An Insight Into Leading Smartphone Platforms and Their Market Share - Coursework Example

An insight into Leading Smartphone platforms and their market share Introduction Modern technology has produced such a deep influence on society that the majority of folks avoid leaving home without their mobile phone, and their laptop has turned out to be their best pal. For this reason probably the most life-changing fragments of the tech field for many continues to be the smartphone — a multi-function, handy gadget that brings together the features of a mobile phone with the attributes of a personal computer. Ever since the unveiling of the IBM Simon in 1993, smart phone infrastructure has come up to plateaus that until current times had just been fantasized about. Attributes just like wireless sharing, HD video capturing and mobile web browsing have become prevalent and today’s typical smart phone incorporates a lot more functioning potential as compared to computer systems employed by NASA to land a human on the moon . Throughout the world, the smartphone familiarity is currently being enjoyed by a lot more people with each passing day. (Belic, 2012)The convergence of cellular telephony, Web facilities, and personal computer units is leading to the emanation of a ―mobile Internet‖ (Ishii 2004; Funk 2001 ) . The essential gadgets for taking advantage of the mobile Internet - presently named ―smartphones - are amazing cutting edge computers featuring conventional mobile voice support in addition to indigenous software tools and, might be more than anything, the capacity to interact with and operate countless Internet features. The typical megapixel standard of smartphone camera devices has progressed from 3 to 16 since 2008. There are way more than 2 .7 million applications that presently are available. Look at the production of more. The point to highlight is that an incredible proportion has been achieved in the last decade roughly. (Waters, 2013) When selecting a home computer or laptop, the foremost choice is fundamentally between Windows or Mac OS X. Same is true while purchasing a smartphone. Selecting between the innumerable smartphones is more challenging. Without a doubt, a smartphones technical specs matter—youll would like one with a swift processor, vibrant display and high-quality camera. However the efficiency is useless in the event that the cell phone is complicated to make use of. In relation to consumer experience, practically nothing might be more imperative than a phones platform (OS). (Wilde, 2013) Purpose of study: Consumers demand for multi-function handsets motivates the continuing growth of smartphones together with their platforms. Despite the fact that the rivalry among smartphone platforms is persisting for a long time, there exists minimal analysis on this subject. This study intends to evaluate the smartphone OS market share in an ecosystem context. In this paper, I will focus on the factors that are attributable to the current market share of most popular smart phone platforms. Most Popular Smart Phone Platforms: At present, every smartphone platform is battling out to secure the foremost position in the world of technology. Among the most incredible smart phone operating systems are android, iOS, Windows and Blackberry. Facts and figures propose that currently almost 1.5 billion smartphones exist in the world. People are switching from their typical handsets to smartphones ever passing day on account of the incomparable features that smartphones supply and make lives easier. The most vital infrastructure that lies behind all these valuable applications is a smartphone’s platform. It is this platform that allows individuals to use internet, send and receive emails, interact with people on social media, take notes, make videos, capture memorable pictures, mobile banking and a lot more. In addition to all these productive apps, a wide range of interactive games is also available. Each of these platforms has grown to be exceptional gaming solutions. On an ongoing basis, typical individuals with virtually no programming know-how are developing best-selling mobile console games. (Waters, 2013) There is certainly a great deal of hoopla when talking about which mobile phone OS is the ideal. It’s simply no secret that Apple initiated the cellular smartphone practice and indeed unveiled the gates for a complete migration off from the Personal computer. Nevertheless, in recent times, Apple has been driven to move apart since the reputation of the Android OS has seriously got into its own and captured the mobile world by storm. As a matter of fact, most recent evaluations state that the Android OS garners somewhere around a 73% market share in the mobile phone OS area. Current Market Share of Smartphone platforms: In all the major markets all over the world, a significant rise in the market share of android is seen throughout 2013. In the last quarter of 2013, android accounted for 70 percent of all smartphone sales bringing the sales of Apple down to 23.7 percent. 2013 also turned out to be a successful year for Windows phone and its sales grew up to 3.6 percent from 2.8 percent by the end of 2012. (Waters, 2013) In 2013, the windows platform acquired third position with 3 .2 percent of the overall market share. There was also a significant upturn in smartphone gross sales incorporating the Windows Phone platform. Microsoft sold 30 .8 million Windows Phone devices in the course of 2013, and that is nearly double from the 16 .9 million units supplied throughout 2012. Microsoft’s gain resulted in Blackberry’s loss. BlackBerry earlier seized third position determined by Gartners 2012 statistics. As for 2013, BlackBerrys smartphone sales decreased by half, from 34 .2 million devices in 2012 to 18 .6 million. As a consequence, BlackBerrys RIM platform market share fell from 5 percent to 1 .9 percent. Undoubtedly, 2013 proved to be the “Year of Android” when Android even surpassed 80 percent of some of the key markets worldwide. Another equally important story of the last year is Apple’s fall. Even though, more Apple devices were sold out than ever. Yet, Apple’s growth was observed as the slowest as compared to its major rivals; Android and Windows. The distance between Windows and IOS which once seemed to be unattainable, was reduced dramatically during the last year. (Wilde, 2013) In the last quarter of 2013, much awaited iPhone 5S was launched as the iPhone freaks were desperately waiting for the launch of an upgrade. It boosted the sales of iOS but only to a limited extent although the trend was quite higher in richest and home market of Apple i.e. United States but not all over the world. Earlier in 2013, market trends proposed that Windows phone outdid iPhone in Russia, Argentina, India, South Africa and Poland. By the end of 2013, Windows phone was actually outselling iPhone in Entire Latin America which is definitely a substantial achievement for Microsoft. However, it must be kept into consideration that there must be some changes in market share with the release of iPhone 6. Yet, the trends are presently positive for Windows. Following is the discussion about the top four smartphone platforms and the factors influencing their market share. (Fingas, 2014) Android OS: A device of the Open Handset Alliance, Android was initially unveiled in the open public in 2007. It may be noted that it was the exactly the same year Apple released the very first iPhone for industrial manufacturing. Android was a Google-backed organization which was finally purchased by the search engine giant in 2005. (Feida, Weiguo, 2009) The Open Handset Alliance is a huge coalition comprising of numerous mobile service vendors everywhere around the world, mobile producers and not to mention Google, Inc. In contrast to iOS or Windows, Android is an altogether open-source smartphone platform established on a Linux kernel and distributed under the Apache authority. The software is free of charge and can be customized by cellular phone producers when needed to generate personalized mobile alternatives. One of the characteristics which has constantly set Android apart from tough rival Apple is the onset of engaging widgets on the Android home screen. Consumers are able to deploy widgets for their most desired programs making it possible for them to interrelate instantly from the home screen of the smartphone. This is a function which is yet inaccessible in even the latest versions of iOS. In most contemporary models of Android, widgets are even accessible on the lock screen of the phone – a function which has still to be harmonized by any other cellular operating system like Windows and iOS. Senior research analyst of IDC, Raymon Llamas states that: “Android continues to fire on all cylinders. The market was entreated to several flagship models from Androids handset partners, prices were well within reach to meet multiple budgetary needs, and the user experience from both Google and its handset partners boosted Android smartphones utility far beyond simple telephony." One of the distinctive features that have brought huge success to Android is open source platform. There are many benefits associated with open source platform as it is able to incorporate various features and software applications designed by many different developers. With Open source platform, users are free of any policies of vendors. However, developers can subject them to different policies. (Sharon, 2009) A number of applications are 100 % free and consumers do not need to invest in a license to make use of them, which renders it to be this a lot more feasible. With diverse teams of developers impending collectively, open source platforms has the potential to deliver the most effective top of the line technology when it comes to features and software. The release of latest version of Android, 4.4 Kit Kat, delivers a uniform user experience for the devices having various sizes and resolutions. Until early 2014, this latest version can be incorporated only on a bunch of devices. Yet, it has made effective improvements in status bar and Google Now. Lock screen widgets are even more customizable with the addition of corporate email. (Hanley, 2013) Distinctive Features of iOS: Unquestionably, the very first platform that facilitated users to download a variety of spectacular apps was iOS. It made the people entered into an era next to PC. Before the launch of this cutting edge platform, the download of apps, smooth user experience of a touch screen was all just a fantasy. (Tiwana, 2010) In spite of having low market share as compared to android, iOS still continues to have the largest app store containing more than 750,000 apps. In contrast to android, iOS users do not have to face any issues regarding compatibility which happens to be a distinct plus point of iOS. With the release of latest iOS 7 many new attributes are added to existing platform including customized notification bar, enhanced battery life together with a fingerprint scanner that was incorporated successfully in latest model iPhone 5S. In addition to this, the layering effect was also invariably achieved with iOS 7. (Hanley, 2013) Windows OS: Microsoft has been a giant in PC world for several years. Initially, Windows phones did not achieve much success until the idea of cross platform compatibility was redesigned by the company with the launch of Windows 8. Together with a variety of Windows phones manufactured by Nokia and HTC, Microsoft also launched a series of tablet versions where users can get access to important information easily with the help of cross platform compatibility feature of Windows 8. The main purpose of the launch of Windows 8 is to render a seamless transformation from desktop to mobile. (Feida, Weiguo, 2009) Due to the absence of dedicated developer community for Windows, it still lags behind iOS and Android. With only 5percent of market share, it seems really hard to drive developers’ community towards windows instead of Android and IOs which make up almost 91 percent of smartphone sales altogether. (Fingas, 2014) However, Windows 8 incorporates many new features such as better keyboard, support for quad core processor and decent camera resolution. The console design is based upon Tiles which are customizable. It can be said that Windows has a long way to go in order to actually compete with its major rivals. However, it is true that anything is possible in the world of technology. After all, iOS which initially seemed to be unbeatable had to lose its market share to Android. (Hanley, 2013) BlackBerry RIM OS: Blackberry was once among the leaders of smartphone world. However, with the launch of attractive and sheer devices by Apple and Samsung, the blackberry market share fell dramatically from close to 50 to 2.5 percent. In early 2013, Blackberry’s much awaited device Z10 was launched. It is a proven fact that smartphone, at present, are used more for music, apps and photos rather than email. This is the main reason behind the huge decline in Blackberry’s market share. An analyst at Gartner, Carolina Milanesi states that: “People can choose what device they want for work these days, and they dont want BlackBerry. Brand is important, cool factor is important, and BlackBerry lost out on that. But even thats not enough these days." Blackberry has recently launched the android and IOS versions BBM to enhance the interactivity of Blackberry devices and win its fans back. (Fingas, 2014) Development Tools for two major Smartphone Platforms: Android: Android has introduced the most interactive application development environment that motivates the developers from all over the world to share their ideas and upload their android apps for use free of charge. You can make use of two techniques to generate android apps. First is android SDK that allows you to write code and run it on android environment. Second is App inventor that follows the simple drag and drop environment to generate apps. (Sharon, 2009) In order to get started with android software development, following tools are essential: Android SDK: It contains tools, compilers, libraries and everything that is needed to generate a software code. Android Developer Tools (ADT): It is a must have for any serious developer as it contains plugins to enhance the functionality of Eclipse IDE. Java: Majority of android app codes are written in Java programming language. A lot of coding challenges are posed upon the android developers in contrast to iOS developers. Because android apps are incorporated on many different devices having various dimensions, screen resolution and operating system versions like Ice cream sandwich, jellybean, Kit Kat. However, the positive aspect is that you don’t need to have new Mac PC to generate the code. (Sharon, 2009) IOS software development: IOS software development kit is a collection of programs that allows developers to invent apps that can run on to apple devices. In order to start building apps for iOS, it is must to get registered with Apple iOS developers’ program which charges a fee of $99 per year. IOS utilized object C for app development in contrast to android which makes use of Java. Once the SDK is installed, it is easy to start building interactive apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It is required to have a Mac PC for the building of iOS apps as Windows is not a preferred environment for app development. Actually, there exists no real Windows edition of iOS SDK. (Feida, Weiguo, 2009) Network Centric Application: The capacity of Information communication technology (ICT) has definitely changed the face of the world, taking it from commute-centric environment to network-centric. While talking about network centric wireless applications, no one can forget Skype. It has been spectacular VoIP application during the last decade with its popularity increasing with each passing day. The incredible success of Skype since its launch is greatly credited to the high quality of voice and video calls it offers. In today’s world, Skype has dramatically reduced distance constraints. May it be education, society or industry, Skype has proved its efficiency in all the aspects of life. It has definitely made people free of counting minutes while talking on international calls. With the introduction of SkypeIn and SkypeOut services, it is possible to receive and make calls to mobile phone numbers at quite cheaper rates as compared to landline. (Waters, 2013) Skype has made a deep impact on society. Now it is possible to the faces of relatives who are miles away. That is no doubt an extremely comforting feeling. Skype has brought video conferencing to common people and has won their hearts totally. For businesses with low budget, Skype has been a blessing. As small business owners are not able to afford outrageously expensive conferencing packages, they can still make use of Skype for free. Initially, Skype was only available in desktop version but with the advent of smartphones, Skype has become even popular. Conclusion: The current market share of the four top smartphone platforms shows that Android has beaten all its competitors at least in 2013. The picture is clear Blackberry and Symbian models are gradually falling down. Windows OS has made a remarkable achievement in 2013 being on the third position. However, iOS is still progressing but at a slower rate. There are several reason behind this dramatic increase in popularity of Android and its winning of 81 percent market share. The most evident reason is its association with search engine Google which has invested both money and effort to make it look what it seems today. Android has no doubt snatched Apple’s market share but still there exists an area where Android is far behind iOS and that is marketing. The biggest plus point of android is its open source platform which allows developers to make modifications to it and redistribute. This feature has drawn a lot of phone manufacturers towards Android platform. Android is likely to be the most decent option for leading mobile manufacturers. It is an adaptable system that accommodates the requirements of virtually each and every consumer. The downsides to Android put in hardware compatible use concerns and a user interface that may put a lot of beginners in a state of buyer’s regret. In spite of these kinds of shortcomings, fresh Android-powered mobile phone models are increasingly being turned on in dramatic figures and the OS is grasping its prime position effortlessly. The unveiling of Kit Kat (Android OS 4.4) symbolizes one more major move forward for the Open Handset Alliance, Android and of course Google. References Waters, R. (2013, Jan 25).Tech, Financial times. Retrieved from www.Financialtimes.com:http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c34df6b6-6719-11e2-8b67-00144feab49a.html#axzz2MxfY8NMV Bryan Wilde (2013, November 22). Udemy Blog. Retrieved from https://www.udemy.com/blog/ios-vs-android-vs-windows/ Feida Lin; Weiguo Ye, "Operating System Battle in the Ecosystem of Smartphone Industry," Information Engineering and Electronic Commerce, 2009. IEEC 09. International Symposium on, vol., no., pp.617, 621, 16-17 May 2009doi: 10.1109/IEEC.2009.136 Blair Hanley Frank (2013, Dec 5). Com score numbers. Retrieved from: http://www.geekwire.com/2013/comscore-numbers-show-gains-ios-android-wp8-blackberry-continues-slip/ Press Release (2014, Feb 13) Retrieved from: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2665715 Jon Fingas (January 28, 2014). "Smartphone sales may have topped 1 billion in 2013, depending on who you ask" Tiwana, A.; Konsynski, B.; Bush, A.A.: Research Commentary: Platform Evolution: Coevolution of Platform Architecture, Governance, and Environmental Dynamics. In: Information Systems Research, 21(4), 2010, pp. 675-687. Sharon P. Hall, Eric Anderson, Operating systems for mobile computing, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, v.25 n.2, p.64-71, December 2009 Read More