Monday, August 3, 2009
Is Android Killing Windows Mobile?
Posted by Jon Westfall in "Pocket PC Talk" @ 01:30 PM
"Like upstart HTC, a long-time Windows Mobile loyalist, Motorola is focusing its development resources behind Google's Android OS. Both HTC and Motorola are developing their own user interfaces for Android, which indicates their seriousness about Google's mobile platform. I wonder if this is going to be a trend that's going to spread. From what I've heard, everyone from Lenovo and Huawei to Dell to Samsung are betting on Android. These companies would have been partners of Microsoft in the past."
I have a confession to make: I own two Android devices. Yes, it's true I still own more Windows Mobile devices than Android, but my daily drivers as of late have been a G1 and a MyTouch 3G. While I'd like to say my sole reason for doing this is to think of ways to help Windows Mobile developers, users, and enthusiasts get more from their devices (a.k.a. from snooping on the competition), that's not my sole reason. I also think they generally are more fun to use, and have a pretty interesting user community growing up around them. I'm not jumping ship, but from my perspective, I can see why articles like the one quoted above are published. Android, something I think many of us dismissed as a toy about a year ago, seems to be fast growing as a force in the mobile handset community. How bad is this for Windows Mobile?