Open-Source Software Implications in the Competitive Mobile Platforms Market

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how open-source software strategies of major mobile platform providers like Apple, Google, and Nokia influence market dynamics, innovation, and developer communities in the evolving mobile industry.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of open-source contributions and strategies of leading mobile platform companies and their implications on market competition and developer ecosystems.

Findings

Open-source components are integral to major mobile platforms.

Open-source strategies influence market share and competitive positioning.

Communities of developers play a crucial role in platform evolution.

Abstract

The era of the PC platform left a legacy of competitive strategies for the future technologies to follow. However, this notion became more complicated, once the future grew out to be a present with huge bundle of innovative technologies, Internet capabilities, communication possibilities, and ease in life. A major step of moving from a product phone to a smart phone, eventually to a mobile device has created a new industry with humongous potential for further developments. The current mobile platform market is witnessing a platforms-war with big players such as Apple, Google, Nokia and Microsoft in a major role. An important aspect of today's mobile platform market is the contributions made through open source initiatives which promote innovation. This paper gives an insight into the open-source software strategies of the leading players and its implications on the market. It first gives a precise overview of the past leading to the current mobile platform market share state. Then it briefs about the open-source software components used and released by Apple, Google and Nokia platforms, leading to their mobile platform strategies with regard to open source. Finally, the paper assesses the situation from the point of view of communities of software developers complementing each platform. The authors identified relevant implications of the open-source phenomenon in the mobile-industry.