Smartphones and The Smartphone OS Arena, (and Netbook MIDs)
Mobile Wireless Data is finally coming of age and mobile wireless subscribers globally are finally able to take meaningful advantage of the high speed packet data transmission capabilities offered by 3rd Generation IMT-2000 radio transmission technologies. The smartphone is playing a key role in enabling this utility. It is no longer just a high end enterprise focused device, but has branched out into the prosumer and consumer segments of the mobile device market and into the mid-tier price category.
Ten years after Ericsson, Motorola, and Nokia invested in Psion to form Symbian Ltd. and develop the Symbian OS, Canalys reported that 115 million 'converged devices' (smart phones and wireless handhelds) shipped globally in 2007 (+60% YoY) and that's slightly more than 10% of the consensus estimate of ~1.130 billion mobile devices sold-in to channels in 2007 — a major milestone. One year later in CY2008 Gartner saw 139.3 million smartphones sold through to end users (12.1%% of 1.153 billion total handsets sold through). In CY 2009 Gartner reported that 172.4m converged device smartphones were sold through to end users (14.2% of 1.211, billion handests sold through. CY 2010 will likely see two new milestones: over 200 million smartphone shipments accounting for well over 20% of handsets sold.
[March 1, 2009 Update:] Netbook MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) are starting to emerge and distinctions between MIDs (which also include Internet Tablets, and Pocket PCs) and smartphones are starting to blur. Intel and x86 architecture, Microsoft XP HP Home, Desktop Linux, not just ARM RISC architecture, and Mobile Linux, are now in play.
This board is devoted to discussion of smartphones and other Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and in particular the competing high-level operating systems (HLOS) that power them, and the companies that develop and license those HLOS, as well as the semiconductor companies that design and manufacture baseband and application processor ICs providing native support for them. All SI members that are interested in either subject are invited to post and participate, or lurk and use the board as a resource.
- Eric - |
