OK, I’m really pleased that Linux does so well in the mobile phone space. I’m very happy to see Google’s Linux-powered Android phone make its first appearance. But, come on, who buys a phone for its operating system?
I know some people disagree with me. ABI Research director Kevin Burden, for example, said “Today’s unveiling of the T-Mobile G1, the first mobile phone based on the Android platform from the Google-spawned Open Handset Alliance (OHA), may be the beginning of a significant movement towards a situation in which a majority of mobile phones will run a high-level operating system, rather than the variety of real-time operating systems currently powering more than 85% of the world’s mobile phones.”
That’s all fine and dandy, but I’ll bet that most people still buy phones because of the plan price than any other single factor. Of course, there is the one exception: the Apple iPhone. We love the iPhone, problems and all.