If you are reading this, it's safe to assume that you either own an Android device or plan on purchasing one in the near future.
This comes as no surprise. Recently the independent market research company Canalys announced that the Android mobile platform has officially captured 50% (i) of the global market, while Apple - (still leading the market in terms of units sold) has almost a fifth of the shares.
With these numbers in mind, it should come as no surprise that Google announced back in June 2011 that it is activating a whopping 500 000 Android devices per day!
Yes, you read right, that is “500 000” (ii) Android devices per day!
How Android came to such dominance in the mobile market is easily explained by its (free) open source platform. Android is the operating system of choice for many mobile device manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, LG, and Motorola to name just a few.
Android`s success is also largely built and based around its extensive app market, one of the platform's core ideas. Currently, the Android community has close to half a million apps (software applications), which by a touch of a button, extend your mobile device's functionality to seemingly endless possibilities.
For business owners, this poses a unique opportunity to have their business be an integrated part of the consumer's life-style. Imagine a world where a business can deliver live content and information directly into the hands of their clients. Companies like FNB, Groupon and Discovery (to name just a few), have already taken the step onto the mobile app market. Following American and European trends, more and more companies see the necessity to join Android.
Lately, however, the android platform has been facing some adversity in terms of multiple patent infringements, and to many industry specialists, it is doubtful if Android will be able to sustain itself in today's highly competitive tech market.
Back in May, it was reported (iii) that HTC is apparently paying Microsoft $5 for every Android handset it sells. It has been a long known fact that Android is actually costing manufactures money. Last October, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was quoted saying (iv): “Android has a patent fee. It's not like it's free.”
Google has remained fairly quiet on the matter, until recently, Senior Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond publicly hammered Microsoft, Apple and Oracle (maker of Java Platform) for initiating a hostile and well organised campaign against Android, funded by bogus patent claims.
“A smartphone might involve as many as 250 000 (largely questionable) patent claims, and our competitors want to impose a “tax” for these dubious patents that makes Android devices more expensive for consumers. They want to make it harder for manufacturers to sell Android devices. Instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation.”
The fact of the matter is that Android is taking the mobile phone market by storm which makes it a prime target for other Goliaths of the tech industry. However, it saddens me to see that innovative companies like Microsoft and Apple who have always been the pinnacle of digital innovation revert to patent acquisition tactics in order to undermine their completion. As of now, the mobile market is engaged in a full-fledged patent war, the outcome of which is still somewhat unclear. The geek in me believes that society has only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mobile innovation and for those of you who already own an Android device will agree - it is hard to imagine life without one, but the future's not looking too rosy for Android just yet.
i BY: DUSAN BELIC, INTOMOBILE, Info graphic: Android's rise to the top
ii http://www.intomobile.com/2011/10/24/infographic-androids-rise-top/
iii 27TH MAY 2011 by PAUL SAWERS , HTC pays Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells
iv http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-ballmer-android-isnt-free-it-has-a-patent-fee-2010-10
v http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/08/03/google-accuses-apple-microsoft-and-oracle-of-waging-a-hostile-campaign-against-android/
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