Mobile Operating System

Introduction
In today’s world; mobile is an integral part of our life. We use mobile for our daily activities like calling,
messaging, and running various applications like gaming apps, music apps, etc. Besides these activities,
today, we use mobiles extensively to send emails, surf the net, do video conferencing, watch the news,
etc. Do you know who handles these functions on our mobile? It's the operating system. 

As there is an operating system in our computers for managing the applications, there is also an
operating system for managing applications in our mobile. This operating system is known as the mobile
operating system.

Also read, Multiprogramming vs Multitasking And Open Source Operating System

What is Mobile OS?

A mobile operating system is built exclusively for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital
assistants (PDAs), or tablets. Due to the development of the mobile OS, we can now use the advanced
features that were previously available only on our computers. Some features of mobile operating are:

They manage the mobile device's resources and memory while performing multiple tasks.
They are relatively simple and light compared to the standard OS (Windows, Linux, and Mac).
They are responsible for identifying and defining mobile devices' features and functions, including
keypads, application synchronization, email, and text messaging.

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 They also manage mobile multimedia functions and internet connectivity.

To know which operating system your mobile is using, you can find it in your device’s settings.

Now, let’s see the types of mobile OS.

Types of Mobile OS
There are three types of mobile operating systems existing in the market. These are-

1. Open-source operating system

2. The manufacturer built a proprietary operating system
3. Third-party proprietary operating system

Let’s discuss all these types of mobile OS one by one.

Open-source operating system

An open-source operating system is one in which the source code of the operating system and its other
components are accessible to anyone who wants it.

Anyone can download that source code, edit and update it, and develop their operating system. Mobile
companies mostly use these operating systems.

Examples of an open-source OS are - Android and Symbian.

Let’s study both of them in detail.

Android

Most of you must be familiar with the Android operating system. It is the most widely used mobile
operating system. It was developed by Google and powered by a Linux kernel. This operating system can
be found on a variety of devices. The first Android device was released in 2008.

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Android is an open-source operating system that allows developers to access unlocked hardware and
develop new applications as they wish.

One of the best features of Android is the ability to customize multiple home screens with useful widgets
and apps that provide faster, more accessible access to the content and functions that are most important
to us.

Furthermore, the Android Market, which is the Android equivalent of the Apple App Store, contains
millions of apps, many of which are completely free.

To date, there are multiple versions of Android developed. The below picture shows a list of android
versions and their initial stable release dates.

Source: Cell Phone Deal

Next, we will discuss another open-source operating system, i.e., Symbian.

Symbian

The Symbian operating system was developed by Symbian Ltd. in 1998. It was specially designed for
smartphones. It runs extensively on ARM processors. Initially, Symbian was not an open-source
operating system. Symbian offers a high level of integration with communication. It combines wireless
communications middleware and personal information management (PIM) functionality.

Symbian OS is programmed in Java. Nokia announced the acquisition of Symbian Ltd. in June 2008. It
was absorbed by Accenture, which was supposed to maintain it until 2016. 

Symbian was the most popular smartphone operating system until the end of 2010 when Android and
iPhone emerged. Although, in some nations, Symbian is still the most prominent mobile OS.

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The companies which are licensees of the Symbian operating system are-

Source: Development of Games Technologies

Now, let’s discuss the second type of mobile OS, i.e, The manufacturer-built proprietary operating
system.

The manufacturer built a proprietary operating system

A manufacturer-built proprietary operating system is a mobile operating system developed only for some
particular mobile devices. Unlike open-source, their source code is not accessible to anyone.

Examples of manufacturer-built proprietary operating systems are iOS, BlackBerry OS, Bada, Harmony
OS, Palm OS and HP WebOS.

Let’s study all of them in detail.

iOS

The iOS launched in 2007 was developed by Apple for its iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It has risen to become
the most widely used and influential operating system.

Since Apple iOS is not permitted to be used in third-party systems, we will only be able to use it on Apple
products. Apple products include the Safari Web browser for browsing the internet, an iPod application
for listening to music, and Apple's Mail for managing memos.

Apple iOS holds a share of about 26% in the smartphone market. According to research, iOS has tons of
security features.

BlackBerry OS

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The BlackBerry operating system was created by Research In Motion (RIM). This operating system was
specifically designed for BlackBerry handheld devices. This operating system, when combined with the
BlackBerry Enterprise Server, benefits corporate users by allowing synchronization with Microsoft
Exchange, Novell GroupWise email, Lotus Domino, and other business software.

The BlackBerry operating system was not used much because of its limited applications.

Bada

Bada is a mobile operating system developed by Samsung and released in 2010. The Bada operating
system was first used in a mobile device with the Samsung Wave. Many mobile features are available
with the bada operating system, including 3-D graphics, application installation, and multipoint touch.

Harmony OS

The harmony operating system is Huawei's most recent mobile operating system designed for its
devices. It is primarily intended for IoT devices.

Palm OS

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Palm OS is a mobile operating system created by Palm Ltd for personal digital assistants (PADs). It was
released for the first time in 1996. Palm OS is also known as the Garnet OS.

This operating system is specially designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user
interface (GUI). It has been implemented on many mobile devices such as smartphone GPS devices. It
runs on ARM architecture-based processors. It is designed as 32-bit architecture.

However, this mobile operating system is also discontinued use.

HP WebOS

Palm created the WebOS operating system for mobile devices. It is built on the Linux kernel. HP uses
this operating system in its mobile phones and touchpads.

This operating system is built on web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It also supports
multitasking.

Now, let’s discuss the last type of mobile OS, i.e., a third-party proprietary operating system.

Third-party proprietary operating system

The third-party proprietary operating system is designed by those firms which do not manufacture
devices. However, they licence their software to the mobile companies to run that operating system on
their mobile devices. 

An example of a third-party proprietary operating system is Windows Mobile OS.

Let’s discuss it.

Windows Mobile OS

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Source: Wikipedia

The Windows Mobile operating system was developed by Microsoft in late 2010. It is designed for pocket
PCs and smart mobiles. It was favored by Nokia, which abandoned the Symbian OS for its mobile
devices. 

The Windows Mobile operating system emerged as the most dominant operating system for smartphones
earlier. This is because Windows Mobile OS distinguished itself by its tile-based interface, Metro. It

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includes removable and interchangeable square sections on the home screen, each with its purpose and
function. It also has aggregators called 'hubs' that group all photos from all applications or music into one
library, easy-to-access location.
For web access, Windows Phone includes a mobile-optimized version of Internet Explorer and Exchange,
which supports secure corporate email accounts with push support.

In 2011, Windows Mobile OS held only a 5% share of the World Wide Smartphone Market. However, in
2019 Microsoft announced its end of support for Windows Phone.

Check out Accenture Interview Experience to learn about their hiring process.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Mobile OS and Desktop OS?

S.No Mobile OS Desktop OS

Mobile OS have a minimum number of Desktop OS have a maximum number of
1.
system files. system files.
2. Its memory is slow and limited. Its memory is fast and vast.
3. It has small RAM. It has large RAM.

What is the difference between Android and iOS?

S.No Android iOS

It is a type of open-source operating It is a type of manufacturer built proprietary
1.
system. operating system.
2. It is developed by Google. It is developed by Apple.
3. Its kernel type is Linux. Its kernel type is hybrid.
4. It was launched in 2008. It was launched in 2007.
It is designed for smartphones, music
5. It is designed for smartphones.
players and tablets.
It has google chrome as the default
6. It has safari as the default internet browser.
internet browser.
7. It has Google Assistant. It has Siri as voice assistance.
Android devices are available in
8. iOS devices are available in 34 languages.
100+ languages.

Which mobile OS is mostly used?

According to market analysis, the android operating system has become very popular since it is an open-
source operating system and an open market for apps. In the present scenario, Apple iOS and Android
are the most competitive smartphone wares.

Conclusion
In this blog, we studied different types of mobile operating systems like Android, Symbian, iOS,
BlackBerry OS, Bada, Harmony OS, Palm OS, HP Web OS and Windows Mobile OS. We discussed all
these operating systems in detail.

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Attention Ninja!!! Don’t stop here. Start your learning journey in the operating system with Coding Ninjas
by taking the OS course.

Recommended Reading:

Single User Operating System

Boot Block
Boot Block and Bad Block
Types of Operating System
Thrashing in OS

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