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It would be a gross error on my behalf if I didn't say that Android and iOS are the dominating operating systems on the current smartphone market, specially from a global perspective. Every carrier has several different Android devices in their offering, lots have the iPhone and even more want to have it. But they are far from alone and there are a slew of new, or born-again, systems clamoring for the attention of potential smartphone buyers out there. Or at least they would like to be an alternative. Let's elaborate, shall we?

HP tossed out the promising webOS into the uncertain ocean of open source software, and it's starting to move in a better direction than it's been guided for a long time. Still suffering the amazing shortsightedness of its previous CEO, Léo Apotheker, the very impressive system now lives with the help of enthusiasts and a small company HP spun off, called Gram. There are no currently available new devices with webOS on any market, but the open sourced version has been made to run on a variety of different machines from numerous manufacturers. Not easy to install and not particularly useful for anyone but the enthusiasts, it's still early days for Open webOS.

Meanwhile, Canonical have recently showed off a version of Ubuntu meant to run on smartphones, with its own somewhat quirky user interface. I'm no UI or UX expert, but it seems to me, based only on what I have been able to read about it, that Canonical themselves are not entirely sure about how people will react to the gesture-heavy system. Perhaps those worries are exaggerated, people are getting more and more familiar with touch screen devices and interfaces. But depending on gestures rather than making them an alternative or something to aid the main navigational visuals makes for a different situation.

Where I start worrying is when they talk about carriers being an integral part of the development process, before the final product gets placed in front of any customer. If we just take a short stroll down memory lane and remember what it was like when every phone was subject to the whims of the carriers. The Android users of today still suffer that to some degree, although it's at least easier to get rid of the carrier limitations and mandatory apps via the act of loading one of the many readily available ROMs out there. Still not something the average person might do, but at least the base device is a lot more useful and customizable compared to just ten years ago.

What appears to be holding these more alternative systems behind is the lack of hardware to run on. They are left to pick up the crumbs of the Android market, to shoehorn their way onto other devices not originally meant for them. While this might work for the computer enthusiasts and those with more than average knowledge about smartphones, it in no way makes it interesting or even possible for regular people. When there are devices out in the shops, packaged and available with support, then the story will be a different one.

Until that day when we can buy reasonably priced devices in common mobile phone shops, I honestly don't see the mass market viability of these otherwise interesting initiatives.

Robert Falck

Robert is a freelance tech writer from Sweden. You can follow his posts here on the British Tech Network, listen to him yap away on the British Tech iOS Show and read even more of his stuff on his site streakmachine.com or you can even follow him on twitter @streakmachine or app.net @streakmachine. (But you won't find him on Facebook!)

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Robert Falck

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