What company and technology will dominate? "Microsoft certainly understands this trend and is expanding its Windows-based platforms to nearly every products segment", says Dr. Egil Juliussen, the author of the report. "The cell phone manufacturers also understand," according to Juliussen, "because they are developing their own platforms to counteract Microsoft. The TV and video industry also understand and are defining platforms and standards that are operating system agnostics. Many are using Linux and middleware standards to level the playing field," Juliussen adds.
| Information Appliance Platforms |
| Segment | Key Platforms |
| PDAs | - Palm OS 4 & OS 5
- Microsoft Pocket PC
- Linux & Qtopia
|
| PDA-Phones (Data-Centric) | - Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition
- Palm OS 4 & OS 5
- Symbian & Nokia Series 60
- Symbian & other middleware
- Linux & Qtopia
|
| Smart Phones (Voice-Centric) | - Symbian & Nokia Series 60
- Symbian & other middleware
- Windows Powered Smartphone
- Palm OS 5
- Linux & Qtopia, Java or BREW
|
| Feature Phones | - Embedded OS & middleware
- Java virtual machine: J2ME
- Microsoft Pocket IE & Outlook
- Qualcomm BREW
|
| Set-Top Boxes | - Microsoft TV
- TV Linux Alliance
- ELC Platform Specs
- CableLabs middleware
- DVB/MHP middleware
|
| Entertainment Media Servers | - Windows XP Media Center
- Sony Cocoon
- Linux & middleware
- CableLabs middleware
- DVB/MHP middleware
|
The eTForecasts report explores the technologies, computer platforms, product segments and markets for information appliances including detailed market estimates for six regions of the world from 1998 to 2007. eTForecasts publishes market research reports for the PC, PDA, information appliances, and Internet industries.
