NEW RESEARCH - Battle of the operating systems

Our latest in-depth analysis delivers a number of critical insights into consumer favourability for the leading mobile phone operating systems and, importantly, its resultant impact on handset preference. The report, entitled "The Battle of the Mobile Operating Systems – Observations and Trends in Social Media", analyses established systems such as the iPhone OS, Blackberry OS, Symbian OS and Windows Mobile OS, as well as newer entrants such as Android OS and Maemo OS. The report will be of significant interest to: handset manufacturers, airtime operators, application developers and mobile phone retailers.

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Key findings

• 2009 was the year of the application centric device, with Apple's iPhone OS and Google Android paving the way. In 2007/8, the biggest online 'buzz' driver was the 'megapixel race'; today, that has turned into the 'application race'.
• Symbian lost most ground in 2009, with its share of 'buzz' dropping almost 50%, due largely to a number of devices with bug-prone or unstable firmware such as the Nokia N97 and the Sony Ericsson Satio.
• Support for third party applications and games is increasingly the most notable differentiating factor in OS-related conversations online.
• The Android platform has been the biggest climber in 2009, in terms of both popularity and share of 'buzz' amongst consumers in social media. The HTC Hero and Motorola Droid set the stage for consumer expectations and, with the launch of the Google Nexus One, 2010 will be a very promising year for Android-based devices.
• There is a consensus that the Apple OS has not evolved significantly. The pressure is building for Apple to again demonstrate its innovative reputation with the next generation iPhone – expected to see the light of day in 2010.
• Windows Mobile has a proven track record within many high quality smartphones, but falls short in terms of innovation and speed. The Windows Mobile Marketplace, launched in October 2009 with less than 1,000 applications, received a lukewarm response.
• Nokia and Apple are currently the most discussed mobile brands in social media, with respectively 27% and 26% of the 'buzz'.
• The Apple iPhone continues to dominate consumer conversations online, ranking number one on 'buzz' rankings every single month of 2009.
• The Palm Pre and Nokia N900 have both received a lot of attention but they need to build a solid application foundation and stimulate growth in third party development.
• User interaction and ease of use is becoming more important. Support for multi-tasking, multi-touch and a superior browsing experience are also subject to a lot of attention.
• The Blackberry has been the ubiquitous handset within both the UK and US business communities for many years, but may now be threatened by other business smartphones – in particular the iPhone, which has historically been considered more of an 'entertainment' device. Business users will continue to migrate to platforms offering form factor and applications that best meet both business and social requirements.

For a report extract, please click here.  For a copy of the complete 57 pages report, please contact us.