The New Path of Mobility
The cloud bandwagon has got room for the big screen too, with new breeds of OS unlocking its potential in areas like UC and collaboration.
BY DEEPAK KUMAR
The idea of web-based computing
has been around from quite some time now. But with social computing,
consumers have successfully navigated the peripheries of web-based computing and are virtually
knocking at the cores now. And the knock gets harder with the rapid march of the new generation of smartphonesand
the tablet devices.
A new breed of OS is in
With the phenomenal success of the iPhone and Android-based smartphones,
a whole new OS paradigm is emerging. The term OS came into general
circulation with the advent and popularity of computers, but is no longer
limited to the PC territory. Its second dominion has been communications, duly shaped by smartphones.
Armed with more and more powerful processors, the newer smartphones are stepping outside the territory of communications and marching into the realm of computing.
On PCs, Windows still continues to be the only 800-pound gorilla. On smartphones, while Symbian is still the leading OS platform, its position has been challenged by the rapid march of iOS and Android, which have also put BlackBerry on the back foot.
To add to the complexity, the OS is moving beyond PCs and smartphones too. Of late, we have been hearing more and more about the OS entering the realm of audio-visual content, delivered over a new genre of devices called tablets and also over a new breed of high-definition television setsthe new TV. No single OS pervades all three screensof the computer, the smartphone and the new TV.
On the new TV front, neither Windows nor Symbian look set to gain a foothold for now. The biggest buzz here is from Android, especially after the Google TV announcement last year, with Sony, Intel and Logitech partnering.
An OS approach will open up the big screen to a creative breed of application developers, who would be bringing a multitude of applications for the conference room participants, particularly in areas of telepresence, unified communications and collaboration.
As an aside, a key challenge for TV makers, many of whom happen to be
MOBILE COMPUTING
`1,881
Enterprise Mobility market in India is projected to reach
croreby FY 2015-18
Source: Frost&Sullivan
COVER STORY | SEE THE FUTURE
1 6 ITNEXT | MA R C H 2 0 1 1
Cover Story Option 1.indd 16 3/4/2011 5:14:57 PM
Consumers have navigated the peripheries of web-based computing and are virtually knocking at the cores now
PC and smartphone makers too, will be to design an appropriate input device, which should neatly blend the key features of a TV remote and a PC keyboard.
Its brimming with browsers
Not surprisingly, with the knock-knock of the cloud, competition for a greater dominance of browser space has become fiercer than ever before. All major browser developers have clear roadmaps in place and all of them are doing every bit possible to keep users satisfied; so switching over is not an easy decision.
While Firefox has taken away precious usage share from Explorer, many Explorer users hope that the browsers version 9.0, due for release in 2011, will be able to keep them hooked. Likewise, Firefox users can also hope that Mozilla, being an almost pure-play browser company, will be able to better its offering by virtue of a better development focus. Then there is Chrome, which cannot be overlooked with Google behind it.
Meanwhile, Opera is already a preferred browser on mobile phones, though it has not been able to be a dominant player on desktops and notebooks. Then, there are social browsers like RockMelt, Flock and the indigenous contender Epic, which are vying for a piece of the browser action, but havent been able to gain enough traction, partly due to a lack of marketing muscle. Nevertheless, they bring forth a slew of features that could become more mainstream offerings in the leading browsers too.
The social web browsers attempt to better address the needs of a 2.0 generation of internet users by integrating access to popular sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Flock has been in existence since 2005 and was one of the 12 browser options offered to MS Windows users in Europe last year, in response to a European Commission ruling.
In November 2010, the social web browser category gained attention after the news that RockMelt, backed by Marc Andreessen of Navigator and Mosaic fame, had been rolled out with limited beta and early access sign-ups.
Then, there is the feature-rich, intuitive browser, Epic, developed by Bengaluru-based start-up Hidden Reflex. With version 1.2, the browser has made significant improvements since its launch in July 2010. Epics native word processor can be invoked within the browser with one click. Using built-in transliteration, the word processor can be used to produce text in multiple Indian and some foreign languages. The side-bar in the browser prompts a user to open a Facebook or a Twitter side pane, quite intuitively. The side pane can also be used to open a wide range of applications, ranging from YouTube to live TV.
Today, a browser could be competing not just with other browsers but also with a reigning operating system and additionally with some application software. With more and more content and applications moving onto the cloud, browsers have become more central a piece in the overall ICT ecosystem.
The strong competition bodes well for an era of web-based computing an idea whose time is fast approaching.
DEEPAK KUMAR,
Telco Research Director
IDC India
Deepak is a market researcher, specializing in the ICT and Media domains. He has 20 years of experience, of which 10 years have been in the fields of media and market research in the ICT domain. He is widely quoted in the media and is a regular speaker at industry events.
ABOUT EXPERT
Enterprise Mobility Strategy
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
The idea of web-based computinghas been around from quite some time now. But with social computing,consumers have successfully navigated the peripheries of web-based computing and are virtuallyknocking at the cores now. And the knock gets harder with the rapid march of the new generation of smartphonesandthe tablet devices.
A new breed of OS is in
With the phenomenal success of the iPhone and Android-based smartphones,a whole new OS paradigm is emerging. The term OS came into generalcirculation with the advent and popularity of computers, but is no longerlimited to the PC territory. Its second dominion has been communications, duly shaped by smartphones.Armed with more and more powerful processors, the newer smartphones are stepping outside the territory of communications and marching into the realm of computing.
On PCs, Windows still continues to be the only 800-pound gorilla. On smartphones, while Symbian is still the leading OS platform, its position has been challenged by the rapid march of iOS and Android, which have also put BlackBerry on the back foot.
To add to the complexity, the OS is moving beyond PCs and smartphones too. Of late, we have been hearing more and more about the OS entering the realm of audio-visual content, delivered over a new genre of devices called tablets and also over a new breed of high-definition television setsthe new TV. No single OS pervades all three screensof the computer, the smartphone and the new TV.
On the new TV front, neither Windows nor Symbian look set to gain a foothold for now. The biggest buzz here is from Android, especially after the Google TV announcement last year, with Sony, Intel and Logitech partnering.
An OS approach will open up the big screen to a creative breed of application developers, who would be bringing a multitude of applications for the conference room participants, particularly in areas of telepresence, unified communications and collaboration.
As an aside, a key challenge for TV makers, many of whom happen to beConsumers will have navigated the peripheries of web-based computing and are virtually knocking at the cores now.
PC and smartphone makers too, will be to design an appropriate input device, which should neatly blend the key features of a TV remote and a PC keyboard.
In
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