MobileBeat: Android users will surpass iPhone users by end of 2010

Android users will surpass iPhone users by the end of 2010, according to statistics collected by Google’s Admob ad network, said Admob Team Manager Brendon Kraham. This is despite the fact that the data usage and number of apps on iPhone (and iPod Touch) far exceed those on Android. How can it be then that Android would surpass iPhone?

Leaving aside the two platforms’ comparative strengths and weaknesses, Android would win primarily because of the variety of devices it offers: There are already more than 50 Android devices in the market, and Android is now offered by most mobile operators in the US, whereas iPhone is still only available on the AT&T network in the US. What’s more, iPhone has more or less the same form factor (iPhone 4 being slightly different than earlier iPhones), whereas Android comes in several flavors, sizes, shapes, and prices.

In addition, users who prefer to carry a phone that is not as common (as iPhone for example) are more likely to prefer Android, since their likelihood of finding a “unique” phone on Android platform is much higher.

While iPhone has driven the innovation in the smartphone market, it won’t be long before Android catches up. Whether this happens by the end of 2010 will depend to some degree on whether Apple launches iPhone on Verizon Wireless.