Open Source Mobile Operating Systems to Dominate in 2008?

The other day in my Open for Business blog, I bemoaned the beginning of the new year simply because it brings with it a plethora of pundits predicting what the new year will hold. Particularly irksome (to the cynic in me, I guess) are posts that declare the new year as "the year" for a particular technology.

Well, today I have to eat my words. Or some of them, at least. Because yesterday I found a "The Year" post with which I tend to agree. At ZDNet UK, Eric Everson says 2008 is the year for the open source mobile operating system. And given what I've read for the past six months, he may be right. Granted, Everson has a vested interest in the mobile market, but nonetheless, he seems to be on the right track with this one.

Since last year, if not before, observers have said open source operating systems (Linux in particular) are making a big dent in the mobile market. The Linux Phone Standards Forum has been hard at work, and more recently, big names like Google have jumped into the mobile race with their open source-based platforms.

Who knows if it will actually happen, but 2008 certainly appears to be shaping up well for open source in the mobile market.