Mobile Operating Systems: The impact of open source and importance of user experience

Published by	Informa Telecoms & Media
Published	May, 2009	Product code	79743
Content info	234 Pages (including 10 Toc pages)
Price	Not Available

Introduction
Related Reports

This publication has been discontinued on December 26, 2011.

Introduction

Abstract

“This report gives you an exclusive analysis of the impact of open source on the mobile OS market”, Gavin Byrne, Research Analyst

Mobile Operating Systems: The impact of open source and importance of user experience examines the entire mobile OS landscape with a focus on open architecture and open source software. It also addresses the importance of developer communities and user experience and provides key forecasts to 2013.

Key Coverage in this report

The reducing use of proprietary OS
The growing adoption of Open Source software
The importance of the developer community
Commoditisation of many mobile handset technologies
Handset differentiation
User Experience
Mobile OS roadmaps
Vendors' approach to mobile OS
Operators' mobile OS requirements

Key issues addressed

How will device vendors differentiate themselves?
What is ‘User Experience' ?
What are the most suitable open source licensing models for mobile handset software?
How to succeed in an Open Source world
How to make money with Open Source
The challenges and risks of Open Source
What are the major trends in mobile handset OS?
Which OS platforms will be the most popular in 2009 and in 2013?
What strategies are being adopted by the leading handset vendors? What does this mean?
What is the future for proprietary OS?
What mobile OS strategies are operators adopting?

Who should read this report?

Handset Vendors

Benefit from this complete analysis of the mobile OS landscape
Track the current position and performance of your competitors

Operators

Discover where your company can profit from new opportunities, current successes and potential partnerships

Consultants, Analysts and Financial Organisations

Develop a thorough understanding of the mobile OS market over the next 5 years
Base future investments and recommendations on unbiased, unique analysis and primary data

Companies covered

Apple
HTC
LG
LiMo
Motorola
Nokia
OHA
RIM
Samsung
Sony Ericsson
Symbian Foundation

CHAPTER 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The importance of handset software
- Figure 1.1: Global mobile handset sales, new vs. old forecasts, 2008-2013
Open source
- Figure 1.2: Main open software licenses as a function of the degree of freedom they offer
Operating systems
- Figure 1.3: Segmentation of mobile OS market
Vendor strategies
Mobile OS market
- Figure 1.4: Global smartphone sales, 2007-2013
Device service ecosystems

CHAPTER 2

HANDSET MARKET TRENDS
- Figure 2.1: Global mobile handset sales, new vs. old forecasts, 2008-2013
Differentiation
Introduction
- Figure 2.2: Competitive advantage, strategic options
- Cost leadership
- Differentiation
Handset hardware
- Figure 2.3: Penetration of selected hardware features in new Nokia handsets
Handset software
User experience
- Figure 2.4: Selected factors that can influence mobile user experience
Mobile handset
External factors
Conclusion
Access to other markets

CHAPTER 3

OPEN SOURCE IN MOBILE
The business perspective
Open source approach
- Figure 3.1: The main steps of open source history
- The philosophy
- Figure 3.2: The 10 criteria of OSS as defined by OSI v1.9
- The business case
The main misconceptions of open source
- It is not a product with no revenue model
- It is not free of cost
- It is not a free resource of volunteer developers
- It is not a viral threat to intellectual property
Licensing models
- Figure 3.3: Different approaches of licensing open source software
- Figure 3.4: Main open software licenses as a function of the degree of freedom they offer
Legal characteristics
- Disparities between different licenses
- GPL and GPLv2
  - Figure 3.5: Main characteristics of different open source licenses
- Changes in the third version of GPL
  - Figure 3.6: Compatibility of GPLv3 with other open source licenses
- Lesser GPL (LGPL)
- Apache License (APL)
- Eclipse Public License (EPL)
- Mozilla Public License (MPL)
Governance models
The balance between the ‘Cathedral' and the ‘Bazaar' approaches
- Figure 3.7: Three key governance models
- Cathedral model - central control
- Bazaar model - a decentralized approach
Key factors needed to create a strong governance model
Business models
Advantages of open source-based business models
Pitfalls of open source-based business models
Choosing an open source business model
Is open source a disruption to the mobile industry?
Open source in mobile case studies
WebKit phenomena and development paths
- Different implementations and forks
- WebKit for Nokia' s S60 browser
  - Figure 3.8: Nokia S60 web browser architecture
- WebKit for Nokia' s S40 browser
- Industry impact of WebKit
Linux in the mobile market
- Benefits and challenges of mobile Linux
  - Figure 3.9: Advantages and benefits of Linux in the mobile market
Google in open source and mobile markets: the Android story
- Figure 3.10: Android architecture
- The rationale behind releasing Android SDK under APL
Purple Labs
Open source and Java: what happened to Java ME?
- Java open source: future outlook
- Open source Java ME components
  - Figure 3.11: Main components of phoneME Feature and Advanced projects
- Licensing and intellectual property constraints
  - Figure 3.12: Comparative analysis of Sun' s Java ME platform implementations under commercial and open source licenses
- Java ME open source: impact on the mobile industry
- The case of Motorola' s MIDP3 project
Nokia' s experience with open source
- Major projects sponsored by Nokia
  - Figure 3.13: Nokia: major open source projects by licensing model (as of January 2009)
The case of the Maemo platform
- Figure 3.14: Maemo platform architecture diagram
The reasons behind the acquisition of Symbian by Nokia
- Figure 3.15: Symbian performance, 2001-2008
- The rationale behind taking Symbian and S60 to open source

CHAPTER 4

MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS
Role and architecture
- Figure 4.1: Simplified view of the OS role
- Figure 4.2: Typical dual platform architecture functions
- Figure 4.3: Selected applications OS platform components
Mobile OS market segments
- Figure 4.4: Segmentation of mobile OS market
Proprietary OS
Open architecture OS
Symbian
- Overview
  - Figure 4.5: Global Symbian OS unit shipments, 2003-1H08 and 2007 shipments by UI platform
- Symbian: higher volume and lower cost
  - Figure 4.6: Symbian roadmap v9.1 - v9.5
- Development
- Conclusion
Microsoft Windows Mobile (WM)
- Overview
  - Figure 4.7: Global Microsoft Windows Mobile phone-enabled device shipments, 2005-2008
- OS, application and services development
  - Figure 4.8: Microsoft Windows Mobile roadmap 5.0-6.5
- Mobile phone market strategy and confronting open source
webOS
BlackBerry OS
- Figure 4.9: BlackBerry OS major releases, Dec-99 to Nov-08
Apple OS X iPhone
- Figure 4.10: iPhone and iPod Touch OS releases, Jun-07 to Jan-09
Open source OS
Standards bodies
- Figure 4.11: Main members of the LiMo Foundation, the OHA and the Symbian Foundation, as at end Feb-09
- LiMo Foundation
- Open Handset Alliance
- Android
  - Figure 4.12: Android architecture
- Symbian Foundation
  - Figure 4.13: Symbian Foundation timeline
  - Figure 4.14: Symbian Foundation Platform
Commercialization and OS
Linux
- The business case for mobile Linux
  - Figure 4.15: Pros and cons of a Linux-based OS as an open source OS for mobile handsets
  - Figure 4.16: Market segmentation of Linux offerings
Leading Linux OS developers
- MontaVista
- Wind River

CHAPTER 5

VENDOR STRATEGIES
Nokia
Company overview
- Figure 5.1: Nokia: company structure
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
Samsung
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
LG
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
Motorola
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
Sony Ericsson
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
Apple
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC)
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions
Research In Motion (RIM)
Company overview
Operating system support and segmentation
Other software support (UI and browsers)
Conclusions

CHAPTER 6

MOBILE OS MARKET
Mobile operating system landscape
OS market segmentation
- Figure 6.1: Segmentation of mobile OS market
- Figure 6.2: Market segmentation of OSs for mobile devices
OS drivers and trends
Global mobile OS handset market forecasts
Total handset sales by OS type
- Figure 6.3: Global smartphone sales, 2007-2013
- Figure 6.4: Global smartphone sales, by region, 2007-2013
- Figure 6.5: Global smartphone penetration of sales, by region, 2007-2013
Total smartphone sales by smartphone OS type
- Figure 6.6: Operating systems defined by platform type
- Figure 6.7: Global smartphone sales, by OS and segment, 2007-2013
- Figure 6.8: Global smartphone sales, OS segment share, by region, 2008, 2010 and 2013
Total smartphone sales by smartphone OS
- Figure 6.9: Global open OS handset sales, by OS type, 2007-2013
- Figure 6.10: Global smartphone sales volume, by OS and region, 2008, 2010 and 2013
- Figure 6.11: Global smartphone market shares, by OS and region, 2008, 2010 and 2013
Conclusions
- Figure 6.12: Key OS platform landscape for the leading handset vendors

CHAPTER 7

DEVICE SERVICE ECOSYSTEMS
Application store phenomenon and device service ecosystem
Industry dynamics
- Figure 7.1: Key non-operator mobile application stores: addressable market and revenue models
What it means for handset vendors
What it means for ISPs and software solution providers
What it means for mobile operators
What it means for application developers
Profile: Nokia Ovi
Profile: Apple' s App Store
Enhanced UE through mobile application runtime
Trends towards open application runtime
Different flavors of application runtime environment and fragmentation
The marketplace and roadmap of Qualcomm' s BREW ecosystem
- Market drivers and business model
- BREW technology and roadmap
  - Figure 7.2: BREW software platform roadmap
  - Figure 7.3: The main differences between next and current generations of BREW
Adobe Flash
- Adoption level and changes in the business model
- Flash technology and roadmap
  - Figure 7.4: Flash Lite platform roadmap
Nokia S60: increased support for Web services
- Figure 7.5: Nokia S60 evolution and compatibilities across different generations
Evolution towards MRIAs and mobile MWRT
The business case
- Figure 7.6: Mobile telecoms ecosystem in three dimensions
- Figure 7.7: Evolution towards mobile Web runtime (MWRT) and mobile rich Internet applications (MRIAs)
Three criteria in choosing MWRT
- Figure 7.8: Mobile Web user experience: community-triggered ecosystem
- Figure 7.9: Schematic picture of cross-platform and seamless web experience
Different flavors of MWRT platforms
- Figure 7.10: Main MWRT solutions and their development environment
- Microsoft' s Silverlight
- Adobe' s AIR
- Google' s Gears
- Sun' s JavaFx and ODP
- Qualcomm' s Plaza
Fragmentation issues and the role of standard bodies
- Main issues in the mass market
- Main issues for high-end handsets and smartphones
- Standardization trends
Mobile operators rationalizing on terminal platforms
Advantages of rationalization
Operator choices
- Figure 7.11: Key terminal software platforms supported by the leading operators