Analyst perspectives on key wireless industry topics including mobile devices, network infrastructure, mobile operators, mobile content, and short range wireless connectivity.

This week has seen one of the most momentous announcements to hit the mobile environment for a number of years. Google, one of the powerhouses of the PC/IT environment has put together a powerful consortium of companies behind a pervasive open source software solution aimed at revolutionizing the mobile internet.

In a damning interview, John Forsyth, VP Strategy at Symbian stated, "About every three months this year there has been a mobile Linux initiative of some sort launched. It's a bit like the common cold. It keeps coming round and then we go back to business. We don't participate in these full stop. We make our own platform and we are focused on driving that into the mobile phone market at large ever more aggressively."

I would argue that this arrogance is a product of two major factors, fear and ignorance. Firstly, it is no surprise that the two major naysayers are those with the most to lose - Symbian and Microsoft.  Regarding the ignorance aspect, this is a little harder to quantify. The reason that Linux keeps raising its head is that some large segments of the industry are truly not happy with the options presented by Microsoft and Symbian. They offer little choice, cost a lot, and do not provide a true multi-vendor environment, and no one outside of a few companies with very unique situations (Nokia to name one) wants to be tied to the agenda of one company's development process. Linux offers the only feasible option to counter the hegemony of these two corporations.

Many will point to the fact that it's harder to put together a solution for the handset environment than any other product, and John Forsyth stated, "Mobile OS is a very specialised form of rocket science. It's not search rocket science." What this doesn't take into account is that the ecosystem built around Android includes some of the most innovative companies in the mobile domain. If anyone can make it work, they can make it work. When looking at the ecosystem for Android, it's worth noting that the companies are those with the most to gain. They are, in the majority, new breeds of companies all fighting to get to the top of the ladder. In the main, they are not the staid incumbents holding a tight fist around a handful of sand as they watch the grains slide out. Android could be their key to unlocking significant differentiation in terms of their platfom solution, services and devices.

Lastly, a thought about the aspect of technological versus market barriers. I have always advocated a notion of "where there is a will there is a way."  If there is enough market demand and the ecosystem is strong enough, then a satisfactory technological solution to a problem will be found. Can anyone argue that there isn't both need and demand for a robust Linux solution?

The Femtocell Market: Boom or Bust?
Author: Stuart Carlaw
Vice President and Research Director, Mobile Wireless
Posted: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 11:28:59 EDT

Nokia to Acquire Symbian and Go "Open"
Author: Stuart Carlaw
Vice President and Research Director, Mobile Wireless
Posted: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:55:29 EDT

Clearwire Says 30M subs by 2017
Author: Philip Solis
Principal Analyst, Mobile Broadband
Posted: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:06:34 EDT

The Open Patent Alliance for WiMAX IP - A Potentially Good Thing
Author: Philip Solis
Principal Analyst, Mobile Broadband
Posted: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:02:59 EDT

Femtocell Trials to Start in Singapore
Author: Hwai Lin Khor
Research Analyst, Wireless
Posted: Fri, 9 May 2008 05:26:36 EDT