We now have 4 major players in the Mobile OS market, Iphone/Ipad OS (apple), Android (google), Microsoft Phone 7 (horrible name and will need to change it later), and finally the save WebOS (palm).
This war has been a big topic lately especially since last week and WebOS was acquired by HP hopefully saving the platform and using it in their own attempt to the mobile phone and tablet market. But I would like to take the next step in this war past just the Phone and the Tablet, and why I think Android, as of right now, is in the prime spot for victory.
It is already understood the the iPhone/iPad OS is the most polished and most successful platform right now and Apple does not see to be slowing down, but in my opinion they have a fatal flaw when it comes to the mobile OS market. This flaw is the reason Android is most likely to win while allowing Microsoft a chance to retry again on their failures like Vista and why i think Phone 7 will have to be redone. This is also why I think WebOS could survive if HP uses it right.
The key in my argument is what I believe to be the Mobile OS market. This market is not just phones and tablets/slates, this market includes any and all information consumption devises and could be carried over to the majority electronic devices not just for news and entertainment.
What I see are companies wanting a way to expand the abilities and experiences of their devices. The next step would be TVs. The ability to put a mobile OS into a TV and to have that OS run a browser and apps likes Skype and Netflix or weather will be the next leap these mobile OSes will take.
The question people ask my when I say things like video chat on their tv is Why do I need Skype on my TV? but I tell them the question will be Why can’t I have skype on my TV? And this goes for any and all applications. The ability to allow consumers use their devices as they please will be key. The need for an OS that can handle a multitude of tasks very well and in a very polished way will drive the market for the need of these Mobile OSes in all our devises.
The OS that can adapt and place it self in a position for companies to easily implement their OS and app catalog into their devices will dominate the market. We are now at a point we we can place low powered cheap processors on anything and a mobile OS that is light weight that won’t overwhelm the processor will be more importnat than our current full desktop Operation Systems. That is why I see Android come out of the war as the victor. We always question why we need certain technologies in our lives and a few years later that technology is thoroughly rooted in our everyday routines. You might say we dont need android on our refrigerators or digital or AVR receivers or cars! But their will always be enough niches of people that want some feature or another available to them. Instead of dismissing it as to much technology in an already complicated life we should accept it and let the inevitable happen.
For each of these companies to survive in the Mobile OS market they will need to make some serious changes. Apple is to closed and will not let their software to leave their hardware (ex OS X and the Hackintosh community). Microsoft will need to rethink Windows Phone 7 and the scope of their mobile OS and probably a name change. HP has a beautiful and powerful Mobile OS ready to transcend the phone and move to the tablet and further if they chose to do so. Google and Android is already attempting to make the shift to TV with a set top box or directly to the TV (People of Lava LCD) and allowing and open sources community to patch the software for robots and many other applications.
Android TV by People of Lava
So let the Mobile OS war begin.
I do not think this is a mobile OS discussion, its more a convergence/crossover topic.
The argument that a mobile phone OS will also be your “media center” OS is a bit of a stretch, but you are dropping the big players already on the scene. Sony (Playstation), Microsoft is already there on the Xbox and Nintendo (granted its not good but you do get internet on it and it has the controller that will make using it for a web experience easy) the consoles have an OS that let you check info over the web, watch content, as well as buy and play games from one place. Since this gen released they have been adding features pretty regularly.
Keep in mind there are many parts and directions to go, we are only testing the waters. Not only are there hardware and software consideration, but services. Remember when Netflix was xbox exclusive?
I can see apple TV being revived with a control for the “ipadish” OS (in the SDK its different than the iphone OS) and having all your shiney expensive toys talk.
Google (not android) can come up with a OS solution that integrates well with their OS.
MS has their foot in the door with their Media Center functions they have been working on since Media Player 9 on XP.
The consoles are adding logins for other services (hulu, facebook etc.)
Another point is that closed systems arn’t bad, just cause you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
I agree with you on some points. First off I wanted to emphasize the ability of a current OS to be implemented on other devises. I do not see Apple, or Sony, or specifically the Xbox OS being moved onto other platforms. It is too costly and complicated (to many SDKs to program to monitor, markets tend to stick to a small elite few) and only a few players can actually survive just look at the mobile phone market, there aren’t many os players.
Yes Sony and Xbox should implement their own app store and let their set tops built in hardware and the ability to update software to continue to drive their sales and growth.
In the bigger picture, I am trying to argue that most companies can not afford to develop a polish and powerful OS. SO why not license Android or another mobile OS do it for cheap (relatively speaking).
And by closed I mean the likeliness of an OS moving to other platforms. OSX only on Apple HArdware as well as iphone/ipad. MIcrosoft has a history of putting windows mobile and handheld devices not just phones.
dang asem, that’s a really long copy.
and i know you ain’t no copywriter.
WebTV is the next big.
Why do you care that a mobile OS is the interface. What the point. The thing is we are getting a lot of standards now, and we have to start using it.
The “OS” doesn’t matter. Why not have the TVs have an interface (not an OS) to enter your services (email, netflix) and information (contact list, calendars, etc) Thats the info we want. The OS does not matter. The information is what is important. I don’t buy a console based off of its OS (not yet at least).
Simply put android/iphone/etc is a touch interface. I don’t want to touch my TV or sit that close. Flash is a mouse based interface (hover states, timelines, trees and objects) IT DOES NOT WORK ON A TOUCH INTERFACE.
We are moving towards convergence. Baby steps. But it will not be a mobile OS.