When you are getting started with mobile learning one of the decision you’ll have to make is Which device(s) to target. In a SWOT Analysis of Mobile Learning we posted earlier this week, we listed this as one of the weaknesses of mobile learning as it stands today. Fragmented market and no real common development platform make this a serious hindrance to mobile learning adoption.
Here’s a forecast from Gartner about how the smart phone market could look like in 2015.
Source: Gartner April 2011
Swallow this with a pinch of salt!
There’s already been a scathing article about the ‘lazy thinking’ shown here by well known analyst companies. The points made in this article do make a lot of sense.
Here’s another forecast – this one by IDC and released in March earlier this year, which is not very different from that of Gartner’s.
Nevertheless for me key take away from both the Gartner & IDC reports are:
- There would probably be 3-4 platforms to target. Not a big relief though but it’s not getting any worse from here.
- iPhone will not be THE device to target. With declining market share and hopefully less fan-boys the focus on the iPhone will reduce. We’ve ourselves focused on iPhone first when releasing the Upside2GO. The Blackberry and Android version are on the way now.
- Windows Phone 7 – with better phones and the tie-up with Nokia – will grow fastest in next 2-3 years and will be the platform to watch out for. And Symbian is as good as dead. I have a feeling Windows has a unique advantage in terms of seamless integration that’s possible with PCs. From a user’s perspective that’s a big plus and might be the ace the Microsoft holds in the battle of smart phones.
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