Bonum Certa Men Certa

Android/Linux Not Far From 90% Market Share and Why It's Good News

It's fine when a pack of Linux backers controls the market

Runners



Summary: A roundup of statistics and news about Android, which is now far ahead of its competitors

WITH SALES and/or activations measured in terms of millions per day, Android has clearly become the market leader. Android might not be super-profitable for Google, but it does give this company a lot of power and it also spreads Linux. That's all fine. Some criticise Android for attracting more and more proprietary software which is widely used [1], but this is probably inevitable when a platform becomes the primary target for developers. Some key people leave Android because of lack of adherence to freedom/openness (there are also other departures [2,3]), but this platform commands the lion's share of the market [4]. A new release called KitKat is coming [5] and more companies are building their business around Android [6], which is liberally licensed. Even new companies emerge which basically fork/branch Android [7,8] and they attract investment, showing that Android is not a one-horse race. Support for 64-bit is being facilitated [9] in an age of fewer restrictions in phones (the phones with less restrictions can be more attractive to buyers). Once upon a time this was unforeseeable for phones, which basically came with just one platform 'baked' in (like Apple's hypePhone).



"Diversity is more or less assured and secured here, provided the hardware and software are free to modify."Those who don't see the benefit of Linux taking over the mobile market may simply prefer to let some giant companies like Nokia (in the past) or Apple make all the choices, even when these choices are customer-hostile and driven only by the business interests of some wealthy shareholders.

Sure, it would be nice if platforms like Sailfish and Firefox OS gained market share, but any time a platform like Android takes away market from proprietary counterparts it should be considered good news. Diversity is more or less assured and secured here, provided the hardware and software are free to modify [10].

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. BlackBerry Messenger App arriving on Android
    The BlackBerry Messenger is slated for a Friday release on the Android platform, though will be exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices for the first three months. The confirmation of the popular IM client coming as an app to Android, after a very long wait, comes from Samsung Nigeria, which tweeted the Friday release date and the three months exclusivity of the app to Galaxy devices. Though BlackBerry has been known to distance itself from exclusive deals, no confirmation, or more importantly, denial has been issued from their side.


  2. Android VP Hugo Barra leaves Google for Chinese Android maker Xiaomi
    The front face of Android during many Google events Hugo Barra is suddenly leaving the company. He will be joining the fast growing Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. Barra joined Google in 2008 and was in charge of Android product development as a vice president. Barra came second after Andy Rubin, who also stepped down from his position recently.


  3. Former! Android! Open! Source! Boss! Takes! Job! At! Yahoo!
    The former head of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) at Google has jumped ship to the competition.


  4. Android controls 71% market share in Western Europe
    Android continues to gain the market share in the Western Europe while Stephen Elop dragged Nokia to the bottom line.


  5. Android KitKat unveiled in Google surprise move
    Google is calling the next version of its mobile operating system Android KitKat.


  6. Quasar IV Cipherphone: The smartphone with encryption built in
    Worried about the NSA and other online eavesdroppers? Then startup QSAlpha is working on the smartphone for you.


  7. Open source Android fork Cyanogen becomes $7m company
    Independent Android firmware project CyanogenMod has become a company, thanks to a $7m Series A financing round led by Silicon Valley venture firms Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures.


  8. CyanogenMod becomes a company, gets $7 million funding
    CyanogenMod is a bridge between users and Android experience which continues to get spoiled by carriers and hardware manufacturers who take forever to bring updates (most of the times these updates never come). CyanogenMod is also known as the open source community around Android where anyone can contribute to the project.


  9. Android 64-bit support might be already there
    With the recent release announcement of the iPhone 5S, which, among other things, sports a fast A7 processor that has the capability of processing 64 bit instruction sets, the community was set abuzz with the prospect of Android’s support for 64 bit. Though Samsung has promised to provide 64 bit support in its mobile devices, Google has been quiet on that front.


  10. Rooting the LG Optimus L3 (and just about any Android model, really)




Recent Techrights' Posts

Under the Guise of "MIT Technology Review Insights" the Site MIT Technology Review Posts Corporate Spam as 'Articles'
Some of the articles aren't even articles but 'hit pieces' against Free software and some are paid advertisements
Brett Wilson LLP Has Track Record in Scam Coin Cases (e.g. Craig Wright and More), Now It Works for 'Crypto' Scam Purveyors
But wait, it gets worse
Will Brett Wilson LLP Handle Its Own Winding Up Petition or be Struck Off for Overt Abuse of Process?
Today we sue not only the first Microsofter
Ubuntu Becomes Microsoft GitHub, Based on Decision Made by British Army Officer
You're hopeless, Canonical
Sharing Code and Recipes
It helps explain the triviality of software freedom
How Many Women Has Microsoft's Alex Balabhadra Graveley Already Strangled and Where Does That End?
If you too are a victim of this man and wish to share information, contact us
"We Might Save Somebody's Life"
I follow the example of my father
 
Links 17/07/2025: Science, Hardware, and Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2025: Staying in the "Small Web" and Back on ICQ
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Exclusive: corruption in Tribunals, Greffiers, from protection rackets to cat whisperers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/07/2025: Chip Bans and Microsoft’s “Digital Escort” Program
Links for the day
Revolving Doors: One Day You're a Judge, the Next Day You're an Attorney Paying Public Officials and Working for Violent and Dangerous Microsoft Employees
how the US justice system works
Slopwatch: Noise, Plagiarism and Even Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation
What are we meant to do to prevent a false association or misleading connotations? Game the LLMs? No. Boycott slopfarms.
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Simple Web Browsing with TLS
Links for the day
Links 16/07/2025: Fascist Slop Takes "Intelligence" Clothing, New Criminal Case Against MElon
Links for the day
Why I am Suing the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Alex Balabhadra Graveley, in the UK High Court This Week
Out of respect to the process and to the Court, I shall not share any pertinent details about the case
Links 16/07/2025: China’s Economy Grows Steadily, France Takes Action Regarding Harm to Children by GAFAM and Fentanylware (TikTok)
Links for the day
It is Not About Politics
Beware the people who try to make this about politics
Good Journalism Saves Lives
a shocking number of women die or get seriously hurt every day due to violence from a partner
Recognition of Women's Contributions to Free Software
Being passive is not an option when bad things are happening
Slopfarms Are Going to Perish Because Public Opinion is Changing
Many slopfarms will simply go offline
19 Years of Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Truth
This week we shall take it up a notch
Gemini Links 16/07/2025: Tmux and OCC25 Working TLS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Links 15/07/2025: LLM Pollution and Pushback in Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: xkcd, New Cert, and Alhena Gemlog
Links for the day
Links 15/07/2025: Press Freedom at Risk and New Facebook Blunders
Links for the day
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day