On one hand it seems like things have settled on iOS vs. Android with Win 8 as the dark horse in the mobile OS market. On the other hand, trends seem to say all is not so stable in the mobile OS market:
1. Google buying Motorola has other Android handset and tablet makers angry and worried.
2. Google releasing their new branded Android tablet at US $200.
3. Amazon Kindle Fire undercuts profits in Android tablets.
4. Microsoft announces their own line of branded Win 8 tablets effectively undercutting HP and other hardware makers that might commit to Win 8.
5. Nokia's ship seems to be sinking faster since their dependence alliance with Microsoft.
6. Everybody is suing the heck out of anyone using Android.
In contrast we have several new OS's in the works:
A. Something from Firefox
B. Ubuntu mobile
C. Google keeps pushing Chrome OS
D. Open Source WebOS is due out in Sept. 2012
E. Several proprietary Linux based OS's out of Asia (ie. HTC is working on their own)
In the US the cellphone market is controlled by the big 4 cell carriers, who don't seem keen to support too many OS's. But the tablet market is more open.
My own opinion is that the tablet OS market may still be open for several new operating systems. I'm not as sure about the cell phone OS market in the US because of the carrier lock, but Android makers have to be nervous, and MS seems to be thrashing around a bit with Win phone and lack of upgrade paths.
So do any oth these have a chance?
Something in me really wants MS to succeed. They have a generation of Xbox users growing up, and with the power of modern phones it might be easy to port all the classics to the win8 phones and tablets. Halo on a phone with multiplayer, I think that would swing me.
Mobile Advertising is probably the biggest revenue generator for mobiles, if any of those new OS's make it easy to share rev with the phone manufacturers and can make it easy to port iphone and android apps, then maybe it could work.
Quote from: hungrygoose on June 29, 2012, 02:08:23 PM
Something in me really wants MS to succeed.
I've got an Android phone. As long as I forget that Android = Google, I'm very happy with it.
Also would like MS to have a slice of this market.
Or better still, neither Google, Apple or MS, but an alternative player on an open platform
Yea, it's utter Khaos! It's a patent war were shady back handers are done or they risk being sued.
Out of all the companies offering some form of OS I really hope MS grab more market share.
Is there room for more?... na, it's all to do with the apps nowadays, and unless they can get developers en mass producing the sorts of apps consumers want then they have no chance unfortunately
QuoteI really hope MS grab more market share
me too - and I can't begin to explain how uncomfortable that makes me feel.
Whatever happened with WebOS (think HP Touch)? Was that ever made into a mobile OS?
Quote from: grnidone on June 29, 2012, 05:16:41 PM
Whatever happened with WebOS (think HP Touch)? Was that ever made into a mobile OS?
It is being open sourced. Due for release in Sept. I'm wondering if HP might get back behind this with tablet hardware, because their plans to go with Windows 8 just got kicked in the teeth by MS.
webOS is actually rather good (I have both tablet and phone) but it needs to have hardware in production to keep moving forward.
Quote from: 4Eyes on June 29, 2012, 05:06:12 PM
QuoteI really hope MS grab more market share
me too - and I can't begin to explain how uncomfortable that makes me feel.
:) uniting with the old enemy to take on the new evil?