• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

Android looks like it’s winning

By
Matt Vella
Matt Vella
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Matt Vella
Matt Vella
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 9, 2013, 3:52 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

By Matt Vella, senior editor

FORTUNE — It looks like Google’s mobile operating system, Android, is on a roll. A string of recent announcements—from sexy new phones to leadership changes—suggests that Google is gaining momentum in the multi-firm fight for the future of the mobile web.

It doesn’t hurt that Apple (AAPL) has been rather quiet the last few months. March came and went without a major announcement. Appleologists will tell you that the calendar typically looks something like this: September is for music products and services, October is reserved for the Mac, and March is for everything else, more or less. This year, the Apple faithful got nothing. “We weren’t expecting a ton of fireworks,” analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray recently told Fortune. “But the fact that it wasn’t there was incrementally disappointing.” Meanwhile, John Grubber recently blogged that iOS 7, the next iteration of Apple’s bedrock mobile operating system, has been delayed. (This graphic may sum up why.)

In contrast, there have been a number of positives in Google’s (GOOG) column. These include:

The Android store is improving. Google appears to be trying to improve its mobile store, Play. First, as TechCrunch reported Monday, the company has gotten more aggressive about removing non-compliant or spam-like applications from the marketplace. February set records for the number of apps removed; about 60,000 programs were junked, the largest round of deletions to date. (Not all were removed by Google, but it seems most were.) Secondly, Google today started rolling out a redesigned version of Play. The company says it is streamlining some confusing parts of the store and trying to make finding content easier. It’s an evolutionary change, but anything that gets Apple, Google or Microsoft (MSFT) closer to solving the problem of discoverability in mobile apps is a good thing.

MORE: Aereo could bring down broadcast TV

Way better devices. Let’s face it, there have been some pretty bad Android-powered phones. That may be only natural since Google allows other companies to use its OS on varying flavors of hardware. (Just ask Microsoft.) Now two new Android phones are getting the technorati worked up. The first is Samsung’s Galaxy S4, the successor to the wildly popular S3. It was unveiled in a mid-March presentation that some thought was tacky. But the phone itself is generating positive buzz ahead of its release. The second is HTC’s One phone, also due out soon. Reviewers have been raving about this phone, calling it the best Android device yet and so on.

New leadership. The Android business appears to be in good hands. In March, Google CEO Larry Page announced that Andy Rubin, the Android division’s founder and longtime leader, would be stepping aside. Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president in charge of Chrome and apps, took his place. As my colleague Miguel Helft recently reported, Pichai is a “quiet, analytic executive” who helped make Chrome the most-used Internet browser in just four years. In the course of reporting his in-depth profile of Page, Miguel observed that Page and Pichai “seemed to have a warm, easygoing rapport.” Pichai, with Page’s support and an impressive track record, is in a good position to push Android further.

And then there’s Facebook (FB) Home. How the social network’s Android-based launcher software, due out in April, will actually play out is anybody’s guess. It could help sell more Android handsets. Or it could amount to Facebook using Google’s own platform against it. Analyst reactions to the announcement were rather mixed.

Where’s this argument start to break down? The numbers are still all over the map. A report from Canalys on Monday showed that while Google captured 51% of all app downloads in the first quarter, Apple took a whopping 74% of the revenue—a mixed bag to say the least. And last week, data drawn from comScore seemed to suggest that Android sales peaked—in terms of growth in number of users—in December 2011. Not to mention, of course, that Apple could reset the scoreboard at any moment with a new iPhone.

About the Author
By Matt Vella
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Exclusive: Hera raises $27 million to tackle the unpaid caregiving that falls on daughters of the sandwich generation
NewslettersMPW Daily
Exclusive: Hera raises $27 million to tackle the unpaid caregiving that falls on daughters of the sandwich generation
By Emma HinchliffeJune 25, 2026
51 minutes ago
stock
InvestingMarkets
How one chip stock reversed the global tech selloff, exposed AI’s ‘memory tax’ and made the case for an entire valuation regime change
By Nick LichtenbergJune 25, 2026
1 hour ago
Larry Ellison quietly gave $45 million to a pro-Trump group—then Oracle landed a starring role in a $500 billion AI buildout
PoliticsLarry Ellison
Larry Ellison quietly gave $45 million to a pro-Trump group—then Oracle landed a starring role in a $500 billion AI buildout
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
1 hour ago
Paris court gives oil giant Total Energies half a year to tighten climate policies. Climate activists cry foul
EnergyEurope
Paris court gives oil giant Total Energies half a year to tighten climate policies. Climate activists cry foul
By The Associated Press, Molly Quell and Sylvie CorbetJune 25, 2026
1 hour ago
Students happy outside of school
SuccessColleges and Universities
One U.S. college is fixing tuition at just 10% of parental income: ‘We’re not hiding the cost of college behind secret formulas’
By Emma BurleighJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Personal Liability Insurance for Homeowners: Coverage and Common Exclusions Explained
Personal FinanceInsurance
Personal Liability Insurance for Homeowners: Coverage and Common Exclusions Explained
By Joseph HostetlerJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
10 hours ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
Economy
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.