UPDATED 12:19 EDT / AUGUST 05 2011

Android, iOS or Others: Which Platform Suits You?

Admit it, you want an Apple device, be it for the design of the software or its outer aesthetics.  But unfortunately, due its higher price compared to other devices, you can’t afford one.  So many are using other devices, most likely Android.  But seriously, is price the only reason why Android is getting a lot of attention?   I don’t think so.

You see, a lot of smartphones and tablets run on Android like Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, to name the major manufacturers.   And these brands have their own sets of loyal subscribers.  People have this tendency to stick to what they are used to, so even if a company greatly innovates, consumers will stick to them, no matter the OS, and actually learn to love them.  This brand recognition has helped Android to infiltrate the Asia-Pacific market as well.

Though Android is experiencing some drawbacks like the infringement case filed by Apple, and the transparency issue made known by its community of developers, we still can’t deny the fact that they are trumping other devices.

A recent study showed that the state where you live in actually has an effect as to what device you choose to use.  According to Jumptap, the leader in targeted mobile advertising, shows that consumers in the South and Southwest tend to be Android-biased compared to the rest of the country, while those in the Midwest and Northeast lean towards iOS. California, Texas and Florida over-index for Android use, and states in New England and the Midwest over-index for iOS use.  Blackberry use, which over-indexed in New York, was also included in the geographic data. This new data establishes an evolving narrative of a North vs. South divide in the ongoing battle of the two top mobile operating systems, which is primarily geared towards mobile advertisers, especially as localized actions and content gets incorporated into marketing campaigns.

“Our advertisers are requesting the most granular data available on mobile users so they can create the most targeted campaigns,” said Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer for Jumptap. “This new data reveals some interesting patterns for advertisers to consider when targeting consumers using Android devices vs. iOS devices.”

Though this may sound like good news for Google, it’s actually not all good.  As Android becomes more and more popular, the malware threats against them also increase as there is a significant increase on mobile downloads.  People seem to think it’s safer to download files on your smartphones rather than your computer and malware creators have seen that trend, and are also going the mobile route.

To address this problem, Lookout launched the Mobile Threat Network, which provides mobile device security through an online platform that aggregates and constantly scans anonymized data gathered from over 700,000 mobile apps.  Apple is more secure compared with Android devices as system updates get deployed by a single source – Apple.  On the Android side, devices are tweaked depending on carriers and OS versions, which may cause system updates to not work as they were supposed to.

Android devices are surpassing Apple sales, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are performing better on all fronts.  Apple still tops the performance category.  So when buying a device, better scrutinize it thoroughly and don’t let other factors, like which state you live in, affect your buying judgment.


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