We have been hearing for months how Android will eventually catch iPhone and surpass it in the upcoming years. Android OS is run on various devices, so it is only a matter of time before this contest becomes one-sided. According to NPD, Android phones are responsible for 28% of sales last quarter, more than iPhone’s share, which stands at 21%. Android has still some ways to go to catch RIM, though that’s a matter of time too.

It’s so easy to write off iPhone’s chances when it has taken such a short period of time to catch up with iPhone. But comparing iPhone and Android is somewhat similar to comparing Apples and Oranges. The iPhone OS is a closed platform that is run only on Apple devices (and currently has only AT&T to count on). Android is run across multiple devices and networks. Trying to read too much out of these numbers is grasping at straws. Are Android numbers impressive for such a young platform? No one can question that. Nevertheless, the platform has ways to go to reach its full potential.

Apple is going to have its momentum back as soon as it pulls the trigger on Verizon iPhone. Verizon customers want it. AT&T customers hoping to jump ship want it too. AT&T may be improving its network but an iPhone deal with Verizon can only help Apple grow its market-share and reach more homes.Verizon tops AT&T in customer satisfaction and many other areas as well. Engadget reports that Apple signed a five year exclusivity deal with AT&T from the get go. It’s not clear whether those terms still apply.

Many companies have tried and failed to kill the iPhone. Google could be the latest one of those companies with its failed Nexus One experiment. The Android platform has a bright future, and it can co-exist with the iPhone platform. Just don’t expect it to run Apple out of business anytime soon.

You decide: Android or iPhone?  Why?

Of course, being able to run Android on an iPhone and actually getting all the cool feature without any performance issues are two different things. Besides, the strength of the iPhone does not lie in its hardware. The iPhone may be a decent phone with more than decent features. But would people invest in it if Apple’s iPhone ecosystem was not in place?

Apple is going to tighten things up even further with iPhone HD. The company has been on a mission to stop iPhone hackers. While this latest hack is almost harmless to Apple, it is going to give the company even more encouragement to stop the jailbreakers. Then there is the issue of iPhone app piracy, which is something Apple has not figured out how to stop completely at this point.

Jailbreaking is not risk free, and it could technically brick your iPhone. Most people do it to take advantage of apps and services that Apple has blocked on regular iPhones. We may not get Google Voice, Adobe Flash, and other cool products on iPhone without going around Apple, but that does not mean that jailbreaking will be without its issues. So think twice before trying the above hack on your iPhone.

The top smart-phones today are more than just phones. They are whatever you want them to be as long as there is an app for them that addresses what you need to get done on your smartphone. Apple has a huge head start over its competitors in this area. The company has worked so hard to create an ecosystem that allows more developers to bring their innovative apps to the market and monetize their work in the process. iPhone owners have a lot of option to choose from as well. Add to that the competition among developers to come up with higher quality apps, and you have got a killer app market.

One shouldn’t forget about the influence that the iTunes has had in Apple’s success with apps. The service has made it so easy for iPhone owners to search through apps, find out about new ones, and pick up and rate apps on the fly. Apps have become so important these days that even AT&T takes credit for having access to them in its anti-Verizon ads.

I have never been impressed with the Android market. It’s true that Google has been also working to build up the number of apps available in Android market, but the service doesn’t provide you with an experience that is anywhere near what you get with iTunes. That hasn’t kept Google to bring up its app total to 20,000 (which was announced just a few days ago).While impressive, Google has ways to go before it can call the Android platform a complete success.

Google has a few issues to deal with here if it wants to catch up to Apple in the app department. For starters, many developers have complained about not having the ability to monetize their Android apps properly. So it’s not surprising to see smaller developers focus more on iPhone platform and halt their Android projects. The Android platform is not quite ready for more sophisticated apps, so it will take a bit of time for it to catch up. Google developing its own “iPhone killer” may help spur the demand and bring more developers to the table. It’s just a matter of scales. So far Apple has won that battle very handily.

Apple has a big early mover advantage in the mobile app department, and while Google can always catch up, so far there is no comparison between the two platforms. That will probably change in 2010 but don’t go ditching your iPhone for an Android phone just yet.

Google Android may not be beating the iPhone OS today, but it certainly has got a whole lot of momentum going for it. When Google announced a while ago that it was working on its own mobile OS, there were a lot of people who didn’t know what to think of it. Google wasn’t a smart-phone company, so it wasn’t that clear what direction Google was heading to with Android. Google’s vision is not too hard to comprehend these days. The company is forming partnerships and bringing the Android platform to many devices across multiple industries.

Netbook manufacturers have already decided to take a chance on Google Android (e.g. Acer). And now you can add e-book readers to the list of devices that will be taking advantage of this platform in the near future. B&N’s Nook may not be a phone, but the fact that it uses Android shows where the platform is heading. Google is planning world domination in a whole new way, and Android is a vehicle to achieve that goal.

Android being used on netbooks and e-book readers may not be a direct threat to Apple, but it should serve as a wake up call for Apple. Let’s not forget about Droid either. It’s an Android smart-phone that will be released through Verizon Wireless and is expected to be superior in a few areas in comparison to the iPhone.

Will Android pass iPhone in marketshare by 2012? It’s not that simple. But Google will certainly try to get Android on as many devices as possible and make it easier for developers to make a living out of their apps. At the same time, the platform has got ways to go before becoming a more serious threat to the iPhone platform. Considering that Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world, it will not give up its leadership position without a fight. Now if the iPhone platform were a bit more open…

A certainly nice way to go after every little weakness that iPhone has. Unlike Microsoft, Verizon’s ad campaign actually has some sting to it. The Droid has gotten some great previews from Android fans, but the jury is still out.

Even in the mobile app usage, iPhone dominates the market. Perhaps what’s more impressive than iPhone’s results is Android’s progress in the smart phone market. With less than 1% of market-share, Android still manages to come second best in the mobile web browsing category (9% of the market). Android phones are on the rise, though it’s early to tell how fierce the battle between iPhone and Android will be. The above report is not that surprising as both these devices offer superior web browsing experience at this point. The other handsets will probably catch up, but iPhone has so many advantages over most smart-phones that it’s hard to see any one of them dethroning Apple iPhone.

The good folks at Gizmodo have an interesting theory about Google putting Android on iPhone, which is more than possible if you can already put Linux on the iPhone. I personally don’t consider Android a threat to the Mac Mobile OS right now, and I am sure Apple is alert about the possible future threat from Android. But what I am more interested about is to see if Apple will pull a Microsoft on us by limiting or banning Android to be put on the iPhone.

What’s your take?

It’s really not rocket science. If you look at all the companies that have taken on Apple, Google would be the one likely to threaten Apple the most. Google and Apple are probably the two most innovative companies around the world, and let’s not forget the world domination plan that Google has. Android looks more promising than anything I have seen from those other companies in the mobile industry, so it’d be very interesting to find out how Google Android will affect Apple’s drive to the top of the mobile phone industry. But the mobile industry has some exciting time ahead, and I think we consumers will be winner as a result of all these intriguing upcoming competitions.

To be honest, Google has been great at using open techniques to get domination in some markets, but going against Apple will be truly interesting as I believed both companies to be pretty much on the same side of battle against the Microsofts of this world. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to Google claims!