2010: Australia's Android odyssey

Renai LeMay
Monday, 28 June 2010 09:15

Your IT - Mobility

If you rewind the clock by just 12 months, Apple's flagship iPhone was king of the hill in the Australian smartphone market.

One year ago - almost to the day - the iPhone 3GS went on sale at well-attended midnight launches around the country, with Apple fans lining up in the freezing cold alll night to be the first to claim the new device and take advantage of its speed benefits and added features. The TV cameras were there, McDonald's next door did a roaring trade, and even the Chaser boys showed up to take the piss.

The iPhone 3G had kicked off proceedings a year before, stealing 5.8 percent of mobile phone sales in its first three months and bringing the dollars rolling in for Apple Australia. By October 2009, that share was up to 21 percent, and it seemed the iPhone could do no wrong.

But oh, how quickly the tables can turn.

Today, just one year later in mid-2010, many in Australia's mobile industry believe the iPhone no longer holds the crown as the dominant smartphone platform. A new challenger has arisen - Google's Android operating system - and like the Hydra of Greek mythology, its multiple heads make it a treacherous rival for Apple to slay.

In Australia's early adopter technology market, an ongoing and vibrant discussion is constantly taking place about which elite Android-based handset is the best, from which carrier, and which applications can mimick or even exceed the capabilities offered by the iPhone. In Australia's development market, many software houses already simultaneously build apps for both platforms.

And the ability for telcos and handset manufacturers to build their own devices using Google's software is spawning a vast wave of Android handsets hitting the Australian market - in all form factors, with features as varying as the stars.

There are still many questions on Australians minds about Android, however. The first one might be something like 'How did it gain so much local momentum so far?' Others ponder just what the real situation is on the street - what Android's powerbase really is, and what's next for the Google platform in Australia. This article will attempt to begin to answer some of those queries.

Opening moves
The first Android-based phone to be released in Australia was the HTC Dream - known internationally as the G1. After weeks of fevered speculation and some three months after the handset launched in the US, the Dream came to Australia first on Optus' network.

The launch of the Dream did much to build on Optus' reputation as a carrier with its finger on the pulse of consumer sentiment when it came to smartphones. The SingTel subsidiary had stolen a march on its rivals the previous year by nabbing what one Optus executive described as 'the lion's share' of iPhone sales, and the expansion into the Android platform was the next step.

But the handset would turn out to be a disappointment. As CNET.com.au noted in its review at the time, customers who visited their local Optus store to see the device would need to 'brace yourself for an underwhelming first contact'.

The Android operating system was good - but HTC's first attempt to build hardware for the device was a disappointment. The poor battery life was particularly a problem, and call quality was similarly bad.

A number of other Android handsets were announced for the Australian market in 2009 - although some, such as Melbourne manufacturer Kogan's Agora Pro, never quite made it. The HTC Magic came Down Under and got better ratings than the Dream - but the device still lagged behind the iPhone 3G, and it was clearly not a match for the 3GS.

With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy in September, Australia's Android market took another lurch forward, but again, as long-time CNET.com.au reviewer Joseph Hanlon pointed out, the device wasn't quite up to speed. The multimedia features the consumer market loved weren't in the device, while the business features weren't quite there either.

The HTC Hero rectified many of these mistakes in December - but adoption was hamstrung due to the fact that it was not offered directly by carriers on plans, with customers being forced to pick it up through Harvey Norman.