2005 Mobile Software Stats Released

An anonymous reader writes "PalmInfoCenter is reporting that Handango has released their 2005 Year End edition of the Handango Yarkstick. This is a general report on the mobile content industry including specifics from five of the top mobile operating systems; Blackberry, Palm OS, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile Pocket PC and Smartphone. The site also offers a comparison and look back at 2004's numbers for comparison. A copy of the original report [PDF] can be found on Handago's website."

My Picks

[rimu guy]

I manage a bunch of Linux servers. When out and about I've had to just rely on whomever else was on call to respond whenever there is a problem. Or I've had to lug around my 12kg Athlon 64 notebook then head for the nearest phone plug and desk whenever there was a page.

Recently, (ok it was an xmas present to myself) I picked up a PPC HTC Apache [telecom.co.nz]. It runs WM5.

I've loaded it up with a few choice pieces of software to help get me the tools I need to manage or assist with pretty much any issue that would arise. Those apps include:

• Pocketty [dejavusoftware.com] for ssh2 (twisted their arm to give me a beta, I wish they'd take my money...)
• agile messenger [agilemobile.com] for IM (we co-ordinate between staff and communicate with customers via IM). IM beats sms for brief conversations any day.
• an imap client - using the one provided with WM5 for now. It handles the inbox and sending. I haven't managed to get it to display the contents of other folders yet.
• sms alerts (using the standard messaging software on the phone)
• IE for browsing - but no tabs (in fact only one open page at a time), and poor enough javascript support that ajax-based websites aren't a happening thing.

With these tools I'm often sorely tempted to leave behind my shoulder breaking laptop in favor of slipping the 200g HTC into my pocket when day tripping somewhere.

Now if only I could get tabbed web browsing, a 1024x768 screen, and a touch typable keyboard that then laptop could be relegated to being a dedicated Age of Mythology client for the kids.

--
Got yourself your own Linux server yet? [rimuhosting.com]

Again we are seeing the same thing...

[Critical_]

It's funny because every time I look at these sorts of stats, it leads me to conclude that PDA users want more multimedia and productivity applications while laptops users want smaller and longer lasting systems. It seems like everyone is pushing towards items like the OQO [oqo.com], CPC [dualcor.com], and Flipstart [flipstartpc.com] since they can run the big software applications people are accustomed. The problem seems to be the interface. The miniaturized PC-to-the-size-of-a-PDA concept is flawed because most programs these days are optimized for usability studies conducted with the mindset of the HIDs being keyboards and mice. This is one of the many reasons sales of the OQO haven't skyrocketed and tablet PCs really haven't taken off. So why can't we get software design houses revamp their application interfaces? Maybe the CPC [dualcor.com] guys have the right idea for the software and battery technology available when they want a tiny system with both the ability to run XP and Windows Mobile. Personally, I think the idea is a clunky hack until developers start designing interfaces for both keyboard/mouse and pen input. Maybe by then we'll have great battery technology that will give us a days worth of power on a single charge.

Good year for Handango

[BenjyD]

Another good year for Handango, raking in their 40% commision.

I wish they would give a little more detail on the OS breakdown: in my experience, the PalmOS market is still many times larger than the Symbian market, despite the presence of the p910 at number 2 in the revenue table.