Vamien McKalin
China has played an important role in Android's success. The platform at the moment controls little over 80 percent of the market with not a single operating system in sight to slow it down. However, that could all end in the near future as the China Academy of Telecommunication Research for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is moving to adopt other platforms.
The Chinese handset industry is feeling uncomfortable relying too much on Android. So it is looking to adopt other platforms such as Windows Phone, Tizen, and Firefox OS. And that's not all. The industry has called for China to develop its own operating system for use in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
However, according to DigiTime's source, China's own mobile operating system might never happen:
"It will take at least three to five years for a new mobile operating system to become competitive in market, and if China-based companies - such as device vendor Lenovo, Huawei Device, ZTE and Coolpad, and Internet service providers Alibaba and Baidu - only begin to develop own mobile operating systems now, it is already too late to catch up with competitors," DigiTimes reported, citing the sources.
The above statement is very true. It would take years for a home grown operating system to catch on, and years more to overcome Android. Then again, adopting other platforms could be slow, as the handset industry still views Android as an attractive platform that is able to touch various price points.
"However, handset makers believe China-based firms are unlikely to massively adopt other platforms in the short run as Android continues to be the most attractive and mature open platform on the market," DigiTimes reported.
It will be up to the likes of Apple, Firefox, Microsoft, and Nokia to convince China that their respective platforms are good enough. It would take time, but it is definitely possible if planned outt well.
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