Like
a computer operating system, a mobile operating system is the software platform on top of
which other programs run. When you purchase a mobile device such as mobile phones, smartphones,
PDAs and handheld computers,
the manufacturer will have chosen the operating system for that specific
device. The operating system is responsible for determining the functions and
features available on your device, such as thumbwheel, keyboards, WAP,
synchronization with applications, e-mail, text messaging and more. The mobile
operating system will also determine which third-party applications can be used
on your device. Some of the more common and well-known Mobile operating systems
include the following:
Symbian
OS
Symbian
OS has become a standard operating system for smartphones, and is licensed by
more than 85 percent of the world's handset manufacturers. The Symbian OS is
designed for the specific requirements of 2.5G and 3G mobile phones.
Windows
Mobile
The
Windows Mobile platform is available on a variety of devices from a variety of
wireless operators. You will find Windows Mobile software on Dell, HP,
Motorola, Palm and i-mate products.
Windows Mobile powered devices are available on GSM or CDMA networks.
Palm
OS
Since
the introduction of the first Palm Pilot in 1996, the Palm OS platform has
provided mobile devices with essential business tools, as well as capability to
access the Internet or a central corporate database via a wireless connection.
Mobile
Linux
The first company to launch phones
with Linux as its OS was Motorola in 2003. Linux is seen as a suitable option
for higher-end phones with powerful processors and larger amounts of memory.
MXI
MXI
is a universal mobile operating system that allows existing full-fledged
desktop and mobile applications written for Windows, Linux, Java, Palm be
enabled immediately on mobile devices without any redevelopment. MXI allows for
interoperability between various platforms, networks, software and hardware
components.
Bada
Bada
is an operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones
and tablet computers. It is developed by Samsung Electronics. Its name means
"ocean" or "sea" in Korean.
It ranges from mid-range to high-end smartphones.
BlackBerry
OS
 This
OS is focused on easy operation and was originally designed for business.
Recently it has seen a surge in third-party applications and has been improved
to offer full multimedia support. Currently Blackberry's App World has over
50,000 downloadable applications.
iOS
from Apple Inc
The Apple iPhone,
iPod Touch, iPad, and second-generation Apple TV all use an operating system
called iOS, which is derived from Mac OS X. Native third party applications
were not officially supported until the release of iOS 2.0 on July 11th 2008.
Before this, "jailbreaking" allowed third party applications to be
installed, and this method is still available. Currently all iOS devices are
developed by Apple and manufactured by Foxconn or another of Apple's partners.
Android
Android was developed by a small startup
company that was purchased by Google Inc, and Google continues to update the
software. Android is a Linux-derived OS backed by Google, along with major
hardware and software developers that form the Open Handset Alliance.
Android has a large community of
developers writing applications ("apps")
that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a
customized version of Java. Apps can be downloaded from
third-party sites or through online stores such as Google Play
(formerly Android Market), the app store run by Google. As of February
2012 there were more than 450,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated
number of applications downloaded from the Android Market as of December 2011
exceeded 10 billion.
Market share
In 2006, Android,
iOS, Windows Phone and Bada did not yet exist and just 64 million smartphones
were sold. Today, nearly 10 times as many smartphones are sold and the top
mobile operating systems marketed as "smartphones" by market share
are Android, Symbian,
Apple iOS, RIM BlackBerry, MeeGo, Windows Phone, and Bada.
Quarter
|
Android
|
iOS
|
Symbian
|
RIM
|
Microsoft
|
Bada
|
Other
|
2011 Q4
|
50.9%
|
23.9%
|
11.7%
|
8.8%
|
1.9%
|
2.1%
|
0.8%
|
2011 Q3
|
52.5%
|
15.0%
|
16.9%
|
11.0%
|
1.5%
|
2.2%
|
0.9%
|
2011 Q2
|
43.4%
|
18.2%
|
22.1%
|
11.7%
|
1.6%
|
1.9%
|
1.0%
|
2011 Q1
|
36.0%
|
16.8%
|
27.4%
|
12.9%
|
3.6%
|
1.7%
|
1.6%
|
2010 Q4
|
31.1%
|
16.1%
|
32.9%
|
13.1%
|
3.4%
|
1.3%
|
2.2%
|
2010 Q3
|
25.3%
|
16.6%
|
36.3%
|
15.4%
|
2.8%
|
1.1%
|
2.5%
|
2010 Q2
|
17.2%
|
14.2%
|
41.2%
|
18.2%
|
5.0%
|
0.9%
|
3.3%
|
2010 Q1
|
9.6%
|
15.3%
|
44.2%
|
19.7%
|
6.8%
|
|
4.4%
|
2009 Q4
|
7.6%
|
16.2%
|
44.7%
|
19.7%
|
7.9%
|
|
4.0%
|
2009 Q3
|
3.4%
|
17.0%
|
44.2%
|
20.5%
|
7.9%
|
|
7.0%
|
2009 Q2
|
1.8%
|
13.0%
|
51.0%
|
19.0%
|
9.3%
|
|
5.9%
|
2009 Q1
|
1.6%
|
10.5%
|
48.8%
|
20.6%
|
10.2%
|
|
8.2%
|
2008 Q4
|
1.1%
|
10.6%
|
46.5%
|
19.3%
|
12.2%
|
|
9.1%
|
2008 Q3
|
0.6%
|
13.1%
|
50.3%
|
16.1%
|
11.2%
|
|
9.8%
|
2008 Q2
|
|
2.8%
|
57.5%
|
17.5%
|
12.1%
|
|
10.8%
|
2008 Q1
|
|
4.6%
|
49.5%
|
11.6%
|
10.4%
|
|
11.6%
|
2007 Q4
|
|
5.2%
|
62.3%
|
10.9%
|
11.9%
|
|
9.6%
|
2007 Q3
|
|
3.4%
|
63.1%
|
9.7%
|
12.8%
|
|
11.5%
|
2007 Q2
|
|
1.0%
|
65.6%
|
8.9%
|
11.5%
|
|
13.0%
|
2007 Q1
|
|
|
61.2%
|
8.7%
|
13.4%
|
|
16.8%
|
Table: World-Wide Smartphone Sales. | 
