2 horse race in mobile – iphone and android android is going to blow past ios

I just caught this blog post from Seth Weintraub from Fortune on Android:

Andy Rubin just Tweeted that Google (GOOG) is activating 300,000 phones a day. That passes Apple’s (AAPL) iOS, that passes Blackberry (RIMM). That even matches any figures that Symbian has ever put up. Google is closing in on an astounding 10 million phones per month. Recall that Apple just had its biggest quarter ever with 14.1 million iPhones sold

It is no secret why every mobile company I have seed funded through BOLDstart Ventures is either already on the Android platform or soon will be.  This whole battle of licensing the OS vs. maintaining control of the full ecosystem from OS to hardware reminds me of the early days of Microsoft and Apple.  We all know who won back then – Apple had the best damn product but Microsoft had more distribution.  I am not saying it will play out the same way but looking at the early numbers it is pretty clear that the Android OS will eventually be in more hands.

This brings me to another point.  Right now we are looking mostly at consumers but what about the enterprises?  RIMM is still the dominant player in large enterprises like banks, etc but as well know RIMM does not have a fighting chance.  Smartphones are entering the workforce and enterprise whether IT likes it or not so how best to deal with it?  Will Apple or Google focus their efforts here?  I just made an investment in a stealth company that solves this problem for Android.  By downloading an app, a user can now run another instance of Android on their device which is secure and can be managed through the cloud by IT with various policies.  Think of it as a virtual machine running on the handset.  This can be great for corporate as now their employees can buy their own Android smartphones, use it personally, but also live within the confines of IT policy by simply clicking on the App and entering work mode, for example.  More to come on this in the future.  Why not start with the iPhone?  Well Apple’s strict policies for applications prevented the company from doing so.  Either way, this will be a great battle to watch in the future.

Published by Ed Sim

founder boldstart ventures, over 20 years experience seeding and leading first rounds in enterprise startups, @boldstartvc, googlization of IT, SaaS 3.0, security, smart data; cherish family time + enjoy lacrosse + hockey

5 comments on “2 horse race in mobile – iphone and android android is going to blow past ios

  1. Interesting Android app you mentioned – when will that be public?

    Regarding iOS vs. Android: the open policy that Google is employing towards apps has to be a big factor in moving people that way. When we talk to clients about potential projects we always have to give a warning disclaimer about Apple approval process. To quote myself, I usually mention that regarding mobile platforms, Steve Jobs is doing more for Android than Eric Schmidt.

  2. We’ve heard from a couple of Fortune 500 companies recently that they’re testing both iPhone and Android devices and considering dropping RIM altogether. Once major corporations figure out how to leverage these platforms and create B2B apps, I think these platforms (Android in particular) are going to start replacing Blackberries left and right. Of course, the Fortune 500 company I met with is still using Internet Explorer 6 company-wide, so the shift likely won’t happen overnight.

    RIM is going to have to reinvent the Blackberry image in a hurry or they’re in trouble. (We work in media buying and advertising, so I tend to see everything through that lens). Generation Y looks at the Blackberry as the boring phone their dad’s been using for years. They need to have an app market that competes with the others, and then hammer home the message that Blackberry is functional and reliable (for business use) and cool (for everything else).

Comments are closed.