Is Windows 8
a threat to Android?
It has been
almost a year since I wrote Google
is winning smart phone war but things have changed since
then. Google is losing
the Tablets war and it may be too late to come back.
Today, there are several bigger players involved.
OK, let's look back for a moment. When you think
about building an app, you think about one or more of these three platforms –
Apple iOS, Google Android, and Microsoft Windows Phone. As you can see all of
these players are big players. While Apple products and iOS are very popular,
Google's Android leads the market with the most activated devices. Microsoft is
still a child and playing a catch-up game with Apple and Google.
However, the equation of mobile development
platforms has changed in the last 6 months or so. There has been an introduction
of a new wild card, HTML 5. While Apple is not taking too much interest in HTML
5, Google and Microsoft are luring HTML 5 in a big way. Microsoft has its
reasons. Microsoft needs HTML 5 to get some grip on the mobile market. While
Google has built many tools and websites focusing on HTML including HTML 5
Rocks, Microsoft has taken a totally new approach. Microsoft seems to have
integrated HTML 5 development as its core development platform for Windows 8.
Since the
launch of the Windows 8 consumer preview on Feb 29, the more I learn and read
about Windows 8, the greater I am impressed. I kind of
begin to see a clear picture of what Microsoft is trying to do with Window 8
and Metro Style apps. It's a different story if it will
succeed or not. Microsoft is not only building a single-operating-system-for-all
but also planning to use a single platform to build all device apps. Metro apps
can be the single answer to all of Microsoft's development problems and an
answer to Apple's growing iOS. Metro style apps (either using XAML or HTML 5)
can be built to target all PCs, Tablets and smartphones.
I have also
seen more and more activity on C# Corner with Windows 8 discussions, blogs and contents. It is too
early to say how successful Windows 8 and Metro Style apps will be but I kind
of like the concept. All I have to do is, learn a single programming framework
and maintain a single code base to target PCs, Web, Tablets and mobile. At
least this sounds good in theory.
Alright!
Let's take a step back. Let's think about today; what we have as mobile
operating systems.
In today's
Web OS world, there are three major players. Apple has iOS, Microsoft has Windows Phone and Google has Android. Android leads the market with Android OS users and active devices. Below
Google and Apple iOS, Microsoft has Windows Phone. Windows Phone is a new born
child in the mobile iOS hangout.
So what
changes with Windows 8 in the mobile space? Well, a lot.
Windows 8 – Operating System for All
Windows 8
seems to be the ultimate operating system for all PCs, Tablets and mobile
devices. From Microsoft's perspective, rather than running and managing
multiple operating systems, it makes total sense to just run the same operating
system on every device. But we are not done yet. Think about 5 years down the
road when every PC (alright maybe not every but the majority) will be running
Windows 8. Now if I am a Windows 8 user and get a new Android device, I will
need to learn a different interface. But if I am getting a new Tablet or phone
with Windows 8, I am already familiar with the interface.
The same
applies to Apple. Apple Mac users are already accustomed to seeing and touching
the Apple OS on their Mac so when they get a new iPhone or iPad, they are
already familiar with it.
So that
leaves Google nowhere. Google has no operating system for PCs.
Microsoft's Nokia Relationship
However,
Microsoft raised eyebrows when Microsoft announced a partnership with Nokia and
gave Nokia $1 billion dollars. Today, that $1 billion dollar investment is
paying off. All new Nokia devices are loaded with the Windows Phone operating
system. I guess Nokia is not dead yet. Nokia still owns the major market share
of mobile devices in the world. As a matter of fact, Nokia dominates both the European
and Asian markets with over ??% of market share.
Tablets and
smart device manufacturers have already started building Windows 8 tablets. I
am also assuming that all Nokia devices (tablets and mobile phones) running the
Windows Phone operating system will also be running the Windows 8 operating system.
Microsoft quits Windows Phone
Does that
mean Microsoft will abandon Windows Phone? I would say so. It will depend on how
Tablet users adapt to Windows 8. That means Windows Phone developers should be
ready to trash their experience and start learning Windows 8. This sounds
familiar since Silverlight developers will have to trash their experience as well and learn something new. The
good thing for Windows Phone and Silverlight developers is that the migration
will be easy and simple. Even though HTML 5 is becoming more and more popular and useful, XAML will still be the scripting language and Visual Studio 11 will still be
there.
Microsoft Cloud
We have heard
about Google TV and Apple TV. How about Microsoft TV? How about Xbox? With the
help of SkyDrive and the Windows Store, Microsoft is planning to share a PC's
(or device's) data from anywhere using any device including a PC, a Tablet, a
mobile phone and an Xbox console. While Apple may seem to have everything else
but Xbox but Google has no operating system for PCs. Google has no Xbox. Google
does not rule the PC world. All Google is trying to control is its PC customers
using Chrome and Gmail. Alright may be Google+ but that's a long shot.
The Verdict
At the end of
the day, it will depend on the success of Windows 8. If Windows 8 is adopted
well by PC users, Microsoft may have a chance to gain some market share from
Google in the mobile operating system market.