According to latest statistics, as of the end of June, 2011, the number of mobile internet users in China was 318 million, 14.94 million more than the number at the end of 2010, 65.5 percent of total internet users. The mobile internet is evolving into a thriving phenomenon. "Application is the king" is the important reason that mobile internet has been developing vigorously. User-friendlier and more energy-efficient smart phone operating systems, faster mobile phone internet explorers, and all kinds of clients in app stores have all made their contribution.
With mobile internet terminals such as smart phones and tablet computers becoming more and more popular, software improvement enables internet users to better surf the internet. Besides Apple's iOS, are there any other good mobile phone operating systems? Are there any other smart phone operating systems with higher degree of localization? What apps that internet users have been accustomed to use have been put on the mobile internet seamlessly? This issue of "Happy E-era" will answer all these questions.
For smart phones, the quality of apps decides two things: first, the usefulness of your mobile phone; second: the extensive capability of your mobile phone. The first thing is determined by the quality of the operating system, and the second depends on how many developers are willing to give their service and wisdom to this operating system.
In terms of smart phone operating systems, the most popular OS currently are Apple's iOS, Google's Android, and the conventional Symbian and Windows phone OS. The first two are the mainstream smart phone OS on the market now. In comparison, Android overcomes almost all iOS' "bad tempers". Android supports multithreading tasking. You can pose a Weibo, listen to music, and chat on QQ, all at the same time; it supports mini USB interface. You can connect an Android phone to your computer with an ordinary cable, and transfer files between the phone and your computer like you do on a portable hard drive, without using Apple's exclusive iTunes. On the other hand, however, Android is notorious for its energy consumption. Although significant improvement in this regard has been made with the introduction of Android 2.3 (for example, the energy consumption of GPS on Android 2.3 is 1/10 of that on Android 2.2), the standby duration of Android-powered large-screen smart phones is still an unavoidable issue.
Innovations of domestic mobile phone OS
Compared to iOS, Android is an open-source mobile phone OS based on the Linux platform. Its logo is a green robot. One of Android's most prominent features is that it allows other developers to modify it in accordance with local requirements. This is a breakthrough point for domestic mobile phone OS.
A few days ago, Xiaomi Technology announced its new mobile phone in Beijing. The MI phone carries the MIUI operating system developed by the company independently. This makes the MIUI OS one of the most influential Chinese mobile phone operating systems on the market, alongside with China Mobile's Ophone OS and the Tapas OS developed by Innovation Works. These operating systems all have their own merits. The Tapas OS lays emphasis on visual quality and desktop compatibility, while the MIUI OS highlights weekly updates. "Basically, if you have any complaint or suggestion today, we will fix it in the next week", said Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Technology. Besides, all these systems are localized in accordance with the habits of Chinese users. Lei Jun said that over 100 innovative modifications have been made on MIUI to make the experience friendlier to Chinese users.
From another perspective, however, a major issue facing domestic mobile operating systems is that not many mobile phones use them. The Ophone OS is used only on China Mobile's customized 3G phones, while the MI phone is currently the only mobile phone that uses the MIUI OS. The Tapas OS will be carried on Sharp mobile phones for the first time. Under such circumstances, domestic mobile operating systems need to work more closely with the upstream and downstream of the industry chain to promote the development of domestic smart phones.
Industrial tycoons exert influence on the mobile internet
If an operating system is the skeleton of a smart phone, the various apps would muscles and nerves that implement its functions. In terms of apps quantity, there are 300,000 apps in Apple's Chinese App Store, and 120,000 in Android's app store. Different from Apple's App Store, most of Android's apps, even the Angry Bird, are free. Moreover, the openness of Android allows operators and mobile phone makes to set up their own app stores, which provides more choices for apps for Android phones.
Besides, the establishment of the app store model enables new entrepreneurs to find opportunities in the mobile internet, and make traditional enterprises and internet tycoons more pragmatic in their endeavors in mobile internet. Low-price airline company Air Asia has launched a self-service client. Passengers can handle the check-in procedure conveniently through the Air Asia app on their Blackberry, iOS, or Android phones. After booking the flight successfully, a passenger can check in the flight either on the website or on the mobile app 1 hour before the flight takes off. Qunar.com announced a few days ago that it would invest US$ 100 million in establishing the wireless client and mobile phone payment market. Currently, Qunar.com has realized mobile payment on iOS and Android phones. One-stop ticket purchase on the mobile phone will change the current e-commerce model of the civil aviation industry, bringing into it new profit growth points.
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