Android Vs iOS: Mobile Operating System Wars in 2010

<< Previous

"Google and Apple are playing a chess game, and everyone else is playing catch-up."¹

- Scott Schwarzhoff, vice-president of marketing, Appcelerator , in 2010

Introduction On May 10, 2010, The NPD Group Inc.2 (NPD), a leading market research company, said that Android, the mobile operating system had overtaken the iOS, the default operating system of the iPhone, Apple Inc.’s (Apple) mobile phone, in the US market for the first quarter of 20103. The Android operating system, owned by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA)4 and backed by Google Inc. (Google), had moved into the second position with a market share of 28% next only to the BlackBerry OS (BBOS) of Research in Motion Limited’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphone devices, NPD said. However, RIM’s operating system still commanded a 36% share in the US market.

mobile operating system. Google launched its own mobile operating system which was to be distributed to mobile handset manufacturers free of cost to control the smartphone business. Google’s entry into the mobile operating system market became imminent with many people all over the world starting to browse the internet on their mobile phones. Many analysts were initially skeptical about the Android’s chances of success. They said Android would be a wasteful investment for Google, which did not have much experience in developing operating systems to compete with giants like Apple and RIM. James Faucette, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, Inc. (Pacific Crest), said, "For Google, Android is a cash drain. They are going to lose money on Android as an operating system. They hope to make it up from the services that they are delivering through their infrastructure and servers." But Android silenced critics by growing rapidly and proving to be a viable alternative to Apple's iOS.

Introduction cont... - Next Page >>

1] Olga Kharif, "Google's Android Gaining on Apple via Developers," http://www.bloomberg.com, June 24, 2010.
2]NPD Group Inc., headquartered in Port Washington, USA, is a leading market research company
3]"Android Overtakes iPhone," www.smh.com.au, May 11, 2010
4]Open Handset Alliance is a consortium of mobile operators, software companies, and handset manufacturers. It was established in November 2007 with 34 members led by Google with the motto of developing open standards for mobile devices.

Custom Search

---

Fundamentals of Marketing Management Workbook Workbooks Collection	Case Studies in Marketing - Vol. II Case Study Volumes Collection	Fundamentals of Marketing Management ICMR Textbooks Collection