Categories
End User phones

The mobile OS landscape in 2013 #Android, #iOS,#WindowsPhone8,#Ubuntu,#Mozilla,#Tizen

Trefor DaviesI have yet again looked up and this time noticed new stirrings in the mobile world in 2013. We have the usual Android v iOS battles but there are skirmishes at the outer extremities of the mobile universe that we will be able to watch from the comfort of our armchairs and 24×7 media coverage.

First of all the fight for the number 3 mobile OS position. We have all been watching with interest to see if Microsoft can get anywhere. They have spent a lot of money on Windows Phone 8. I have typically poopooed1 Microsoft’s chances especially as there seem to have been a lot of negative reviews for Windows 8 at the desktop. However the Davies family is currently testing Windows 8 on a laptop at home and the first reports are very positive. If further analysis supports this diagnosis then the prognosis could be quite rosy. Microsoft would have to work very hard to get beyond #3 but they have the stamina to play a long game.

Next up is RIM. I have long since written off RIM but I have heard nothing but good about the BlackBerry10 and I actually get to lay my hands on one next week in advance of the launch. This comes with reams of pages of NDA but hands I will indeed lay on (it). The stakes for RIM are massive. Whilst Microsoft has many irons in the fire RIM’s shirt only has BlackBerry written on it and it is very much on the table.

Then we have the new kids on the block. You might think that the block ain’t big enough to accommodate a new kid but these kids come with some attitude2. There’s the Ubuntu for mobile due, we hear in 2014. Building upon an Android base, if Ubuntu for mobile gets attention from the global open source community it could become a real force to be recognised.

Mozilla have announced their intention to move into the mobile OS space with a pitch for standardisation and true portability of apps without being locked in. Then there’s Samsung’s Linux based Tizen. Samsung, if you believe the word on the web, is looking to reduce its reliance on Google and has become a Platinum member of the Linux Foundation with a bung of $500k.

All in all it is going to make for an interesting couple of years ahead. In my mind I was thinking consolidation of the mobile OS market but this is pointing at fragmentation. Whether the new contenders get anywhere beyond throwing the occasional punch remains to be seen but we will all have ringside seats for the big fight3.

That’s all for now. Have a great weekend 🙂 I’ll let you know how we get on with BlackBerry10 and Windows 8. TTFN.

1 doesn’t really look like a word when you see it in print does it but I couldn’t be bothered to think of an alternative and it is in general use.

2 I’m sorry this language is getting even more flowery than normal but it is 4.30 on a Friday afternoon and the chances of anyone reading it are rapidly reducing

3 OK that’s it I promise. I’m off.

PS My New Years resolution is henceforth to not use so many cliches in posts in 2013.

Categories
Engineer internet

Ubuntu – The Intrepid Ibex

Ubuntu, for those of you who don’t class yourselves as anoraks, is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more. The Ubuntu website’s own words.

Basically a free alternative to Microsoft. Now because I am not actually an anorak (my own words – you may chose to disagree 🙂 ) I am not a huge Linux fan. We do use Linux all the time in running the Timico network. ISPs are basically built on it. However my stance has always been that business needs solid software that costs money to develop.

I could be persuaded otherwise. Ubuntu version 8.10, known as the “Intrepid Ibex” has hit the Timico street and is getting rave reviews from the support teams. Ubuntu 8.10 is designed to make it easier to access the internet from anywhere.

This was demonstrated to be by someone taking a new USB Modem out of a box and plugging it in. The Operating system recognised it straight away and the internet access was up and running in seconds.

This compares very favourably with my own experience with a variety of USB devices that needed drivers loading and non-straightforward set-up processes. I can think of printers as an immediate example.

As it happens Timico specialises in helping customers with setting up applications and devices on PCs and laptops. Ubuntu does, however, represent the shape of things to come although it is still a long way from usurping Microsoft. It’s also a great name!

PS there is a prize for anyone who can tell me what Ubuntu stands for – Timico employees may not apply. Leave the answer as a comment.