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MG Siegler writes for TechCrunch, “Obviously, Beach isn’t the first person to bring this idea up. But he brings it up in a way that he’s able to back-up his feelings from a developer’s perspective, while at the same time roping in what isn’t ideal from a consumer perspective about Android as well.”
“This is going to sound like flame bait, and everyone knows that I love the iPhone — but I have to agree with Beach. I’ve used no less than six Android phones for extended periods of time over the past couple of years. I really am trying to like them. But I just can’t,” Siegler reports. “Now, don’t get me wrong, almost all Android phones are a million times better than the phones we had just a few years ago before the iPhone burst onto the scene. And if the iPhone didn’t exist, there is no question that I would use an Android phone and would probably be very happy with it. But the iPhone does exist. I simply can’t bring myself to use an Android phone when I know a superior device is out there. That’s my only requirement for me to use a product: it has to be the best.”
“There are a dozen or more elements that are better about the iPhone. Everything from the big: the App Store versus the Android Market (from the consumer perspective) — to the little: the multi-touch and overall touchscreen responsiveness,” Siegler reports. “The thing some consumers don’t like about the iPhone is that it’s AT&T only (in the U.S., obviously). Even if you live in an area where AT&T doesn’t absolutely suck, having no choice of carriers is a big restriction. People have work plans, family plans, etc, etc, that they just can’t switch. Or they don’t want to.”
Siegler reports, “If the iPhone was on Verizon (VZ) (which is a larger network, remember), is there any question that it would be selling at least double the amount of units it is right now in the U.S.? I don’t think so. What if it was available on all the networks? And what would happen to Android sales if that was the case?”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve been saying since the “Android is a success” meme first began. Research backs it up: Verizon and other non-iPhone carriers’ customers want iPhones; they settle for Android while they wait (see releated articles below).
The other elephant in the room is just how much, if any, does Google’s Android infringe upon Apple’s iPhone patents, Multi-Touch™ and otherwise? And, what are the ramifications if Android does infringe, especially if it does so heavily? We’ll see iPhone on multiple U.S. carriers before the slow-turning wheels of justice come up with answers to those and other questions.