The standardisation of mobile operating systems has truly begun as Motorola says all its future devices will have either Windows Mobile or Android as their base system.
It means the manufacturer has cancelled phones due for release this year that were not based on these two and is also a sign that Nokia’s full absorption of Symbian in the summer will most likely reduce that business to a Nokia-only solution. For the mobile industry this is all good.
What it means is that service providers (let’s say Google) and developers (e.g. games people) can begin to focus on building stuff for particular manufacturers rather than for particular operating systems that then need to be adapted for each manufacturer and each handset. The result should be mobile services that are much more usable.
Of course having Windows and Android in the same stable will produce some interesting conversations for Motorola, as well as insight into which system suits which phones. Google and Microsoft are now truly squaring up to each other in mobile. Who are you backing?
