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Google’s Android and Mobile Linux Report 2008
A Google-led Initiative to Reshape the Mobile Market Environment
Google have launched the Android mobile operating system. The announcement was welcomed across large sections of the mobile industry, however, the future prospects for this new Linux-based platform and for the shape of the mobile industry have been frequently called into question. When Google begin to offer mobile systems, the market must take notice.
Prior to the November 2007 announcement, rumors of the G-phone circulated around the telecoms and online multimedia markets, ignited by US Patent applications lodged by Google for mobile telephony-related technologies. Then finally in early November 2007, Google unveiled Android and announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, a standards body focusing on the new platform which featured 34 companies at the time. Among these companies are mobile operators, application developers and technology-agnostic handset manufacturers, a formal precursor to the thriving mobile ecosystem which Google hopes will organically grow around the Android platform.
Armed with Android’s open-source components, Google is counting on this potential mobile ecosystem to facilitate unprecedented proliferation in mobile online content and applications. From Google’s perspective, innovation and scalability in content and applications has been held back by the current ecosystem underpinned by MNOs and platforms such as Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry. In the desktop online world, content and applications form the lifeblood of web traffic which fuels the online advertising market. Google hopes to replicate this for the mobile space while addressing a key factor in consumer web adoption: user experience.
By reading the latest visiongain report, Google’s Android and Mobile Linux find out how Google:
- Has applied its trusted business models to gain dominant and highly profitable footholds in the desktop Web search and advertising markets
- Plans to leverage Android in order to fully extend those same business models into the mobile space
- Is aiming to build foundations in technology standards to effectively liberate mobile online content and applications on a global scale over the long term
- This report is essential for actors in the mobile telecoms business, both established and aspiring, as it provides insight into Qualcomm’s highly productive business strategy and illustrates how businesses in the telecoms industry can position themselves and their products to capitalise on Android-derived opportunities if and when they materialise. If you are working with Google, or want to collaborate with the company and the OHA, or are pitted against it in your market segment you need to know how this player will move forward.
Ignoring this company and this report is not an option. Are you involved in Android and open source? Should you be? How can you compete with Android? Should you be worried about Google’s continued involvement in mobile technology and applications?
This visiongain report is the single tool to equip you with the latest trends in all regional markets and why open source developments continue. Visiongain recommends this astute report to the major players in the field as it will arm you with the information to make key decisions for your company. You mut be informed of these exciting developments.
Unique benefits to you when you order this report:
- Primary research throughout. You will not find this information anywhere else
- Report stored in your reading room for ever
- Full searchable report when you buy the company or corporate editions
- Copies can be printed off for offline reading
- Packed with charts, analysis, figures, graphs and tables
You should read this report today. Contact me now to order your copy.
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Visiongain Ltd.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Changing Contexts within the Mobile Communications Business
Chart 1.1 Rate of Mobile Data Revenue Growth
1.2. Emerging Priorities within the Operator, Content and Handset Domains
1.3 Shifting Business Models
2. Executive Summary
2.1 Android: The Next Pillar of Google's Business Strategy?
2.2 The Open Handset Alliance and the Unveiling of Android
2.3 Android and Linux Standardisation
2.4 The Immediate Future
2.5 Focus of the Report
3. Linux - the Open-Source Technology
3.1 Origin of Linux
Figure 3.1 Structure of an Operating System
3.1.1 Linux: The Free OS
3.2 The Initial Fight for Acceptance
3.2.1 Adaptability of Linux
3.3 Availability of Linux
3.4 Linux: Open Source Code
3.4.1 Formal Rules
3.4.2 Informal Rules
3.5 Roots of Linux
3.6 Popularity of Linux and its users
3.6.1 Where is Linux being used?
3.6.1.1 Linux Applications
3.6.1.1.1 Internet Servers
3.6.1.1.2 Desktop
3.6.1.1.3 Computation Server
3.6.1.1.4 Mail / Groupware Servers
3.6.1.1.5 Network Box
3.6.1.1.6 PDA
3.6.1.1.7 Smartphones
3.6.1.1.8 The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Scheme
Figure 3.2. The OLPC XO-1
3.6.1.1.8.1 Linux-based OS selected for the OLPC XO
3.6.1.1.8.2 Alternative $100 PC Projects
Figure 3.3. TU-40
Figure 3.4. Intel Classmate PC
3.7 Linux: the Issue of Platform Fragmentation
3.7.1 Debian-based Distributions
Table 3.1. Debian-based Linux Distributions
3.7.1.1 Knoppix-based
Table 3.2. Knoppix-based Distributions
3.7.1.2 Ubuntu-based
Table 3.3. Ubuntu-based Distributions
3.7.2 Gentoo-based
Table 3.4. Gentoo-based Distributions
3.7.3 RPM-based
3.7.3.1 Fedora-based
Table 3.5. Fedora-based Distributions
3.7.3.2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based
Table 3.6. Red Hat Enterprise-based Distros
3.7.3.3 Other RPM-based
Table 3.7. Other RPM-based Distros
3.7.4 Slackware-based
Table 3.8. Slackware-based Distros
3.7.4.1 SLAX-Based
Table 3.9. SLAX-based Distros
3.7.5 Other Uncategorised Distributions
Table 3.10. Other Uncategorised Distributions
4. Mobile Linux
4.1 The Increasing Popularity of Mobile Linux
4.1.1 Mobile Linux Adoption in 2007
Chart 4.1. OS Embedded Smartphone Design Wins, Q3 2007
4.2 Barriers to Wider Mobile Linux Adoption
4.3 Mobile Linux Standardisation Initiatives
4.3.1 The LiMo Foundation
4.3.2 Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum
Figure 4.1. LiPs Positioning among OS Consortia
4.3.3 Mobile Linux Initiative
4.3.4 Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF)
4.3.5 Android: Providing Greater Scope for Inter-Alliance Harmonisation
4.4 Mobile Linux SDKs
4.4.1 Qtopia/Qtopia Phone Edition
Table 4.1. Qtopia Devices
Figure 4.2. The Qtopia Greenphone
4.4.2 GPE
4.4.3 Hildon/Maemo
Figure 4.3. Maemo Software Stack
4.4.4 OpenMoko
Figure 4.4. Neo1973
4.4.5. MontaVista
4.5 Android poised to pre-empt and take mobile Linux forward
5. The Global Handset OS Markets
5.1 Mobile Phone Usage
Chart 5.1 Global mobile subscriber growth 2007-2012
5.2. The Impetus for Mobile Phone Upgrades/ Replacement Cycles
Chart 5.2. 3G Reported Global Subscribers, July 2002-July 2007
5.3. Adoption of New Technologies
5.4. Increased Mobile Data Usage
Chart 5.3. Global Mobile Data Revenue Growth 2007-2012
5.4.1 Increase in Mass-Market Devices
Chart 5.4. 3G Handset Penetration, Western Europe
Chart 5.5. Smartphone shipments as a percentage of total handset shipments
5.4.2 Growth of 3G services (pre-2006)
5.4.3 Evolving Business Models spur Anticipated Adoption
Chart 5.6. Growth in UK Mobile Internet Users, May 2006-October 2007
5.4.4 Barriers to Greater Mobile Web-enabled Service Adoption
Chart 5.7. Handset OS Market Share, January-November 2007
5.5. A Changing Equipment Market
5.6. Handset Markets by Device Operating System.
6. Mobile Devices
6.1 Handset Architecture
6.1.1 Layers and Functions of Mobile Device
Figure 6.1. Operating Systems Architecture for Handsets
6.2 Types of Mobile Handsets
6.2.1 Low End Handsets
6.2.2 VAS and Multimedia Handsets
6.2.3 Smartphones
6.2.4 Wireless PDA
Table 6.1 Comparison between Main Device Types
6.3 The Mobile Device Software
Figure 6.2 Positioning and relative market size of handset OS
6.3.1 The OS Options
6.3.1.1 Proprietary OS for Mobile Devices
6.3.1.1.1 Examples of Proprietary OS for Mobile Devices
6.3.1.1.1.1 GEOS
6.3.1.1.1.2 Research in Motion (RIM) OS
6.3.1.2 The Problems with the Proprietary OS
6.3.1.3 User Interface
6.3.2. User Interface (UI)
6.3.3 Open OS for the Mobile Devices
6.3.3.1 Symbian
6.3.3.1.1 Symbian OS Versions 9.2
6.3.3.1.2 The Symbian Strategy Going Forward
6.3.3.1.3. Symbian's Competitive Advantage
6.3.3.1.4. Symbian: Consortium Members
Figure 6.3. Symbian Ownership Structure
6.3.3.1.5 Symbian and its Licensees
Figure 6.4. Symbian Licensing Partners
6.3.3.1.6 Challenges facing Symbian
6.3.3.2 Palm OS
6.3.3.2.1. Palm's Competitive Advantage
6.3.3.2.2. Keeping Up With Competition
6.3.3.3 Microsoft Windows Mobile
6.3.3.3.1 New Software Releases
6.3.3.3.2 Microsoft Customises
6.3.3.3.3 Criticism of the Microsoft OS
6.3.3.3.4 Competitive Advantage
6.3.3.3.5 Challenges facing Microsoft
6.3.3.3.6 Motorola Embraces Microsoft
6.3.3.4 Apple OS X: Optimised for the iPhone
6.4. The Mobile OS Competitive Landscape
6.4.1 Symbian Market Leadership
6.4.2 Microsoft: PC Business Dominance Replication Unwanted
7. Android: A Utopian Open-Source Vision from Google
7.1 The Google Motivation for Entry into the Mobile Business
7.1.1 The Quest to Expand its Proven Business Models
7.1.2 Eradicating Perceived Barriers
7.2 The 2005 Acquisition of Android by Google
7.3 The Open Handset Alliance: the Formal Android Project
7.3.1 An Open Initiative: Emphasising Inclusion over Exclusion
7.3.2 Overcoming OS Market and Platform Fragmentation
7.3.3 Targeting the Mass Market
7.3.4 Bringing Key Players on Board
7.3.5 Competing against Symbian and Windows
Chart 7.1. OS Market Share for all Devices 2007
Chart 7.2. Handset Market Share, Q3 2007
Chart 7.3. Smartphone Share of All Handset Shipments, 2004-2012
7.3.6. OHA-aligned Handset Manufacturers
Chart 7.4. Global Handset Market Share Q3 2007
7.3.6.1 HTC
Figure 7.1. HTC Touch Dual
7.3.6.2 Motorola
7.3.6.3 Samsung
Chart 7.4. Global Handset Market Share Q3 2007
7.3.6.4. LG Mobile
8. Android: The Cross-Platform Technology
8.1. Android Open Source Architecture
8.1.1 Breakdown of Architecture
Figure 8.1. The Android Software Stack
8.2. Components
8.2.1 Linux Kernel
8.2.2 Application Framework
8.2.3 Libraries (C/C++ libraries)
8.2.4 Android Runtime: The Dalvik Virtual Machine
8.3 More on Android's Core Applications and the Potential Android Roadmap
8.3.1 Integrated WebKit Browser
Figure 8.2. Nokia S60 Browser Architecture based on WebKit
8.3.2 User Interface
Fig 8.3. Android GUI
8.3.2.1 Insufficient Guidance for Android UI Development
8.3.2.2 Graphics Rendering
Fig 8.4. Android Mapping GUI
Fig 8.5. Android Browser Home Page
Fig 8.6. Android Date Widget
Fig 8.7. Satellite Image on Android
8.3.3 PacketVideo Multimedia Library
Table 8.1. PacketVideo Media Formats and Protocols
8.4 Open Standards versus Operator Lockdown
8.5 Security
8.5.1 Android: Overcoming the Open-Source Security Risk?
8.6 Development
8.7 Conclusion: Android as a Platform and its Implementation
9. The Google Online Business
9.1 Google's Core Business Model
9.2 Current Business Strategy
9.2.1 An Effective Business Approach
Chart 9.1. Google Revenue Growth 2002-2007
Chart 9.2. Google Annual Rate of Revenue Growth
Chart 9.3. Google Quarterly Financials, 2007
Table 9.1. Google Revenue Sources
9.2.1.1 Google's Advantage in Web Search
9.2.1.2 Google AdWords
9.2.1.3 Google AdSense
9.2.1.4 Web-based Mapping and Location Services
9.2.1.4.1 Google Earth
9.2.1.4.2 Google Maps
9.2.1.5 YouTube
Chart 9.4 Growth in YouTube Page Views, 2006-2008
Figure 9.1 YouTube Web Page
9.2.1.6 Google Checkout
9.2.1.7 Acquisition of DoubleClick
9.2.1.7.1 DoubleClick: Increased Market Leverage for Google
9.2.1.8 Rich Web Applications from Google
9.2.1.8.1 Gmail
9.2.1.8.2 Google Docs
Fig 9.2. Google Docs Spreadsheets
9.3 Google Mobile Background
9.3.2 Google and Participation in the US 700MHz Spectrum Auction
9.3.2.1 Google Proposes Licence Conditions to the FCC
Fig. 9.3. Licensed Areas in the 700MHz Bands Up For Auction
9.3.3 Google Mobile Internet and Image Search
Fig 9.4 Mobile Search Page
Fig 9.5 Google Image Search on the iPhone
9.3.3.1 Google Mobile AdSense
9.3.3.2 Mobile AdWords
9.3.4 Google Maps on Mobile
Figure 9.6. Google Maps Mobile
9.3.4.1 Google Maps versus GPS on Mobile Handsets
9.3.5 YouTube Mobile
9.3.6 Mobile Gmail
9.3.7 Google Checkout Mobile
9.3.7.1 GPay
Figure 9.7. GPay Merchants Web Interface
Figure 9.8. GPay WAP Form
Figure 9.9. GPay SMS Notification
9.3.8 Google Product Search for Mobile
9.3.9. Investment in developing the .mobi domain
9.4 Android: Bringing down Barriers to Entry for Google services into Mobility
9.4.1 Android: Furthering the Google Advertising Model into Mobile
9.4.2 Android: Control over the Platform, Customisation and Downloadable Applications
9.4.3 Android: A Mobile Platform for Google Desktop Rich Web Applications
10. Conclusions: Impacts and Implications
10.1 Potential Conflicts within the OHA
10.1.1 eBay/PayPal versus Google Checkout/GPay
10.1.1.1 Positioning as a Crucial Factor between eBay and Google
10.1.2 Skype versus Google Talk
10.2 Smart Terminal versus Dumb Pipe
10.3 The Immediate Future
10.4 Standardisation and Overcoming Risks to User Experience
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