Coming to Amazon it remains to be seen whether Amazon will make any profit on Kindle Fires. The strategy of selling your devices cheap to make money in after sales worked beautifully for Printer makers who made real money selling cartridges and not the printer itself. It remains to be seen whether Amazon can succeed here especially when it really does not make much money when it tries to undercut brick and mortar businesses on price on books, diapers, electronics etc. The equivalent would be if Apple sold its iOS devices by making a loss on each device with the hope that people buy stuff on iTunes , iBooks and appstore. This is a strategy that Apple can still implement but really doesn’t need to as it is not desperate.

Nook is really burning a huge hole in B&N bottom line. They are seriously planning to sell off Nook division. With LG, HTC and Motorola all barely making money – it clearly seems adopting Android has largely been a kiss of death to many OEMs. It’s really not a big deal to inflate your sales numbers by selling barely making any profit. Heck Apple can easily do that. But it doesnt need to. Android may also fast become a kiss of death to developers who seem to be getting four times more money developing for iOS than Android by putting in the same amount of effort.

Coming to innovation – only a thoroughly brainwashed Droidboi will fail to see the that the current wave of smartphone innovation was started by Apple. About the only advantage that Android has over iOS is the ability to customize which most people apart from geeks and nerd really don’t care and the amazing facial recognition unlock ( which incidentally bombed miserably when it was launched).

Coming to innovation on iPhone 4s- Google currently is so scared of Siri that Eric Schmidt in a sworn testimony to the US congress mentions it as number one threat to its search business as people find a significantly different way to get the information they want. Further Google has ramped up its efforts to bring a Siri like functionality to Android. With Siri contributing to increased iPhone data usage compared to older models, it is clear people are using Siri far more commonly than what an Droidboi would like us all to believe. Google clearly knows what the threat of Siri really means. In places like UK and Australia Siri is such a hit that iPhone actually gained market share against Android, unlike the norm where both iPhone and Android seem to grow against RIM and Windows phones. I hazard a guess that this holiday quarter iPhone may have actually grown against Android in US too. Let’s wait until the numbers come out.

Fragmentation may not be a problem to Droidbois, but matters a lot to developers. So despite the fact that Android outsells iPhone by more than 2:1 and the installed base similar to each other now ( about 230 million each ) developers choose iOS over Android as a platform of choice by a significant margin for new project starts. How much more deluded a Droidboi can be who refuses to see Fragmentation problem of Android?

The rest of your statement is just the go-to for iSheep. “Fragmentation”, “Android competition between manufacturers”, etc. I don’t give a crap if half of the android running manufacturers completely fail. The pure fact that there is competition between manufacturers offering Android devices forces innovation and improvement. Only iDiots look at the 4s as a giant leap forward for Apple, and why? Because there is only one device line you can buy offering iOS. Apple has no need to push the boundaries or change its hardware, because if your used to iOS, and are too lazy/comfortable to learn another OS (regardless of how easy/hard it is) you are simply stuck with what they offer. Apple users always point to the simplicity of their devices. And yet how many Android users find their devices just as simple to use and work with? Millions, if Android sales have anything to say about it. Apple users simply pick up an Android device, and don’t want to deal with the hassle of learning a new OS. As a long time Windows user I have the same issue whenever I work on Apple machines. The fact that those machines with inferior hardware cost $100s more makes my choice to stick with Windows easy.

You ALSO seem to forget that while lower end iPhones are “cheap” for users in the US who sign a 2-year contract, they are still VERY expensive in many other countries throughout the world. Much more expensive than the cheaper (both cost and materials), but affordable Android devices. Why do you think other OSes still even exist (bada, symbian, etc.). They are offered on cheaper low-end smartphones, the same type of smartphones Android is offered on. It is no surprise that Android and other OSes are overtaking Apple in the smartphone world. By offering many devices at many price points with differing OSes companies can appeal to any user. Apple has just brainwashed its users into thinking that there is only one option.

I use Apple, Windows and Android devices every day of my life. I am glad you took my post pointing out a mistake in your logic and turned it into an anti-Android rant. This just proves how much of an iSheep you are. I will enjoy being an iFan/Fandroid/WinFan and enjoy all my devices. Enjoy the limited set of devices you have mentally forced yourself into.

However, if the doll was originally not made great in the eyes of it’s beholder – its really a big deal to be able to customize the dresses.

About the only Android vendor that is really making money amongst the big players is Samsung. HTC, Motorola and LG are barely making money ( check their last quarterly updates). Barnes and Noble is so desperate that it wants to sell off its Nook division, Amazon outright sells its devices at a loss. So really about the only real Android competitor for Apple is Samsung for it is about the only Android player that seems to be selling Android devices without really hurting itself. ( Imagine how much more Apple can sell if it hurts itself and dips into to $70 billion surplus and starts selling iPhones at a loss – A droidboi is advised not to contemplate on that as his head might hurt. The latest estimates of iPhone sales show availability of iPhones at a lower price point is significantly advantageous to unit sales numbers.)

In Android land its Android drones versus android drones. It’s a war of who can make a phone or a tablet As cheap as possible without making it look like garbage. All so that Droidbois can experience the pleasure of customizing their phone just like how little girls can dress up their dolls in many different ways. Naah thats not right! I was joking…something more closer to reality is that only way Android Army drones can distinguish amongst each other is price. High end Android phones barely make enough sales for the Android vendors to turn them around with the exception of Samsung. As Google cracks it’s whip to prevent fragmentation whatever differentiation that Android vendors have amongst each other apart from price will slowly vanish away. Then it becomes an incredible race to the bottom. ( if it already has not become).

If Google does not solve the fragmentation problem, I predict Droidbois to only start buying Nexus branded phones after becoming fed up with poor updates to their OSes and the crapeware and skins that other OEMs and carriers put on their Android devices. In this scenario first of all all the freedom that Droidbois tout will vaporize and about the only choice they have is Nexus branded phones. For the other OEMs it will be about begging Google to choose them for it’s next Nexus phone.

A reality check is also due for iSheep. Android phones are sold by many other manufacturers: Pantech, HTC, LG, Motorola, etc. Comparing Apple to Android is as dumb as comparing iOS to Samsung. Will more Android cell phones have been sold than iOS phones, most likely based on the change in market percentage. Will Apple have sold more iPhones than Samsung, it will be close, but that doesn’t change the fact that Android phones will have outsold iOS phones.

Sure Samsung sells phones with other operating systems, but I would rather have the ability to choose from several devices from several manufacturers with several OSes than 1 device, 1 OS and 1 manufacturer.

It will be a close call to see who was indeed the largest smartphone vendor of the world.

A reality check is also due for Fandroids. Samsung also sells smartphones with its own OS. It is not clear how much fraction of the smart phones it sells are based on Android and how much on Bada.