Poll: What phone OS's do you think will dominate in the next 5 years?

[Pliablemoose]

First pole in vB
Pick the top 2 phone OS's in 5 years


Edited OP's tags. This isn't TFNN, Moose.

- bamacre, Forum Director

 

[Chapbass]

No winmo option?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Damn it, no way to edit the poll evidently

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Android of course

 

[shortylickens]

Android and Apple. And thats got nothing to do with my personal preference. Its based on observation and online articles from pros is this area. They are both making great strides to get customers easy access to powerful software. Symbian and Blackberry have both been dicking around too much. WebOS is nice but nothing special. The handful of cool shit they do offer will probably be available on Apple and Android soon. Microsoft may have something awesome up their sleeve and are perhaps just biding their time.

Also, I forsee light versions of Android on less advanced phones.

 

[Bateluer]

Android and Apple. And thats got nothing to do with my personal preference. Its based on observation and online articles from pros is this area. They are both making great strides to get customers easy access to powerful software. Symbian and Blackberry have both been dicking around too much. WebOS is nice but nothing special. The handful of cool shit they do offer will probably be available on Apple and Android soon. Microsoft may have something awesome up their sleeve and are perhaps just biding their time.

Also, I forsee light versions of Android on less advanced phones.

Agreed, it'll be Android and iPhone OS. I don't see Nokia's Maemo and Palm's WebOS becoming super popular either.

 

[soydios]

based on history: Apple gets off to a good start, but because they lock their OS to hardware they lose in the end. it happened with PCs, it'll happen again with phones. after all, phones are becoming just like PCs on WAN.

I would bet on Microsoft Windows Mobile, but I think Google Android will be to phones what Windows is to PCs. Google and open-source wasn't around when Microsoft passed Apple on PCs.

and of course, for people that need security and dedicated devices (government, defense, big corporations), there will always be BlackBerry.

 

[shortylickens]

Agreed, it'll be Android and iPhone OS. I don't see Nokia's Maemo and Palm's WebOS becoming super popular either.

If Palm is smart they'll license it out to anyone who wants it for a LOW price. Let it get popular and it will survive. Thats what Android is doing.

 

[Deeko]

Realistically WebOS and Windows Mobile should be options in this poll, although I know you think they're both dead.

I think Android and Apple will be the biggest, however, I don't think BBOS or Windows Mobile will go anywhere. BBOS because of their strong corporate ties, Windows Mobile because Microsoft just won't let it die.

I would not be surprised if Palm went to Android or Windows Mobile again - they ran Windows Mobile in the past, and if they can't make bigger inroads with the Pre/Pixi in the next year or two, I think we'll see them go 3rd party again. Symbian still has a massive marketshare, so it will be a long time before it actually died - but at this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if in 4-5 years Nokia turns 3rd party themselves - perhaps a heavily customized version of Android.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Realistically WebOS and Windows Mobile should be options in this poll, although I know you think they're both dead.

I'd add them, but can't edit the poll, am sorry, and it wasn't an intentional omission

Actually 5 years out is so far, I wonder if it's even a valid question...

 

[DivideBYZero]

I'd add them, but can't edit the poll, am sorry, and it wasn't an intentional omission

Actually 5 years out is so far, I wonder if it's even a valid question...

Yeah, five years is an ice age in the mobile world. Two would be a better bet.

 

[Bateluer]

Yeah, five years is an ice age in the mobile world. Two would be a better bet.

Android in some form will be around in 5 years. It may not be called Android and may not bear any semblance to the Android OS today, but it will likely still be around. May even see to project forks of it.

 

[Chapbass]

My vote went to winmo (other) and apple. Android will unfortunately stick around, but they have a lot of work to do. Went to the verizon store yesterday to check out droid, what a total piece of crap imo. Android was very unimpressive.

Went to the nokia store yesterday as well, maemo is awfully slick, but unfortunately it wont catch on (at least here in the states). At the very least, needs a portrait mode to at least be usuable by most others, otherwise people wont want it.

 

[GTSRguy]

If you didnt answer Apple, your wrong.

 

[Tom]

If you didnt answer Apple, your wrong.

I picked Apple and Winmo, but if Apple stays an ATT exclusive they will be replaced by Android.

 

[lokiju]

Android

 

[gorcorps]

I picked Apple and Winmo, but if Apple stays an ATT exclusive they will be replaced by Android.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2021327\
Apple making CDMA phones

Anyway, I picked Apple and Android. Apple will dominate simply by name alone. I've used everything except the new palm phones, and can say it's the most snappy and 'polished' user interface out there and the average joe seems to really like that.

Android is going to be the next big player methinks. It's already fairly slick and several developers are making Android phones, so most carriers have an Android choice already. Developers are making solid apps already, and those will keep getting better.

WinMo is a friggin joke. If you voted winmo then I'm wondering if you've used any of the other phones recently to know how clunky, ugly, and stuck in the past it really is. I'm sure they'll stick around with the BBs for business users, but the big smartphone players will most likely be Apple and Android.

 

[zerocool84]

Never Apple cus they won't release their OS no matter what. It'd show all the flaws in it. It's the same reason why they won't release OSX. The biggest advantage Apple has on their products is that they lock down the hardware and perfect the OS to that specific hardware. License out the OS out there and it will be a totally different story. It'll be as buggy as every other OS and possibly buggier since the don't perfect their OS's to run on different hardware.

Oh and WebOS is better than iPhone OS and infinitely better than Android. They just really need to get that OS out on more phones.

 

[Kaido]

Android, definitely. Apple will get a lot of users, but only on the iPhone. Android can be put on all kinds of stuff. WinMo, bye bye!

 

[Mike]

Android for sure, not sure who will be 2nd.

 

[Bateluer]

While I voted and backed Android, lets all remember that we're enthusiasts and know a good deal more than the average joe about technical things. There is a VERY large market of people who will buy whatever gadget is shinier and prettier.

 

[lobbyone]

Either Android or WebOS

 

[A5]

I think Android and Blackberry. RIM has a huge corporate lock-in advantage, and I don't see that changing any time soon. I think total Android shipments will surpass the iPhone by then, but no single Android phone will be close to the iPhone's numbers.

 

[erwos]

Someone needs to add Windows Mobile to the list. I actually predict that WM7 will surprise people.

 

[Deeko]

Someone needs to add Windows Mobile to the list. I actually predict that WM7 will surprise people.

It has potential - depending on their timeframe. If they can get their mobile phone OS to take cues from the ZuneHD's interface, and improve their browser, its definitely a contender, especially considering the money Microsoft is willing to throw at it. However, they can't wait too long - the ZuneHD is a nice system now, but if these units are shipping until Q4 2010, it will assuredly be outdated.

However, I would love for WM7 to actually be a competitive platform. Being a Zune owner, the thought of a kickass phone OS that integrates with Zune would be the ideal solution.