance doesn't equal future performance.

In other words... The future is not today.Predictions are much more complex than that...

[Neu B]

LOL. Someone is full of crap

[ThePitt]

speaking of fragmentation, look at w$, they have at least 3 'environments' right now with their brand "new" OS. One for tablets, one for desktop and one for phones. They cant see each other properly, only in the "cloud". And if they can share something between, need a "proxy" program, which makes the compatibility useless by definition. In the other hand, Android EVERYTHING is transparent, where it shares in between without need anything else more than a cable or an ip. Nothing proxy like itunes and yet another thing that m$ copy from apple (oh great idea!).

Android would grow up more than they think, not only with the 3rd quater of the market but just like everything. And remember, its OPEN SOURCE and FREE.

[ahhell]

This is nonsense right from the summary.

"The figures don't lie: Android not only has almost three-quarters of global mobile device sales, but it's outselling PCs too. So the Linux-based OS is the new Windows, not only due to its ubiquity, but because it represents a key aspect of Windows that Microsoft is throwing away: openness."

ZDNET living up to it's usual garbage standards. :s

[engii]

That fragmentation bit is BS. None of the top 4 mobile OSes have 100% of the user base using the latest version, yet Android is the only one who gets crap for it.

Im pretty sure Android gets crap because for the longest time the majority of their figures were based of $50 Chinese pieces of **** running android 2-2.2...and lets face it, the numbers are high because of the Chinese masses contributing to the very open (read hackable) mobile OS...

The platform is already independently reviewed as being the most malware ridden platform available and from a developer point of view even though it has a massive piece of the market share, most developers are making significantly less thaan they do on iOS....

You know as well as everyone else that until droid 4.1 the lag and stutter and performance was ridiculously bad....and even more recently Google has eye balled the likes of Acer for daring to release a Chinese version of what was originally Android basically threatening to cut them off if they didn't stop releasing...

Sure Samsung and HTC have done a very excellent job with their flagship phones but in reality its all because they wanted to get a toe into the mobile OS market and this was the most open platform i.e. open source (kinda) that they could get in and hack around with because tha laternative to this and prior to them getting on board with Android they had shithouse Symbian type crap with a different skin every phone that was released and NO APPS...

I think, generally speaking of course, that these are some of the reasons droid gets cained....

its also funny to note that as soon as Apple mauled Samsung Google quietly ran over to Acer and began stroking them?? and how they really really really don't like Amazon kindle even though that's based on droid as well....kinda crazy don't ya think???

[engii]

speaking of fragmentation, look at w$, they have at least 3 'environments' right now with their brand "new" OS. One for tablets, one for desktop and one for phones. They cant see each other properly, only in the "cloud". And if they can share something between, need a "proxy" program, which makes the compatibility useless by definition. In the other hand, Android EVERYTHING is transparent, where it shares in between without need anything else more than a cable or an ip. Nothing proxy like itunes and yet another thing that m$ copy from apple (oh great idea!).

Android would grow up more than they think, not only with the 3rd quater of the market but just like everything. And remember, its OPEN SOURCE and FREE.

dude what you smoking??? 3 environments...u mean the only platform that can seamlessly play nice on three screens??? what do you mean cant see each other properly??? I mean what do you base that on exactly...just because everything works seamlessly through cloud doesn't mean it cant work any other way like nfc, wifi lan etc...

why don't you try connecting your Droid PC, phone and gaming console together ...oh wait they don't produce 2 of those...

when the droid idiots spend a lot less time fingering their phones and actually using a computer to work on and produce something we might sort out the non stop wanking these people engage in...

its a freaking phone, get over it and get back to whatever social not working you were up to before you shat in the comment box...

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

That fragmentation bit is BS. None of the top 4 mobile OSes have 100% of the user base using the latest version, yet Android is the only one who gets crap for it.

Indeed i would understand if the majority of apps only worked on Android 4.0+ however most apps will work on Android 2.2 and up, which was released over 2 and a half years ago.

[Draken]

wow, what a load of rubbish :s

[Noir Angel]

Microsoft shills still blather on about fragmentation, and Android phones are still selling in massive numbers. How many years does Android have to blow Windows Phone away for before you admit that fragmentation is nothing more than a boring buzzphrase that means nothing to consumers?