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Study: Android hardware repairs are costing carriers up to $2 billion

Categories: Android, Hardware, Research
By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 12:14 PM
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One of the reasons why Android has become so popular when you look at it from a market share perspective is because of hardware choice. Consumers can choose a top of the line Android phone selling for $300 on contract or lower range handsets that can get as low as $30 or even free. Does the value of that initial investment remain long-term? A study by wireless services firm WDS says no.

The problem mainly resides within the hardware – It’s just not good enough. Unlike Apple and Research In Motion, Google doesn’t get to make the hardware that houses its Android operating system. This ends up being a good strategy to gain market share and awareness, but it can be poor for device quality, especially over an extended period. Putting Android into cheaper devices is costing global carriers up to $2 billion in repairs, the report said.

People very easily grasp low prices shoved in their faces like an Android smartphone for $50 or $30 with a two-year contract, but it’s a lot harder to realize how much that phone will have cost them once the two-year contract is up. VP of Marketing at WDS, Tim Deluca-Smith points out: “While this price point sounds very attractive, when you look at a total cost of ownership its a different story.”

Apple is a fine example of this concept, pricing the iPhone 3GS at the low, low price of free with a two-year contract. Carriers are reporting unprecedented demand for it.

True, it’s a steal up front, but after months of data and messaging fees, the original savings aren’t that much by comparison. Now take into account the Android hardware failures. Returning devices cost carriers 80 British pounds on average for replacement or repairs and other fees. This isn’t good for carriers because everyone knows they’re as greedy as can be, and not good for consumers either because they have to go through the tedious process of replacing their crappy phone.

[via Reuters]

About The Author

George Tinari

George has followed technology news for quite some time, but he only started writing about it a few years ago. He's a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy, but that doesn't stop him from covering a wide range of topics in the mobile area. When he's not reporting for IntoMobile, you can usually find George listening to a wide array of music, trying to be funny and sarcastic, eating, or voicing his opinions about all things tech on his personal blog, GT Daily.

  • Anonymous

    This is the worst article ever! It barely has anything to do with the title. There is no explanation of exactly what hardware failures they are seeing, or even what phones. Are people dropping them and shattering screens, are the boards failing, is it user damage or water damage? What are these issues and how are they costing the provider money? Wouldn’t the manufacturer be responsible for warranty issues. Is it due to insurance costs? This article explains nothing, although it talks about the cost of phones vs the cost of the plans which isn’t even relevant to the topic. Comparing a low end Android phone to the Top of the Line iPhone (the 3gs was top of the line 2 years ago!). What does that have to do with the topic? Get on topic!

  • Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    There are american studies (2 the last 2 years) that reveals that Blackberry has the worse hardware reliability on smartphone market (approximatively 7%), and the higher hardware failures (excluded problems due to user like dropdown).
    Even if Apple has a good reliability, it is the same for MOTOROLA and HTC. And ANDROID phone makers with not as good figures, are not the worse (look at blackberry).
    So ANDROID handsets are NOT the ones with the lower reliability.
    Please note also that, despite the fact that its hardware failures are very low, the Iphone is the smartphone with the highest broken screens rates (incredibly high in % compare to other smartphones).
    So this review is not at all serious. Please inform yourself before writing.