“Hot on the heels of Samsung admitting that it had exaggerated sales of its Android tablet to consumers, it is becoming clear that Google’s Android platform definition is being stretched to include Chinese rivals, including China Mobile’s Ophone and Tapas OS, a project run by the former president of Google China,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.
“A report by Canalys yesterday claimed that Google Android platform had taken the top spot in global smartphone platforms worldwide, edging in front of Nokia and making up about a third of all smartphones globally,” Dilger reports. “That fourth quarter figure, collective of all manufacturers using Android in some fashion, is double that of Apple’s Q4 iPhone sales, a dramatic reversal of last year, when Apple’s sales were twice that of all Android licensees together, according to Canalys. However, the report’s numbers included a footnote saying the ‘Google numbers’ ‘relate to Android, as well as the OMS and Tapas platform variants.'”
Dilger continues, “OMS is not Google Android… Tapas OS is not Google Android… How many of the 33 million “Android” handsets are actually benefitting Google and the users of Android platform (who benefit from a larger installed base for apps only if the installed base is actually made up of compatible devices) was not split out by Canalys. Clearly however, such a disclaimer would not need to have been made if the addition of those Chinese rivals had not been necessary to beat Nokia’s Symbian.
“Gartner similarly counted blockbuster growth for Android in the third quarter of 2011, but relegated most of this growth into a bucket of ‘other’ manufacturers. The top tier of recognizable Android makers, including HTC, Motorola and Samsung, all of which Google has partnered with to release new versions of Android, have all experienced far more moderate growth in sales numbers (or in the case of Motorola, shrinking sales),” Dilger writes. “That suggests most the growth in ‘Android’ numbers is coming from no-name vendors selling devices in countries such as China, using devices that don’t support Google’s development of the OS (via ads or search services) nor even expand the platform in any meaningful way that could benefit Android users.”
More in the full article, including a very telling graphic, here.
MacDailyNews Take: Why all the hyped up, overinflated Android numbers lately? Whatever could be the impetus (cough, Verizon iPhone, cough? Google or somebody sounds like they’re getting really worried about developers’ interest, or lack thereof, in Android.
Ahhh…don’t you just love the sound of desperation on a Monday evening?
Here are lies and there are lies and there is the Google whore.
Let’s level the playing field, and include Windoze numbers when adding up all the Mac OS machines. After all, Windoze is a blatant copy.
And while we are at it, include copycat Android numbers when tallying iOS phone and tablet sales.
It’s only fair.
I loved google when they were friend with apple. Now google is so lame and nasty.
Android enthusiasts are remarkably thin on the ground in any major city that I’ve lately visited. All I ever see are iPhones and blackberries. Maybe the owners are just really good at hiding them.
It’s amazing how jealous MacDailyNews is of Android. It really shows in all their anti-Android comments, which is weird since iOS is just as powerful as Android.
Jealous isn’t the right word, macfan101. I think “derisive” is more accurate.
Google’s spending megabucks lately, misinforming idot tech writers, who don’t have a clue or any inclination to fact check, about android and chrome numbers.
For the past few weeks the ramp up has been huge only to be corrected and retracted in the margins and backpages of the yellow blogs and rags that employ theses unqualified experts. Accompanying this slimy unfounded propaganda is much Apple iOS trashing and even low blows at Steve Jobs.
Notice how it’s all perpetuated by the rats that can’t make Apple’s grade or favor?
Despite the fact that the world has finally realized the Microsoft farce and the non existing value and quality of PCs, there’s still lots of dummies that fed the beast for years. Give the dog a bone…but beware of the pedigrees they all want and know the real thing – Apple.
@Russ
Just go visit a college town. Android is everywhere while iOS appears only here and there. The younger generation has embraced Android.
In the end the number of actual real live end users will decide which platform(s) win.
At the moment, all numbers save those given by Apple are being kicked out in an attempt to preserve stock prices at competing tech companies and the bonuses of their CEO’s and by the general pool of analysts that have been so far off the mark on predicting anything Apple attempting to buy back some credibility.
Do the number pushers really think the majority of the demographic buying these products actually give a rip what the numbers are? Have they actually gone into a retail outlet and watch people as they make a comparative buying decision?
If you’re all that good, go create a user experience better than what Apple delivers in all areas and then report on real numbers.
Google is evel. Period.
To: macfan101
Truth Hurts “macfan101” and now Google gets called out on its lies and you are still defending them.
It has nothing about a dislike of Android, Its has everything to do about all the lies and deceptive practices Google has implemented in the past months to undermine anything Apple does by numbers or devices, But Google has been called out and caught in the act of lies again and again.
Now “macfan101” why do you want to change the subject to what we are really discussing here, And that is Googles & Androids Numbers are not what they are being true as reported, and we have a very scared bunch running to do anything to save what could be the beginning of the end of the shimmer of the fake Android sales tactic.
Eat a nice Sh** Sandwich macfan101 its very cold.
@NOT”macfan101″
A couple of things:
1) You’re so mature. Do you write for MDN? If not, maybe you should start.
2) Exactly what lies has Google been called out for? Are you talking about the Samsung quote (Google doesn’t own Samsung, just so you know). As it turns out was the result of a mistranscription by the Wall Street Journal – but of course MDN doesn’t report that.
3) Your second paragraph doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons.
Time to viral that correction to our typical clueless tech writers. You know CNET ZDNET Register techrepublic any geek leaking windows androids blog sites.
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Isn’t Canalys also the organization that includes iPads as real PCs in terms of sales?
Motorolas market share will drop off the map after IPhone debuts on Verizon. Rimm will be toast when the playbook comes out. Wait fot the runup of rimm into playbook then short motorola and rimm. I say Apple’s IPhone 5 will take Apple to the top of market share in 2011. Just think, the IPhone was non-existent just 3 1/2 years ago and now they’ve killed every cell phone manufacturer in the world.
if you wanna know the truth, just look at Developer revenues on the respective platforms… Android is about 2% of iOS Revenues.
Eg. Android users don’t like to pay for stuff.
Eg. Android users aren’t doing much on their devices
Eg. There aren’t as many Android users out there as you think there are.
Owned apple products since 1985. Wish I owned the stock that long. There will always be imitators, look at Pepsi, but there is nothing like the real thing!
Android: U mad?
The error or deception is that of Gartner, not Google. Clearly, Gartner’s reports are not reliable and its analysis is unprofessional.
Jajajjaj another rounding error of the Apple rivals.
Who cares? “Android” is not a product. iPhone is a product. iPad is a product. iPod touch is a product. Compare sales of Apple’s iOS products to the relevant Android-based products.
As a platform, Android is a fragmented mess. Due to different versions (and “variants”), support of future versions on existing devices, and compatibility of apps between devices/versions, you may as well count “Android” as multiple incompatible platforms, NOT ONE platform.
Apple is in an enviable position of being able to sell as many devices as it produces, at the asking price (not $100-off or some two-for-one deal). Apple does not care how many Android devices are being sold, as long as Apple meets its internal sales, revenue, and profit goals for any given quarter. Since Apple cannot possibly fulfill 100% of the world’s demand for smartphones, the shortfall may as well be satisfied by a collective of smaller players, each selling multiple Android-based commodity devices, who are all dependent on Google, who makes no direct profit from the sale of an Android device. THAT is an ideal environment for Apple to prosper, and continue to make most of the available profit.
No, it might not be in this particular case, but Google is guilty more than its fair share of deception regarding Android. Take the “activation numbers” they tout. What do they even mean? It can’t be the number of Android devices sold to consumers, because if they were real sales, then Google would be open about it. You only resort to measuring success by some oddball metric like “activations” because the actual sales numbers are less than good. And Android doesn’t just run on smartphones, either, so what the hell? Are they basically counting smart kitchen appliances as competition against the iPhone and iPad? Do they make no destinction based on whether or not an Android device is even a phone or tablet? Nothing suggests they do.
I wonder what the real situation is for Android, sales-wise. It can’t be great.
Err, sales-wise as a competitor to iOS.
Google will regret it unleashed a free OS for all mobile come latelies. It just did most of the R&D for all the commodity entrants and con artists, at the risk it will be forked to the degree where Google will not make .001 of a penny on it, and potentially proliferate back to harm not only Android market, but place gaping holes in the whole Google system. FOSS paradigm may work great on stripped down, security focused, specially configured servers, but I do not think it will work as well on a global, personal device scale.