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View Full Version : Can smartphone OS affect other form factors?



capink
November 5th, 2010, 12:58 PM
Recent trends are showing an increase in sales of smartphones. It is not unreasonable to assume that soon smartphones will outnumber all other form factors together.

If Windows mobile 7 fails to gain market share can this affect windows on other form factors like pc, netbook, laptops etc. Is that why Microsoft is trying very hard to catch up in Mobile devices?

And if Meego gains market share can this increase Linux market share on other form factors.

My understanding is that Meego, unlike Android, is full GNU Linux OS. Which means that you can run all Linux desktop apps on a Meego device with minimal modifications (mainly the interface). If this is so, it follows that anything that can run on Meego can be easily run on a regular Linux distro.

If Meego is able to become a major player in Mobile OS. Hardware and software companies would have to start porting their products to Meego. For example, this might lead for better flash support on Meego, which would translate to better flash support for Linux. Also hardware drivers will be supported in Meego which would translate to better support in Linux. (e.g. mobile phone have GPUs).

That would eliminate one of the biggest hurdles for Linux (lack of support from major hardware and software companies).

Or maybe smartphone hardware does have that much in common with desktop hardware?

Do you think that the success of a mobile OS and affect other form factors?

viralmeme
November 5th, 2010, 01:01 PM
.. Do you think that the success of a mobile OS and affect other form factors?
I don't think it matters to the hardware manufacturers as long as they are selling product.

3Miro
November 5th, 2010, 03:37 PM
There is no reason why an OS wouldn't run on another form factor. There may be some driver issues, but those can be resolved. I don't see how this can affect the OS itself.

theraje
November 5th, 2010, 05:42 PM
Two words: Android tablet.

I know that Android isn't a "fully featured" (whatever that's supposed to mean) operating system, but it is an example of a smartphone OS being implemented on differing form-factors. Another example is Apple's iOS (iPhone/iPad).

Now - if you are wondering whether "fully featured" desktop-style OS will ever make it to a smartphone... I know that certain MID devices like the Nokia N800 and Nokia N810 had a Linux-based OS on them (albeit they were stripped down a good bit). The newer N900 (which is currently still available) may have a similar setup. Not 100% sure, though.