Right now is a great time for Mobile enthusiasts. We have multiple choices when it comes to smart phone OSs and mobile devices. There are phones coming out every quarter that have people talking and keeping forums a blaze, not to mention the rumor mill churning out little tid bits all the time. So now that we have all of these choices, what do we choose? Whos OS will win the war? Will there even be a winner?
A few years ago, in the US, we had very few contenders in the mobile OS arena. The big dogs were Windows Mobile and RIM’s Blackberry OS. Windows Mobile devotees enjoyed a decent carrier line up and a fantastic import selection. Chances were if your carrier didn’t have the device you wanted you could get it unlocked and imported without to much hassle. RIM on the other hand offered almost all of their product line up on every carrier, so it was pretty easy to scoop up the latest BlackBerry. Over the pond Nokia’s S60 platform was dominating. S60 phones were popping out all over the place with some great features. Life was good, we did not have to much room to complain.
At that time we were used to evolution, things changing slowly over a period of time. We didn’t really see to many things drop and change the whole mobile industry. Then came Apple with it’s iPhone and since then companies have struggles to be as revolutionary and as seamless. With the app store, iTunes ecosystem, and super simple UI, Apple has brought “smart phones” to the masses. With their simple UI and all the benefits, the iPhone also brought us a “jail” and strange carrier rules we weren’t used too. For the average consumer this is fine, but for those of us who have been tinkering and getting every little bit out of our devices, this was huge adjustment and for some a deal breaker.
Companies like HTC, Samsung, LG, and a few others have tried to take Windows Mobile to the next level by customizing the UI to be more finger friendly and useable. Mostly they have done this to compete with Apple weather fan boys want to admit it or not. Even RIM has jumped on the touch bandwagon with its BlackBerry Storm. Although none of Apple’s competitors have offered anything revolutionary like they did a couple years ago. We have really seen the same evolutionary approuch to thier OSs, yes things have changed and gotten better, but nothing mind blowingly awesome. Even Google’s Android OS was met with hum drum reviews.
In 2009 will see another evolution of Windows Mobile, version 6.5, we will see Palm launch their Pre device and new WebOS, Android will be on more devices, RIMS’s devices will be launched on more and more carriers, and we might actually get some US specific Nokia S60 devices. Looks like it is once again a great time to be a mobile enthusiast. With all of the competition between these companies and OS version, we are in store for some very neat things. So which platform do you go with? That is another article all together, my opinion is to just give all of them a try. Why not?
So I am going to put myself out there an give you my predictions for 2009 and each OS. Be it right or wrong, they are my opinion based on my experience in the mobile world.
Apple iPhone – We will see yet another minor hardware change in the summer, a new software with some great new features that only 50% people will care about. We will still be missing background processes, AD2P, and apps will still be policed.
Windows Mobile – 6.5 will come out, it will be to little to late. The OS will look nicer, but at the core, it will still have all of the pitfalls WM 6.1 has now, just prettier. Also look for Microsoft to try and incorporate its cloud services across all of their platforms and tie in more services to its mobile software.
BlackBerry – Expect more of the same with them as far as OS is concerned. RIM will take a more aggressive approach to getting apps on to their devices and work closer with developers to get their apps tightly integrated. They have the enterprise market on lock, so look for more consumer grade apps and collaborations coming from RIM to rope in the masses.
Series 60 Symbian – S60 will have some really nice new features added to it with the 5th edition. Look for a ton of social networking apps, a very nice OS and still 0% support for the US. US carriers will pick up none of the decent 5th edition devices. If you want an awesome S60 device in 2009, chances are you will have to buy it unlocked as carriers wont pick it up.
Android – Look for Android to slowly gain more steam as it is available on more networks and more hardware. We will also see a lot more 3rd party app support, and overall higher quality apps. Amdroid support in the US will still be pretty slow, and we might see 3-4 devices on US carriers in 2009. T-mobile and maybe Sprint will be the only 2 carriers that even give Android a shot in the US.
Palm Pre – The Pre is the wild card in the mix. It is a compelling device, but it will first be launched on a already hurting network. I don’t see many people jumping ship and leaving their current carrier to get the Pre. So expect a slow start, similiar to the BlackBerry Storm and the T-mobile G1. Do not expect sales figures like the iPhone 3G.
There you have it guys, my thoughts for 2009. Hit me up on Twitter if you have any comments or want to chat mobile tech! looking forward to a busy year of great device launches.
