Android now leads the tablet market with a 56.5% share

[Boz]

And the problem with android, and one of the major reasons why android took so long to gain market share, was that the first few versions of the OS for tablets were not designed for tablets. Even Honeycomb was a PITA and not really worth it. It didnt start getting better until ICS which was released at the end of 2011. A year and a half after the first iPad which was designed right at the start. By that time, iPad was well the dominate tablet, android tablets had a bad rap, and it took a while for faith in them to take off. If android did it right to begin with, then I am sure their market share would of grown quicker...but who knows. Mistakes were made and it appears they are learning from them.

You have to look at it from phone adoption perspective though. Growth of tablets on Android is happening pretty much as fast as with smartphones.. If you look at it objectively and historically.

Remember when we had the very first Android phone HTC G1.. it took Android almost 3 years to get to version 2.x when it really started taking off..

Similarly with tablets.. I've been saying that 2-3 years in Android tablets will start taking off and will take over iPad.. people were calling me nuts.

Right now, Android tablet usage will continue accelerating as there's a gazillion people with Android phones they love and now they want to use the same Google services, apps and overall same experience on their tablets.. and since there's a huge choice, it's a no brainer.

It also didn't help Apple that they've basically started killing their iPad sales with iPad Mini.. those who want an iPad will most likely get iPad Mini and their iPad sales are basically eaten away.

I totally see iPads being at about the same marketshare in the next 2-3 years.. possibly around 15-20%.

[HawkMan]

Yea, that cracks me up. People think the numbers are messed up because Android offers more choice and has different price points. A $50 tablet may be cheap, but its perfect if all someone wants is an ebook reader.

Have you seen the screen on sub 50 devices ? they have no brightness, no contrast, no angle. They are horrible and absolutely useless for e-readers

You have to look at it from phone adoption perspective though. Growth of tablets on Android is happening pretty much as fast as with smartphones.. If you look at it objectively and historically.

Remember when we had the very first Android phone HTC G1.. it took Android almost 3 years to get to version 2.x when it really started taking off..

Similarly with tablets.. I've been saying that 2-3 years in Android tablets will start taking off and will take over iPad.. people were calling me nuts.

Right now, Android tablet usage will continue accelerating as there's a gazillion people with Android phones they love and now they want to use the same Google services, apps and overall same experience on their tablets.. and since there's a huge choice, it's a no brainer.

It also didn't help Apple that they've basically started killing their iPad sales with iPad Mini.. those who want an iPad will most likely get iPad Mini and their iPad sales are basically eaten away.

I totally see iPads being at about the same marketshare in the next 2-3 years.. possibly around 15-20%.

Funnily, while there are a lot of people with android phones, there's a very small percentage of them that "loves" it. most of them merely use it, a lot of them don't like them, but it's their phone. Android has the highest number of "likely to change OS" users of all the mobile OS'. and since this is counted in percentage and android has the most users, they have the absolute by far highest number of users likely to switch to another OS.

Developers also don't care about the amount of users, they care about the amount of users likely to pay for an app. where android is rock bottom.

What I see is in fact that a lot of android users when they buy a pad, they buy an iPad, iOS users, they buy iPads.

The peopel I see who buy android tablets are the small number of hardcore android fans, and people looking for cheap 20 dollar tablets for their kids.

[epk]

Um yeah, I think it's mostly cheap devices. I haven't seen any high end android tablets around (in Europe). I'm not saying there's not, just that everyone seems to either go for iPads or cheapish android tablets (some which are from known brands too, just not top of the line).

[JasonMiles]

This is contradictory to what I see, no one has an Android tab and most of them are on shelves... maybe retailers are stocking without sales? iPads however are flying out the door.

Seriously? I see tons of Android tablets. I have 3 at home, 2 Asus Transformers and a cheapo I got from China (works nicely with 4.1). Android dominates.

[techbeck]

Have you seen the screen on sub 50 devices ? they have no brightness, no contrast, no angle. They are horrible and absolutely useless for e-readers

Some are, some are not. I have seen several sub 50 devices that are just fine. HEll, my mom got a freebie cheap tablet when she upgraded her phone. Sucks for anything other than ereader which she uses just fine.

[BajiRav]

No one here even said android was the best. I do not get where you are seeing that. Saying that android is awesome and that android is getting some great apps is not saying it is the best. Best is subjective and depends on the person and their needs/wants towards a certain platform...like you said. But again, no one here is saying it is the best. You are assuming and reading way to much in to the comments here.

And yes, there are many cheap androids but none of those cheapos are selling nearly as well as the more expensive ones. And the problem with android, and one of the major reasons why android took so long to gain market share, was that the first few versions of the OS for tablets were not designed for tablets. Even Honeycomb was a PITA and not really worth it. It didnt start getting better until ICS which was released at the end of 2011. A year and a half after the first iPad which was designed right at the start. By that time, iPad was well the dominate tablet, android tablets had a bad rap, and it took a while for faith in them to take off. If android did it right to begin with, then I am sure their market share would of grown quicker...but who knows. Mistakes were made and it appears they are learning from them.

I think I agree with everything except the cheap part. The single most reason android gained market share is cheap phones and tablets. ( cheap as in price )

[techbeck]

I think I agree with everything except the cheap part. The single most reason android gained market share is cheap phones and tablets. ( cheap as in price )

I made a typo. I meant to say cheap tablets are NOT selling as well as the more expensive ones. I see more expensive tablets than I do cheapos. But then again, I do not live in China so it could just be my area/country. Phones are a different story tho.

[Noir Angel]

Have you seen the screen on sub 50 devices ? they have no brightness, no contrast, no angle. They are horrible and absolutely useless for e-readers

Funnily, while there are a lot of people with android phones, there's a very small percentage of them that "loves" it. most of them merely use it, a lot of them don't like them, but it's their phone. Android has the highest number of "likely to change OS" users of all the mobile OS'. and since this is counted in percentage and android has the most users, they have the absolute by far highest number of users likely to switch to another OS.

Developers also don't care about the amount of users, they care about the amount of users likely to pay for an app. where android is rock bottom.

What I see is in fact that a lot of android users when they buy a pad, they buy an iPad, iOS users, they buy iPads.

The peopel I see who buy android tablets are the small number of hardcore android fans, and people looking for cheap 20 dollar tablets for their kids.

Odd given that Android continues to grow, huh? :/

[Rippleman]

In my city, there are more Hyundai automobiles then Lexus automobiles. I wonder if price has something to do with it?

[techbeck]

None of the cheap android tablets even register on being the most popular or selling a whole hell of a lot of them. One of the reasons android tablets are doing so well is they offered different sized tablets. The cheap tablets may be helping Android market share, but most are buying the 200+ tablets. Something Apple was in denial about for a while and it took them so long to come around. By then, Android has captured that part of the market like how Apple originally captured the tablet market.

The iPad is still the number one selling tablet compared to any Android tablet and will probably always remain so. At least they will for a long time.

[Growled Member]

The other thing is that Android users don't want to spend money:

I must be different but I buy apps all the time on Android.

[tsupersonic]

I must be different but I buy apps all the time on Android.

Absolutely - if I find the app worthwhile, I'm all for supporting the developer. I've purchased probably 50-100 apps on Android alone. I also don't mind using free apps either, most have ad's, and that generates revenue for developers.

[HawkMan]

Odd given that Android continues to grow, huh? :/

What do you mean by "android" though.

Phones, pads, apps, pad apps, developer community ? only some of those would be true. other are true only when not seen in relation to their competing offers who are also growing, only faster.

[BajiRav]

In my city, there are more Hyundai automobiles then Lexus automobiles. I wonder if price has something to do with it?

I wonder if the unending Toyota recalls have something to do with it? :p

[HawkMan]

None of the cheap android tablets even register on being the most popular or selling a whole hell of a lot of them. One of the reasons android tablets are doing so well is they offered different sized tablets. The cheap tablets may be helping Android market share, but most are buying the 200+ tablets. Something Apple was in denial about for a while and it took them so long to come around. By then, Android has captured that part of the market like how Apple originally captured the tablet market.

The iPad is still the number one selling tablet compared to any Android tablet and will probably always remain so. At least they will for a long time.

while none of the cheap sub 50 pads themselvs score high as best sellers in the android system, you have to look at the numbers.

at the moment Asus has one high end Pad, Samsung has 2 if you count the note, and a couple of others have a few ones, and "google" has the nexus 10 and 7.

of these the only ones who count as "best sellers" are the samsung galaxy and the nexus 7. the rest have sold about so so, the asus ones have done a little better but since samsung has bought the market they haven't done great.

meanwhile for the sub 50 pads. the market is flooded with oem's. there's hundred of cheap brand and no brand chinese brands for these, usually made at the same factories. so individually each one only at best sells as much as the worst off high end pads. However since they are sold under such a ridiculous amount of brands, they're still selling a LOT. it's just hard to see on the stats since the stats will say the best selling brands are the big 5, and all the cheap chinese brands are listed at the bottom, though it's a very long list. And since google changed how the measure android "users", they won't show up there either since the people who buy these cheap pads, aren't the ones who goes to the app store.

[Noir Angel]

What do you mean by "android" though.

Phones, pads, apps, pad apps, developer community ? only some of those would be true. other are true only when not seen in relation to their competing offers who are also growing, only faster.

The platform as a whole is growing.

[HawkMan]

The platform as a whole is growing.

that didn't answer anything. pads or phones, they're two different platforms. that the whole platform is growing is irrelevant to part of it. and of course the pad are is growing, same with the apps. BUT how much re they growing relative to the competition.

it would be sad if a platform that a couple of years ago didn't exist didn't grow. but if Android grows with 1 pad for ever 10 ipads, that's not really good growth...

[Noir Angel]

Strange, I'm sure I recall you making exactly the opposite argument when the recent growth of Windows Phone was mentioned in news. I'm not really sure Google give a crap either, growth is growth, more people using your services is the same thing regardless of the hardware they use them on.

[HawkMan]

Strange, I'm sure I recall you making exactly the opposite argument when the recent growth of Windows Phone was mentioned in news. I'm not really sure Google give a crap either, growth is growth, more people using your services is the same thing regardless of the hardware they use them on.

How could I give the same opposite argument when windows phone doesn't share OS or app ecosystem with pads ?

Also Windows Phone has the largest growth rate of all the phone OS app stores. in fact I believe they have the largest growth in pure numbers as well. meaning they are catching up.

quality of apps is more important than quantity anyway. and lets just say the ratio of quality vs crap on my android is abysmal.

[PGHammer]

How could I give the same opposite argument when windows phone doesn't share OS or app ecosystem with pads ?

Also Windows Phone has the largest growth rate of all the phone OS app stores. in fact I believe they have the largest growth in pure numbers as well. meaning they are catching up.

quality of apps is more important than quantity anyway. and lets just say the ratio of quality vs crap on my android is abysmal.

Noticed that, have you?

I have two Android VMs on the Windows 8 side of my dual-boot (the BlueStacks VM and AndroVM) and I can't even keep a common application pool between them; I shudder to think how much worse the issue is between two real Android devices (such as a tablet and a phone) - regardless of manufacturer. The reason for so many AAAs (Awful Android Apps) is because developers don't do enough device-compatibility testing - they likely test the app on a phone simulator (one is included with the Android SDK) or maybe only a specific model of Android phone. No tablet testing at all - even in a VM or simulator/emulator. Given that developers have access to the same VMs I do, there's no reason for failure to screen out device-specific code - and even less excuse for Google to allow such AAAs in Google Play, as device-isms is against the Terms of Use for developers. Why would I have any interest in two Android devices if I can't even have a common application pool?

App quality counts, and right now Android app quality (due to device-cross-compatibility issues) is largely a negative.

[tsupersonic]

Do you guys have actual Android phones and if so what phone has such bad experience? I haven't noticed it on any of the Android phones I've had. It's not difficult to keep a common list of apps on devices, you can backup/restore apps from the same Gmail account (when you setup the Android device). I don't see why everyone would want to keep the same apps on phones and tablets....Also, I find WP app store to have a miserable app experience. Most of the times, the big names just aren't there, and I have to resort to a 3rd party app that doesn't have the fit/finish. I have had a much better experience on Android in terms of apps - all the big name apps are there, and of course every app store has crap apps (iOS + WP + Android). This is just my experience - and with all the devices I've used, the only app I've had an incompatibility problems was Hulu+ and they added support to my device.

[Noir Angel]

How could I give the same opposite argument when windows phone doesn't share OS or app ecosystem with pads ?

Also Windows Phone has the largest growth rate of all the phone OS app stores. in fact I believe they have the largest growth in pure numbers as well. meaning they are catching up.

quality of apps is more important than quantity anyway. and lets just say the ratio of quality vs crap on my android is abysmal.

Strange, because I've never had any issue finding quality apps on Android. I have however not seen a single app on the Windows 8 store that I would find useful.

[Melfster]

Strange, because I've never had any issue finding quality apps on Android. I have however not seen a single app on the Windows 8 store that I would find useful.

There really is big leap in quality between ios Android. Its amazing how much better the apps are on iOS. In fact I stopped using my Android tablet just because the apps sucked.

[Noir Angel]

I never found that to be the case, I owned an iPod touch and I found it to be a buggy, crashy POS.

[Melfster]

I don't know what kind of ipod touch you had. Most reviewers agree that on the whole ios apps are much more robust then those on android platform. I have seen stuttering issues even on the new SG4.