Web searches for HTC phones outstrip iPhone – consumers’ online habits reveal that they realise Apples are not the only fruit. But while people may be checking out the competition, this does not seem to be evidence that the aspirational qualities of Steve Jobs’s corporation have been taken on by any other manufacturer. It will be a while yet before a brand can match Apple’s unique combination of brilliant marketing with exceptional products.
This is not – of course – to say that the iPhone is perfect. You can’t use it to create a wireless hotspot, for instance, or install Apps of which Apple does not approve.
And indeed, the phone market is now more diverse than ever, with strong offerings from BlackBerry, Android and Windows. But the iPhone 4 remains the strongest single proposition – its battery lasts longer than the top HTC Android phones, the iOS operating system is slicker than anything yet offered by a Google-powered handset, and it provides music and video options that Windows Phone, though improving, has yet to match.
The fact that HTC now make phones for the Windows 7 and Google Android operating systems, too, means that the figures are likely to be slightly skewed. It’s a good bet, however, that the competition is coming primarily from Google. It’s Android that, surely, is pushing Apple to develop the iPhone further and faster than anyone could have predicted when it was launched.
But these new data are unlikely to have Apple worried – HTC is a real and serious challenger that makes superb devices, such as the Desire HD and Mozart. They’re a brand with high-end standards that may yet crack the mass market. iPhone 4, however, continues to more than match the competition.
