Android Rules Smartphones, But Which Version?

Nerval's Lobster writes "Google Android's dominance of the smartphone space has been reinforced by a new IDC study that places its market-share at 68.3 percent, well ahead of iOS at 18.8 percent. But which version of Android is most preferred by users? A new set of graphs on the Android Developers Website offers the answer to that question: 'Gingerbread,' or Android versions 2.3 through 2.3.7, dominates with 50.8 percent of the Android pie. 'Ice Cream Sandwich,' or versions 4.0.3 through 4.0.4, is second with 27.5 percent, with the latest 'Jelly Bean' build at 6.7 percent. As demonstrated by that graph on the Android Developers Website, there are a lot of devices running a lot of different versions of Android out there in the ecosystem, all with different capabilities. In turn, that could make it difficult for Google to deliver 'the latest and greatest' to any customer that wants it, and potentially irritates those customers who buy a smartphone (particularly a high-end one) expecting regular upgrades." Here's how Slashdot readers using Android break down: 31.0% Jelly Bean, 31.5% Ice Cream Sandwich, 0.7% Honeycomb, 22.8% Gingerbread, 4.3% Froyo, 1.1% Eclair, 0.05% Donut, 0.02% Cupcake, 8.5% unknown. Looks like you folks are ahead of the curve. iOS breaks down like this: 67% iOS 6, 28.6% iOS 5, 3.2% iOS 4, 0.5% iOS 3, 0.7% unknown. (These numbers include more than just phones, of course.) Overall, our iOS traffic (8.74%) is higher than our Android traffic (6.75%). Windows Phone and BlackBerry both clock in at about 0.2%.

A little surprised

[Cinder6]

Yada yada, "preference" is the wrong word here. Anyway...

I know there are many articles saying that iOS has more overall web usage, but I'm still surprised to see that it's even the case with a demographic like Slashdot. Of course, it doesn't mean there are more iOS Slashdot users, but it's still interesting.

Re:Preference

[ohnocitizen]

Exactly. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3. I've been waiting for the official over the update to Jelly Bean from Verizon, and there isn't even a publicized release date. (No idea if it will be 4.1 or 4.2 either).

Doesn't matter which version

[DickBreath]

Focusing on which version is just a distraction from what really matters. What really matters is the first three words of the headline. Android Rules Smartphones.

It rules for the same reason that when you look in the parking lot you see no two cars alike. They all have different versions of equipment, or different model years. Nobody cares. What does matter is that, like Android phones, they come in every size, shape, color, style, feature combination and price that one could want.

Openness. It appears that it may always win in the long run.

Re:Preference

[the_B0fh]

And that's because all the people involved are being actively stupid. It *IS* possible to have a few standard interfaces. They are just too damned lazy to do so.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/linus-torvalds-arm-has-lot-learn-pc [networkworld.com]

Re:Preference

[h4rr4r]

I think it is more that this is a new place for ARM to be in. They were not prepared for something like Android. They were used to be used on one off SOCs for embedded devices that never saw any updates and very little user interaction.

ARM needs something like PCI, it needs standards it needs something like BIOS/EFI. Sadly right now it lacks all that and it really destroys any chance of a standardized installer for the platform.

Re:Android Dominance?

[icebike]

Don't always confuse the data consumed by the iPhone as any real indication of "doing more".

There are serious bugs [guardian.co.uk] in the IOS system, some of them long standing ones that cause huge cellular data usage [tidbits.com] that users can't explain and can't control [tidbits.com]. There are numerous HUGE threads on Apple support forums about high unexplained data useage [apple.com]. And SIRI is not the only data hog [zdnet.com].

Also, none of these web data usage studies takes into account the number of old iphones used only on wifi as the users have moved on to to newer phones. I have two of these sitting around my house. They run news update apps 24/7. The kids use them for web surfing occasionally. But because they are behind a router, web sites can't tell if its one, two, or seven. So in that case, what the web site can gather from it's logs speaks more to the installed base and durability of ancient IOS devices than the amount of actual use.

Re:Preference

[EXrider]

Have you actually used an iOS device for any extended period of time, or is this just conjecture based upon accounts of others and ramblings on forums?

I can't speak for the 3GS, but I had an iPhone 4 up until very recently and all of the OS updates, all the way up to 6.0.1 worked just fine for me. I mean, it was incrementally slower past iOS 4, as you would expect with more features (bloat) added for the newer more capable devices, but it wasn't as slow to be annoying or unusable like other devices I've had the displeasure of using. Battery life was always good for the two years I had the 4, I was regularly able to make it 24-48hrs on a charge all the way up to the last day I had it on 6.0.1.

Android updates cost $$$

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought an Android tablet years ago with no phone contract - wifi only. I assumed I'd get updates from Google but no, I am supposed to get it from "my carrier". So, I've never been able to upgrade it and I just used it less and less. So I'll never buy Android again unless I'm confident I'll get free updates from Google. I already know 100% for sure that Apple will support their software so I'm looking at the new iPod Touch.