China Now Leads the World in New iOS and Android Device Activations | Hacker News Reader

China Now Leads the World in New iOS and Android Device Activations

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33 pointskopsai30 comments

Will this also increase the piracy number of paid apps?

One segment of the app market that will definitely rise to a new level is online game that support virtual currency. I know many people in Asia (not just in China) are not shy to open their wallet for virtual items but still resort to piracy when it comes to regular games (NFS on iPod/iPad, etc) and apps.

There are businesses in Asia that specialized in jail-breaking your devices and stock them with pirated software and the service is dirt cheap.

Imagine the following scenario: you bring your newly bought iPod/iPad to a store, you pick 10 games for $3 bucks total (numbers are there for illustrative purpose), you leave your devices there for 1 hour or so while mommy goes shopping, come back and have everything there!

> Will this also increase the piracy number of paid apps?

Yes, also expect product piracy ('recreated' apps by Chinese developers using stolen assets). We have had this happen already, and Apple have been shoddy at responding to it.

There are two types of consumers.

-People who are willing to spend a lot of money on a device they love (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch) will spend money on apps.

-People who got their 2nd-rate, poorly built device (most android devices) for free from their carrier or for $50 from a flea market. They are not going to spend money on apps and are most likely to pirate apps/content.

Deleted comment

Feature phones show less uptake of apps. It's a rare iPhone user that hasn't purchased a dozen or so apps in a year. I'm sure they exist - but there's a lot more of us who've purchased 30 or more apps to balance them out.

>they're free.

but you didn't pirate the apps. my point exactly.

So since I got a iPhone 4S for "free" am I the second type of user? The way apple works in the US is not the same as the rest of the world!! The iPhone is available (since launch) on every carrier in Australia. For $0 upfront. Does that make it 2nd rate?

There are two types of consumers.

There are two types of commentators-

-People who naively bisect a hugely complex, graduated marketplace

-People who understand it's far more involved than that.

Seriously, though, I think it's a bit perverse to see all of the proud boasting about the spend of iOS owners -- it often amounts to less than $100 per user, where $2.99 is considered an expensive app. Is this really the future that developers were hoping for? Dancing for pennies, hoping to be that incredibly rare break-out viral hit?

let me guess. you're a web developer threatened by the explosion of apps on mobile devices?

Your original comment was the sort of partisan garbage that HN does not need (leave it to the Engadget comments), and I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Now, however, your stripes are a little too obvious.

pls. answer the question. it will give us perspective of where you're coming from (why you hate apps).

Are you this boorish in real life?

I don't "hate apps" at all, and your claim to that effect makes you look a little juvenile, continuing your bizarre "bisect the world" fetish. Nonetheless in a discussion where you herald the spend of iOS buyers (the devices are "expensive"? They are some of the least expensive options in their respective realms), it is kind of humorous considering the actual reality that most iOS users in aggregate spend very little. Just tried to load up my new iPad and it was actually difficult to get much past $75...a few days ago I spent $600 on Vegas Pro for the PC.

I apologize.

Anyway, how about books/song/movie purchases?

Downvoted for being rude and combative. The parent comment contained nothing that would lead anyone to such a strange reply as yours.

Agree. I apologize.

This will increase Android's lead over iOS. Samsung's lead is over 3x bigger than Apple's in China, and it keeps growing. Apple only has about 7% market share there.

What we've seen in the US is that Android's market share lead eroded as the iPhone became available on more carriers. You may expect that trend to continue as they fill out tiers they aren't competing on.

Considering that not being on China Mobile in China is the equivalent in the US of being exclusive with Sprint... you'd imagine the same thing will happen in China once "the new iPhone" comes out with China Mobile.

Which isn't to say Apple will win China's market share, they'll probably still trail but their disadvantage is less then you're suggesting here except in the short term.

[edit] Even in the short term I doubt it's accurate because iPhone just launched on China Telecom in the last two weeks so that effect has yet to be fully seen. [/edit]

That's really not true.

Here's the graph: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/09/ios-marketshare-up-from-26-...

The iPhone started selling on Verizon in Q1. There was a small dip in relative Android sales, but not many. The only time the iPhone came close to Android in sales was Q4 2011 after nearly 1.3 years of pent up demand for an upgrade.

Edit: Looking at graph again, in Q1 2011 android:iphone sales ratio significantly decreased. Android went from a 2.5:1 to just under 2:1

In China, a poorer country, I'd suspect Apple will never come close due to its large premium over medium-end Android devices.

Your graph directly supports my assertion:

Android had a 34% market share lead in Q4 2010 and a 22% lead in the iP4 launch quarter prior.

After opening on Verizon at highest tier only in Feb 2011, that lead "eroded" immediately to 24% and 23% for the following quarters.

Q3 and Q4 2011 it's well known that iphone sales lagged waiting the new phone and then surged but taking these quarters together you get a gap around 19-20%.

How is that "really not true" to say that Android's lead eroded when that's exactly what your chart shows?

Sorry, I was interpreting your word 'erode' as sharper than I should have interpreted and was looking at Android market share among all platforms. You are correct; after the Verizon launch, the ratio of Android:iPhone sales fell significantly.

This is why I love HN; you sir win the internets and my upvotes today.

There's more to the word "lead" than market-share. Apple makes a much larger profit for each phone sold compared to other companies.

For a platform the third party ecosystem is super important. That is most affected by # of users * how much each tends to pay. iPhone uses tend to be willing to pay more than Android users, but at some point the sheer number of Android users can make Android win out.

plenty of room for growth.

I should consider translating my game to Mandarin :)

Or even better Simplified Chinese which people of all Chinese dialects on the mainland can read.

From my understanding, Mandarin is a spoken dialect and there is no such thing as "written Mandarin." Simplified Chinese is one of two common written forms of Chinese.

That's basically correct, although there are certain phrases and grammatical patterns that don't quite match up in Mandarin/Cantonese - most will try to avoid those.

That's what I was getting at

duh.

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