I disagree. At the very most 3 to 5% of Android users use Android for the openness. I believe the pundits need to spend more time with normal people and not just geeks.
My friend has her iPhone 4 with the same OS as when she bought it a year ago(never updated it), there are always 30 to 40 updates pending for the apps which she never does. Talk to many Android users about what Android version they're running and their eyes glaze over and they've never heard of Gingerbread or ICS, forget about choosing Android for openness.
I disagree with you - "normal people" love their live screensavers and wallpapers and the countless other tweaks they can do that are prohibited on both iOS and WinMo ;-) "normal people" also love that they can install software from third-party sources. It does have the downside that piracy is a problem, but we aren't talking about publishers here and normal people consider this a bonus.
Also normal people buy Android phones because of openness, even though they may be unaware of it - because Android is open, carriers and phone makers also love it. This is one thing iOS fans hate about Android and for some valid reasons too, but if carriers/phone makers where too restricted in what they could do with Android, then Android wouldn't be open, or as popular as it is.
No, he's right. Nearly no one is buying an "Android" phone. They're buying Sony Ericsson, Samsung, HTC, etc. The're buying brands they trust.
Honestly, if MS could just see this is and would make a nice deal with these phone vendors to get Windows on their phones I think Android would be down to a few percentage market share within a year.
In my country, Vodafone and Orange, the biggest mobile carriers in Europe are doing commercials for Android phones like crazy.
And in every commercials I've seen, the Android brand is emphasized, which doesn't happen when they are promoting feature phones with Symbian or whatever.
That people aren't buying Androids, that's a myth promoted here on HN that I haven't seen in the wild.
Companies may be advertising it, but users don't know and don't care. I know tons of people who own Android phones and not one of them bought it because it was "Android". They all bought out of brand loyalty or physical specs. Half of them didn't even know what "Android" meant.
When they see the same brand they trust with a much more polished, professional looking OS that has much better games, etc., they'll jump in a heartbeat. MS just has to get the price low enough that the vendors will feel compelled to push it at least half as hard as they're trying to ram Android down everyone's throats.
Give it time. They are very nice, unlike the amateurish Android look and the advantages you get from the development environment can't be ignored forever.
I specifically avoided the term "open", because I agree with you 100%. No one knows what the hell open is. There is, however, a not-insignificant amount of talk in the main stream press about Apple's constrictive nature. Headlines like "Will Apple Boot the Kindle App?" [1] raise red flags in consumers' minds. Some people I've talked to are startled to learn that Apple can even do that. After all, they can load any software they like on their Mac/PC, and there's nothing Apple or Microsoft can do about it.
Ordinary users only care about cost, choice and being limited - in that order.
Not only are Android phones cheaper than Apple, including pricing plans, but there are a lot more Android than Windows phones.
Finally, even the most casual smartphone buyer understands apps are key to not being limited. The perception is that Apple and (then?) Android are the leaders.
"Openness" as a concept is simply not on the radar for most users, but the consequences very much are.
My friend has her iPhone 4 with the same OS as when she bought it a year ago(never updated it), there are always 30 to 40 updates pending for the apps which she never does. Talk to many Android users about what Android version they're running and their eyes glaze over and they've never heard of Gingerbread or ICS, forget about choosing Android for openness.