However, from a platform point of view, at the beginning of 2006
As the table above shows Gartner showed that RIM, Palm and HP led in 2005 with Nokia and T-Mobile pulling up the rear. Their answer should have had something to do with the market leaders and participants in 2006. So assuming that today’s smartphones are mostly “data-centric” we would have to look back on their view of that market and not the voice market which was seen as an entirely different thing. So if you asked Gartner in 2006 to forecast smartphones (as we know them now) in 2010, I suppose you’d get what they forecast for “data-centric” devices. The presence or absence of a cellular radio did not enter into their view of these devices. This made some sense from a corporate IT point of view (their primary customer base) as these data-oriented devices would be used either on a LAN or a WAN (Wide Area Networks: what Gartner anachronistically called cellular networks.) To make it more complicated, they bundled non-cellular but Wi-Fi enabled PDAs with wireless PDAs. But even this proxy was not quite enough, sometimes devices were classified whimsically.
#Apple os market share full#
If the device had a full keyboard and/or a stylus-actuated touch screen then it was a two-handed data-oriented device. I suppose they used the primary input method as a proxy: numeric keypads meant the device was one-handed and therefore voice-oriented. The split was mostly based on the judgement of the analyst on whether a device was “voice” or “data” oriented. In other words, in 2006 Gartner was splitting phones with operating systems into two separate markets: data-oriented wireless PDAs and voice-oriented smartphones. A PDA may offer WAN support for voice, but these are data-first, voice-second devices. They offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC. These devices use an open market operating system supported by third-party applications that can be added into the device by end users.
Gartner defines a PDA as a data-centric handheld computer weighing less than one pound that is primarily designed for use with both hands. So I’ll just come out and say it: In 2006 Gartner did not have a clue what a smartphone was. Here is how Gartner characterized the equivalent market in early 2006:
Nokia was in the running with its Communicators.
The reason is because a significant proportion of RIM’s Blackberries counted as wireless PDAs and were therefore considered to compete with Palm’s Treos, HP’s iPaq and Dell’s famous Axim. To see how improbable this prediction is, let’s go back to 2006 and ask what Gartner was forecasting would happen now.įirst thing to note is that in 2006 Gartner was busy tracking PDA sales. Is “other” WebOS, Bada, MeeGo, LiMO? If so they’re in for a healthy future.īut dwelling on details like these is missing the point. These “others” will be selling more than twice what Apple is expected to sell this year. I also noted with amusement that by 2014 “other” is slated to sell 85 million units or nearly 10% share, up from 6.1% in 2009. Via Daring Fireball Linked List: Gartner Predicts Mobile OS Market Share. But why is that necessarily a good thing, given that they’re predicting Symbian will remain in first place? Who thinks Symbian is actually doing well? Nokia’s board sure doesn’t.
#Apple os market share android#
Lots of people apparently think it’s a big deal that Gartner is predicting Android will surpass iOS for second place.