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2005 Mobile Software Stats Released 45

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the how-many-yarks-in-a-mile dept.
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."
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2005 Mobile Software Stats Released More

2005 Mobile Software Stats Released

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  • Yarkstick? (Score:1, Troll)

    by mrseigen ( 518390 )
    Way to copy the first couple sentences of the article there, submitter.

  • This has gone almost too far (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tim_F ( 12524 ) on Monday February 20, 2006 @06:02AM (#14759815)
    Yarkstick?

    Excuse me?

    Editors?

    Could you please at lest proofread the submission? If you aren't going to change the spelling and put an "edited by" addition could you please at least put "(sic)" after the mistake?

    Thanks.

  • My Picks (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rimu guy ( 665008 ) on Monday February 20, 2006 @06:04AM (#14759823) Homepage

    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]

    • Re:My Picks (Score:2, Interesting)

      by donutface ( 847957 )
      Opera supports multiple tabs on windows mobile
      http://www.opera.com/download/mobile/?man=Windows+ Mobile [opera.com]
    • "...I've had to lug around my 12kg Athlon 64 notebook..."

      "With these tools I'm often sorely tempted to leave behind my shoulder breaking laptop..."

      Wow, I know Slashdotters don't have any muscle mass, but you have to be especially noodly armed :)
  • Yeah "mobile software stats" that only includes PDA-like platforms. No mention of the billions of handsets out there which are running MIDP, BREW or similar - surely MIDP platforms are more popular than Palm?
    • Exactly. Modern mobile phones are very capable as application and gaming platforms using Java ME as the API towards third party applications. The operating systems mentioned in the article are in a minority.

  • Slashdot Effect Protection (Score:5, Interesting)

    by DamnedNice ( 955496 ) <admin@damnednice.com> on Monday February 20, 2006 @06:15AM (#14759855) Homepage
    I'll assume everyone here saw the "Welcome Slashdot Visitor!" message. I've never seen an auto-redirect designed to lessen the effect of being Slashdotted. Perhaps we'll see more of this in the future? I tried to copy the URL, close the browsers, flush the cache, and re-open the URL in a different browser (Firefox vs IE) but got the same thing. They're not using the HTTP header info, possibly cookies?

  • Again we are seeing the same thing... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Critical_ ( 25211 ) on Monday February 20, 2006 @06:19AM (#14759867) Homepage
    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 (Score:4, Insightful)

    by BenjyD ( 316700 ) on Monday February 20, 2006 @06:20AM (#14759870)
    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.
    • Palm OS is presumably larger because of the large number of PDA units. Apparently the "study" only targets cellphones (or a subset of the available cellphones rather), not all handheld units.

      I know that when the time came a couple months ago to replace my PalmIIIx that suddenly died, I considered a Treo but settled on a Tungsten T|X since I already had a basic Sharp S25 that was plenty enough for my needs. And the WiFi and large screen were more attractive than having an integrated unit (I'm not much of a c
      • Given the increasing usability of smartphones, I can't see seperate PDAs surviving all that long without some major changes. The main usage of PDA-like devices seems to be mobile email and some document viewing, which are easier on a smartphone - receive email with attachment, open attachment, read, reply.

        It's a long time since I've seen any business type with anything other than a Blackberry, Treo or a UIQ phone of some kind. A few years ago I would see a lot of Palms and PocketPCs, but not any more. This
        • I might be weird in my use of handheld devices but my use is for dayplanning (in sync with my desktop machines), addressbook, and a lot of note taking. The selling point for me in a handheld, as opposed to paper is in backups.

          I absolutely don't want to use it for email or IM because this would lead to the same kind of thing I dislike with the cell phone, i.e. feeling like I'm on a leash.

          I did this years ago for the novelty value of it, but I soon stopped because there was no point. The palm's mail client wa
          • Indeed, calendaring probably is the main usage. Again, though, that's something that can be done pretty easily with a smartphone and Outlook sync.

            At present, I agree that there is a place for separate PDAs, but that market is going to continue to dwindle as the smartphone market grows.
  • Uhh, this is nonsense. None of those are the "top mobile operating systems" as the vast majority of phones run on a very slim RTOS with custom MMI. These are the top 'smartphone' OSes, but who cares about smartphones?
    • I care, you insensitive clod!

      I happen to own an MPx200 Smartphone. It has been one of the best purchases I've ever made, with another being the 1GB SD card for it. Evar had a 1GB MP3 player you can use as a phone, too? Or (if your wallet is so inclined) a mobile that will stream music from the Net? These things are hugely underrated.

      This Has Not Been an Advertisement.
      • Evar had a 1GB MP3 player you can use as a phone, too? Or (if your wallet is so inclined) a mobile that will stream music from the Net? These things are hugely underrated.
        Well i can watch TV on my phone which is slightly cool but not in its current implementation. It is such a waste of resource to stream it over a packet switched network, the sooner proper broadcast decoders get into mainstream handsets the better.
  • I find it hard to believe GPS Navigation software is nowhere in the top 30 list of Symbian of Windows Mobile.
  • I get spam from this Handango place all the time even though I don't own any kind of mobile device. Is slashdot catering to spammers on their front page now?

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