The
Mobile Internet Devices (MID) market will likely be the first
real example of a greenfield situation in which all mobile
operating systems start on the same equal footing, without the
baggage of previous histories such as existed in the smartphone
market, according to a new survey by ABI Research.
In the new
Mobile Linux report the analyst predicts that the
Linux OS— in the form of Moblin, LiMo and Maemo—will wrest control
of the majority of the MID market, accounting for unit volumes of
50 millions units per annum in 2013.
Explained ABI Research vice president and research director
Stuart Carlaw, “Maemo is already in this space thanks to the
patronage of Nokia; Moblin will benefit from tight integration with
Atom and Intel’s drive; and LiMo is actively being positioned for
this market. The flexibility, customisation and very positive cost
comparison to Windows Mobile looks set to ensure that Linux takes
the leading role in this market.”
ABI believes that one of the
more significant aspects of the Linux OS in this market is its
ability to provide a converged platform that can span multiple
device segments. It regards the concept of a single OS that covers
MIDs, smartphones and mid-tier devices as being very attractive but
cautions that only LiMo and potentially Moblin hold the possibility
of achieving this ambition.