Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
Summary: Google's decision to open source Android to multiple wireless handset makers has the mobile operating system poised to be No. 2 worldwide in short order.
Google's decision to open source Android to multiple wireless handset makers has the mobile operating system poised to be No. 2 worldwide in short order.
Gartner released its smartphone operating system standings and has Android just behind Research in Motion with market share of 17.2 percent worldwide. RIM is hearing footsteps with 18.2 percent of the smartphone OS market. What's stunning about this leap is that Android's market share was 1.8 percent a year ago. In a year, Android has leapfrogged Apple's iOS. It doesn't take fancy analytics to project that Android will overtake RIM in two quarters.
According to Gartner, Android's non-exclusive distribution has propelled the OS. The strategy is similar to what Microsoft did in the desktop market---partner with a bevy of hardware players and flood the zone.
This Android march is benefiting some key handset makers such as HTC and Motorola, but not as much as you'd think. HTC is surging, but Android hardware vendors are going to kill each other with an innovation cycle that lasts weeks instead of months. HTC and Motorola are hot today, but Samsung could grab more share in a few months. Simply put, Android's success isn't going to translate to all mobile device makers.
Here's the global mobile device maker picture with today's primary Android players highlighted:
In the not-too-distant future, you'll be able to add LG and Sony Ericsson to the Android team. Add it up and Nokia has a big target on its back and no answers readily available. RIM will have to hope the BlackBerry OS 6 fuels sales. And Apple could care less about share since it's making a ton of dough, but don't rule out expansion plans via Verizon Wireless and other CDMA carriers.
- Data points stack up in favor of Android surge
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- Android, iPhone, BlackBerry installed base game
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Talkback
WindowsPhone will make this really interesting, stealing share from all
Yep, just like all of the market share that Kin stole.
And all the market share the Zune took
@DonnieBoy
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
It will be interesting to see how it does but I would not have such high hopes for WP7.
Except in the enterprise, of course
BBs and Windows phones will do very well in the enterprise market, where both are entrenched due to our dependence on Exchange and Office. WP7 does face an uphill battle, but not as severe as you might imagine.
itpro_z: Blackberry will continue to do well in the enterprise, as they are
Donnie: My wording was not very clear
WP7 is butt-ugly
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
WP7 should see significant business usage if not consumer usage. Company wide/campus wide/factory wide private cell networks with direct access to all the company apps/SQL data/Exchange will happen. With low level integration I can alert a manager about a problem. With high level integration I can do that and also present the options and put the decision into effect with a tap. We will have to wait and see how good a job they did.
Wow, cateater, thanks for the review
I do find it funny, though, that a Mac user tries to take a poke at Windows 7 security when OSX has more holes in it than a chain link fence.
I don't care about marketshare
I really like MS's task oriented approach in WP7. While I like my iPhone, I find it utterly ridiculous how much time it takes me to gather up the information I used to get at a glance on the homescreen of my WM6 device. It literally takes me 10+ taps and swipes on the iPhone to look at my next appointment, see the weather forecast, and access my alarm clock. # of taps and swipes on WM6? 0.
With iPhone, you must know what application to open in order to accomplish whatever task you are trying to accomplish. With a task oriented UI, you tell the OS what task you are trying to accomplish and it will open the right application for you. It is much more natural.
WP7 still has too many showstoppers for me to personally consider it yet but I think the UI that MS has come up with is much more innovative than Apple's.
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
Actually, Windows Mobile 7 has a better chance than many believe, but at this point Google is the one poised to take the crow. Of course all of this can change rather quickly. What makes things interesting is that Apple's margins will quickly be marginalized and force it to compete more on technology and price. I went into detail on the slicing of margin's and the competitive landscape here: http://boombustblog.com/reggie-middleton/2010/08/12/how-google-is-looking-to-cut-apples-margin-and-how-the-sell-side-of-wall-street-will-enable-this-without-sheeple-investors-having-a-clue/
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
I cant see how WM7 is going to make any kind of impression at all. Why would a handset manufacturer prefer a paid-for OS that they cant modify in preference to a free, open source, fully customisable OS? Microsoft have stated that the handset manufacturers cant make any significant changes to the UI, and phone hardware is pretty standard across all manufacturers so the only competitive advantage will be to lower prices. It will result in a race to the bottom and wont be profitable.
The target market for the Windows Phone is XBox and Zune owners, Microsoft is going to have a hard time selling the OS outside of that demographic.
I expect WP7 to do about as well as the Kin (remember "project pink" that all the Microsoft supporters were proclaiming would get Microsoft back in the race and has failed spectacularly.)
Simple Nickkuk...
Not only is it a free, open source, fully customisable OS, It also lacks quality control, rules, enforcement, and consistency... It's a free open world, free to good and bad.... Roid is a sitting duck for malware, trojans, poorly coded apps, etc.. And we are just beginning to see the tip of that iceberg...
Just by being open and insecure eliminates Roids from the enterprise. All they have left is the consumer market. The only reason they are popular is because people don't want AT&T and see Roid as the only other choice worth having... But when reporters start to put it all together and shine a light on ID theft, trojans, spam apps, etc., it will be game over for Roid phones. No2 smartphone OS.. Nah, Not gonna happen.... Human nature prevents it. You might want to short that stock...
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
Windows Mobile 5 and 6 were uninteresting offerings. I'm going to be getting my first Android phone next year and hopefully, the experience will be better. Windows Mobile 7 has a long, tough road ahead.
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
But as open source
@NetAdmin1178
And, Google does not have to make money "directly". They are just fine with
RE: Android poised to be No. 2 smartphone OS worldwide
No, Android doesn't make any money for them directly; but it does direct the users of that platform to their services that drive up their ad revenue - which makes lots of money. Why does Google offer anything they do for free?... Because in the end, they do make money off of it.
And if Google ever did want to make money directly from sales of Android, they could - just as Red Hat, Novell, Oracle and others do with their linux distributions. I don't see it happening, at least anytime in the foreseeable future, as this isn't Google's method of doing things.