Android Outsells iPhone, End of the World?

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?