Mobile Platforms

✎ Published: 2009-10-29 10:30:30

WebOS faces challenges in establishing itself as a major mobile platform against Google and Apple's iPhone, which benefit from years of development. While Android and iPhone OS continue to advance with new technologies, WebOS lacks essential features. Meanwhile, a comparison of the iPhone, Pre, and Droid highlights community frustration over the absence of other platforms like Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

Mobile Platforms

I like WebOS, but I'm not confident yet whether Palm will be able (by means of investment, developers, and pace) to pull of building a major mobile platform, that is directly competing against the Google Behemoth and the iPhone, with it's advantageous 15 years of Cocoa development on the Mac. Already, if one looks past the user interface, WebOS lacks many technologies which Android or iPhone OS developers take for granted. And Android 2.0, just like iPhone OS 3.0, introduces another ton of new technologies. If Google and Apple keep this pace, they'll be the two dominant mobile platforms soon, leaving behind Windows Mobile (cough), WebOS, Symbian, Maemo, and BlackBerry. One might wonder, if Apple will be able to compete against a myriad of feature rich Android devices. Riding on the wave of the iPod, featuring the prominent brand, their chances seem to be good.

Update: Just stumbled upon this Billshrink.com Smartphone comparison. They compare the iPhone, Pre, and the Droid. In the following (about) 40 user comments, one guy laments the lack of Windows Mobile, another one the lack of BlackBerry, and finally the last comment just notes 'No mention of Nokia.. again'. That's three out of forty.