The main contenders:
Android, iOS, Windows Phone 7…
For the first time, 3 viable options, all with their own strengths, weaknesses, lovers and haters. Can they all exist in harmony, blissfully cohabiting the ever growing mobile platform market? For a period of time this may well be possible, but developing apps and media content for 3 platforms will put strain on developers and add pressure to picking one or two of the platforms to support, at least at first.
What are going to be the deciding factors?
The OS:
Out of the box, all 3 will offer the usual apps: phone, messaging, email, camera, gallery, browser, facebook etc etc etc. How to get the edge here? UI, its all about the UI. How slick can each OS be? Android will be pushing further integration with social media, ever improving the experience with each release. iOS will as usual be a guarded secret, but nonetheless will inevitably impress and woo the fans. Windows phone is a very fresh approach and in time will start to “feel right”, something it is failing to do at the moment, something android is only overcoming in Froyo and Gingerbread.
The Apps:
Android Market, App Store and Windows phone marketplace hub (you think MS got the name long enough? 😀 ) are the locations for the biggest battles in this war. The app store is already well established and the clear dominant leader, android market place, more appealing to developers and less hoops to jump through, but only finding its feet at the latter part of 2010 in terms of paid app sales. The windows phone marketplace will be the one to watch, will developers embrace it as strongly as they embrace the android market? Will Nokia unleash a horde of developers, now at a loose end since the announcement of the partnership between Redmond and Finland (Redfin?) Whatever happens here, gaming is going to become a massive part of it, Onlive on the new HTC tablet really shakes things up!
The Hardware:
Can anyone knock Apple off the top spot in terms of hardware design? So far all that have tried have ultimately failed, its not their fault, they see the current gen iPhone and aim to beat it, and invariable do, but mere weeks later, Apple unveil the next gen iPhone, as usual black is the new white, or vice versa, whatever the design guru’s in Apple decide as “In”. Google seem to be happy to let HTC, Sony, Samsung et al challenge each other to come up with hardware chariots to carry their OS soldier and indeed so far they do a fine job and provide excellent components as horses for this increasingly strained metaphor. Windows? well they have indeed pulled off a stroke of genius, Nokia have been building phones for what seems like forever, they do a damn fine job of it, but were always woefully bad at software, could this union be a match made in Corporate Heaven?
Judgement Day
Post iPhone 5 release, the dust will begin to settle, the damage inflicted by its predictably market changing impact may leave the competitors shaking or running back to their design teams screaming for reinforcements. Whatever happens, 2011 will be the setting for the biggest mobile platform battle ever witnessed. I wait expectantly.
