Table of Content:

CHAPTERPARTICULARSPAGE NO

1Introduction2

2Analysis I15

3Analysis II24

4Summary, Conclusion & Recommendations32

Bibliography35

CHAPTER-I

1. INTRODUCTION

One of the things thats often baffled me is how personally people take their decision to own either an Apple iOS or a Googles Android device. Just look at the comments section on any tech site (or dont, on second thought) and youll see enthusiasts trashing one another over their decision to buy the product of one for-profit corporation instead of the product of another for-profit corporation. Its all very silly at first glance, but you have to consider that people arent just arguing about smartphones and tablets theyre arguing about what the future of computing will be.

First, recall why Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson said Jobs wanted to declare thermonuclear war against Google over Android in the first place: Because he believed that Google had stolen Apples iOS interface and was spreading it around promiscuously by letting any device manufacturer use it free of charge. For Jobs, this was an unforgivable sin because he thought it essentially debased all the hard work that Apple had put into building a tightly controlled software experience that could now be copied and bastardized by inferior OEMs that lacked the creativity and attention to detail that Jobs believed was critical to the future of the industry.

And Jobs had very good reason to believe in this philosophy of controlling user experience on both the hardware and software end since it helped him remake Apple into the tech dynamo it is today. Apple fans love their devices clean interfaces, their comparatively bug-free software and their sleek, high-quality hardware designs. None of this would have been possible if Jobs had decided to promiscuously license out OS X or iOS to make a little extra cash he had a vision for how he wanted a computer to look, feel and function, and he executed it better than anyone in history.

Google, however, is much more interested in spreading its popular suite of mobile apps (Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, etc.) onto as many devices as possible. And just as Jobs had success in executing his vision for a controlled user experience, Google has been very successful in making sure that people rely on its apps as part of their daily lives. As a side benefit to everyone else, the rise of Android has also led to a bounty of low-cost smartphones and tablets that have brought the mobile Internet to people who might otherwise have been unable to pay top dollar for Apples assorted iOS products.

And this all brings us back to the reasons people feel so strongly about their loyalties to iOS and Android. iOS fans love that their products just work and that they dont have to deal with any of the unpredictability and inconsistency thats inherent in the Android experience. Android fans, meanwhile, are willing to tolerate these things because they love the large variety of device types they have to choose from, as well as the ability to more customize Android to their own liking. Or put another way, preferring iOS to Android may come down to the age-old question of how much youre willing to sacrifice freedom for security, and vice-versa.

So which approach is better? Its tough to say, although we can look at the drawbacks that each approach has from a business perspective. For Google the downside is that the Android experience becomes fragmented on multiple types of different devices that have huge variations in quality. Unlike with the iPhone, you cant just go into a store and ask for an Android phone and know precisely what to expect from it.Think of it like this: If Google comes out with a crappy Android device, it doesnt mean the end of the Android platform because its just as likely that another manufacturer such as HTC or LG will pick up the slack and make a device that succeeds where its rivals had failed. But if Apple starts getting a reputation for making Apple Maps-style blunders, it wont have a third party to come in and bail it out with a fresh set of ideas.

This is basically what happened with RIM (RIMM), which started falling behind toward the end of the last decade before completely falling apart over the past two years. Thats not to say that Apple is anywhere close to being in danger of a RIM-style collapse the company did sell almost 50 million smartphones last quarter after all but rather to show just how quickly an industry heavyweight can crumble under competitive pressure if it isnt always on its toes. After all, remember that RIM still had a 43% share of the American smartphone market just three years ago; today its fallen below 10%.From this perspective, its easy to see why Jobs was so ruthlessly demanding of perfection from both himself and his employees during his life.

Just that Apple has a different business model where it tries to earn the most amount of profits from selling its hardware devices at a premium price and then reinvest those huge earned profits into creating even better products and improvise amongst the existing ones.Google on the other hand does not stress much on profiting from the sale of its hardware devices but from the advertising money that they receive and to try and get as many of their own custom apps in the devices that are run by them being the main source of income.One cannot just exist while the other does.

Apple

Advantages:This focus is their greatest advantage but they also are the least complex of these companies and have the most loyal customer base. Quality tends to lead the segment and they currently are the only vendor that executes a marketing driven strategy.In other words, from cradle to grave the product is designed to be easy to sell and is thus consistent with their primary goal. Finally Apple has the strongest retail channel in their class with their own well regarded stores containing internal post-sales support, Genius Bars.

Disadvantages:Apple, as it currently exists, was designed to be uniquely managed by Steve Jobs. Jobs was an introverted, charismatic, micromanager. He touched most every critical part of the company, performed the roll of super user (operating like a permanent focus group with authority to have its needs met), and he had the unique power of a founding CEO.He has left this job and Tim Cook, the CEO that replaced him, was selected because his skills offset Jobs not because he was identical. Apple is already bleeding top people who are following Jobs out the door. It needs to be restructured to better match Tim Cooks skills or needs to hire another top executive to full Jobs role. Neither is likely near term

Google

Advantages: Google dominates Internet advertising and Internet search. They also have the leading mobile platform (in terms of market share) in smartphones. They operate under a largely free model which frees them, generally, from concerns surrounding revenue from most of their activities.Their work environment is considered to be the best of the three companies, more comfortable than Microsoft, less frightening than Apple. They are still led by their founders, who are deeply respected by the rank and file employees. They have a large number of partners, which gives Google a combined strength second only to Microsoft.

Disadvantages:Google lacks tight focus and appears to have a very short attention span. This makes it nearly impossible to focus the company on any of its goals.Googles goals are also conflicting, causing them to underfund their various efforts and contributing to their very high number of failed initiatives and products. Their free model contributes to this underfunding because it makes each effort a cost, rather than a revenue centre. Their executive leadership and employees act inexperienced, often repeating basic mistakes made by their competitors, and the company has been bleeding talent while valuation has been relatively flat next to Apple.

Research methodology

1. Deciding the subject of ResearchInitially I had a lot of ideas for survey-based project. Then it was mutually decided that the survey sample should be huge. So I decided to take a subject in which I can get wide range of sample size. In order to face 21stcentury internet prepares people of different age groups to adapt to social and technological changes that are taking place at an unprecedented rate. In this context internet especially is a resource for continued education for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, for gaining information through media. Online shopping is an example of internet 2. Framing appropriate QuestionnairesThe initial steps of the project was to frame a less complicated questionnaire so that the sample have a clear idea what is being required from them and save their precious time .The questionnaire was constructed to mirror many of the queries that have been asked in previous studies of online shopping, internet usage (i.e. between 15-30 years, 30-45years,45-60 years)

3. Space boundariesSpace boundary means the area that we have covered for the survey. In this research, the scope for the survey was Mumbai city. This aspect focuses on how the youth people have changed their buying method and has become techno savvy.

Types of Data sources

Basically there are two types of data:1) Primary data2) Secondary dataA) Primary data:

Primary data are those data which are collected for the first time, taking a sample, representing a population. It is not a published data, it is problem specific data collected by the researcher, and it becomes the secondary data for everybody, other than the researcher. It can be collected in five ways:1. Observational research2. Focus groups research3. Survey research4. Behavioural data5. Experimental researchFor this project only primary data is used. I adopted the survey method to collect the primary data. Once the decision of collecting primary data is taken, one has to decide about mode of collection. I took the help of a structure questionnaire to collect the information from the readers.

2) Secondary data: Secondary data are those data, which are already published. It may be useful for many other persons than the researcher who published it. There are various sources of secondary data collection. They are:1. Government sources2. Commercial sources3. Industry sources

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY To know which brand is liked more by the customers. Apple, Google or other. To know the reasons why they choose that brand. To determine what are the major driving forces for the particular brand. To determine the future choice of the customers in selection of a brand for electronic gadgets like smartphones, streaming TV, etc.

For the purpose of this study I have picked up a research that was done on a sample of 40 people who owned either a Google or an Apple phone. Based on their statistics related to the questions that were asked to them, the objectives of the study were fulfilled.

Review of LiteratureApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the ILife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; and iOS, a mobile operating system. As of August 2010, the company operates 301 retail stores in ten countries and an online store where hardware and software products are sold Apple Inc. started with producing only personal computers (first market). Later on, it expanded to producing its own revolutionary operating system (Mac OS X), which left an Apple, in the OS industry (second market). It also produced creativity, productivity and multimedia programs, such as the iTunes (a worldwide known/online music player and store). The company kept on expanding until it came up with the iPod in 2001, to enter the portable music players market and become the leader of it (third market). In 2007, Apple Inc entered its fourth market by launching its new invention, the iPhone. The truth behind the scenes is not that Apple has a large group of customers that are too dedicated and passionate about their products, or the company as a whole. The reality is far more simple and obvious: Apple simply has a large group of very satisfied customers and that's the secret ingredient left out of nearly every analysis. The obvious side to Apple's customer satisfaction lies in their attention to detail in every facet of product development. All their products are designed, at every stage, with the customer clearly in mind and each product is tailored to make it as easy to use as possible for the customer, regardless of how technically savvy or not they may be.

It is no secret that Google is far and away the most successful search engine in the world. In fact it dominates its industry like few other companies can. The reason that Google are able to provide the best search results brings us to the second reason for their success, they invest far more in technology than any other search engine. It is well known that Google's search algorithm is by far the most sophisticated and it is that way because they spend huge sums of money to make sure that it is. They are constantly upgrading it to make sure that they remain the best. Far and away the biggest reason for Google's success is that they provide the best search results for their users. This has always been their goal and it is something that they are constantly striving to do.Another key to Google's success is that they have actually figured out a way to make money with their search engine. This is not a small detail because over the years many search engines have been created that got lots of users only to fail because they couldn't find a way t monetize all of those users. This is a common theme amongst online businesses in general. Google created a paid search program called Adwords that allows companies to buy advertising space alongside the search results. As a result Google have not only the most widely used search engine but also the most profitable. This of course gives them the money to invest in making sure that they stay ahead of their competitors by providing the best search results. Also Google is coming up with new hardware products for tech savvys that are creating a wave in the market and look to bring more success to google, thereby helping them reach their goal to surpass apple and be much more profitable. The last key to Google's success is that they have built one of the best known brands in the world. In fact Google is not just a company name it is now a verb that is used synonymously with a web search. This did not just happen it was the result of a concerted marketing effort and it makes it hard for others to compete with them. After all if people automatically associate Google with search engines it is pretty hard to get them to try a different one.

Hypothesis: Hypothesis 1 - Customers prefer Apple over any other brand Hypothesis 2 Customers prefer Google over any other brand Hypothesis 3 Customers are not that brand conscious when it comes to smart electronic gadgets like smartphones

Questionnaire

Questionnaire on Consumer preference amongst Apple and Google(I would like to know more about your preferences amongst the two i.e Apple and Google as a brand when it comes to various products and as a whole. You can help me to learn more by filling out the questionnaire. I do not share your answers with anyone else so they remain confidential if you have any questions please ask your presenter.)

Name: ________________________________________

6. Which age group do you belong to?15 - 3031 - 4041 - 5051 - 60

2. What is your occupation?:StudentHousewifeBusinessServices

3. Under what range does your monthly income fall?: Below 10,000 10,000 25,000 25,001 40,000 40,001 50,000 Above 50,001

4. Do you rely more on smart electronic gadgets? Yes No

5. For what purpose do you prefer to buy an electronic gadget? Entertainment Work Convenience Status

6. How important do you think a brand is when you purchase an electronic gadget?Not at all Fairly Important Very Important

7. Which brand do you have a strong preference for smartphones? Apple Iphone Samsung phones Google Nexus Others

8. Which brand of smartphone would you want to purchase next? Apple Google Others

9. Why do you want to buy the above preferred brand? (choose maximum 3)* Brand Price Performance Operating System Get used to/habit Reputation Service Quality

10. What would you do if the brand you wish to purchase is out of stock? Purchase a different brand Delay purchase till next time.

11. Will you switch to other alternative brands if they offer a similar but cheaper Smartphone? Unlikely Fair Likely

12. What operating system appeals to you the most? Android OS Apples iOS

13. Which applications store is better? Google Play Apple Store

14. Which brand of smartphone you find most appealing by looks? Apple iphone Googles Nexus Others

15. Which is your preferred streaming media device? Dont Own Apple TV Chromecast TV Others

16. Which phone would you want to purchase next? Apple iphone 5 Apple iphone 5s Google Nexus 5 Others

17. Which brand according to you is stronger and has a better future? Apple Google Others

Signature-

Thank You!

CHAPTER-II Analysis I

1. Which age-group do you belong to?

Age GroupNumber

15 - 3020

31 - 4010

41 - 505

51 - 605

Interpretation:Out of the 40 respondents, 20 belonged to the age group of 15-30, 10 belonged to 31-40, 5 belonged to 41-50 and 5 belonged to the 41 50 category.

2. What is your occupation?

TypeNumber

Student20

Business12

Services6

Housewife2

Interpretation:Out of the 40 respondents, 20 were students, 12 were business personnel, 6 were from the services business and 2 were housewives.

3. Under what range does your monthly income fall?

Monthly Income - RupeesNumber

Below 10,00010

10,000 25,00014

25,001 40,0005

40,000 50,0004

Above 50,0007

Interpretation:Out of the 40 respondents, 10 earned below Rs. 10,000 a month, 14 earned between 10,000 and 25,000, 5 earned between 25,001 and 40,000, 4 earned between 40,001 and 50,000, and 7 earned above Rs. 50,000 a month.

4. Do you rely more on smart electronic gadgets?

YES10

NO14

Interpretation:Such big difference in number indicates that more number of people rely on smart gadgets to get their work done more conveniently be it at workplace or elsewhere. Also gaming and entertainment making it more attractive with Apple and Google coming up with more and more user friendly gadgets like MacBook, Apple TV, Google TV, Google Glass, etc.

5. For what purpose do you prefer to buy an electronic gadget?PurposeNumber

Entertainment18

Work10

Convenience10

Status2

Interpretation:Most number out of the sample buy an electric gadget that is entertaining, also a major number of people resort to them for the convenience they bring at work or elsewhere.

6. How important do you think a brand is when you purchase an electronic gadget?

TypeNumber

Not at all0

Fairly2

Important10

Very Important28

Interpretation:It is clearly visible that most number of people today are brand conscious and their purchase decision is definitely impacted by the same. It is important for companies to set a strong brand image so as to sustain market share and attract more customers thereby creating brand loyalty.

7. Which brand do you have a strong preference for smartphones?

BrandNumber

Apple Iphone19

Samsung Phones11

Google Nexus7

Others3

Interpretation:People today prefer premium brands like Apple iphone and Samsung over other not so well established brands brands in the current market like htc, Lenovo, blackberry, nokia, etc.

8. Which brand of smartphone would you want to purchase next?BrandNumber

Apple Iphone27

Google Nexus8

Others5

Interpretation:Apple has positioned itself so well in the market that most of the people today would want to purchase an Apple Iphone over the other products with similar features like Google and LGs latest launch Nexus 5.

9. Why do you want to buy the above preferred brand?ReasonsNumber

Brand31

Price30

Performance5

Operating System29

Get used to/habit20

Service Quality5

Interpretation:The reason why most of the people choose one smartphone over the other is because of the Brand name, the price and the user friendly Operating System. Apple is a better contender for all but price.

CHAPTER-III Analysis II10. What would you do if the brand you wish to purchase is out of stock?Purchase a different Brand14

Delay purchase till next time26

Interpretation:26 out of the 40 people in the sample would delay their purchase if the brand they like is not available in the market at that point of time. This shows how brand loyal people are getting these days due to the product differential, great after sales service, etc.

11. Will you switch to other alternative brands if they offer a similar but cheaper Smartphone?Unlikely5

Fair11

Likely24

Interpretation:Inspite of how brand conscious the people are, in a market like India people are ready to be flexible and switch to another brand if it has to offer a fairly similar smartphone with features that nearly matchup with the one they are loyal with. But it is likely to happen only if the other brand name is well placed in the market with decent amount of repute.

12. What operating system appeals to you the most?Android OS13

Apples iOS27

Interpretation:The Apples OS wins the battle over Googles Android OS because of its simplicity yet premium look, user friendliness, speed, great features and many other sleek customizations.

13. Which applications store is better?Google Play16

Apple Store24

Interpretation:Even though almost all of the apps on the Google Play are offered for free and that any application developer can list his apps on the google play without much formalities, the apple store has a cutting edge over the google play because of its collection of custom apple tailormade apps that have great utility and are customised as per each iphone software update.

14. Which brand of smartphone you find most appealing by looks?Apple iphone26

Google Nexus11

Others3

Interpretation:Here again the Apples Iphone wins the battle over Google and the other smartphone manufacturers. The engineers at Apple put in their 100% to make sure that the legacy that has been brought forward by Steve Jobs is taken care of by making their products maintain their standards yet get in some major changes each time they launch a new product.

15. Which is your preferred streaming media device?Dont Own9

Apple TV6

Google Chromecast2

Others23

Interpretation:Media streaming device is one such market segment where Apple and Google are yet to attain market penetration in India. Most of the people today use their Smart TVs or LED TVs and plug in an external device for streaming media.

16. Which phone would you want to purchase next?Apple Iphone 513

Apple Iphone 5s7

Google Nexus 515

Others5

Interpretation:Google Nexus 5 is almost at par with the Iphone 5 for the next possible purchase of a smartphone. Inspite of the Samsung phones being flooded in the market yet they lack that premiumness in the looks. The new Nexus 5 launched by Google and LG is reasonably priced yet a classy smartphone with great features and looks. Iphone 5s is not preferred over the Iphone 5 for the only reason that it is highly priced with not much of value added features than that in an Iphone 5.17. Which brand according to you is stronger and has a better future?Apple20

Google7

Others13

Interpretation:The way these brands are placed in the market currently, it is clearly evident that Apple is a much stronger brand with products in different categories to offer to the people of all age groups. Its innovation and excellence has got them where it is today. Google on the other hand is a Company that is the market leader in web search engine and makes its revenues through mainly advertising. Its trying to enter the other market segments as well but needs to bring in many more products to be able to get even bigger and stronger.

CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

Apple clearly to stronger brand and would continue to be:Googles core business is advertising with virtually all of its revenue coming from the text ads that pop up alongside search results. Apple aims to break into the mobile advertising business Google has been eyeing by creating new ways to advertise within apps on the iPhone and other Apple devices.

The 125,000 apps iPhone users can download bolster the popularity of Apple devices and give it inuence over how people use their phones. Rather than use Googles search, iPhone users can re up the New York Times app for news or Yelp for local restaurants. Google is well behind with 18,000 Android apps

Apple still gets almost 40% of its revenue from Mac computers running its operating sys-tem. Now Google has developed Android to run competing machines and has designed a separate operating system, Chrome OS, for simpler computer Web surng.

The Apple-Google battle is likely to get much rougher in the months ahead. Ovums Yarmis thinks Apple may soon decide to dump Google as the default search engine on its devices, primarily to cut Google o from mobile data that could be used to improve its advertising and Android technology. Whatever happens, its clear that Apple and Google are headed for more conict. Android is a threat to an iPhone business that has quickly come to represent more than 30% of Apples sales. Meanwhile, nearly all the growth in search is expected to come from mobile devices. That sets the stage for a new main event in the tech sector. This rivalry is going to accelerate innovation, says Andreas Bechtolsheim, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and an early investor in Google. Apple goes pretty fast, but having someone chasing you always makes you go faster. This is going to be good for consumers. Still, in a battle over the future of computing, friendship will almost surely be a casualty of progress. You can just feel the tension rising,.

Even today, Apple has a commanding 27% net profit margin, a manifestation of its ability to charge more for its products. Compare that with Google with its 22% profit margins. But unlike Apple which must collect cash from customers, Google essentially gives its Android operating system away for free in exchange for being able to bundle its search advertising system on smartphones.

For Apple to compete, it must continue to convince consumers they need a whole new class of products. As soon as that stops, the company's profit margins will be in jeopardy. "Apple is the monopoly now. When you have a dominant position like they do, there can be a tendency to not innovate as quickly and keep products out longer if trying to dethrone the king,"

RECOMMENDATIONS Apple should think about cutting the prices a liitle in the short run so as to sustain their market share against the fast paced Google that just had a recent hit Nexus 5 Apple should look to step in the business of online advertising revenue generating that will help them keep abreast with Google. Google should stress more on the quality of the hardware components in their devices so as to try and tap the premium market that is currently apple loyal. Google should try and improve their after sales service which was a greater driver for selecting apple over google.. Apple should tie up with more US carrier brands other than AT&T such as Verizon, etc so as to increase their market share, reason being that the AT&T network has many issues and is driving their share down. Google should start to launch even more of products in the market so as to gain customer attention and choice amongst various category of income level people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.ibtimes.com www.appleinsider.com www.gizmag.com www.techruepublic.com www.washingtonpost.com www.blogs.reuters.com www.bgr.com Business Week Magazine - Article

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