[gorilla]

Reading some of the Mac rumours (http://www.looprumors.com/article.php?macworld-rumor-roundup,2681848501), one of them talked about the iphone. But I'll not go there.
Instead, one of the other rumours indicated that Apple were planning to release an OS for mobile devices, Mobile OS X. Now this could and probably will get released by the manufacturers on they're own handsets. But this got me thinking; we already have symbian, Mobile Windows etc so what's to stop us from choosing what OS we want to use on our own mobile phone? We can go out today and buy PC hardware and then choose which OS to install ourselves. Could we one day be able to do this on our phones? Would we want to? Would this be good for the industry?

What do you guys think?

[Ben]

I think Apple will probably keep any mobile flavour of OS X tethered to their own mobile hardware, much as their main OS is tethered to their computers.

I do, however, think the day when handsets can accept multiple operating systems will come, though it may well be the generic nature of Windows Mobile that pushes us in the right direction - it's the one OS that is most likely to encourage handset makers to adopt 'standard' supported specifications that will make it that much easier for third party OS's to become available. At the moment other OS's are very tailored to each specific handset, even within each manufacturers lineup.

[Hands0n]

Mobile Linux is a step in the direction of a generic OS for handsets also .... although without there being a hardware standard I cannot see how one OS will be able to be layered across different architectures without a lot of effort. Maybe a gross extension of the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) will do the job, as in Windows.

I'm rather wary of such supposed advances in the technology. The notion of a mobile phone is becoming more abstract with each passing year. Is this what we really want, or is this what we are being told that we want? Not us, the techno-elite :D but the masses who barely come to grips with anything beyond phone calls and texts; witness the angst the mobile ops are going through to convince them to use the devices for anything else.

A while back I rested their future on the kids of a few years back. Looking at these now-late-teens I think I misplaced my anticipations :rolleyes: I've never seen a healthier set of Luddites. And what of the kids of now? My 12-year-old may well be addicted to the PC/XBox/Gamecube/DS etc. but the notion of a mobile phone for anything more than calls and texts is an anachronism. If his generation carry this forth into teen and then adulthood the mobile ops will have much to cry into their beer about.

[gorilla]

I have to agree, since moving to O2 I only use O2 for calls and texts. My usage of my service provider has dropped significantly. In fact I would say I've taken a step back i.e. I'm nearly always in 2g mode (not my doing BTW). That said, I use my handset for quite a lot e.g. music, ebooks, browsing and email (when I'm in a wi-fi area), the odd game, keeping track of expenses, world time etc.
My point is that my use of the mobile phone is changing. Yes I need it for calls, but calling is not the main reason I have one. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would claim this and as HandsOn states, this should be worrying the operators. Yes ok, they get their line rental, but little else.

I hope one day that we will have the choice of OS on our mobiles, as Ben says, it'll help the development of 3rd party apps. Mobile's that are more 'standard' in the PC way, may also prolong the life of mobiles, ensuring that most people keep them for more than the standard year and we therefore become more environmentally friendly.

[miffed]

I think one of the main things that wins adaptors to Apple over the fact that everything works flawlessly - no driver conflicts etc , I'd guess that this is has a lot to do with to the limited hardware configurations involved - Wheras Windows has to cope with systems made from a "patchwork quilt" of hardware
What I am saying is , selling the OS on its own , Apple would have little control over what hardware it is applied to , so it could be asking for trouble !

^^^^ Does the above make sense to anyone ? I know what I am trying to say ... but not sure I am getting it across :D

[Hands0n]

Been down the pub? have we?? :D Funny thing is I know exactly what you are saying, eloquently old chap. Agreed, too, with the above, we don't need more complexity in the handsets. Just need/want additional functionality, but make it easy and 'diot proof!

[JimmerUK]

I'm not sure if this will become a reality, with users able to install their own choice of OS. Vodafone have already said they'll only be supporting three OSs (http://www.mbmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1362&Itemid=62) over the next fiev years, and I can see that being trimmed down further as time goes on.

[Hands0n]

Yea, it is a fanciful dream - and one that could become a reality if the will were there. But then what would be the point I suppose. Handsets are mere "appliances" and we don't go changing the OS on the microwave oven or suchlike :D

Then again, when the likes of Apple bring out such an awesome OS in the form of their iPhone, who needs/wants to change it?!