Apple's iOS tops mobile Internet market share, all others below 20 percent

[Shawn Knight]

Apple’s mobile operating system has posted record Internet market share numbers in excess of 50 percent, reaching its highest point ever. All other smartphone and tablet operating systems are below 20 percent market share, according to the latest data from Net Applications.

Net Applications’ data shows that iOS held a 54.65 percent market share based on connections monitored at the company’s 40,000 client websites around the globe. Java ME ranked second at 18.52 percent while Android trailed just behind at 16.26 percent. BlackBerry holds a 3.29 percent share while Windows operating systems and all others are under 1 percent each.

Similarly, browser market share on mobile devices and tablets showed a 55.59 percent share for Safari, 18.92 percent share for Opera Mini and 16.03 percent share for Android Browser.

Android was able to pass the iPhone in US market share back in January, leaving Apple and RIM tied for second place. Furthermore, 56 percent of smartphones sold in the last three months run Android. So why does iOS have such a commanding lead in this latest study?

It comes down to the different platforms used to connect to the net. Apple has three key outlets: the iPhone, iPod and iPad. Android has a plethora of phones on the market but their tablet business isn’t nearly as dominant as Apple’s. Furthermore, there is no iPod equivalent running Android. RIM’s downward spiral continues while Windows Phone 7 has yet to make a serious dent in the market.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/45715-apples-ios-tops-mobile-internet-market-share-all-others-below-20-percent.html

 

[katoDRAGON]

What a dissapointment, everyone doesn't know how great android is, even less give it a try.
Apple is a CULT!

 

[SammyJames]

katoDRAGON said:
What a dissapointment, everyone doesn't know how great android is, even less give it a try.
Apple is a CULT!

I have tried Android, and I agree. I like it, and I also agree that Apple IS a cult. I'm just happy that I came to the correct web site to spout off about Apple, since it appears as though most other TechSpot members are squarely in the "I'm with PC" branch of computerpolitics.

That said, it is still understandable why Apple is cleaning house right now. A lot of it has to do with one word -- music. e.g., Garageband, iTunes, every synth manufacturer on the planet releasing some iOS app, et cetera. If Android wants to compete, someone is going to have to figure out how to create some cool synth/DAW type softtware for it. This gets complex, and this is also where *I* come in, because I'm the resident DAW expert (apparently) on this site.

You need a pretty beefy processor and a pretty quick OS to handle the kinds of apps that demand low-latency for music production. I know that Android CAN do it -- but the question is -- does the current Kernel run at even CLOSE to real-time? If the answer is, "no, not really," then we'll have to wait. If the answer is "yes, but it isn't being exploited," well -- then, there's your answer.

Have fun.

 

[SammyJames]

http://www.google.com/events/io/2009/sessions/WritingRealTimeGamesAndroid.html

I may have answered the question posed above. I am not an expert in programming, by-the-way -- my expertise is as a musician and a MIDI programmer. I don't engineer applications, but I have tested them during development, so I have a clue about what it takes to author some of this stuff.

Also -- if games take over as the defacto mobile standard, then it could spell real trouble for iOS. One thing is for certain -- musicians typically love Macs. Gamers typically hate them. I love PCs, because even though I am a musician, I have way-more tech knowledge than most musicians do -- so I love being able to configure my own experience, so-to-speak -- something that is difficult to do with a hunk of aluminum-alloy in-a-box.

Again -- your mileage may vary. But even if music doesn't take Android by storm (or the other way 'round) I still hope that Android becomes the dominant mobile OS. The reason?

Because I want to keep ARM and PC prices low. And the best way to do that is to have lots of licensable hardware out there, being bought and sold every day.

 

[Guest]

It just goes to show that the market share based on connections monitored at the company’s 40,000 client websites around the globe.

That the web sites monitored favor Apple. I am sure you could find 40,000 client web sites that would favor Android.

Sales of products to customers is a much more accurate way to determine market share. Real customers, not companies like Sprint who just bought 20 billion dollars worth of iphones, just so they could carry them. 30 million iphones for 20 billion = 666 per phone.

 

[compdata]

Most people are like sheep when it comes to technology. They don't know what they want or need, they don't know how to figure it out, and they want to follow what "everyone else" is doing. Apple does a great job of handholding these people by giving them a flashy, fancy device that makes them feel cool but adding a bunch of restrictions to keep the expirience simple and uncomplicated. I love my iPod touch and can work around most of the restrictions with the plethora of apps available, but there are still some that continue to bug me.

 

[SammyJames]

compdata said:
Most people are like sheep when it comes to technology.

True.

They don't know what they want or need, they don't know how to figure it out, and they want to follow what "everyone else" is doing.

Also true.

Apple does a great job of handholding these people by giving them a flashy, fancy device that makes them feel cool but adding a bunch of restrictions to keep the expirience simple and uncomplicated.

True again -- except that I personally (and you probably agree) that the limitations can complicate the experience quickly. Try connecting your iPod to a computer that doesn't have your own copy of iTunes, with all of your downloads, on it -- and you'll find out exactly how limiting that experience is.

I love my iPod touch and can work around most of the restrictions with the plethora of apps available, but there are still some that continue to bug me.

I have an old-skool iPod -- the black 60GB one. It really doesn't even belong to me -- I sort of inherited it from my mom, who couldn't care less about it. I don't like it that much either, but I can't afford to buy ANYTHING to play mp3 files through right now.. So, I'm stuck with it until further notice.

But rest assured -- as soon as I come into any sort of money, I'm ditching this piece of crap and buying a Zune or something... i mean, uh... yeah. well, you know -- something GOOD...

 

[SammyJames]

Guest said:
It just goes to show that the market share based on connections monitored at the company’s 40,000 client websites around the globe.

That the web sites monitored favor Apple. I am sure you could find 40,000 client web sites that would favor Android.

Sales of products to customers is a much more accurate way to determine market share. Real customers, not companies like Sprint who just bought 20 billion dollars worth of iphones, just so they could carry them. 30 million iphones for 20 billion = 666 per phone.

As much as I despise Apple, I'm still unsure about your numbers. I don't know how you cooked up "40,000" client web sites either -- and as far as I know, we're probably talking millions of sites globally.

I'm also unsure of which company you are referring to. If you're talking about Apple, well -- I'm pretty sure that the study in question wasn't released BY Apple. If you're talking about servers owned by Comcast, Brighthouse, et al., then I'm still unclear on what you're talking about.

But who cares? Apple is still 10% of worldwide PC sales. If they make most of their money from mobile devices, good -- because I HATE mobile devices anyway. I really, really do. I like desktops, and I've not been shy about stating that time and again here on this site and on others.

 

[SammyJames]

Hey -- I'm eatin' crow. Sorry about that -- I just reread the post. I still have no idea what 40,000 client web sites means, but I'm still sticking by my comment about mobile versus desktop.

I CANNOT STAND tablets and smart phones.

 

[mario]

I would assume that those stats are pretty accurate globally, here at TechSpot ,which some of you consider a "I'm a PC" site, the top 3 mobile visitors are using:

1. iPhone 2. Android 3. iPod

The iPad is #5 and we don't even redirect the iPad to the our mobile site. The iPhone and Android numbers are pretty close but if you combine iPhone and iPod against Android the gap widen by a lot.

I would assume people browse more with iOS devices because they are all made with specs that allow a smooth browsing, and on the other had there a a lot of cheap Android phones with tiny screens and lame specs, the Xperia mini has a screen so tiny it's almost impossible to use a browser with it.

 

[aj_the_kidd]

mario said:
I would assume people browse more with iOS devices because they are all made with specs that allow a smooth browsing, and on the other had there a a lot of cheap Android phones with tiny screens and lame specs, the Xperia mini has a screen so tiny it's almost impossible to use a browser with it.

Thats pretty much what i thought when i read this article, iPhones are designed for smooth internet browsing, whilst the Android phones vary on browsing experience from phone to phone, so i can understand why iOS is at the top. The greater majority of iPhone users will use the phone to browse the net, whilst not every Android user will, particularly the low end quality ones. Still, i thought Android would have had a higher usage number, oh well.