What Is The Cell Phone Operating System Feature?

A cell phone operating system (OS), also known as an operating platform, is the basic software that runs all of the other software used by your cell phone.

Much like the Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems for desktop computers, a cell phones operating system works exactly the same way. With your cellular phone operating systems you can add things like web browsers, instant messengers, and email functions.

All PDA cellular phones and pocket PC cell phones run on operating systems. Now, many cell phones manufacturers such as Sanyo and NEC are also turning to newer operating systems that can run the increasingly complex workings of their cellular phones and mobile wireless handsets.

On desktop computers, the vast majority of Pentium computers run on the Windows platform or operating systems. (Apple computers have their own operating system for their own desktop computers, which is separate from Pentium-style desktop computers). A much smaller amount of people choose to run their computers on other platforms such as UNIX and Linux (a form of the UNIX platform).

In the cell phone market, however, the mobile phones operating systems are not nearly so polarized. In fact, cellular phone operating system software is still considered to be “wide open” as far as development goes, and is also seen as “the next big market” for both software companies and cell phone manufacturers.

Right now there are dozens of companies siphoning money into research for smaller and more stable operating platforms for wireless phones, and things are progressing rapidly. The big challenge is for companies to hit the “5Mb barrier” and develop a stable operating system that can be installed and that will take up less than 5 Megabytes of space, obviously something at a premium inside the tine trappings of a cell phones body.

With a decent cell phone operating system installed in a wireless phone, lots of extra desk top computer style features can be added to a cell phone. Email features are a strong are of development, as is instant messaging like Microsoft MSN Messenger access and ICQ (I Seek You) access.

Web browsers and script decoders are also making big headway as cell phone manufacturers and software developers are both competing side by side for bigger shares of the new cell phone markets. The ability to rearrange web pages so that they can be properly viewed on the cellular phones tiny screen is a big job.

Analysts for a couple years have been talking about the future and how the G3 revolution that will change the way we look at the internet. The G3 is a giant global wireless network that would work exactly like a cell phone network, giving you high speed internet whether you were sitting in your office, sitting at the park, or even sitting in your car.

Mobile phone operating systems are going to be a big part of that future.

Also see; cell phone glossary.

Author Notes:

Bill Schnarr contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.cell-phones-n-plans.com. A cell phone industry resource that features service plan comparisons, cellular phone reviews and articles.