Is the Android OS bigger than the brand?

For the last two years, I’ve bought over half a dozen smartphones running Android OS and realized they came from different handset brands — Samsung, Sony-Ericsson, HTC and just recently LG (the Optimus 2X, my very first LG phone ever).

One thing came to mind — has Android grown so big it’s now even bigger than the handset brand? What I mean is that consumers will start trusting and/or buying devices not primarily because of the brand but because it’s running on Android.

My personal experience might be an isolated case but I’d like to hear what others think. Is Android OS a bigger influence than the handset brand when buying a smartphone?

Go hit the comments to share your opinion.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

85 Comments

Imitator says:

14 years ago

What could happen is vey much similar to the current PC market: Windows being the standard software and people deciding their purchase based on the hardware or aesthetics of the computer.

Android will become the standard smartphone OS (like Windows is for PCs) and people will start deciding which phone to purchase based on their own needs (the latest hardware, aesthetics, unique offerings, etc., whatever they want)
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Justine says:

14 years ago

Is there a possibility that Nokia will have Android phones?
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Hivemind says:

14 years ago

No chance Nokia will ever have an Android OS phone, especially now that it will be bought by Microsoft.

Benchmark says:

14 years ago

IMO Brand names choose Android for it can be customized/personalized, plus it is cheaper than developing their own OS.

And I don’t think consumers will buy a unit because of the OS, but because it is cheaper & has good specs under a reliable brand.

Am I in the right drift??? :)
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charli3 says:

14 years ago

I think this is true for some brands. For example, I myself am willing to buy an LG phone since it uses Android, same with samsung. If not for these OSes, I won’t waste my time playing with Touchwiz or LG’s default OS.
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Seph says:

14 years ago

Brand name would still apply for me. I wouldn’t be buying an Android phone coming from a less known manufacturer.
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Ry says:

14 years ago

I believe you are right, Sir Yuga. People look at the UI and features of an OS as much as they look at the specs. Android is a nice OS (a potential iPhone killer as they’ve said). I guess the brand manufacturer’s only option is by making good specs that can outdone others. We can already see this kind of war in the android tablet war
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Dhan says:

14 years ago

definitely agree with @Imitator & @Ry’s opinions.

PC:
OS = Windows
alternative = Mac OS
PC specs = user’s preference

Mobile:
OS = Android
alternative = iOS
PC specs = user’s preference

P.S: I’ve got nothing against apple or its products but it’s how I see the consumer-market regarding the PC and mobile world. :)
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Wakocoke says:

14 years ago

maybe in the future we can build our own mobile phone!

CPU: Snapdragon 1GHZ
GPU: RSX 256MB
Motherboard: ASUS KXXXX
RAM: 512MB corsair
Screen: 4.5in LG OLED
Casing: Samsung Galaxy ATX
Battery: HEC 2000maH
OS: Android Spaghetti

LOL
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JKisaragi says:

14 years ago

“Is Android OS a bigger influence than the handset brand when buying a smartphone?”

I think it’s more of the features of the OS. I mean, it sure was the deciding factor for me when I bought my SGS last June. I just wanted something fluid that worked out-of-the-box and something that would pretty much let me do anything without having it tied to a PC software.

The brand would come into equation when it is known to have already established a very good reputation of producing quality phones, and/or if the buyer has had a very good run with it so far.
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giogagz says:

14 years ago

Agree aq sau sir yuga
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