Mobile Operating Systems Essay Example for Free

Mobile Operating Systems Essay The purpose of this research paper is to provide a basic overview of what a mobile operating system is and the different options available to choose from. Many issues arise when determining which mobile OS is the best for each user, such as security issues, availability of apps, compatibility with other hardware, etc. These are all fundamental aspects to consider when choosing what mobile OS someone would want to invest in when choosing their smartphone of choice. The most popular mobile OS’s are developed specifically for smartphones, while other feature-rich phones use stripped down mobile version of an OS that doesn’t provide as many features and capabilities as more advanced mobile operating systems. These higher end mobile operating systems that we will be focusing on are iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and webOS. While there does exist a greater variety of mobile operating systems, the following operating systems are the main OS’s that exist in the United States and around the world. What is a mobile operating system? How do you know which mobile OS is the best one to fit the specific needs of a user or business? Those questions will hopefully be answered by analyzing the mobile OS industry and what each mobile OS has to offer in terms of features, capabilities, and the availability of services within the OS. The Smartphone Market Today Over the last few years, companies have taken the initiative to make mobility a strong focus among modern day uses. And smartphones have become a prime target to dry and develop for to achieve top market share over the competition. Mobile operating systems is an industry that is in its growth cycle, making it more and more enticing for companies to enter the market. There are a couple manufacturer-built operating systems, which is Apple’s iOS operating system, RIM’s Blackberry OS, and HP’s webOS. Third party propriety operating systems consist of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, and a few open-sourced operating systems are Google’s Android OS, etc. (Haroon, 2011) The Importance of Mobile Operating Systems In America, the importance and significance of what mobile operating system you are using has become more and more of a topic of discussion. Many tech sites and blog sites are comparing the top mobile OS and providing a side by side comparison to determine which the best one is. But the bottom line is, each mobile OS provides great features and has been polished and developed over many versions throughout the years that each one ends up being a good OS. It all ends up to what the user want, and what specific needs the user requires that is met by the right mobile OS. Around the globe, â€Å"IDC say 157. 8 million smartphones sold worldwide in Q4 2011, bringing the total for the year to 491. 4 million units. (Haroon, 2011) The first Apple iOS version was released with the iPhone in 2007. The OS’s intuitive and easy to use ability has given the OS the competitive advantage and its features. The first iteration of iOS lacked many features that other smartphone operating systems had but Apple quickly began to develop more and more features that customers requested, like copy paste, tethering, etc. Blackberry is developed by RIM and has been a tremendous success throughout the business world, and became the choice of smartphone when it was first released. Although it had a lot of success initially, it began to decline with the increase of competition of Android and iOS. HP webOS was HP’s attempt to get into the mobile industry, when Palm first initially built webOS. It did not catch on among consumers and never gained enough market share to be competitive. Android is Google’s take on how mobile operating systems should be; open and user customizable. It was developed in 2005 and saw a huge growth and has quickly become the mobile OS of choice amongst many across the world. iOS by Apple The iOS mobile OS, formerly known as iPhone OS, was unveiled on January 9, 2007 at the Macworld Conference Expo. It was then later released to the public with the release of the first iPhone later that June. The iPhone was one of the first smartphones that revolutionized the smartphone industry and set a new standard to how smartphones should be today and the vision for the future. iOS quickly became so popular that Apple began to use the iOS to operate other devices such as the iPod touch, iPad 1 + 2, and the Apple TV. Shortly after the release of the iPhone, Apple then announced that a Software Development Kit (SDK) was under development and would be in the hands of developers soon. This led to an influx of developers rushing to the mobile OS to find new and intuitive ways that users can interact with their phone through third party applications. The AppStore was a success when released and apps were being developed at an extraordinary pace for the iPhone. To develop and make apps for iOS, you must have a keen understanding to develop using Xcode and objective-C. (Since the release of Xcode 3. , Xcode is the development environment for the iOS SDK. iPhone applications, like iOS and Mac OS X, are written in Objective-C. † (O’Dell, 2012) iOS is essentially a home screen with app icons with limited customization options for the user, but this is what made the iPhone so popular. It was easy to use and intuitive. It was easy for a new person entering the smartphone market to pick up the iPhone and learn how to use it within a matter of a few minutes. Although it doesn’t provide the heavy customizing options like Android, it stands up fairly well against the competition and the sales of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad prove that. Android by Google Android, Inc. was initially founded in Palo Alto, California in 2003 by Andy Rubin. Android, Inc. was then later acquired by Google in 2005 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. With the support and funding of Google, Android quickly became a mobile OS force to be reckoned with. Android is a mobile OS that is Linux-based for smartphones and tablets. â€Å"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 Android Market, the app store run by Google. † Google had one thing in mind when it came to Android, and that was to compete head to head against Apple’s iOS. Since the introduction of Android, many updates have been released adding new features and capabilities that kept it being on par with the iPhone, and sometimes even exceeding in areas that iOS lacked, such as multi-tasking and customization options. One of the primary reasons Android became so successful was due to its open source environment. Manufacturers from all over the world began to develop smartphones integrating the Android OS while also developing a customized version of their own take on Android on top of it. HTC, Samsung, and Motorola are a few of many that are known for providing customized versions of Android that make it a more customizable phone experience for users. (Newman, 2012) While Android has seen an extraordinary growth and positive feedback from consumers in recent years, along with the OS comes its downfalls and negatives. One aspect that has always plagued Android from the beginning and has only gotten worse is this idea of fragmentation. Google releases a handful of updates throughout the year, and due to the openness of Android, hardware manufacturers have always been given the freedom to customize Android in their own way making their devices differentiate from the competition. This has only caused these updates that Google releases during the year to not be readily available once the update is pushed out. Consumers are finding themselves craving for the latest Android update only to be waiting for months and months after it is released. Google seems to be listening and plans to reduce fragmentation across its operating system starting with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4. 0). Google is making it mandatory that any smartphone or tablet that has the Android Market installed will have to by default make the new â€Å"Holo† theme that ICS introduced. This is a step in the right direction for Android and the result of this change will hopefully be speedier delivery of future Android updates. (Purewal, 2012) Google has had tremendous success no doubt with its Android mobile operating system. Following the steps of the OS version dubbed â€Å"gingerbread†, Ice Scream Sandwich followed suit implementing new features and user interface changes that make Android more modern and competitive against the iPhone. But Google is already taking its next step in the next version of Android. Android 5. 0, which will be dubbed â€Å"Jelly Bean†, is the next version Google plans to release following the Ice Cream Sandwich release. This version of the mobile OS will implement better tablet handling for the new features and UI changes that were introduced in Ice Scream Sandwich. Even though Ice Cream Sandwich just came out of its wrapper, the upcoming release of Windows 8 has supposedly inspired Google to speed up its release schedule. Android 5. 0 is rumored to have Chrome integration; Also in DigiTimes report were hints that Android 5. 0 Jelly Bean will come in two flavors: Google and Microsoft. The article said that brand vendors can either choose to adopt only Android 5. 0 or add Android 5. 0 to Windows 8 devices with the ability to switch between the two OSes without the need to shut down the computer. (Slattery, 2012) With these rumors surfacing up, it’s looking like a bright future for Android and the types of integration Google has planned for the OS among other devices. If the rumors come out to be true, Apple may have something to be worried about. Blackberry by RIM (Research In Motion) In the business world, RIM was a company that everyone knew about. Businesses from all over the world knew that if people were to have a smartphone in a business, the best choice would be a blackberry. Although RIM has lost its market share it once had, it will always be remembered as one of the best mobile OS in for a business. Blackberry is a propriety operating system developed by Research In Motion which debuted in January 1999 with version 1. 0 for the Pager Blackberry 580. Throughout the years, RIM began to continue adding new features implementing input devices such as track wheel, track ball, and most recently, the track pad and touchscreen. iOS and Android began competing for the smartphone market releasing updates for their mobile OS that in ways surpassed the capabilities and features of the once king Blackberry OS. (Kerr, 2012) In 2011, RIM released Blackberry OS 7. version which was long rumored to implement features found within other popular mobile OS. But something always plagued the Blackberry OS. Apps did not catch on within the Blackberry atmosphere as it did with the iPhone. Developers did not find it easy to develop for the OS and thought that RIM did not have the hardware support needed to have such high quality apps. RIM began finding itself lagging behind the competition and to this day are still trying to find ways to climb back up the ladder they once were. Their recent attempts with OS 7. 0 are to tie in user interface concepts found within iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Blackberry has always been an OS to differentiate itself from the competition, but this shift seems like the wrong direction for Blackberry. Instead of trying to nibble bits and pieces of other mobile OS’s, RIM needs to find new and innovative ways that it can stand out from its competition. Windows Phone 7 by Microsoft When people from all over the world speak about operating systems, Microsoft is the giant that comes to mind within the PC industry. Microsoft is a company that revolutionized the way individuals interact with computers and the capabilities available today. But Microsoft was once the giant for the mobile OS market as it was for the PC market. Windows Mobile was developed by Microsoft and it was based off of the Windows CE kernel. It supported applications that were developed by third party developers with no imposed restrictions by Microsoft. This allowed developer to build software that the Windows platform supported while also having the opportunity to profit from the software they made available. One of the most common features within Windows Mobile was the ability to multitask and also the ability to navigate a file system that was somewhat similar to that of Windows 9x/NT. The success Microsoft once had in the smartphone market soon came to an end. With the introduction of the iPhone by Apple, every competitor saw an uphill battle. Apple grabbed many developers in order to make the mobile OS a huge success like it is today. iOS introduced new features and rich native apps that were not found in any other mobile OS. In short, Windows Mobile looked very outdated compared to iOS. The success of iOS began to dethrone Microsoft from the top spot it once had, finding itself struggling to keep up with the competition. Microsoft released many software versions of Windows Mobile throughout the years; Windows Mobile 5, 6, 6. 1, 6. 5. But each software release did not have the impact Microsoft desired it to have. Microsoft knew it had to do something, and fast. So they introduced Windows Phone 7. Windows Phone 7 is the successor of the Windows Mobile operating system. It is developed by Microsoft and was launched in the second half of 2010 and early 2011 in Asia. This mobile OS was a complete redesign to what Microsoft was doing in all of its previous years with Windows Mobile. They adapted up to date technology and development tools that were relevant in today’s modern world, such as Silverlight. Microsoft had a whole new attitude with Windows Phone 7, and their mission is to see their competitors catch up to them. Microsoft offers a new user interface with its design language, Metro, integrates the operating system with third party and other Microsoft services, and controls the hardware on which it runs. One of the newest revisions of a mobile operating system has been Microsoft’s latest attempt of Windows on smartphone. Windows Mobile was an extreme failure that simply could not catch on as much as they tried. The operating system was buggy and not very user friendly for the usual smartphone customer. Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s latest attempt to try and turn around the future of Windows on mobile devices. Fackler states ten reasons why he believes it has an edge over Google’s Android operating system. The first being it’s user stream-lined user interface. â€Å"With WP7, you know what kind of interface you’re going to be working with, regardless of the handset manufacturer. † Secondly, it has an easier to user interface. WP7’s â€Å"tile† system is simply easier to organize and find the things you need to throughout the day. † Thirdly, Windows Phone 7 has a less amount of apps compared to Android that are crap. â€Å"WP7’s â€Å"tile† system is simply easier to organize and find the things you need to throughout the day. † The other reasons are, Microsoft live integration, Microsoft Mobile Office integration, less lawsuits compared to Android, stability, Zune integration, snappier keyboard, and lastly, no ad-ware. All of these reasons contribute to why Fackler states Windows Phone 7 has the competitive advantage over Android. Not everyone is clearly a fan of Android, and the important thing to always remember, is that there are other options available depending on the user and how they would prefer their mobile operating system experience to be. (Fackler, 2012) WebOS by HP There are a few varieties of mobile operating systems that exist today. iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone 7 are proving to be the more dominant mobile OS within the world. But there was an operating system that was created in the days of Palm that saw a blurry vision. Palm created webOS to compete against the iOS which is developed by Apple. WebOS was one of the first mobile operating systems from an intuitive standpoint to give iOS a run for its money. It introduced a new way for multitasking on smartphones and implemented a great strategy to do so. It was a first of its kind really on any mobile operating system. WebOS also had a feature called Synergy. What Synergy did was pull information from other networks, and integrated that information seamlessly within the OS. This was an operating system that without the necessary support it needed, later began to suffer and fell into the hands of HP. HP purchased Palm for $1. billion and the future of webOS remained a mystery. HP later confirmed that it will stop producing webOS hardware products which meant no more tablets, smartphones, etc. But that does not mark the fate of webOS. HP announced that webOS will live on as an open source platform. â€Å"HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace. † With the OS now being open sourced, will webOS finally get the hardware it deserves? This can only increase the amount of options we have available in the mobile operating systems industry. In recent months, Hewlett Packard made the decision to make the once popular webOS mobile operating system open-source. This means that developers and hardware manufacturers will have the opportunity to manipulate the OS in ways that were limited before. But some say that the problem was never in the fact that webOS was closed source; it was webOS and its initial development from the beginning that determined the failure of the mobile OS. WebOS relied on WebKit, which is an open-source software engine used by browsers to display Web pages. Mr. Mercer said that this was a mistake because it prevented the applications to run as fast enough to be on par compared to the iPhone. â€Å"WebOS app development team said the core issue with WebOS was actually Palm’s inability to turn it into a platform that could capture the enthusiasm and loyalty of outside programmers. † WebOS was developed in about nine months, and the company according to this former employee, took some short cuts to get there. Another issue that determined the outlook of webOS was recruitment. Back in 2009, it was hard to find programmers that had a good understanding and grasped the developmental oncepts involving WebKit. Mr. Mercer said that most of the top talent was already snatched up by Apple and Google. The former employees said that Jon Rubenstein, former Palm’s chief executive, because of his hardware background, he did not understand the logistics of creating a powerful new operating system, and he was ultimately responsible for the decision to rely on WebKit. Conclusion of Mobile Operating Systems Clearly, there are many options to choose from when it comes to smartphones today, and what mobile operating system is found underneath the hardware is just as important as the hardware it runs on. OS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and WebOS are all great platforms and provide different functionalities that cater to the needs of specific individuals. iOS caters more to a consumer friendly and business market, while Android caters more to people who love the option to customize their OS a lot. These mobile OS each offer new ways for you to enjoy your mobile experience, so it’s important that you realize which would be best for your individual or business need.