ABI Research anticipates that Linux-enabled smartphones, led by the success of Google’s Android, will comprise 33% of the worldwide smartphone market by 2015. With more than 60,000 smartphones shipping per day, Android has catapulted ahead of other Linux mobile platforms.
"Due to its low cost and ability to be easily modified, Linux in the mobile market today is nearly as disruptive as Linux was in server markets a decade ago," says senior analyst Victoria Fodale.
Much of the interest that handset OEMs and mobile operators have in Android can be traced to its flexibility. "The Android platform can be modified so that OEMs can differentiate their products," says Fodale, "and the licensing terms allow OEMs to innovate while still protecting proprietary work."
But although Google has built early momentum, Android is not without competition. Industry heavyweights Intel, Nokia, and Samsung recently announced two other new Linux-based operating systems, bada and MeeGo. The bada platform is also kernel-configurable so that it can run either on the Linux kernel or a real-time operating system (RTOS) kernel — which makes bada applicable to a wider range of devices than just smartphones.
Mobile Linux in Smartphones examines the next generation of mobile open operating systems, including the key market issues in the Linux ecosystem, as well as the technology drivers within the mobile device segment. It highlights the strengths and weakness of each mobile Linux platform, including architecture, development, applications, and governance models. Detailed regional forecasts of shipments by each Linux-enabled platform are included.
It is a component of the firm’s Smartphones and Mobile Devices Research Service, which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.
