Apple iOS vs Android vs BlackBerry vs Windows

[rpm]

Apple vs Android vs BlackBerry vs Windows

Vodacom’s latest statistics reveal the biggest winners and losers in the smartphone and tablet market

 

[km2]

Vodacom’s latest statistics reveal the biggest winners and losers in the smartphone and tablet market

Who would be the biggest loser here? Everyone seems to be doing pretty well and presumably it's at the expense of feature phones rather than each other. Only BlackBerry seems to be stalling, but that's not terribly bad compared to the train smash they've had in the rest of the world.

 

[[)roi(]]

I'd argue our lack in mirroring international trends could be more indicative of a cellular affordability problem in SA rather than preference.

For example: how many other countries have Blackberry on top, let alone listed with any significant share.

 

[grim]

I'd argue our lack in mirroring international trends could be more indicative of a cellular affordability problem in SA rather than preference.

For example: how many other countries have Blackberry on top, let alone listed with any significant share.

These are active devices and sales, Blackberry sales are dismal compared to the other OS's here just like overseas.

I do suspect though that the average South African keeps a phone longer than someone in the US/Europe. This year active Blackberry devices should start dropping here as users upgrade their contracts. 2 years ago Blackberry still had unlimited BIS which was a big selling point here, with that gone I suspect a lot of Blackberry users will start switching this year.

 

[[)roi(]]

These are active devices and sales, Blackberry sales are dismal compared to the other OS's here just like overseas.

I do suspect though that the average South African keeps a phone longer than someone in the US/Europe. This year active Blackberry devices should start dropping here as users upgrade their contracts. 2 years ago Blackberry still had unlimited BIS which was a big selling point here, with that gone I suspect a lot of Blackberry users will start switching this year.

Sure! Yet as I argued, SA affordability is the problem why we don't mirror international trends.

Basically Vodacom's figures are a perfect representation of it's affordability; you argue it's because people keep their device for a longer period, and I argue they keep it longer for affordability reasons.

Sure some BIS features have been cut back, but overall it's still cheaper for a Blackberry user vs. any other device, why? Simple it's because this is the environment Vodacom has chosen to create, why? Naturally they must have not been entirely satisfied with the profitability that the Blackberry presented, and are now using the advent of the new smartphone trend as an opportunity to increase their profit.

...and that's what we get from an environment that has had no governance.

 

[BeVonk!]

Android is catching up fast to become the "new Blackberry" in SA, as happened in the States. One cannot deny that RIM and its local partners got it very right here and it is phenomenal that Blackberry is still holding on to a lead here after an international slump that started years ago. Here people signed up for Blackberrys despite the bad news surrounding RIM/Blackberry. Data became a lot more affordable making BIS obsolete but still people stuck to their Blackberrys. That is a local brand success story of note. One could write books about all the mistakes RIM made internationally, but there are also positive lessons to be learned from the SA case.

If Blackberry was to have a future it must look very closely at what it did right in SA and emulate that in markets with similar dynamics. It may well be too late now but I don't see any other way through the jungle for them. They most definitely do not have a future in the high-end market. They may have one in the "8520" class where it hit a huge sweet spot in SA.

 

[alloytoo]

Question, this is merely an analysis of mobile network devices.

What about wi-fi only devices?

These devices still access app stores, and still make purchases, are subject to advertising etc.

I imagine IOs and Android would be clearly ahead on this type of device.

 

[[)roi(]]

Android is catching up fast to become the "new Blackberry" in SA, as happened in the States. One cannot deny that RIM and its local partners got it very right here and it is phenomenal that Blackberry is still holding on to a lead here after an international slump that started years ago. Here people signed up for Blackberrys despite the bad news surrounding RIM/Blackberry. Data became a lot more affordable making BIS obsolete but still people stuck to their Blackberrys.

I doubt this was the reason; they applied new download limits fairly recently, prior to this it was pretty much unlimited, why? because quite a few BB users had figured out how to download movies, software, games, ... -- I knew of a few people who had signed up for BIS just for this reason (unofficially the cheapest data package at the time)

That is a local brand success story of note. One could write books about all the mistakes RIM made internationally, but there are also positive lessons to be learned from the SA case.

If Blackberry was to have a future it must look very closely at what it did right in SA and emulate that in markets with similar dynamics. It may well be too late now but I don't see any other way through the jungle for them. They most definitely do not have a future in the high-end market. They may have one in the "8520" class where it hit a huge sweet spot in SA.

Nothing to learn, as nobody else would tolerate the high prices we pay for data (BB was loved because with it came fix cost unlimited data services) -- so there's really nothing to learn, unless of course we deem the lesson to be: how best to exploit consumers in an ungoverned market.

 

[[)roi(]]

Question, this is merely an analysis of mobile network devices.

What about wi-fi only devices?

These devices still access app stores, and still make purchases, are subject to advertising etc.

I imagine IOs and Android would be clearly ahead on this type of device.

It's Vodacom's stats, so definitely no where close to reality.
Your best bet for a clearer picture is to look at International sales trends, which aside from the USA has Android in the lead.

As I said I believe SA's figures are quite warped by the lack of industry governance. I.e. Vodacom's pricing policies directly influences device usage, BB being cheaper to operate than either Android and iPhone re data costs vs. BIS

 

[jannievanzyl]

Android is catching up fast to become the "new Blackberry" in SA, as happened in the States. One cannot deny that RIM and its local partners got it very right here and it is phenomenal that Blackberry is still holding on to a lead here after an international slump that started years ago. Here people signed up for Blackberrys despite the bad news surrounding RIM/Blackberry. Data became a lot more affordable making BIS obsolete but still people stuck to their Blackberrys. That is a local brand success story of note. One could write books about all the mistakes RIM made internationally, but there are also positive lessons to be learned from the SA case.

If Blackberry was to have a future it must look very closely at what it did right in SA and emulate that in markets with similar dynamics. It may well be too late now but I don't see any other way through the jungle for them. They most definitely do not have a future in the high-end market. They may have one in the "8520" class where it hit a huge sweet spot in SA.

Spot on.

India perhaps?

 

[killkom]

This is a silly comparison really

They are comparing operating systems and not phones

BB has loads of different models and so does Android where Apple has 1 phone and windows has very few

They should compare actual devices of the same class

Like BB Z10, LG G2, Samsung Galaxy S3 and 4, iPhone 5, 5s and Windows phone they should all be out for the year tested then we will see a more decent comparison

I don't get much from the numbers in this comparison I mean how can you add a BB Curve which is the majority of the phones of that 3 million BB users to a iPhone or Samsung which costs 3 times as much

 

[[)roi(]]

Spot on.

India perhaps?

Nope, fail... India data charges are minor vs. SA -- strange then that we are expected to pay such huge premiums over Vodafone India? Surely much of the capital and opex outlay is the same?

Their smartphone penetration is largely being hindered by a lack of device plan subsidization re there's purportedly no reliable system for credit checks, stop orders, etc. i.e. Device choice tends to cash liquidity.

 

[Biscuit1018]

It's Vodacom's stats, so definitely no where close to reality.
Your best bet for a clearer picture is to look at International sales trends, which aside from the USA has Android in the lead.

As I said I believe SA's figures are quite warped by the lack of industry governance. I.e. Vodacom's pricing policies directly influences device usage, BB being cheaper to operate than either Android and iPhone re data costs vs. BIS

Japan is iPhone country btw.

BB is also quite popular in some other developing countries like Indonesia, India and Malaysia.
However its dropping fast in all those ones as well.
BB is also popular in Nigeria

 

[[)roi(]]

Japan is iPhone country btw.

Oops my bad might even have missed some more

BB is also quite popular in some other developing countries like Indonesia, India and Malaysia.
However its dropping fast in all those ones as well.
BB is also popular in Nigeria

Most places except South Africa, smartphones struggle to gain foothold primarily due to a lack of device subsidies; Africa however struggles with overall affordability -- could be due an export of MTN and Vodacom SA practices?

 

[Skerminkel]

I don't get why you guys are going on about BB still leading. The important part is that VC sold almost no new BBs since May! We have no information from before that, but it still clearly shows that BB lost SA as well.

 

[[)roi(]]

I don't get why you guys are going on about BB still leading. The important part is that VC sold almost no new BBs since May! We have no information from before that, but it still clearly shows that BB lost SA as well.

Sales might be different, but that's not what was published here.

These are the subscriber figures that Vodacom has shared; figures which show a large active set still choosing to use BB.

 

[Insint]

I am Hoping that Windows Mobile will become more popular and better.

I am tired of android. I can't really say anything negative about it and I do enjoy using it very much. It's just not exiting to get a new phone anymore. Everything is more or less always the same. I am still using HTC desire running 4.2.2 and the it's still running everything except the latest games. The phone reminds me of old Nokia phones. It just wont die and I have dropped it at least more than 10 times.

So basically same story Android Dominating, IOS doing good, Windows Mobile growing, BB dying slowly.

 

[Skerminkel]

...figures which show a large active set still choosing to use BB.

Yes, but they are all old phones and VC is not selling any new ones. At some stage the handsets will become old and the figure will drop off a cliff. The figures also indicate that BB is making no money from handset sales here. I assume revenue from services are also negligible.

 

[[)roi(]]

Yes, but they are all old phones and VC is not selling any new ones. At some stage the handsets will become old and the figure will drop off a cliff. The figures also indicate that BB is making no money from handset sales here. I assume revenue from services are also negligible.

Obviously, any company struggling with both liquidity and disinterest of their future tech; won't be recording any notable sales.

The value of BIS (even though significantly diminished) is still prized by many (re free messaging, Web access, etc.)

Vodacom and the rest's prices are most probably artificially held high for to not only increase profit potential but also to stem the tide of any the loss in profits by way of alternative messaging (e.g. Whatsapp) and/or voice calls (e.g. VOIP)

 

[BeVonk!]

Spot on.

India perhaps?

India, rest of Africa, and the whole of Central and South America, I think.