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Comment by wavephorm | Hacker News Reader

I imagine a lot of RIM and Google executives are getting a twitch in their eye right about now. If these new devices live up to their hype I can easily see them supplant Android as the "anything but Apple" option.

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Yep. The real tragedy of fragmentation is that Android still lacks any kind of brand power - they're the phone equivalent of yesterday's faceless beige windows towers. If Microsoft actually ship this in 2012, and have someone mildly competent in marketing, I wouldn't be surprised to see most American users once again choosing between MS and Apple.

I'm not really sure whether it's true or not that Android doesn't have brand power. I mean, it's not as strong as "iPhone", certainly, and I don't have any specs to show, but I sure notice "Android!" on signs in front of cellular shops a lot... and there's a giant green Android robot balloon on the top of a little wireless shop just down the road. Even my non-techie friends say things like "Is that an iPhone or a Droid [sic]?"...

It seems to me, Android phones focus much more on the brand of the device than the platform it is running...

"Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch"

Ads might mention mention Android but much more verbiage is about the device features and the like.

iPhone doesn't need this. RIM really didn't need this.

Windows Phone adds I have heard, Nokias are now known for running Windows Phone, I haven't heard many commercials for other device manufacturers. But, for me, I know it is an Android phone when I hear the ridiculous names.

I thought you were being sarcastic with the name, but no, it really is called the:

"Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G Android Phone, Black (Sprint)"

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy-Epic-Touch-Android/dp/B...

Wow.

That's not a tragedy for Google, that's their game plan. They want their apps and services on every "faceless beige box" in the world. The market for cheap generic consumer electronics is not going away.

Yeah, but I don't think it would be a small loss for Android to fall from dominance in medium to high end phones in Google's best markets. In theory, Android gives them at least some control in a category with important implications for every part of their business (mobile). I doubt they're too concerned about Bing, but if WP8 takes off, it gives MS room to make inroads in search, and for Apple and Microsoft to interfere with search queries with tools like Siri...

I can easily see them supplant Android as the "anything but Apple" option.

Do you really imagine that the hundreds of millions of Android users chose "anything but Apple"?

This mirrors the iPad discussion. People want a device to fill needs. Anyone who thinks this isn't competition with the iPhone is an imbecile.

  Do you really imagine that the hundreds of millions of Android users chose "anything but Apple"?

Yes I believe this is true.

There are very few redeeming qualities that an Android tablet has over an iPad. Likewise the people I know with Android phones either couldn't afford an iPhone, don't want one due to philosophical issues, or just wanted a simple feature-less cell phone and an Android phone was the same price.

People do not desire Android devices... they tolerate them. That's why Google should be afraid of these new Microsoft tablets and phones -- people already desire them in a way I have never heard anyone talk about any android device ever created in the past 3 years.

You clearly exist within an Apple fan bubble. Your opinion has zero correlation with reality and you didn't even understand the point I was making. Rather I would say that you couldn't understand it.

Excuse me, but "reality" is the world around you. My "opinion" is based on my own experiences, and my own observations of the people I know -- because that's what reality is. Reality is not simply what "people say" on internet tech websites and android discussion forums.

Sure. People want a smartphone that can post on facebook, take pictures, send and receive emails, etc. They also want to play games, maybe use Netflix, etc.

They choose a phone based upon that. Hundreds of millions of people, when given that choice, choose an Android device for a wide variety of reasons. You don't get that, I understand, because you live in a bubble and have no engagement with the real world.

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