Mobile Operating Systems

One of the "pioneers" among mobile operating systems is Symbian OS. Developed by the consortium Symbain, which in 1998 founded the company Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Psion, later it was joined by other mobile phone manufacturers.

Different versions of this OS have been adapted to specific phone models. It was popular because of its lightness and stability, low requirements for the "filling" of the phone, andalso the frequent release of new versions and the rapid correction of instabilities. Well, of course, an important role was played by the fact that the Symbian platform was actively supported by one of the leading handset manufacturers, Nokia, and for a long time practically had no competitors.

But when other mobile operating systems began to develop actively (in particular, Windows Mobile, Google Android, Apple iOS), Symbian OS has surrendered its position, although it is still quite popular. According to the research of the mobile phone market, as of the third quarter of 2010, Symbian OS was installed on almost 37% of smartphones, right after it went Google Android with almost 26%, and only then - the remaining mobile operating systems.

Let's talk about the system Google Android, which "breathes in the back" of Symbian OS. Despite its youth, it is very popular. Google Android is based on the Linux kernel, it is used not only in mobile phones, but also communicators, netbooks, tablet computers and other devices.

This system attracts with its flexibility: thanks to the open source code, eachthe developer can change it "for themselves." For users, this openness is expressed in a large number of diverse applications. It is multitasking, high speed and convenient integration with Google services. But openness is also the reason for some flaws in this OS. For example, it often requires improvements.

Some phone manufacturers prefer to use their own mobile operating systems. For example, Apple's iPhone is running an operating system Apple iOS. Devices from Research In Motion Limited (RIM) - smartphones BlackBerry - equipped with the operating system of the same name. A series of touch phones (touch phones) Wave from Samsung works on the platform Bada (they are called "badafons").

The advantage of these systems is that they are "sharpened" for the devices of a specific manufacturer, taking into account all their features. Usually such systems are reliable, regularlyare updated and can boast of a good support service. But they have drawbacks, for example, BlackBerry OS users complain about not a very convenient browser, and iOS can not install unofficial applications. But if you decide to buy your iPhone, Blackberry or Samsung Wave, you'll have to put up with shortcomings.

Sixth in popularity after Symbian OS, Google Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry OS and Bada is the operating system Windows Mobile, based on the Windows CE platform. It is convenient because its interface is similar to the interface of the familiar Windows operating system for personal computers. It is multitasking, it boasts convenient synchronization. But at the same time, Windows Mobile has high demands on the "stuffing" of the smartphone, it is vulnerable to viruses and does not always work stably.

The successor to Windows Mobile is to become Windows Phone 7. Upgrade from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone 7can not be due to hardware incompatibility. In Russia, phones based on this platform began to be sold quite recently, in September 2011. Microsoft considers this platform a turning point in the development of mobile phones, but only the owners of phones-novelties from this OS, which are not so many, can confirm or deny their words.

In addition to the six leaders in the mobile OS market, you may encounter other operating systems. Alternative mobile operating systems developed on the basis of the Linux kernel and usedusually in a limited number of models. These include HP webOS (formerly Palm webOS), Maemo, OpenMoko, MontaVista Mobilinux, EZX Linux, MOTOMAGX, LiMo Platform, Access Linux Platform and MeeGo.

In this article, we described the main mobile operating systems that smartphone owners have to deal with. When choosing a smartphone, be sure to ask the operating system installed on it (it happens that on different models of the same manufacturer are installed different OS), because it largely depends on the convenience of work.