It is an iOS and Android developer world

The dominance of Android and iOS in the mobile landscape is evident. Despite all their efforts, RIM, Microsoft and others are currently only competing for third place. Not surprising at all when you think about it. I think the big question is whether RIM will survive at all. Unfortunately, it doesn't look it.

This chart shows that app developers are increasingly focused on developing for Android and iOS, while other platforms are gradually losing developer support. The problem for RIM and Co. is that they see themselves trapped in a vicious circle: users go where the best apps are and app developers go where the biggest user base (and ultimately the money) is. So for them to turn the tide and claw back market share from iOS and Android will be extremely difficult at best.

Related articles

• Apple's (AAPL) iOS Accounts For 65% Mobile Web Traffic (wallstreetpit.com)


• Why the Latest Version of Apple iOS Is More Important Than Google Android (fool.com)


• Android, iOS and Windows Phone all increased their U.S. smartphone market share (feldmanfile.blogspot.com)


• So long, RIM, and thanks for all the phones (slashgear.com)

Bad news for Windows Phone Development

Market research firms, such as Gartner and IDC, publish estimates of global smartphone shipments on a quarterly basis. While these numbers are very helpful to determine who's currently on top of the smartphone market, there is one other metric that is just as important, if not more. Let's say you're an app developer. Of course you're interested in short term trends, because they give you an idea which platform has a future. But if you want to know if a platform is worth developing for NOW, what's at least as important is the installed base of that platform, i.e. the number of phones that are actually in use at a given point of time.

Former Nokia executive turned consultant Tomi Ahonen has recently published his estimates for the global smartphone market and the message is clear: if you're planning to develop apps for Windows Phone, you might want to think again. Why, Windows Phone has a global installed base of 14 million units. A number ridiculously small compared to Android's 427 million and Apple's 198 million. Even Bada, a low-end operating system pretty much left for dead by Samsung, has a larger installed base than Windows Phone does. So if Microsoft really wants to establish Windows Phone as the "third ecosystem" in the mobile game, the Redmond-based company has a rocky road ahead of it.

This chart shows the global installed base of smartphones at the end of Q2 2012, broken down by operating system.

Related articles

• Smartphone Market Shares Q2 Full Numbers - Samsung and Android solidifying their leads (communities-dominate.blogs.com)


• Global Mobile Smartphone Sales: Samsung Lead the Stats (txt4ever.wordpress.com)


• Windows Phone to surpass BlackBerry in install base (arstechnica.com)