ABI Research is again trumpeting the news
that it expects Linux-running mobile devices to enjoy significant growth,
thanks to the success of Google's Android mobile operating system and upcoming
Chrome OS.
Based on the findings of a new study, "Linux for Mobile Devices," ABI
said in a July 14 statement it expects Linux, led by the successes of Android
and Chrome, to make up 62 percent of the operating systems shipped in all
non-smartphone mobile devices by 2015.
"The number of Linux-oriented initiatives recently seen in the mobile
industry indicates that Linux will be a key technology in the next generation
of netbooks, media tablets and other mobile devices," ABI
Research analyst Victoria Fodale said in the statement. "Despite the
growing number of Linux distributions in the mobile market, Linux has a unified
base of upstream components, notably the Linux kernel."
A number of ecosystems—such Android and Chrome, as well as Nokia and Intel's
jointly offered MeeGo OS and Palm's (now Hewlett-Packard's) WebOS—are built on
Linux components. This model, ABI said, "enables
companies to share the cost of research and development, yet differentiate
their offerings in the marketplace."
In an early June report, Fodale similarly forecast that the growth
of Linux-based smartphones will outpace that
of all other mobile operating systems in the industry. By 2015, ABI
said, it expects these smartphones to claim 33 percent of the global market
share.
Google, for one, is certainly on board with such ideas. During a May
shareholders' meeting, Google CEO Eric
Schmidt said, conservatively speaking, more than 65,000 Android-running
smartphones were shipping each day. He added that Google in a year went from
have one device in one country to having "34 devices with 60 carriers in
49 countries and 19 languages."
Google is expecting equal success from its
Chrome operating system and an open-source program called Chromium.
PC and Mac are currently the two major platforms of choice, Schmidt
continued. "In my opinion, [Chrome is] likely to become the third platform
of choice for both consumers and the enterprise."
More information on the ABI Research
report is available here.
Enterprise Mobility 
