The battle of mobile operating systems (OS’s) is beginning to heat up. It is not yet apparent who the winner will be but nonetheless, it is going to be worth the wait. In the end, the consumer will be the winner. Having different options to choose from is the ultimate prize for the end user. The major contenders in the smart phone OS space currently include the usual suspects, Apple Google, Research in Motion (Blackberry) , Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung and their respective hardware partners. There are basically two kinds of software vendors, those that make their own hardware and software and those who license software to other manufactures. At the moment, Microsoft is the only software vendor without any hardware of their own.Google has been toying around with the possibility of a Google branded handset. Previous collaborations with HTC and Samsung gave birth to T-mobile G-1, Google Nexus One, Google Nexus X and recently the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. With the recent acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Motorola’s hardware division, speculation is rife about Google branded handsets and tablets. Apple IOSNow in its 5th generation, Apple’s IOS was originally developed for its iphone. The OS has since been extended to other Apple devices namely, ipads, ipod touch and Apple TV.  Apple does not license its operating system to any third party manufacturers. Apple’s developer program allows developers to create applications that run on IOS powered devices. Apple’s app store currently boasts over 550,000 applications and about 25 billion downloads since inception. Apple had a market share of 16% of the smart phone OS by the end of 2010 and about 60% of mobile web traffic in USA in the same year.Research in Motion BlackberryThe Blackberry operating system was released in 1999 primarily as a business/enterprise operating system. Blackberry OS came with native support for corporate email and wireless synching with Outlook. 3rd party developers can write applications for the Blackberry platform.The QNX based Blackberry tablet OS was released in 2010 to power Blackberry’s tablet computer the Playbook and will power the next generation Blackberry OS 10.Microsoft Windows PhoneLaunched at Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is the successor to the Windows Mobile platform. Ironically, Windows Phone is not backward compatible with Windows Mobile. In order to develop a new and cutting edge mobile OS, Microsoft decided to go back to the drawing board and create the new OS from scratch. Windows Phone is a consumer focused OS unlike its predecessor.   Windows phone’s major distinguishing feature is the Metro user interface which comprises of ‘live tiles’ linked to applications, features and functions. At the time of launch, Microsoft signed deals with HTC, Dell Samsung and LG. In February 2011, Nokia announced it would make Windows Phone its primary operating system ditching Symbian OS.Google AndroidLaunched in 2007 with the founding of the open handset alliance, Google’s mobile OS has grown by leaps and bounds. The Open handset alliance is a consortium of 86 hardware, software and telecom companies who signed the agreement to release Android as an open source operating system. Android powers handsets, tablets and other gadgets such as set top boxes, notebooks and smart watches. Android was the best selling smart phone OS worldwide as of December 2010, with over 300 million Android devices in use by February 2012. Android has a big community of developers who write applications for Android devices which can be downloaded from Google Play, formerly Android market. Bada OSBada is Samsung’s in-house developed operating system.  Bada powers handsets and tablets. It was introduced at Mobile World Congress 2010. Samsung subsequently released the Bada Software Development Kit to attract application developers in 2011. The Samsung Wave S8500 was the first Bada powered phone which sold in excess of one million units in just 4 weeks after its release on the market.  Symbian OSSymbian OS powers handsets and tablets. Symbian was acquired by Nokia in 2008 from its developers Symbian Ltd. Symbian was Nokia’s primary operating system until it announced a new partnership with Microsoft adopting Windows Phone in November 2010. It is estimated that there are over 380 million Symbian powered handsets worldwide. Ever since Nokia dropped Symbian, there has been a drastic fall in developers and interest in the operating system. The future of Symbian hangs in the balance.   So there you have it. Your mobile operating system options are so vast that only your budget and preference may get in the way of the true mobile operating experience.  www.afrogeek.tk