Android or someone else?
Android, the Google’s OS for mobiles devices is generating quite a buzz these days. Android has seen a meteoric rise in the last couple of years, as someone who can challenge the supremacy of Apple iOS. What Android has done in past we all know, what will it be able to achieve in the next few years is a billion dollar question. Will it be the number ONE OS on mobile devices? Will Apple kill it? Will there be someone else who will come and take on the pie? Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, that we are going to see a fierce competition in the mobile world and as it happens always in such cases, customers are going to get some great offerings from every company which is in the fray.
Android will succeed if… and it’s a big big if….
To know what this ‘if’ means we need to travel back a bit in history. Let’s go back couple of decades and see the Personal Computer OS landscape. Microsoft had a ‘native’ 3.1 Windows while Apple was UI based OS and in many ways was ahead of times… Microsoft did put its bits right (explained below) and was able to make sure that it became an undisputed leader in the OS space and continues to be one even today.
Google ‘just’ has to do what MS did with PC OS. But, doing ‘just’ (as referred in the last sentence) requires some great and thought provoking measures both short and long term. Apple OS might sound cool, people may be crazy about it, but a mere 4% use it. 90% still use Windows. Practically everyone uses it!
What MS did on the PC front? ( Or what Android should do)
Create a brilliant ecosystem in addition to its usual offerings:
Come think of it, MS could have sat back and enjoyed what it created in the first place, Windows. It was present on practical every PC, even then in order to ‘retain’ its lead over others it come up with landmarks like MSDN, Visual Studio, WER, MS Office.. just to name a few…
Not just that, it even made us users develop our apps on its platform, hence making us even more dependent
Have an awesome reach: Reach everyone and have them like you (even if not love you)
MS introduced server class OS to supplement its end user offerings, (Windows NT, Server), it made sure that every aspect we called software today on the device was touched by it.
Do best what you are capable of doing (in short, leave the rest to other folks): Companies like Dell, Lenovo develop the laptops/desktop hardware (and hence we get the best of both worlds) ; similarly, best processors are made by Intel/AMD etc. Remember Apple had to finally shift to Intel for processors (from Motorola)
Keep copying Apple’s cool Interface : Apple will remain to be best in providing the best user interface (they have brilliant folks for that), just make sure you copy them and do it fast
Even though you buy a Dell/Lenovo/Acer/Asus laptop, you always get the Windows Logo! Like world has already started to get android logo even when they buy a Sony, HTC or Samsung phone. After few years, there will be tons of companies making just the hardware of the mobile device and all of them will run on a single OS.
Android is the best placed, but it will not be easy for it to win. But one thing is sure, the Winner will have to be follow what Microsoft did [not just on the execution front, but also on the vision and passion front], and as they say, the rest will be history.
