Nielsen released some mobile statistics, which set off the usual ink-spill, and yes, I know I’m also guilty. As noted previously by Jason Grigsby (@grigs), not all analysis is created equal.
Anyway, among other things is this observation:
Trends Show Android Gaining Among The Young And Vivacious
I had the misfortune of eavesdropping on a smartphone activation today. I say misfortune because the one clerk in the store was helping a couple decide, so I was essentially a captive audience.
The customers appeared to be young, at least within on of the younger than 45 age ranges.
The phone was for the woman in the couple, and two of her major requirements were fast and cool. Cool translated to Facebook, which the clerk showed on his (Android) phone to demonstrate the coolness of the Android phone he suggested.
Note, the store did not carry any iPhones, so you could argue that the Android phones had no coolness competition.
Even so, the price point was the final key deciding factor, and it was *way* below what an iPhone runs. I think I overheard $50 out-of-pocket after contract discounts and rebates, etc.
I didn’t get a look at the phone, but the clerk was also recommending Sprint, so I think it was the LG Optimus S, a so-called mid-range Android offering.
So, I guess I’m not surprised to see Android gaining among young people. Cost matters more than coolness, but both really sells the phone.
Apple knows this, which is why the iPhone nano rumor has legs.
Doesn’t surprise me. As you’ve pointed out this, for Apple, will not be the year of iPad 2, but the year of the ‘cheap’ iPhone.
Yup. My good friend Jason Grigsby (@grigs) has great post about that very topic:
http://www.cloudfour.com/2011-is-not-the-year-of-the-ipad-2-it-is-the-year-of-the-cheaper-iphone/
He smartly adds lots of pretty pictures, graphs and you know, analysis.