Mobile-related technologies for the past week, in 3 (or almost) words: China OS, Android Fragmentation, Clever Beacons

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THE WEEK IN 3WORDS

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WEEK #35

3. CHINA OS
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Yet another Operating System for mobile devices… sponsored by the
Chinese government.
COS – for Chinese Operating System – for mobile is
expected for 2015 and is supposed to compete directly
with Google’s Android, which operates 90% of the
Chinese smartphones.
China is already preparing the battlefield: it started developing COS
(based on Linux, as Google Android, but not OpenSource) for desktop
PCs, expected to be distributed end of this year, and launched actions
against Microsoft (based on security and anti-monopolistic reasons…),
especially banning Windows 8. Google may be another kind of
opponent, but if COS for mobile is good enough to run Xiaomi or Huawei
smartphones and tablets, the Internet giant may have some serious
troubles coming forward.

5. ANDROID FRAGMENTATION
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More and more Android devices and more and more
fragmentations*.
Android ecosystem definitely lacks some policies in the way vendors
and operators are supposed to deliver OS updates to end-users.
Vendors have to struggle with compatibilities against the existing
devices and operators (carriers) have to make sure a OS update won’t
damage the device they sold. If the device didn’t really caught attention,
there is rather unlikely it’s OS will be updated…
The most complicated issue to address given that fragmentation is the
applications layout: it has to be admitted that an Android app does not
look perfect on all Android devices.
Developing Android applications feels more and more like developing a
mobile site… (*) http://opensignal.com/reports/2014/android-fragmentation/

7. CLEVER BEACONS?
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Beacons (working with Low Bluetooth Energy technology) are the big hit of
connected devices*. Despite they basically only know their positions and can
send very simple messages to surrounding devices…
Estimote, a pioneer of beacons, is building a new kind of beacons, thinner and
smaller than its first version, and, moreover, with a temperature and a motion
(accelerometer) sensors. This opens up numerous new possibilities of using
beacons, because they can be attached to moving objects and therefore
provides nearby information but in different locations.
Such connected devices leads the path to the Internet of Computing, much
more than to the Internet of Things; connected devices will be able to provide
relevant pre-processed information based on their environment, position,
location, etc. and therefore be useful as small data computer, participating to a
broader computing landscape involving smartphones, tablets, servers, etc.
(*) http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140708006124/en/iBeaconBLE-Beacon-Shipments-Break-60-Million-2019#.U70uJHWSxqZ