The Mobile OS War is about to get interesting
By Anthony CARUANA
If you're using a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA or some sort of converged device then chances are that you're using one of five different operating systems. Those are BlackBerry, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian or OS X (for the iPhone/iPod touch mob).
A week or so ago, Nokia announced that they have purchased Symbian. They've been a major shareholder for a while but have procured the remaining stock. What many people don't realise is that Symbian is the dominant player with over two-thirds of the mobile market. So, while Apple grabs the headlines and Microsoft tout the brilliance of their handheld OS, they are all merely filling the gap. Why is that?
I've been using different mobile operating systems for some time. While Symbian may not be the most glamourous it's exceptionally robust and flexible. It can be adapted for touchscreens and keyboard only handhelds, the PIM apps can sync with just about every desktop app you can throw at it and there are many applications freely available for the platform.
What this means for other Symbian handsets such as those made by Sony Ericsson isn't really clear yet. But what I do know is while Apple, Microsoft, RIM and Palm collect the headlines it's Nokia and Symbian that really own the mobile phone market and are likely to do so for quite some time.
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Life wasn't meant to be spent sitting still. You're meant to get out in the world and to do that you've got to be able to carry your tech. Anthony Caruana's been hooked on portable computers and mobile comms since before PDAs existed. Writing for some of the most respected tech titles, he focuses on getting the most from the tech you can carry about.
