The most common mobile operating systems are: Android from Google Inc. (open source, Apache) BlackBerry OS from RIM (closed source, proprietary) iOS from Apple Inc. (closed source, proprietary) Symbian OS from the Symbian Foundation (open public license) Windows Phone from Microsoft (closed source, proprietary) webOS from HP (certain parts open sourced) Android from Google Inc. (open source, Apache) Android was developed by a small startup company that was purchased by Google Inc. Released on November 5th 2007 Android is an open source, Linux-derived OS backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC, ARM, Samsung, Motorola and eBay, to name a few) Android releases prior to 2.0 (1.0, 1.5, 1.6) were used exclusively on mobile phones. Android 3.0 was a tablet-oriented release and does not officially run on mobile phones. Android releases are nicknamed after sweets or dessert items like Cupcake (1.5), Frozen Yogurt (2.2), Honeycomb (3.0) and Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0). Most major mobile service providers carry an Android device. 1. What is Android? Android is a software platform and an operating system for mobile devices, The first device running Android is T-Mobile G1 officially released on October 22nd 2008. 2. I want to develop for Android. What are the basics I need to know? Android requires knowledge of Java programming language although it allows other programming languages (C C++for example) to be compiled in the native code. This however is not officially supported by Google. You can download SDK and get all the relevant info at http://code.google.com/android/index.html Make sure to checkout Android Developers forum for more tips at http://androidforums.com/a/ and/or share your experience with us. 3. What makes Android different than other platforms available? Android is the first free and open source platform. Unlike others available, it allows third party developers or users to fully access (and modify) source code. More info in the Android Developers forum at http://www.androidforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28%20 4. Which apps are Android core apps? Core apps include an email client, SMS program, calendar, maps, browser, contacts and other. All applications are written using the Java programming language. Also, being an open source project, Android offers developers with full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. “Android OS Build MODEL” for all mobile phones. Acer, Bluelans, CSL, DELL, Garmin, Geek’s Phone, General Mobilev, Highscreen, HKC, HTC, Huawei, i-Mobile, Lenovo, LG Group, Motorola, Qigi, Samsung Group, Sony Ericsson, Tiger, ZTE, Nexian. Many Android OS based phones are releasing day by day and it is really competing with iPhones the most famous and most selling Android Phone is manufactured by HTC. BlackBerry OS from RIM (closed source, proprietary) BlackBerry OS is a proprietary mobile operating system, developed by Research In Motion The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized input devices particularly the trackwheel, trackball, and most recently, the trackpad and touchscreen. Currently Blackberry's App World has over 15,000 downloadable applications. RIM's future strategy will focus on the newly acquired QNX Initial release version - 1.0 for Pager BlackBerry 580; January 1999[2] version 3.6 for smart phone BlackBerry 5810 Wireless Handheld; march 2002[3][4] Latest stable release -7.0 (BlackBerry Bold 9900) / May 2011; 4 months ago Available programming languages(s) - Java Kernel type - Java based iOS from Apple Inc. (closed source, proprietary) The Apple iPhone use an operating system called iOS, which is derived from Mac OS X. Native third party applications after the release of iOS 2.0 on July 11th 2008. Before this, "jailbreaking" allowed third party applications Currently all iOS devices are developed by Apple and manufactured by Foxconn or another of Apple's partners. The iPhone OS uses Apple’s Objective-C language, which can mostly be unravelled by app developers who are already familiar with C and C++. This being more exclusive may become a stumbling block for developers who are not too proficient in other programming languages. Symbian OS from the Symbian Foundation (open public license) Symbian has the largest share in most markets worldwide, but lags behind other companies in the relatively small but highly visible North American market. This matches the success of Nokia in all markets except Japan. In Japan Symbian is strong due to a relationship with NTT DoCoMo, with only one of the 44 Symbian handsets released in Japan coming from Nokia. It has been used by many major handset manufacturers, including BenQ, Fujitsu,LG, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson. Current Symbian-based devices are being made by Fujitsu, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson. Prior to 2009 Symbian supported multiple user interfaces, i.e. UIQ from UIQ Technologies, S60 from Nokia, and MOAP from NTT DOCOMO. As part of the formation of the Symbian OS in 2009 these three UIs were merged into a single OS which is now fully open source. Recently, though shipments of Symbian devices have increased, the operating system's worldwide market share has declined from over 50% to just over 40% from 2009 to 2010. Nokia handed the development of Symbian to Accenture, which will continue to support the OS until 2016. Symbian OS is an open source operating system for mobile phones primarily used on Nokia advanced or data enabled smart phones. Symbian OS runs exclusively on ARM processors and has evolved from Psion's EPOC which was developed as a rudimentary operating system for early electronic organizers. The Psion EPOC OS was refered to EPOC16 beginning in the late 1990's to help distinguish it from the newer 32bit Operating system EPOC32, which eventually became Symbian OS. Psion software created a joint venture with several mobile hardware manufacturers, Ericsson®, Motorola®, and Nokia® called Symbian and eventually took on the name Symbian Software, renaming EPOC32 Symbian OS. The key advantage of EPOC32 over its 16bit predecessor is the ability to multi-task, perform multiple functions at once. In newer devices, this might mean being able to surf the web using the phone and not lose your content when answering an incoming call. Many third party manufacturers were able to license the 32bit EPOC OS for their organizers and other mobile data devices. Since the late 1990's,Symbian OS has become one of the most popular mobile device operating systems available. Several device manufacturers from Nokia® to Sony/Ericsson® have committed to the new and open project that Symbian has announced for its mobile phone operating system, Symbian OS. Wireless carriers such as AT&T® and T-Mobile® have also pledged support for the project. Symbian OS has also adapted to include soft features such as global positioning software (GPS) which will become as common as a camera in the very near future. Service providers and other companies could then publish location based services that interact with the GPS found in a mobile phone, appearing on the display once the user is near an application. In recent years, Microsoft® and Palm® have been the most discussed providers of operating system software for mobile phones, but Symbian has been powering phones for quite some time. The company announced in 2008 that the operating system would become open source very soon, allowing other vendors and even users themselves to add to the already widely established Symbian OS. The support for the much established mobile platform is far and wide, though much of the press lately has centered around Apple's iPhone® and other offerings, including the Google Android™ OS for mobile devices. It will be interesting to see what hardware is developed for use with Symbian OS in the future to compete with phones like the iPhone® and the latest mobile devices from Palm® and Microsoft®. Windows Phone from Microsoft (closed source, proprietary) On February 15th, 2010, Microsoft unveiled its next-generation mobile OS, Windows Phone. The new mobile OS includes a completely new over-hauled UI inspired by Microsoft's "Metro Design Language". It includes full integration of Microsoft services such as Windows Live, Zune, Xbox Live and Bing, but also integrates with many other non-Microsoft services such as Facebook and Google accounts. The new software platform has received some positive reception from the technology press. Microsoft develops one of the best operating system for mobile devices and smart phone which is Windows Mobile. “Windows Mobile 6.5” which is most recent version of the Windows Mobile and Mobile 6.5 is based on CE 5.2 Kernel. More information is given this resource Microsoft develops one of the best operating system for mobile devices and smart phone which is Windows Mobile. "Windows Mobile 6.5" which is most recent version of the Windows Mobile and Mobile 6.5 is based on CE 5.2 Kernel. In this Windows Mobile where suite of basic applications which his feature and this feature developed with Microsoft Windows API. Windows Mobile is designed alike to that of desktop versions of Windows. For the Windows Mobile, third party software development is available. If you want to get software applications you can purchased through the Windows Market place for mobile. Pocket PC 2000 operating system which is most Windows Mobile devices come with a stylus pen because it is used to go through commands by tapping it on the screen. On 15 February 2010 at Barcelona where Mobile World Congress held at that time Microsoft announced a new phone platform which is Windows Phone 7. If you are used Windows Mobile 6.x then you cannot upgrade your mobile operating system to version 7.