It is exactly 21 years since the Linux kernel was made available under the open sourced software development model. Although Linux quickly found a home in the server and then desktop world, the mobile Industry was much slower to embrace it. It’s only in the past 5 years that we have witnessed significant adoption driven by Google’s Android platform. In part, the mobile industry was slower to move as most device vendors viewed their legacy platforms as containing their core DNA which enabled them to differentiate in the market.
However, as iOS rapidly changed the market for Smart Devices by linking hardware, software and content in a seamless “consumer focused” package, many device vendors scrambled to compete and turned to Android as the answer. Now that iOS and Android dominate 90% of the global Smartphone market, OEMs continue to be in a quandary if they should bet everything on one OS or should they spread the risk?
With smartphone sales continuing to grow rapidly around the world, the high volume has provided an opportunity for OEMs to seriously consider alternative OS platforms as a route to differentiate their offerings and as a vehicle to reach niche markets that may not be fully accessible by iOS or Android.
Let’s first look at a vendor on a single OS strategy and consider the pros and cons of such an approach. Clearly Apple is the best exponent of the single OS approach.
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