Android News
Java ME passes Android as number two mobile OS
January 3, 2012 | by Charles West
Android News
Just when you thought dumbphones were on a decline, think again. It turns out that the top three mobile operating systems as measured by usage share doesn’t belong to the usual suspects iOS, Android and Symbian (in that order). Instead, the #2 spot belongs to an obsolete platform known as Oracle’s Java ME (the ME stands for Micro Edition), according to NetMarketShare. Java ME is a bland mobile platform that you’ll find on low-cost ‘dumbphones’ and on billions of mobile phones and PDAs.
A few months back Java ME was thrust into the #3 spot by Android, but it’s now retaken the #2 spot and is the fastest-growing mobile platform when measured in terms of usage share. This could only suggest two things. One, Android isn’t growing as much as we thought. Two, people are still gravitating to more economically friendly choices like what you get with dumbphones. We all know it can’t be number one, especially since Google’s mobile OS is activating 700,000 new devices each day.
According to Oracle 31 times more Java phones ship every year than Apple and Android combined … Really? Well, it isn’t far-fetched to see Java ME do so well, as our world economy continues to suffer. If you look at the chart below, you’ll see a noticeable spike right around the holidays, which to me suggest folks were looking to spend less on devices. At the end of the day, people are going to do the financially responsible thing when times are hard like getting a cheap handset. That said, I totally expect Android to reclaim the number two spot within the next few months.
Source: ZDNet
[...] Comments [...]
I think most Android/iOS users are either young and affluent or tech savvy. The following are the phones in my family: 1 iPhone (my oldest son), 1 Android (me), 1 Blackberry (my daughter), 2 "simple" mobile phones (wife and son). Add my mom and dad who both have "simple" mobile phones and there are 4 out of 7 non-smart phones. I don't see any other than my one son changing. And at least in Canada, you need to sign up for higher priced data plans to use the smart-phones, so it ends up costing twice as much or more per month.
For Android its the other way round (especially on ICS) – on tablets I find it mediocre but love it on phones. Have yet to see a flagship ICS tablet when my opinion might change. . Claw Digital Review
I think this may also reflect the recent pullback from unlimited data. Consider that if you are a parent, you are loathe to give your child anything limited because of the possibility that they'll exceed that limit. I, for one, have no intention of letting my 13yo or 17yo have a limited data plan until they can pay their own freight on it. So, each of them has a Samsung dumbphone, sans data, for now.
I don’t think u should call it cheap phone “dumb”. You make it sound like the smart phones make better phone calls or something like that.