Mobile operating systems: History repeating itself?

James Etherington-Smith

James is journalist and sub-editor at MyBroadband, and editor at MyGaming. He is an avid gamer with an exceptional knowledge about gaming and related hardware...

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History is repeating itself as the war rages between mobile devices makers to become the dominant platform

Android, Bada, BlackBerry, BlackBerry’s QNX-based tablet OS, MeeGo, iOS, Symbian.

If you follow the developments in smartphones these names are instantly recognisable as those of the operating systems (OS) vying for their slice of the mobile device pie.

Amiga-Commodore, Amstrad, Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Sinclair, Unix and its variants. These were the names of some of the biggest contenders in the personal computing space some decades ago.

Most would only recognise Apple and Microsoft from that list, with a few making an association to Unix in some way or another. The platforms provided by Apple, Microsoft and Unix have evolved, but they are the companies who fought through the desktop OS war whose software is still in use today.

History is, in many respects, repeating itself. So says Jon S. von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera Software, the company behind the Opera line of browsers on the desktop, mobiles and other devices. Opera’s Mini and Mobile browsers are popular among many kinds of cellular handset users, including smartphones such as the iPhone.

We’re seeing the same things on mobiles now as we did on the desktop years ago, says von Tetzchner. Many of the same mistakes are being made too, he added.

This time, however, the mobile platforms have something in common. Despite the fact that each OS has its own set of native apps which one won’t find on a competing OS, the web is a common denominator.

Von Tetzchner wished all the mobile platforms well, saying that competition in the space is a good thing. One or two platforms achieving dominance over the rest might result in a situation where a company or cartel could dictate the standards everyone else must conform to.

According to von Tetzchner it would be bad if everyone used Apple’s devices as it’s a closed system, but if everyone adopted Android it would create a similar situation to everyone using Microsoft’s products on the desktop PC.

In the end it’s an open web that must prevail, not platforms or companies, von Tetzchner said.

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