30 May 2007
Linux to challenge Symbian in smartphones
 New Report from The Berg Insight AB Forecasts that Linux Will Surpass Rival Symbian by 2012.
According to research, as demand for advanced mobile devices accelerates, the battle between mobile OS vendors will intensify with market-leader Symbian gradually losing share to Linux.
Symbian will still lead the smartphone market in 2012, with 44 percent market share, while Linux swells to 41 percent and Windows Mobile languishes at just six percent, a new report from Berg Insight predicts. The report runs counter to several other recent analyst reports, however.
According to the Berg report, "a majority of the key handset vendors already sell Linux devices in some markets."
Berg's dismal outlook for Windows Mobile contrasts some other recent reports. Last September, for example, IDC projected that Windows Mobile would capture 32.3 percent of the enterprise market for "converged mobile devices" by 2010.
Just over a year ago, The Diffusion Group (TDG) predicted that Windows Mobile would overtake both Symbian and Linux by 2010, garnering 29 percent of the market, with Linux second at 26 percent and Symbian third at 22 percent.
TDG noted that Microsoft has the advantage of leveraging "tight integration" with its other Windows OS products in both the enterprise and "advanced consumer" markets. Berg, on the other hand, appears to view this as a liability, suggesting that "Windows Mobile is likely to remain a choice mainly for business oriented smartphones, thus limiting the market share to about six percent."
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