The rise and rise (and rise) of iOS; Apple poised to take over mainstream computing

[*LTD*]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9217929/Elgan_The_rise_and_rise_and_rise_of_Apple_s_iOS

The rise and rise (and rise) of iOS; Apple poised to take over mainstream computing

iPhone “and Apple’s other mobile devices that run the iOS are succeeding beyond anyone’s predictions,” Mike Elgan reports for Computerworld. “Apple says the iOS is currently installed on more than 200 million devices.”

“In the first quarter of this year, Android phone market share declined nearly 3%, while iOS’s share rose by more than 12%. Android still has nearly half the smartphone market, and Apple significantly less than that (about 30%), Elgan reports. “These changing fortunes could represent a temporary blip caused by Apple’s availability on Verizon. Or it could be a trend. A recent survey measuring Web traffic by various devices found that some 97% of all tablet traffic in the United States comes from iPads. And if you think that’s high, the number is 100% in Japan and 99% in the UK. (The global average is 89%.)”

“The success of iOS devices thus far is nothing compared with what’s coming. One report says Apple has ordered two manufacturers to build enough iPhone 5 handsets to sell 15 million in the first month of sales. The new phone is expected to launch in August or September,’ Elgan reports. “A study coming from the Yankee Group next month finds that about 40% of all smartphone buyers in Europe say they intend to buy an iPhone next time they buy a phone. A reasonably credible rumor from a blogger in China says that China’s biggest carrier, China Mobile, will soon announce a deal to sell the iPhone 5… Apple currently dominates the tablet market, having sold 25 million iPads to date and possibly over 14 million more iPads in the third quarter. But one analyst believes Apple will sell a billion of them.”

Elgan reports, “It’s clear that Apple’s iOS is beyond successful, and threatens to dominate global mobile sales in the foreseeable future. The reason this is significant is that as Apple comes to dominate mobile computing, mobile computing increasingly dominates computing in general… In other words, Apple’s iOS is poised to take over mainstream computing.”

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Those are some impressive numbers. What is most interesting is the projection of 15 million iPhones sold in the first month. That's pretty bold.

 

[chaosbunny]

Seems like mainstream loves crap operating systems.

 

[*LTD*]

Seems like mainstream loves crap operating systems.

Nah, people are finally waking up to what OSes could have been all along. The long Wintel slumber is over.

 

[Alaerian]

Seems like mainstream loves crap operating systems.

Seems you don't know the definition of "crap."

 

[KingCrimson]

Another troll post by *LTD*. Never in doubt. The last I checked Microsoft Windows owns 90%+ of "mainstream computing". With Windows 8 coming out that will pretty much seal the deal for the next 10 years.

 

[*LTD*]

Another troll post by *LTD*. Never in doubt. The last I checked Microsoft Windows owns 90%+ of "mainstream computing". With Windows 8 coming out that will pretty much seal the deal for the next 10 years.

Mainstream computing is transitioning to mobile. That's the point of the article, and quite frankly, it's a perfectly logical encapsulation of the evidence that's piled up over the last 3-4 years.

If MS plans by some miracle to rule the mobile space in the span of about a year, then they have nothing to worry about.

Talking about the trends that point to new market realities isn't trolling. It's explaining a foregone conclusion.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[roadbloc]

Seems you don't know the definition of "crap."

It seems you don't know the definition of "opinion."

 

[maflynn]

What is mainstream computing?
The article focus' on iOS on handsets, i.e., "One report says Apple has ordered two manufacturers to build enough iPhone 5 handsets to sell 15 million in the first month of sale" and the article compares android against iOS.

Mainstream computing I believe is what people use to solve problems. You know desktop computers, laptops etc. As it stands iOS is ill equipped to handle the demands of mainstream computing. Its a great os for a phone and based on its popularity a great fit for apple's tablet but its quite limited.

Can iOS have two windows open, one a word processing app and the other a spreadsheet? with the open apps can you easily and effortlessly copy data between the two on an iOS device? Not really. Sure you can copy some data but not as easy as you can on a laptop/desktop. Nor can you view them side by side.

Both the iPhone and iPad are excellent single tasking devices, in that when executing a single task they're very good. They fail miserably at trying to multitask.

To bring it back home, how can an article detailing a slight contraction on android and iOS's increase be anything but an article about mobile OS's and not mainstream computing.

 

[neko girl]

Another troll post by *LTD*. Never in doubt. The last I checked Microsoft Windows owns 90%+ of "mainstream computing". With Windows 8 coming out that will pretty much seal the deal for the next 10 years.

This has apparently had no effect on availability of quality software for Mac OS. Did you have a point?

 

[Bernard SG]

Can iOS have two windows open, one a word processing app and the other a spreadsheet? with the open apps can you easily and effortlessly copy data between the two on an iOS device? Not really. Sure you can copy some data but not as easy as you can on a laptop/desktop. Nor can you view them side by side.

That's a deceptive presentation of what you can and can't do specifically on the iPad.
First of all, unless you use a large desktop screen, opening the word-processing and spreadsheet apps 'side by side' is not the typical way people do that. Both apps are generally open in windows that fill the screen and you switch between them to copy/paste. There's absolutely no need to view them side by side for that matter.
If you activate your multitasking gestures, switching between Numbers and Pages with one swipe takes no more time than typing Alt-Tab or Command-tab. so copying a table from a spreadsheet into a Pages document is absolutely effortless.
What the iPad can't do as of yet is pasting the table with the formulas, let alone with a link. So in that regard, yes, it doesn't match a laptop/desktop. But make no mistake, it will get there in time, as hardware resources evolve.
On the other hand there are many little things that the iPad can do which are awkward or just impossible with a laptop, like using it to easily consult documentation anywhere. The iPad, for instance, is an awesome tool for professional meetings as far as it doesn't get in the way like a laptop would.
The phenomenal battery life is also a huge factor.

 

[KingCrimson]

Good luck for those who can manage to edit all kinds of documents only using an iPad. You represent 5% of users.

 

[Alaerian]

Good luck for those who can manage to edit all kinds of documents only using an iPad. You represent 5% of users.

<citation needed>

 

[chaosbunny]

Nah, people are finally waking up to what OSes could have been all along. The long Wintel slumber is over.

You mean like a single-task fullscreen OS? Like with that Amiga back in the 80ies?

Or you mean like your post-pc future, with dumb terminals which get their content from corporate controled drm-heaven, ahem, I mean the "cloud"?

And you actually like that?

 

[Alaerian]

Single task full screen IS the norm, like it or not.

 

[maflynn]

Single task full screen IS the norm, like it or not.

On a phone, yes. On computers, laptops where people use these all day to get their work done. No.

 

[roadbloc]

Single task full screen IS the norm, like it or not.

Nonsense. On a mobile phone, yes. Any bigger screened device and it can be both an advantage and a limitation. I like how Lion will handle full screen apps, however, to have every app in fullscreen would be awful.

 

[*LTD*]

You mean like a single-task fullscreen OS? Like with that Amiga back in the 80ies?

Or you mean like your post-pc future, with dumb terminals which get their content from corporate controled drm-heaven, ahem, I mean the "cloud"?

And you actually like that?

Judging by your signature, you won't be involved. Once everyone is in the Cloud, however, I hope for your sake alternate options will still be readily available.

 

[KingCrimson]

Nonsense. On a mobile phone, yes. Any bigger screened device and it can be both an advantage and a limitation. I like how Lion will handle full screen apps, however, to have every app in fullscreen would be awful.

Full-screen apps are part of the dummification of computing. I'm a software developer and sometimes I task-switch to a partially-sized Wordpad to review some notes or copy some code into while I'm working. Of course you could argue that nobody needs a non-fullscreen app but it's a matter of preference and I'd hate it to be taken away from me.

Another example where you don't want full-screen on a PC. Let's say I'm using some instant messenger and I have TweetDeck on. I can be chatting in a small window while seeing what Tweets are wizzing by in the background.

 

[roadbloc]

Judging by your signature, you won't be involved. Once everyone is in the Cloud, however, I hope for your sake alternate options will still be readily available.

Judging by your (various) signatures, you think the future of tech will be everyone owning an iPad and using it for pretty much everything. Which to me is simply laughable.

Do you really have to bring signatures into this? Stooping a bit low don't you think?

 

[localoid]

Judging by your signature, you won't be involved. Once everyone is in the Cloud, however, I hope for your sake alternate options will still be readily available.

What's the cloud running on,*LTD*, in this brave new dystopic future world that you come from? Are the server farms of this astounding age yet to come filled with kazillions of iPads running iOS neatly strapped into 19" racks? Or has the cloud evolved into one big crystallized thingy powered by the tears of unicorns?

Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[*LTD*]

What's the cloud running on,*LTD*, in this brave new dystopic future world that you come from? Are the server farms of this astounding age yet to come filled with kazillions of iPads running iOS neatly strapped into 19" racks? Or has the cloud evolved into one big crystallized thingy powered by the tears of unicorns?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Servers.

I tried fitting one in my pocket and carrying it around. Didn't work. Too big for a bag, too.

We don't have server farms in our living rooms.

 

[localoid]

Servers.

I tried fitting one in my pocket and carrying it around. Didn't work. Too big for a bag, too.

We don't have server farms in our living rooms.

So, in other words, in the future we'll still be using PCs, it's just that most of them will be "in the cloud" rather than in your living room (or in your pocket). Is that correct?

 

[*LTD*]

So, in other words, in the future we'll still be using PCs, it's just that most of them will be "in the cloud" rather than in your living room (or in your pocket). Is that correct?

Sure, PCs will still be around. But their role will be successively marginalized to industry-specific tasks, server roles, and Cloud infrastructure. They will play an increasingly minor role in the consumer sector. They'll still be available as consumer products - it's certainly conceivable that a market will exist for them. How robust a market that will be, is the question.

The inevitable result of this industry shift is that most of the development geared toward consumer computing will shift away from the traditional PC model.

I can't tell you how the traditional PC will evolve, if at all. That's the thing. Right now desktop sales are stagnant and notebooks are being challenged by other mobile platforms (tablets.) Moreover, notebooks themselves are trending toward lighter and thinner form factors. One thing I will say for certain, is the that "mobile" OS - Android, iOS, etc., is here to stay and will play a front-and-centre role in computing from here on in. The "traditional" PC will take its cues from the mobile sphere. Some folks are very frightened about this.

 

[roadbloc]

Sure, PCs will still be around.

So now you're saying that the post-PC era will never happen?

 

[localoid]

Sure, PCs will still be around. But their role will be successively marginalized to industry-specific tasks, server roles, and Cloud infrastructure. They will play an increasingly minor role in the consumer sector. They'll still be available as consumer products - it's certainly conceivable that a market will exist for them. How robust a market that will be, is the question. (yadda, yadda, yadda omitted)

Wow! With all those consumers relying on "the cloud" to get virtually anything done, it sounds like PCs (servers) will be even more important in the future than they are today!

I can't say how things will be in your time, but here in 2011, it's about 50/50 split between Microsoft and Linux server software running "the cloud" as we now know it. (We call it the Internet, presently.) In fact the (MacRumors) server I'm writing this on runs Linux!

What's the breakdown on OSs for servers in the future world you're writing from? Did Apple ever make any inroads into that market?