Early Adopters Vs Mainstream Customers; Android Vs IPhone

Since the iPhone 4 began shipping a couple of days ago, I have read a multitude of articles comparing this new phone to various Android-based devices, generally focused on the newer Droids. I think the authors of these comparisons miss the point; these devices serve very different markets and therefore have developed completely different ecosystems.

Reviews often focus on processor speed, memory, camera specifications, battery life, size, weight, and the number of applications in the app stores. Some comparisons position the iPhone as a closed system and highlight the advantages of the open Android development environment. More comprehensive reviews include Nokia and Rim devices in the mix. Almost all of these reviews focus on the devices rather than on smartphone users.

Before smartphones, Geoffrey Moore, in “Crossing the Chasm,” described an evolution of product adoption that applies to many high-tech companies. Moore’s classification of customers is very similar to the technology adoption lifecycle developed by Joe Bohlen, George Beal, and Everett Rogers in 1975. The lifecycle classifies customers into groups called innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

 Image Provided by Wikimedia Commons

Moore argues that companies need to focus on one group at a time to cross the chasm between the early adopters and the mainstream customers, who are included in the right-most customer group shown above. He also points out that many high-tech failures occur after a company has amassed a significant number of innovators and early adopters but fails to understand the needs of mainstream customers.

Android is an early adopter ecosystem, while IOS (iPhone) is for mainstream customers.

The open Android ecosystem provides developers with a highly flexible, open, and easy-to-root (gaining operating system access) development and runtime environment. Google imposes very few limitations on the applications available to Android users and does not restrict application distribution. In fact, on the Android Market developer web page, it states, “Android Market is open to all Android application developers. Once registered, developers have complete control over when and how they make their applications available to users.”

In contrast, the iOS (iPhone) ecosystem is tightly controlled by Apple. All iPhones ship with a locked-down application environment. If you “jailbreak” or unlock the application environment on your iPhone, you invalidate your warranty. Developers are required to submit all applications to Apple for review, and Apple has full authority over which applications it will allow developers to distribute via the App Store.

Given these differences, why would anyone want an iPhone? Because most smartphone users are not developers and, in fact, do not want to take risks with their phones. They want the company that provided them with the phone to ensure that a third-party application will not interfere with their ability to make and receive phone calls. Mainstream smartphone customers value consistency over creativity, reliability over flexibility, and stability over openness. From the perspective of most iPhone customers, there are more applications available in the app store than they will ever need.

Why do developers build applications for the restrictive iOS (iPhone) ecosystem? To paraphrase a famous campaign slogan from the 1992 United States Presidential election, “It’s the economy, stupid.” The mainstream smartphone marketplace is vastly larger than the early-adopter market, and the Apple ecosystem provides developers with a very easy-to-use distribution channel.

In conclusion, both the Android and the IOS (iPhone) ecosystems provide valuable additions to the telecommunications world. Both solutions provide customers with vastly more choices and with hundreds of thousands of applications. Early adopters that value the maximum in flexibility and that are unfazed by some inconsistency between devices and applications will find their needs well served by a wide range of Android devices. Mainstream customers that want a smart phone that just works and still offers hundreds of thousands of applications, but may not always have the very latest application, will be delighted with an iPhone. When comparing products and services in the rapidly changing technology world of the 21st century, remember to first understand the customer demographics served by the product or service and then properly qualify your comments for a specific marketplace.