It is no doubt that the iPhone is a good phone. When it debuted in 2007, it boasted the most advanced and intuitive technology ever seen on a smart phone.
Even today, its graphic prowess, fluid usability and app support make it a popular choice for youth and older users alike. In the second quarter of 2011, it topped all other smart phone brands to gather 19.1% of the smart phone market share.
After dominating the smart phone pie in the past 4 years, it seems like iPhone’s throne is finally under siege. Apple’s competitors have been watching, listening and strategizing on how to topple the current market leader and mind you, they had 4 years to do so!
2012 seems to be the year they finally bear the fruits of their labor. Now here’s who we think iPhone should keep an eye on in 2012.
The Samsung Galaxy S2
Samsung has just reported a sales jump of 44% in Q4, overtaking Apple as the world’s top smart phone maker. Leading the charge is the Samsung Galaxy S2.
Make no mistake – the iPhone 5 is still the world’s most anticipated phone.
A new ChangeWave survey has reported that nearly half of its respondents (48 percent) who are planning on buying a smartphone in the next 90 days say they'll get an iPhone -- up 1 percent since its previous survey in March and the highest level of demand in the Smartphone industry.
Despite iPhone’s unrivalled popularity, the offerings from the S2 have led many to try it out and many people have found that they quite like Samsung’s cheaper price tag and the Android OS.
"Samsung's rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution," said Alex Spektor at Strategy Analytics.
Performance wise, both seem quite comparable:
Display technology
Both phone offer the best display technology has to offer.
The iPhone’s 3.5-inch Retina Display loses out to the S2’s 4.3-inch screen in terms of screen real estate. However, it offers a higher resolution of 640x960 pixels compared to the S2’s 540x960 pixels.
These days though, more and more people are looking for a bigger screen to play with and wouldn’t mind having a slight drop in resolution in exchange for more screen space.
Camera
The Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S are neck-in-neck, boasting an 8MP camera each. However, the key difference is that the S2 allows recording in HD videos which the iPhone only plays and records in 720P. This is dependent on the kind of codec used and quality of encoding. This makes it slightly inferior to the S2, which handles all popular video formats and codecs in 1080P.
App Support
In this arena, Apple still rules supreme. The Apple App Store offers a complete ecosystem that provides a distinct advantage over the S2’s Android Marketplace.
The App Store is considerably much favoured due to its vast library of quality apps. Apple's App Store, which has 425,000 apps, has recently topped the 15 billion download mark. On the other hand, Android’s offering is somewhat comparable to walking into a thrift store – there are certainly some good buys, but you’ll find more junk than anything else.
On top of that, Apple’s new iCloud system is something that Samsung still cannot beat as of now. While the iCloud is not an app, the feature allows easy integration between the iPad, iPhone and Mac, giving loyal Apple fan boys more reasons to stay true to the iPhone.
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Nokia
Many would consider Nokia a company on its last leg (and of course that’s probably justified), but it’s certainly not going down without a fight. The original leaders in the mobile phone market have partnered with Windows and they’re expected to pull out the big guns in 2012.
Although a staggering 44% of smart phone owners consider a Windows Phone 7 when getting a new phone, it doesn’t necessarily translate to an automatic victory for Nokia. According to the NDP Group, a market analysis company, 45% of people are still not even aware of the existence of the Microsoft platform. In fact, the number one reason people gave for not considering Windows Phone 7 was that they "don't know enough about it," followed by those who believed they'd already spent "too much time or money invested in another smartphone OS."
Comparing the recently released Nokia Lumia 800 with the iPhone 4S, there are still quite a lot of pieces missing. But if Nokia and Windows continue to up the ante every time, we should be looking at a real threat for the iPhone in 2012.
Display technology
Like the Galaxy S2, the Lumia has a slightly bigger screen (3.7-inch) than the iPhone 4S (3.5-inch). However, the resolution is a few steps down with only 800x480 pixels compared to the iPhone 4S’ 960 x 640 pixels.
Camera
Both devices sport an 8MP camera with autofocus and dual LED flash. However, the Lumia can only take videos at 720P, far inferior to the iPhone’s 1080P video taking abilities.
App Support
Once again, the Apple App Store shows its muscles, making the Windows Phone’s Marketplace seem like runt compared to a giant. Yet, it’s not completely bare, with over 30,000 apps and games available for download.
The biggest plus point for the Windows Phone OS is its ‘hubs’, a cross between folders and screens. These hubs allow integration with both native and third-party apps that gives the Windows Phone OS the potential to be a real competitor in the coming year.
For example, the Game Hub is closely integrated with Xbox LIVE and the Office Hub lets you create, view and edit Excel and Word documents.
Verdict
In all likelihood, iPhone’s unparalleled dominance should continue for at least awhile longer, with the recent release of iPhone 4s and of course, the highly anticipated iPhone 5. While we don’t expect their reign to suddenly come to an end, the threats of Samung Galaxy G2 and Nokia Lumia 800 are very real.
So what do you think are the other potential competitors to iPhone in the coming year? Share and discuss your thoughts!
