Mobile Operating System (Mobile OS)

Mobile Operating Systems (Mobile OS)

Mobile Operating Systems (Mobile OS) 

	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.