Mobile Operating Systems - Common Software Platforms

Common Software Platforms

See also: Comparison of Android devices, List of BlackBerry products, List of iOS devices, Comparison of Symbian devices, and List of Windows Phone devices

The most common mobile operating systems are:

Android from Google Inc. (free and open source)

Android was developed by a small startup company (Android Inc.) that was purchased by Google Inc. in 2005. Android is a Linux-derived OS backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC, ARM, Samsung, Motorola and eBay, to name a few), that forms the Open Handset Alliance. Released on November 5th 2007, the OS was well received from a number of developers upon its introduction. Android's releases prior to 2.0 (1.0, 1.5, 1.6) were used exclusively on mobile phones. Most Android phones, and some Android tablets, now use a 2.x release. Android 3.0 was a tablet-oriented release and does not officially run on mobile phones. The current Android version is 4.2.2. Android's releases are nicknamed after sweets or dessert items like Cupcake (1.5), Frozen Yogurt (2.2), Honeycomb (3.0), Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and Jelly Bean (4.1). Most major mobile service providers carry an Android device. Since HTC Dream was introduced, there has been an explosion in the number of devices that carry Android OS. From Q2 of 2009 to the second quarter of 2010, Android's worldwide market share rose 850% from 1.8% to 17.2%. On November 15, 2011, Android reached 52.5% of the global smartphone market share.

BlackBerry 10 from BlackBerry (closed source, proprietary)

BlackBerry 10 (previously BlackBerry BBX) the next generation platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. In other words, there will be only one OS for both Blackberry smartphones and tablets going forward.

iOS from Apple Inc. (closed source, proprietary, on top of open source Darwin core OS)

The Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and second-generation Apple TV all use an operating system called iOS, which is derived from Mac OS X. Native third party applications were not officially supported until the release of iOS 2.0 on July 11, 2008. Before this, "jailbreaking" allowed third party applications to be installed, and this method is still available. Currently all iOS devices are developed by Apple and manufactured by Foxconn or another of Apple's partners.

Nokia Asha platform from Nokia

Sailfish OS from Jolla (open source, GPL)

After Nokia failed in 2011 with MeeGo project most of MeeGo team have left Nokia, and established Jolla as a company to use MeeGo and MER business opportunities. In 2012 Linux Sailfish OS based on MeeGo and using MER core distribution has been launched for public use. The first device, Jolla (mobile phone) has been unveiled on 20th May 2013.

Windows Phone from Microsoft (closed source, proprietary)

On February 15th, 2010, Microsoft unveiled its next-generation mobile OS, Windows Phone. The new mobile OS includes a completely new over-hauled UI inspired by Microsoft's "Metro Design Language". It includes full integration of Microsoft services such as Microsoft SkyDrive and Office, Xbox Music, Xbox Video, Xbox Live games and Bing, but also integrates with many other non-Microsoft services such as Facebook and Google accounts. The new software platform has received some positive reception from the technology press.

Windows RT from Microsoft (closed source, proprietary)

Microsoft announced Windows RT is an OS design for tablets only and only runs on ARM processors. This version also resembles Windows 8. Windows RT cannot run x86 programs. Apps can be only downloaded from the Windows Store. This OS has Microsoft Office 2013 pre-installed.