There may be more than 3 mobile Operating system available. But I would just take the heavy weight ones of the current Market.

1) The Symbian Os
2) The Linux Os
3) The Windows Os

Palm Os and Os X from apple are yet to prove their potential & they have the former 3 as their great competitors.

Very recently, I came across the Linux Powered Nokia N800 and was pretty impressed with the model. The phone runs on a customized Linux Maemo software which was developed by the Debian and Gnome technologies. The functionalities of N800 were amazing. The user could browse the Internet, read RSS feeds, send and receive e-mail, play music and videos, and make Internet phone calls using Google Talk. It also can transmit live video during phone calls via a built-in camera. Internet connection can be established via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or by using a broadband-capable cell phone as a modem. Basically, N800 is feature rich with some missing basic functions.

Let’s look at how the Linux OS as deployed on the N800 compares in functionality with the Symbian OS and Windows mobile OS.

Customizing the N800 was very easy as the users could just log in to the Maemo website and download free applications for the phone. It just took a single click to download and install applications on N800. But this easiness of use is not going to count in the Asian Markets. People would never spend time in downloading and installing applications on their phones (except a few). They would expect all the functionalities to be built in. So, The N800 faces serious competition from its rivals.

Windows Mobile

Everyone of us is familiar to many windows softwares but this doesn’t really count when it comes to windows mobile as it is a separate piece of Microsoft software specially designed for smart phones. Windows mobile comes built in with all the basic functionalities unlike the Linux powered phones. Once out of the Box, the windows mobile is on the roll. Browsing the web, sending Emails, capturing videos, calenders, spreadsheet and many more functions makes the phone truly smart. Mulitimedia functions stands out in windows mobile. Streaming and downloading video or audio to a Windows Mobile device from the Internet doesn’t require any additional software or settings. Windows Mobile can also play WMA and WMV formats, which are commonly used by media companies. Thus making windows mobile a strong contender in the domain.

Symbian OS

Symbian OS is owned by an association of cell phone manufacturers that has specifically targeted the platform for smart phones. Interestingly, Symbian is, by far, the most widely used platform for smart phones worldwide, although it has yet to catch on in the U.S. despite the availability of some nice devices like the Nokia E62.
A Symbian-based device is ready for action as soon as it comes out of the box. Telephone, messaging and Internet access features are the key virtues in most Symbian OS devices. The OS provides three alternative user interfaces while Windows Mobile keeps the choices to one. The user interface customized by the device manufacturer. The user can modify the system graphics, colors and sounds but can’t customize or change the underlying software.
The integration of multimedia capabilities in Symbian OS/S60, however, has to improve. There’s nothing wrong with individual components that let you view videos or listen to music, but the lack of integration between the media player and other applications can be a bit annoying when trying to stream video or music from the Internet.

All the above mentioned OS have their competitive advantages. By contrast, Linux devices tend to be more bare-bones out of the box, but you can customize and upgrade easily and, typically, for free.
It all comes down to user needs and skills. If you are a tech-savvy person who enjoys spending extra time with new electronic devices, examining their options, looking for support from the Internet and customizing features, you are a strong candidate for a Linux device.

If vendors can leverage the ability to customize Linux devices with the ease of setup found with Symbian OS and Windows Mobile devices, Linux could easily get on to the top as a mainstream mobile platform.

The Question is- Which Platform to choose?

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Filed under: Mobile & Telecom