Developping for Windows Mobile?
by Joost van der Schee, februari 2008
When developing applications for the mobile market, these are (besides web applications) applications for smartphones. Smartphones have operating software which allows third parties to develop and install software they create themselves. Similar to the PC market, there a multiple operating systems for smartphones. Logically it is best to develop applications for the most popular operating system in the market.
Therefore, the question that every mobile developer is questioning himself is: “For which mobile operating system should we develop our applications?”
There is a simple answer to this question: "Dont ask yourself this question, but build a web based application.” A web applications is not dependant on one operating system and is likely to become the standard of the future. However, currently a web based application is not an option for its lack of performance due to technical reasons. Therefore it is good to look at the market of mobile operating systems in order to see which operating system is best to develop for.
Click on the image to zoom in (Source: Canalys)
The data in the figure above reveal that Symbian, the operating system developed and used by Nokia is currently leading the market. Apple has taken a part of the market in a very short amount of time with its iPhone. Based on these data it seems that Symbian is the system to go for in the mobile market, but is this the right choice? This totally depends on the target audience.
Mid-range or high-end
Contrary to its competitors, Symbian is also installed on a large amount of mid-range smartphones. These are products with large sales figures, but have a small display, lacks GPS capabilities and has no touch screen. Approximately 85% of all Symbian phones available in Europe are in this category. As some critics say:
"Nokia does somehow 'fake' the Smartphone sells just by giving nearly all their mid- to upperclass phones S60." DanielW
What these critics mean is the market for high-end smartphones: A smaller market with less sales, but higher margins and growth potential in mature markets. In this market, which is sometimes also called the mobile computer market, Symbian holds a much smaller market share.
Below there is a small selection of Nokia phones using the Symbian operating system. Only the 'Nokia N95' is a high-end smartphone, while the rest clearly are mid-range smartphones.
Nokia 5500 Sport Nokia 6290 Nokia E50 Nokia N93i
Nokia N95
These mid-range smartphones mostly lack a built-in GPS systems. It is to be expected though that in the near future these mid-range phones will also get GPS functionality. So, when developing location based software for mid-range smartphones, Symbian offers a large potential market, as it almost is the exclusive provider in this market.
However, when developing complex mobile applications, the small screens lacking touch screen capabilities, force you to focus on the high-end smartphone market. This market is a whole different ballgame.
America = high-end
Of course it is interesting to look at these figures per geographical region. We have estimated that 85% of the Symbian-products in Europe are mid-range, while the competition almost solely offers high-end products. Lets assume all Symbian products are equally popular (in reality, the mid-range products are far more popular than the high-end products). This results in figure below, in which EMEA[1] is the total smartphone market in Europe. EMEA[2] is the estimated high-end markt in Europa, in which the market share of Symbian is questionable, for the reasons mentioned earlier.
Click on the image to zoom in (Source: Canalys)
When looking at the rest of the world (ROW), we can see that the market share of the iPhone is almost entirely caused by its success in North America. Also, it is clear that Symbian with its many mid-range products, has not gained the dominant position it has in the rest of the world. It seems the North American market is largely focused on high-end smartphones.
Click on the image to zoom in (Source: Canalys)
Although based on some assumptions, these figures provide a more realistic overview of the high-end market. These figures make the market for Windows Mobile products look very interesting. Of course there a strong product-concepts like the iPhone and Blackberry, but the question is whether they have the strength to fight behemoths like Microsoft and Google.
2008: A year of change?
In 2008 the mobile operating system created by Google, Android, is expected to be launched. According to analystis this could be the new star in the mobile operating systems market, and could claim a large amount of market share. Furthermore, the iPhone will be launched to a large part of the European public in 2008. Will it be as succesfull as it was in America? It is clear that 2008 will be a very important year for the mobile market, and that this is the new market in which the large companies expect their growth to come from in the near future.
Conclusion
It is clear that when you are developing for mid-range smartphones, you choose for Symbian. They are market leader, and almost sole provider in this market.
When you choose to develop more complex applications for high-end smartphones for the European en North-American markets, the situation is different. Currently, Windows Mobile seems to have the second largest marketshare behind RIM’s Blackberry. Strong product-concepts like Blackberry, and which will also include iPhone, currently have a large market share. However, it is very questionable if these companies have the power to compete with Microsoft and Google for this market. It is clear that these companies take this market very seriously, and will be able to invest incredible amounts of money in order to gain market share. Therefore, Windows Mobile seems to be a solid choice.