Android phones for women please - make Android smarter
By Cheeky Girl
Walk up to any woman with a smart phone and ask her is it an Android phone or iPhone, and watch the reaction. More women will tell you they own an iPhone. Women prefer iPhones to Android phones. This is a quietly known fact that the rest of the world has just discovered. And many are asking why this is the case? I am going to tell you why, and what Google and Android phone makers need to do about it, before the lose out to the better offering from Apple. Oh yes, women on twitter choose Blackberry phones before Android mobile phones too. So what are Blackberry doing right, that Android are not doing?
Women network. Read that sentence again. It's pretty straight forward. We chat, talk, text, poke, tweet, retweet, email... Apple iPhones get women because Apple understand what women do, we network. And Facebook and twitter and friendster and MySpace and Gmail, Yahoo...you get the message. Well, someone should tell that to Google and the Android developers of tomorrow's smart phones. The fact is that too many Android phones are aimed at geeks and nerds. Apart from the Samsung Galaxy S Class, a superb Android smart phone - most of the rest seem to be lacking.
Android are making great strides in Mobile Phone development, and Android gets better all the time. But go to any bar, pub, club or cafe, and you will see women using more iPhones than Android-based phones. Women are very fussy and go for looks and ease of use. We also love sexy phones and here, the iPhone kills the competition.
Women want Android Phones to have the same networking capabilities as iPhones. Android phones seem to focus on hardware instead of software, they focus on pleasing geeks not women. Aesthetics and design of systems are all well and good, but the large majority of Android phones usually lack the sophistication of iPhones. It is widely acknowledged by women I know that the best makers of Android mobiles are HTC and Samsung. HTC are ultra cool, and pricey. They are much closer to what the iPhone is, but the operating system is for women, too awkward still. Apple's iOS makes it easy to get to the essentials, Android - less so. And then there is the Blackberry...
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The Blackberry has got what women mostly want. The average Blackberry has a slew of features and networking abilities that women want and have easy access to. The Blackberry is not complicated. You either have the smart phone with the neat little keyboard or the touchscreen variety, or even the newest models with the combined features of both. The Blackberry Curve became one of Research in Motion's best sellers. And on twitter, if you look carefully, lots of women are using Blackberry's to send their tweets, including yours truly. Facebook works very nicely thank you. And there are plenty of good alternatives like Ubertwitter and Seesmic. Facebook is reaping in the benefits too. The more users of the Social Networks there are, the better they like it. Android has it's share of Apps to work on Facebook, Gmail, MySpace and twitter - but the iPhone and the Blackberry are holding the lead. Is there more to this than just Apps and systems? Yes, there is also a solid Brand behind the Apple iPhone and RIM's Blackberry. They are proven. I even know women who live in some parts of the world and chat to them regularly via Blackberry Messenger as they feel safer - the Blackberry Messenger is resistant to prying eyes, when it comes to wanting to talk about some things...a good smart phone helps to lessen a feeling of certain oppression... A solid brand is everything. Google, Samsung and HTC are improving their brands, they are very reliable and attractive in appearance. Dependability is another thing.
There is a saying that women want their phones to be like their guys - "...easy to operate and friendly to touch..." Funny but true. There has even been talk of a smaller iPhone, but so far that is not on the table at Apple, as a smaller iPhone, by Apple's own admission, would still be expensive and less easy to control. Apple did their homework with the iPhone. there is a size and format beyond which there no point going, since the relative phone become less easy to type on and use properly. The so-called cut-off point. So discount Android phones are not necessarily better phones, merely inbetween phones or "try-out phones" that women will briefly use before migrating up to the iPhone.
I have seen two things that prove that Blackberry and iPhone models are more popular with women. Queues in stores for iPhones and Blackberrys - yes they happen. But not for Android mobiles. The Google Nexus is another popular phone, but again, there is just not the same queues for Android Phones as for the iPhones and Blackberry's. Even Steve Jobs said it - the Android Market is very fragmented, while the iPhone market is a lot more uniform. So they are more reliable, and so sell more. We can expect the same pattern as before, lowering the price of older models as newer ones come on stream, and more innovations like voice command, and perhaps a better MobileMe service, which rival Google has equaled and is offering free, rather than the $100 that Apple users have to cough up. Apple may in the future offer a free service here.
Whether Apple get into the pre-pay market is another issue Apple have to deal with. An iPhone pre-pay model would have to run it's existing 300,000 Apps.
So please Android, give us ladies phones that do what the Apple iPhone does so well. Less coding and fiddling with the system, and more "just do it" capability. It is not that we are simple, we just hate complication! Thank you!
Text copyright (c) 2011 Cheeky Girl / Cassy Mantis. All rights reserved.
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Comments
Hy Plarson, well the Blackberry does not drop a call, or hardly ever. I admit it isn't as cool or amazing as the Phone, but it is a solid and clever mobile without being geeky. (It helps that my boss gave me one of course! Heh!) The iPhone speaks for itself, it is the best, and I love it. As for the iPhone 5, um...I am happy with my current model. It will be interesting to see what they do to improve it. But ladies prefer the iPhone from what I see. That is what prompted me to write this little hub! Cheers Paul. have a nice weekend.
I love the Iphone as it meets all my needs, the thing I dont like about the Blackberry is the tiny keys which I guess suits you ladies. Great lil hub Cassie, the Iphone for me is like part of me, I love it.
Rated way up, enjoy yer weekend xoxo
Yeh, the girls like the I phone my daughter is so happy our carrier now has them, she likes it better than the blackberry she now has even though she has tiny fingers and has no trouble using it (the blackberry) they seem to prefer the I Phone.
Great and very useful hub.
thank you for sharing.
Take care,
Eiddwen.
Hy Art! Yes, I love the iPhone too. You could probably guess! Heh! :D The Blackberry does have little keys, I so agree! But yes, they are okay for moi dainty lil' hands. LOL! That sounds so funny! Thanks for the rate up, Art - as always! Big hugs from Cathy and me. She is away from the hubs too long. I will have to spank her. :D
Enjoy your weekend too, moi friend! XOXOX
Hello gguy: the iPhone would get my first preference vote too, and the Blackberry gets a decent second vote. After that it's basically a free-for-all. LOL! Women know what phones we like. We are a good market research audience of phone users. :)
Hy Eiddwen: glad you liked my hub on Android phones. I suppose I could have put a picture of one in here, but which model I wonder? H'mm. Anyway thanks for the comments. Cheers! Enjoy your weekend!
Have a good weekend, I am gonna email you my website info, we are working on updating the photos for better appearance over the next few weeks.
Hy gguy, thanks for the update. I will check it out. Thanks for this. Cheers.
I love my iphone. Wouldn't trade it for an Android.
Everyone loves the iphone coz it doesn't look like a phone LOL I love it, it's easy to use and fabulous. It's a girl thing. I love playing some games with it, too. This is an awesome hub moi friend. You deserve an iPhone 5 for this ;) Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Filipina Princess, why don't you set up a Hub Pages free account! You could earn money here...
Hy Fehl: yes, exactly - it is way too sexy to ever look like just a mobile phone. It does everything wonderfully. The games are fun. (Angry Birds is addictive and silly!) Oooh, gimme an iPhone 5 any day! LOL! Thanks for that, moi friend! Cheers, Fehl! :)
This couldn't be more true. None of my girlfriends have androids. They don't even come out with pretty Android covers because they know we don't purchase them. And as you said geeks aren't going for the sparkly pink swarovski phone look!
Hy yenajeon: I just tweeted about the HTC Inspire 4G. and the spec is a great phone, probably the best Android out there so far. $99 for a 2 year contract in the USA, which is better than any iPhone offer. Now if they could just kick it's butt and give us a phone women really love, heck a phone we'd sleep with (Heh!!!) - it would be great! Yes, we don't do the geek thing. And the iPhone is so much more than a mobile phone. It is a true multimedia device, with a great reliable way of doing things, very well. And yes, geeks don't go for Swarovski crystals. You make another valid point here, as the iPhone accessories are amazing. There are so many great ones to choose from. Why can't other companies do it the way Apple do it?
Thanks for the great comments! :)
I have to say its just not true that iPhones are better at social networking - in fact they outright suck at it.
After just shifting over from an iPhone 3GS to a HTC Desire HD, I have to say that the Desire HD's social networking abilities are WAY WAY ahead of iOS's. Everything links together, Facebook, Twitter, Outlook and the phone book all slot together neatly into one "People" application - all your contacts are linked together in one place - it does most of the work of linking them automatically, and you can email, tweet, text, wall whatever from there - its not just geeky, its so useful! The iPhone just can't do that - the phonebook and contacts are totally separate, everything else is an isolated app.
Then there is HTC's Friendstream which again is just so much better than anything I've seen on the iPhone - and has a genuinely useful widget included. iOS 5 is going to have to be pretty special indeed for me to ever look back.
Also so far the DHD has been far more reliable than my 3GS ever was - it would randomly drop calls and reboot itself when connected to my PC - so far the DHD has been rock solid.
Hy Matt, oooh! Some interesting comments here. I am a fan of the HTC smart phones, and I did a hub on them a while back. But the sheer amount of Apps on the iPhone is amazing. The camera and battery life is much improved. I agree about the dropped calls. The Friendstream is good, do all Android phones have that I wonder? Or just HTC?
The iPhone's iOS is a joy to use and very easy. Most Android phones I have compared it to just wither by comparison. The Galaxy S from Samsung is great. Perhaps HTC are pulling ahead finally in the "who makes the best Android mobiles" stakes. Maybe you should do a hub page on the HTC! I will gladly read it, if so. Cheers! Always happy to get interesting comments! :)
I have the HTC G2 and it's awesome for a geeky woman like myself. I use it for school, work, networking, storage, calendar and more. It's easy to use and navigate. I made it look sleek and sexy by purchasing a shiny deep plum colored case. I even wrote a hub review on it. I was able to get it for a fraction of the cost from a popular wireless site.
I would have bought the iPhone but the contract and phone itself was way more then my HTC. Great hub, I voted up!
Hello LSKing! Thanks for the comments! I have a major soft spot for iPhones and they can do miraculous things. The Apps are a major reason to have one. I love that you blinged up your Android HTC phone! I think HTC and Samsung have the best Android phones out there. Well done on getting it at a bargain price too!
You are a tech geek, perhaps, and so you will thrive with this. My partner has an Android and it's Samsung and it's very nice. I am glad to have these comments from you. Cheers! Thanks for the vote up too on my hub. :)
Hi Cheeky girl very nice and informative hub but i went for an android phone recently and it was Sony xperia Arc. I find it very sexy and does everything i need in a phone. Only thing it lacks is a front camera which i think most android phones lack and i dont know if I phone has it or not.
Hy Sweetie, well congratulations on your buying a new android phone. Sony phones tend to be above average. Sony cameras usually have amazing cameras in them, so your remark about the non-frontal camera is a minus point. I use an iphone and blackberry. Both excellent. I tried texting on the Samsung Galaxy S and it is not so good, compared to the iphone. There's a new one coming out to update it, maybe that will be better. Is it the same as the Experia gaming phone by Sony available in Europe? Just wondering...
Just to let all hubbers know that any comments found insulting will be removed. Cheers!
Plarson 15 months ago
Thank you for this! I am gonna share it with my fmale friends for sure!! I have heard so much about their iphones and blackberrys and such, and they have been screaming about what they want. -Paul