Lesser options next year?

With the way things are going right now the smartphone market is looking kind of depressing to me. Not because of lack of innovation but because so many companies with good products just aren't able to survive.

1. Nokia sells their hardware division.
2. BlackBerry is up for grabs and things are moving quickly.
3. HTC is struggling despite having one of the best flagship smartphone in the market right now. There is news this morning that they are going to let go 20% of their US workforce.

Microsoft buying Nokia means other companies might concentrate even less on WP.

Everything above could lead to not as many options as we currently have. Not necessarily though. We could always see companies making a turnaround or the new buyer being committed to the vision of the company.

I'm mainly disheartened about BlackBerry and Nokia as most of my phones (and there have been many) have been made by these two companies.


Posted via CB10

This is the thing that is just awful about all these troubles. We don't know how it will turn out and whether we will lose another player. Less choices for the consumer, less competition and drive to come up with something amazing.

Sad all around. I hope there is some miraculous good ending.

I want Jolla, Sailfish, Meego, and most importantly BlackBerry in the US. At this point I don't give a frappe about the apps anymore. And yes, I said frappe. Just say no to Apple, Android and Windows Phone.

Posted via my BlackBerry Z10

Heck, I'd take Firefox or even Ubuntu phone

Posted via my BlackBerry Z10

Originally Posted by ranzabar

Heck, I'd take Firefox or even Ubuntu phone

Posted via my BlackBerry Z10

I'd love to give Ubuntu a try. Maybe even Jolla but I dint like Firefox os so much as it was mainly targeted at the lower end.

But by the time these new OSs catch traction, it will already be like 2016, I'm guessing.

Posted via CB10

f

Originally Posted by ranzabar

I want Jolla, Sailfish, Meego, and most importantly BlackBerry in the US. At this point I don't give a frappe about the apps anymore. And yes, I said frappe. Just say no to Apple, Android and Windows Phone.
Posted via my BlackBerry Z10

Hi I have Nokia N9 Meego a sadly abandoned system, it still works very well and sailfish is where Meego should have been now,
But it will be a niche system very good but not main stream, as will Firefox/ Ubuntu, only Tizen has a chance with Samsung's backing, I moved to BlackBerry Z10, a brilliant phone hopefully they will survive as I don't want it join my collection, Symbian/ Meego / webOS, as having just Apple / Android and windows phone is a bleak future.

The platform war is more or less over. The law of three is beginning to take effect.

In a stable market the top 3 players will split the market in a ratio of roughly 40%, 25%, and 10%. In smartphones I'd wager the percentages will be higher due to ecosystem effects. It's hard to own a phone in an ecosystem that doesn't have gravitas. The rest of the share will be divided by small players serving specific niches. The top 2 players have been decided for a while. Blackberry and Microsoft are both vying for the bronze.