Bridging the gap between phones and computers, smartphone operating systems are now high-powered, full-featured environments that might represent the future of all computing. We look at the three major systems in use right now, and speculate on the future.
The mobile phone has always had an operating system. Even the green-screen Nokia jangling around in your pocket in 1997 had a very basic operating system. In fact, every electronic device you have, from your fridge to your watch, has a chip inside carrying tiny components that speak to each other in a simple language. Those components start ‘talking’ to each other, usually as a response to something you’ve done. When you open the fridge door, a simple computer running alongside the door will tell the light to come on, and then the little light’s computer will tell the fan to kick in to maintain a cool temperature. But when most people think of the words operating system, their minds go to their computer, and more specifically, to Microsoft Windows.
This is a much more complicated type of operating system, one that has to respond quickly to dozens of commands, while maintaining thousands of little components all at once. The idea of a phone carrying this type of complicated system was still a novel idea only 8 years ago. Most mobile phones were able to make calls and send short text messages. Then, more complicated tasks, like simple games, calculators, graphic menus and ringtones were incorporated. Soon, people wanted to send emails, make video calls, take pictures and listen to music. This all requires much bigger and more complex operating systems (OS).
Early Days
The first few to come into people’s minds were Symbian, a popular, menu-based OS that was available on many phones, but which most people associate with Nokia. Palm, a stylus-based OS, became popular for personal digital assistants (PDAs) and eventually for a few early PDA-style phones. Microsoft developed Windows Mobile to bring their world-beating Windows software to phones. Soon, there were several OS’, some which required a handset manufacturer to pay for, and some which were free. The free ones would sometimes be tweaked a little, to allow a manufacturer or service provider a chance to put their brand into people’s minds when playing games or texting friends. The relationship between software makers, hardware makers and network providers was, and remains, a muddled and confusing one.
New Era
Apple was arguably the first company to construct a mobile OS with as much care and consideration as they would for a computer. iPhone OS, now called iOS, uses a desktop like “springboard” instead of menus, and makes adding software very simple. For some people, it’s too simple – some people want more access to install whatever software they want, however they want, like they do on their computer.
In 2007, Google acquired Android, a tiny start-up mobile OS that offered a degree of customization that was superior to Apple’s offerings, while retaining a friendly look similar to Apple’s (a little too similar. Apple CEO Steve Jobs pledged to use all of Apple’s resources to destroy Android in the courts for breach of copyright, shortly before his passing in 2011). Google offered (and still offers) Android as free, open source software for any number of handset makers to do as they please. Google develops the OS to smoothly integrate all of its other popular free software, including Google Maps, Gmail and Google Docs.
Meanwhile, Windows Mobile started to fade away as a relevant operating system, thanks to an ancient-in-comparison look and feel. Windows Mobile has recently re-launched as the much friendlier Windows Phone, and will try to sit somewhere between Apple’s “walled garden” approach, and Google’s “wild west”. We look at these three and a few alternatives.
Android - The Land of Do-As-You-Please
Apple - Wipe Your Feet At The Door
Windows Phone - Coming Soon! Ish!
The Dead, The Pretty Much Dead, and The Dying