Smartphone Strategy

[Renegade89]

The purpose of this topic is to discuss the various strategies of the various smartphone manufacturers, as I keep debating with myself which of their strategies are best. For the purpose of this topic, lets consider these 5 smartphone OSs: iPhone OS, Android, WebOS, Blackberry and Windows Mobile.

iPhone OS: Now I might be biased towards the iPhone OS because I have an iPhone, FYI. Anyways, I think the iPhone and the iPhone OS are pretty polished products. From a touchscreen device point of view, there really isn't a whole lot of stuff they can add to the iPhone hardware to make it better, and the OS is great, and hopefully iPhone 4.0 will finally bring some sort of backgrounding and notification management. And of course, the App Store is great, having sold nearly 1.8 Billion Apps. A problem I see with the iPhone OS domain is that there isn't a phone for everyone. Not everyone wants a touchscreen keyboard. Having only one device on one network (at least in the US) isn't helping apple, but maybe thats the game they want to play.

Android: I like the idea of Android, I just don't know how well it is going to end up. Theres just something I don't like about the set-up... if something is wrong with the phone is it the carriers fault, the harware manufacturer's fault or Google's fault because it's their OS? (the word "fault" is used for lack of a better word) If Google really tries to push Android to the business side, I believe they can eventually take a large chunk out of WinMo's market share, since Android will be deployed by many different cell phone manufacturers, much like WinMo.

WebOS: I think Palm has done a great job with the Pre and WebOS, and now the up-and-coming Pixi. They've put themselves in a good position to (eventually) have multiple phone options on multiple carriers, but why did they decide to have another Sprint-exclusive WebOS phone? I love the multitasking and notifications setup in WebOS, and wish Apple would get a clue. WebOS has a slider, a non-moving keyboard, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they have a horizontal slider and a fully touchscreen device, giving consumers many options.

Blackberry: A variety of Phones on every network. Exactly what I think Palm is going to shoot for (except with more innovation), and exactly what I wish Apple would do, but won't happen. Blackberries are great phones for email and other business "stuff". They need to work on App World and Web Browsing and some other stuff, but I think they're doing good. They need to innovate though, because Palm is looking to take their spot (eventually)

WinMo: Windows mobile had a head start in the smart phone business, which is why there are still so many WinMo phones out there. But Microsoft has been standing still and has been passed up by almost everyone in terms of innovation and ease of use. But I guess we'll see if this changes with 6.5 or WinMo 7.



Anyways, this has been my take, what are your thoughts on the major players in the smartphone industry?

 

[kdarling]

Pretty good comments.

The major advantage for Apple, RIM and Palm is that they control both the hardware and software. For better or worse, they define the total experience.

The major advantage of Android and WinMo is that they are available in many models from various makers, with WinMo especially undergoing lots of customization.

Another advantage for Android, Apple and Palm is that they're not burdened with legacy app support, like RIM and WM are.

The upshot for me, is that I want one of each, because they all have something to like.

There was a short-lived Hong Kong company a couple of years ago that advertised custom phones. You chose the display, if it had GPS, whether it used WM or something else, and if it had a camera, keyboard, trackball, touchscreen, etc. They'd snap it together for you.

 

[maflynn]

iPhone OS: Now I might be biased towards the iPhone OS because I have an iPhone, FYI. Anyways, I think the iPhone and the iPhone OS are pretty polished products. From a touchscreen device point of view, there really isn't a whole lot of stuff they can add to the iPhone hardware to make it better, and the OS is great, and hopefully iPhone 4.0 will finally bring some sort of backgrounding and notification management. And of course, the App Store is great, having sold nearly 1.8 Billion Apps. A problem I see with the iPhone OS domain is that there isn't a phone for everyone. Not everyone wants a touchscreen keyboard. Having only one device on one network (at least in the US) isn't helping apple, but maybe thats the game they want to play.

Apple's timing was excellent, there was no such device on the market, their design was impeccable, and their obsessive attention to details shows in the design of the phone and the OS. Not to say their OS is the end all and be all. webOS has shown the advantages of multitasking on a phone. While I may not need multitasking on a phone, its certainly a hot-button topic. Battery life, and improvements to the phone itself need to continue if apple wants to continue to garner marketshare. One way to more fully extend marketshare is end the exclusive contract with AT&T

Android: I like the idea of Android, I just don't know how well it is going to end up. Theres just something I don't like about the set-up... if something is wrong with the phone is it the carriers fault, the harware manufacturer's fault or Google's fault because it's their OS? (the word "fault" is used for lack of a better word) If Google really tries to push Android to the business side, I believe they can eventually take a large chunk out of WinMo's market share, since Android will be deployed by many different cell phone manufacturers, much like WinMo.

If there's a problem with a Android phone it will be handled the same way it would be handled by a blackberry or by a winmo phone. Software will be done through the phone manufacturer since they customized Android.

WebOS: I think Palm has done a great job with the Pre and WebOS, and now the up-and-coming Pixi. They've put themselves in a good position to (eventually) have multiple phone options on multiple carriers, but why did they decide to have another Sprint-exclusive WebOS phone? I love the multitasking and notifications setup in WebOS, and wish Apple would get a clue. WebOS has a slider, a non-moving keyboard, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they have a horizontal slider and a fully touchscreen device, giving consumers many options.

They went with Sprint because Palm and Sprint have a long history together and they gave Sprint first dibs primarily for financial reasons. That exclusiveness will be ending soon and you'll start seeing palm webos phones elsewhere. Palm has a lot riding on their new phones and so far sales have not been anywhere near their expectations. I do think Palm has a winner on their hands, with the webOS but they didn't exactly hit it out of the park with the PRE and the issues with their app store. They lost a lot of the energy and excitement that preceded the PRE's release.

Blackberry: A variety of Phones on every network. Exactly what I think Palm is going to shoot for (except with more innovation), and exactly what I wish Apple would do, but won't happen. Blackberries are great phones for email and other business "stuff". They need to work on App World and Web Browsing and some other stuff, but I think they're doing good. They need to innovate though, because Palm is looking to take their spot (eventually)

BlackBerry had only one killer feature and it was a killer feature - email access. There's been little to none innovation occurring at RIM and its showing by the lack of RIM apps, OS is kludgy and the device as not really changed that much - unless you actually like the click screen on the BB storm

WinMo: Windows mobile had a head start in the smart phone business, which is why there are still so many WinMo phones out there. But Microsoft has been standing still and has been passed up by almost everyone in terms of innovation and ease of use. But I guess we'll see if this changes with 6.5 or WinMo 7.

MS has continually misread the mobile market needs and desires, which has allowed BB and now apple to increase their marketshare. While they were out before the other guys, their phones weren't that good, it was a PDA altered to include phone capabilities, instead of designing the OS that had both features as a cohesive unit.

Just my $.02



Anyways, this has been my take, what are your thoughts on the major players in the smartphone industry?[/QUOTE]