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February 14, 2011

Between the 'walled garden' of iOS and the 'fragmentation' of Android, competitors look for a middle ground


With Symbian all but dead and RIM loosing market share hand over fist, Apple's iOS and Google Android platforms look poised to become the dominate mobile operating systems for the near future. But the two companies have taken radically different approaches to the use of their software. Google has often described their mission as "creating the best version of Android we can and then giving it away" while Apple strictly controls every aspect of iOS. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and neither solution is "perfect" for everyone. In fact, there is a gap between the strategies of the two companies that several competitors are already fighting to occupy.


Looking at RIM, HP, and Microsoft, they all seem to have the same general idea: provide choice with hardware within reason while tightly controlling software for a unified user experience. HP, having bought Palm, is most like Apple. They exclusively control webOS as a platform and make all hardware that runs it. They offer a limited number of products - they recently announced just 3 devices for their new lineup - but have great control over things like updates. 

RIM holds the middle ground by also keeping their proprietary OS to themselves, but releases far more devices than any single company in the smartphone game. There are at least a dozen, if not more, different BlackBerries available to purchase at any one time from various carriers and generally contain the same software. This diversity has come back to bite RIM as rolling out software updates to their vast library of devices is time-consuming and costly. 

Microsoft is somewhat surprisingly most like Google and has continued their WinMo policies with Windows Phone 7 by licensing their software out to any interested party. They do impose minimal hardware specifications and prevent manufacturers from "skinning" their OS, a "feature" many Android users have experienced. In short, they allow manufacturers to be creative and unique with their hardware but require they leave the software untouched. They are conceding some of this tight control to Nokia as part of their deal (pictured), so it would not be out of the question to see Microsoft allow more customization in the future. 

Each of these platforms is looking to provide that third choice to consumers. However, it is likely that the market and especially the application developers will only be able to support one more large platform after Android and iOS. With the new Microsoft and Nokia partnership, RIM's adoption of QNX as their OS of the future, and the relaunch of webOS backed by HP's cash 2011 will go a long way to determining what the mobile landscape will look like for years to come. 

[picture via Engadget]

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