--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Early on, Android phones were pitched as…" description: "\"Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz iPhones, devices that could do most of what an iPhone did - but were available on carriers othe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png" --- # Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz… ![“Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz iPhones, devices that could do most of what an iPhone did - but were available on carriers other than AT&T, a relatively horrible network that was the biggest source of complaints about Apple's transformative device.” quote by Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png) > “Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz iPhones, devices that could do most of what an iPhone did - but were available on carriers other than AT&T, a relatively horrible network that was the biggest source of complaints about Apple's transformative device.” [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Android was marketed as a cheaper, carrier‑friendly alternative to the iPhone, but suffered from poor network performance and consumer complaints. **In simple terms:** Android tried to copy iPhone but had network issues. Key Takeaway Focus on improving carrier experience. Themes technology competition marketing network consumer perception Mood critical analytical Type historical industry analysis When to use this quote - smartphone launch - carrier negotiations - user experience design Key Concepts product positioning brand differentiation network reliability Questions to Reflect On - How could Android have better addressed carrier limitations? - What lessons does this teach about competing with a dominant platform? A Different Perspective Android’s early strategy ignored carrier quality, limiting adoption. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Android](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/android/) [Android Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/android-phones-780561/) [Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apple/) [Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early/) [Ersatz Iphones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ersatz-iphones-6068008/) [Iphone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iphone/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Phones Pitched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones-pitched-6068009/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [Android phones are sold by dozens of hardware makers, the biggest being Samsung, Motorola, and HTC. There are lots of different form factors. Slider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/android-phones-are-sold-by-dozens-of-hardware-makers-the-biggest/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Ultimately, application vendors are driven by volume, and volume is favored by the open approach Google is taking. There are so many manufacturers working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/ultimately-application-vendors-are-driven-by-volume-and-volume-is/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [Android phones in China are more 'Android open source' rather than Android in the way we are all used to here. So a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-pichai/android-phones-in-china-are-more-android-open-source-rather-than/) [Sundar Pichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sundar-pichai/) > [The iPod is a proprietary integrated product, although that is becoming quite modular. You can download your music from Amazon as easily as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ipod-is-a-proprietary-integrated-product-although-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad, and iMac, Apple is the most powerful tech company in the world. It's also the No. 1 music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/with-the-ipod-itunes-iphone-ipad-and-imac-apple-is-the-most-powerful/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [With Android I get to choose from many different products from many different phone manufacturers. With iOS, I get what Apple gives me. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/with-android-i-get-to-choose-from-many-different-products-from-many/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [All of a sudden, if you think about the entire ecosystem of connected devices that can pull down information, access content and allow me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/all-of-a-sudden-if-you-think-about-the-entire-ecosystem-of-connected/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [“Smartphones control us with assistance Netiquette provides guidelines for right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chiles/smartphones-control-us-with-assistance-netiquette-provides-guidelines/) [David Chiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chiles/) > [Android is ahead of the iPhone now,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/android-is-ahead-of-the-iphone-now/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [I think right now it's a battle for the mindshare of developers and for the mindshare of customers, and right now iPhone and Android…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-think-right-now-it-s-a-battle-for-the-mindshare-of-developers-and/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [As Android, iPhone and other mobile platforms grow, we are moving away from the page-based Internet. The new Internet is app centric and often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-teare/as-android-iphone-and-other-mobile-platforms-grow-we-are-moving-away/) [Keith Teare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-teare/) > [Google Now is one of those products that to many users doesn't seem like a product at all. It is instead the experience one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/google-now-is-one-of-those-products-that-to-many-users-doesn-t-seem/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [We think Android is very, very fragmented, and becoming more fragmented by the day. And as you know, Apple strives for the integrated model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-think-android-is-very-very-fragmented-and-becoming-more-fragmented/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Android is the kind of runaway smash hit that techies spend their careers dreaming about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/android-is-the-kind-of-runaway-smash-hit-that-techies-spend-their/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [In addition to making Android available for free, Google also lets phone makers change the code and customize it so that an Android phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/in-addition-to-making-android-available-for-free-google-also-lets/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) ## More by Daniel Lyons > [I think the issues around diversity of all kinds are really a huge problem in the startup world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/i-think-the-issues-around-diversity-of-all-kinds-are-really-a-huge/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Most startups flame out or just muddle along. Your chances of spotting a unicorn, pre-horn, are incalculably small. But if, knowing that, you still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/most-startups-flame-out-or-just-muddle-along-your-chances-of-spotting/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Mesh networking is an old idea. Oddly enough, the low-cost XO Laptop built by the 'One Laptop Per Child' organization - the so-called $100…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/mesh-networking-is-an-old-idea-oddly-enough-the-low-cost-xo-laptop/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Since the beginning of the internet era, it has been pretty widely accepted that when you join an online service, whatever data you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/since-the-beginning-of-the-internet-era-it-has-been-pretty-widely/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Facebook's position with rival tech companies boils down to this: if you want access to all the information we've collected, strike a deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/facebook-s-position-with-rival-tech-companies-boils-down-to-this-if/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [To be sure, robotics are not the only job killers out there, with outsourcing stealing far more gigs than automation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/to-be-sure-robotics-are-not-the-only-job-killers-out-there-with/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Apple is very, very good at almost everything it does, and that includes corporate communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/apple-is-very-very-good-at-almost-everything-it-does-and-that/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Even in the business department of a magazine, tech was a backwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/even-in-the-business-department-of-a-magazine-tech-was-a-backwater/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [If a developer wants to sell something via an iPad app - it's called an 'in-app purchase' - the transaction must go through Apple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/if-a-developer-wants-to-sell-something-via-an-ipad-app-it-s-called-an/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [To make a vehicle autonomous, you need to gather massive streams of data from loads of sensors and cameras and process that data on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/to-make-a-vehicle-autonomous-you-need-to-gather-massive-streams-of/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [Nvidia's self-driving-car business grew out of a long-standing relationship with auto companies. Car guys used Nvidia chips for computer-aided design, then used Nvidia supercomputer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/nvidia-s-self-driving-car-business-grew-out-of-a-long-standing/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [The iPod wasn't the first MP3 player. Nor were the iPhone and iPad the first in their categories. The real reason for the success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/the-ipod-wasn-t-the-first-mp3-player-nor-were-the-iphone-and-ipad-the/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [With the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad, and iMac, Apple is the most powerful tech company in the world. It's also the No. 1 music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/with-the-ipod-itunes-iphone-ipad-and-imac-apple-is-the-most-powerful/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [My role on 'Silicon Valley' was so small that I didn't have a lot of influence anyway in the show. There are four guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/my-role-on-silicon-valley-was-so-small-that-i-didn-t-have-a-lot-of/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) > [The chance to interact with big shots is drawing scads of aspiring entrepreneurs to Quora, along with venture capitalists and other Valley players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/the-chance-to-interact-with-big-shots-is-drawing-scads-of-aspiring/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) [Explore all 98 Daniel Lyons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) ## More Android quotes > [There's nothing that would keep Apple out of the Android market as a secondary phone market,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/there-s-nothing-that-would-keep-apple-out-of-the-android-market-as-a/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [Android is ahead of the iPhone now,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/android-is-ahead-of-the-iphone-now/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [Microsoft makes numerous apps for both Android and iOS, as do Google, Amazon and Facebook. You can run iTunes and iCloud on Windows and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-mossberg/microsoft-makes-numerous-apps-for-both-android-and-ios-as-do-google/) [Walt Mossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-mossberg/) > [The day of the android has dawned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/the-day-of-the-android-has-dawned/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [We think Android is very, very fragmented, and becoming more fragmented by the day. And as you know, Apple strives for the integrated model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/we-think-android-is-very-very-fragmented-and-becoming-more-fragmented/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Cyanogen has done an interesting job with their version of Android - the Cyanogenmod. And they're on 50-million-plus devices. And that's just another ecosystem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/cyanogen-has-done-an-interesting-job-with-their-version-of-android/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Apple created Android, or at least created the conditions necessary for Android to come into being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elop/apple-created-android-or-at-least-created-the-conditions-necessary/) [Stephen Elop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elop/) > [One of the great things about an open system like Android is it addresses all ends of the spectrum. Getting great low-cost computing devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-pichai/one-of-the-great-things-about-an-open-system-like-android-is-it/) [Sundar Pichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sundar-pichai/) > [The iPod is a proprietary integrated product, although that is becoming quite modular. You can download your music from Amazon as easily as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ipod-is-a-proprietary-integrated-product-although-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I need a calm down app on my android.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirko-bangz/i-need-a-calm-down-app-on-my-android/) [Kirko Bangz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirko-bangz/) > [Never trust an android! Anything could happen, really, from here on in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-jansen/never-trust-an-android-anything-could-happen-really-from-here-on-in/) [Mallory Jansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-jansen/) > [Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free-software portable phone, but there is a long way to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/android-is-a-major-step-towards-an-ethical-user-controlled-free/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [If you step back and take a holistic look, I think any reasonable person would say Android is innovating at a pretty fast pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-pichai/if-you-step-back-and-take-a-holistic-look-i-think-any-reasonable/) [Sundar Pichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sundar-pichai/) > [Overall, there isn't much difference between a high-end Android and iOS phone, despite the fact that Android is a knockoff of iOS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-bardin/overall-there-isn-t-much-difference-between-a-high-end-android-and/) [Noam Bardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-bardin/) > [I am very happy about Android obviously. I use Android, and it's actually made cellphones very usable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-am-very-happy-about-android-obviously-i-use-android-and-it-s/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) [Browse all 99 Android quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/android/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz iPhones, devices that could do most of what an iPhone did - but were available on carriers other than AT&T, a relatively horrible network that was the biggest source of complaints about Apple's transformative device.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Lyons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as-kind-of-ersatz-iphones/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Android" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as-kind-of-ersatz-iphones/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/daniel-lyons-6710_android_early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as_789735.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Early on, Android phones were pitched as kind of ersatz iPhones, devices that could do most of what an…” — Daniel Lyons", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Daniel Lyons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Early on, Android phones were pitched...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as-kind-of-ersatz-iphones/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/early-on-android-phones-were-pitched-as-kind-of-ersatz-iphones/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```