A Brief Appraisal of the Mobile OS Market: Android Edition at 10:00 PM

And we're back.  This time we're going to go over Android, which is (depending on who you talk to) the first or second most popular mobile operating system. Recent estimates put the smartphone marketshare pretty much up for grabs between either iOS or Android.  For tablets though, it's almost all iOS, to the tune of 90%.  Samsung's Galaxy tablets come in at around 6%, Archos at 3%, "Other" at 1%.

Android's big problem is fragmentation, something Google's working on rectifying.  As my work phone, I've got Android, and there just really isn't the same kind of polish there.  When you're looking at creating Android apps, you've got to be concerned about over a hundred different pieces of hardware (no exaggeration), which makes testing a wee bit on the difficult side.

But it's the next biggest competitor to iOS.  And the reason for it is it's free for manufacturers to use.  Comparing the two platforms is a case study in two completely different approaches, and it amazingly mirrors the PC market pretty closely.

With iOS, Apple controls the entire ecosystem.  Start to finish.  They have their hardware, they control what applications get released.  They control distribution.  They control pricing.  It is the penultimate in walled gardens.  Once you're in there, you're stuck.  This is pretty similar to what Apple's approach is with their desktop and laptop approach, as OS X only runs on approved hardware released and controlled from Apple.

Android on the other hand can run on most any phone as long as the specs are up to snuff, they just have to be partners with Google.  In some cases, they'll even split search revenue from those devices with the manufacturers.  Licensees don't have to pay to install the OS, and they're free to customize it as they will.  Samsung, HTC and Motorola all have their own customized skins to do with Android what they will.  The impacts on performance are varied, but it puts a nice skin on something that's a little plain.

From a feature comparison, Apple wins on apps.  Android wins on flexibility and multitasking.  Although personally, while I don't like how either OS handles the multitasking (webOS wins hands down, and we'll go over that later), given the choice between the two Android has what could be considered more "true" multitasking.  Apple's multitasking is really pretty much a joke.  Only certain applications can run simultaneously, and they have to be approved.  Otherwise it's more of a suspended animation type scenario: moving between applications, ones that were running are basically paused in favor of what you're currently using.  I kind of feel like that's how Android's multitasking is, just with fewer restrictions.

There's no doubt though that with the latest versions of Android, Google's gunning for Apple.  Android 3.0 (code name Honeycomb) is more tablet focused, and therefore a little cleaner and multitasking friendly.  Google's also going to be locking down on the minimum requirements to cut back on the crazy fragmentation going on.  The Xoom (by Motorola) and latest versions of the Galaxy by Samsung, coupled with the coming HTC tablets are looking like strong contenders.

Apple, however, is not stupid.  Far from it.  They see the coming boom in tablets (since they created the market) and have already begun to differentiate themselves.  All of the Android tablets are touting their specs and speed.  Apple's focus has, and will be on usability.  Say what you will about Apple (and I've said a lot about what I don't like, which is almost everything), but focusing on usability means you're operating on their terms.

They're acting as if they are attempting to rise above the fray of the common tablets jockeying for position based on such paltry things as processor speeds and memory.  Why even worry about it when you can just get an Apple where everything just works?  Bear in mind, I'm not saying I buy it for even one second, but it's the approach they're taking.  And it's a bloody good one.

I think there's a lot of potential with Android, and right now they're the biggest challenger.  Most projections have Android maintaining a lead in the smartphone space, and I totally buy it.  The big wild card is where the tablet market is going to go, and there are other factors to be considered there as well, which I'll go into more detail in later installments when I talk about webOS, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry.