![]() ![]() However, the lack of apps was a major stumbling block and Microsoft abandoned its challenge, having lost billions of dollars in the attempt. The people who owned Windows phones seemed to love them and in 24 countries it overtook Apple’s iPhone in market share. Microsoft entered the market with a version of Windows running on ARM-based smartphones and it even made Windows available free on small-screen devices. The fact that we have, essentially, a duopoly in the smartphone business is not for want of trying. Photograph: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images Windows Phone evolved from early Pocket PCs but never really took off, despite Microsoft’s best efforts. It could also pre-package access to some Google properties, even if they are just web apps, because most people want to use them. Even if it is not KaiOS, any future OS might use parts of AOSP because it is easier than developing everything from scratch. In other words, the OS most likely to become a global alternative to Apple’s iOS and Google Android isn’t – and isn’t likely to be – 100% free from Google software. Gonk, the operating system underneath Gecko (which is Firefox’s web-rendering engine) is a small Linux kernel derived from Google’s AOSP, the Android Open Source Project. KaiOS started as a fork of B2G (Boot to Gecko), which was an open source continuation of Firefox OS, which Mozilla stopped developing at the end of 2015. It’s claimed to be the second most popular operating system in India and could manage that in Africa. KaiOS includes WhatsApp – its main selling point – plus a web browser, Facebook, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Assistant. (Kai is named from the Chinese word for open, not the undead protagonist in the Lexx science fiction series.) ![]() The Alcatel Go Flip 2, JioPhone and Orange Sanza are alternative KaiOS phones available in North America, India and Africa respectively. Nokia’s latest 4G feature-phone, the Nokia 8110 “banana phone”, runs the KaiOS operating system, in which Google has invested $22 million. Indeed, it looks as though the next generation of candy-bar phones will also include Google. ![]() Even the Nokia 8110 4G has Google’s Assistant and Maps app installed. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |