Current Popular mobile operating systems are:
Android from Google Inc.(Open source)
initial release :2005
Current Version: Android 4.2 “Jelly Bean”
prior versions: 2.0 (1.0, 1.5, 1.6)
Programmed in: Java,c(native apps)
OS family: Linux
App build file extension:‘.apk’
IDE:Eclipse
Developed by: Android Inc ,which was purchased by Google Inc.
Android 3.0 was a tablet-oriented release and does not officially run on mobile phones.
iOS from Apple Inc. (closed source)
Apple’s iPhone and iPad products use the iOS operating system.
Initial release : March 6, 2008
Current Version: 6.x
Prior versions: iPhone OS 1.x,iPhone OS 2.x ,iPhone OS 3.x ,iOS 4.x,iOS 5.x
Programmed in: C, C++, Objective-C
OS family: OS X, UNIX
App build file extension: ‘.ipa’
IDE: XCode
Windows Phone from Microsoft (closed source)
initial release : February 15th, 2010
Programmed in: HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript), native (C++), and managed (C#, Visual Basic
OS family:Windows
App build file extension: ‘.ipa’
IDE: Visual Studio 2012 Express
The new mobile OS includes a completely new over-hauled UI inspired by Microsoft’s “Metro Design Language”.
BlackBerry 10 from BlackBerry (closed source)
BlackBerry 10 (previously BlackBerry BBX) the next generation platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. In other words, there will be only one OS for both Blackberry smartphones and tablets going forward.
Windows RT from Microsoft (closed source)
Microsoft announced Windows RT is an OS design for tablets only and only runs on ARM processors. This version also resembles Windows 8. Windows RT cannot run x86 programs. Apps can be only downloaded from the Windows Store.
S40 (Series40) from Nokia (closed source)
Nokia uses S40 OS in their low end phones (aka feature phones). Over the years, more than 150 phone models have been developed running S40 OS.[10] Since the introduction of S40 OS it has evolved from monochrome low resolution UI to full touch 256k color UI.
Upcoming software platforms
Aliyun OS from Alibaba/AliCloud (cloud based)
AliCloud’s operating system revolves around the idea of bringing cloud functionality to the mobile platform. According to the company, Aliyun will feature cloud-based e-mail, Web search, weather updates and GPS navigation tools. In addition, the operating system will synchronize and store call data, text messages and photos, in the cloud for access across other devices, including PCs. Alibaba says it will offer customers 100GB of storage at launch. the operating system would allow users to access applications from the Web, rather than download apps to their devices.
Firefox OS (open source)
According to Ars Technica, “Mozilla says that B2G is motivated by a desire to demonstrate that the standards-based open Web has the potential to be a competitive alternative to the existing single-vendor application development stacks offered by the dominant mobile operating systems.”
Sailfish OS
Sailfish is a Linux-based mobile operating system developed by Jolla for use in its upcoming smartphones and can be used for any of mobile devices.
Tizen from non-profit organization The Linux Foundation (open source, GPL)
Tizen is an open source project hosted by the Linux Foundation, with Intel and Samsung leading its development steering group, and support from the LiMo Foundation. According to Intel, Tizen “combines the best of LiMo and MeeGo.” HTML5 apps will be emphasized for the new OS, with the MeeGo project encouraging its members to transition to Tizen, stating that the “future belongs to HTML5-based applications, outside of a relatively small percentage of apps, and we are firmly convinced that our investment needs to shift toward HTML5.” Tizen will be targeted at a variety of platforms such as handsets, tablets, smart TVs and in-vehicle entertainment. The initial release of Tizen is targeted for Q1 2012, with the first devices using the OS planned to reach the market in mid-2012.
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Cross Platforms :
Cross-platform app development frameworks are becoming critical tools for developers because they are designed to lessen the time and resources that developers or development teams has to allocate to creating apps for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and beyond.
Appcelerator’s Titanium:
An open, extensible development environment for creating scalable native apps across different mobile devices and OSs including iOS, Android, Windows ,Tizen and BlackBerry, as well as hybrid and HTML5.
IDE: Studio, a powerful Eclipse-based IDE
Alloy, an MVC framework and Cloud Services for a ready-to-use mobile backend
Appcelerator’s Titanium Development Platform allows for the development of native mobile, tablet and desktop applications through typical web dev languages such as JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby and HTML. Titanium also gives its users access to more than 300 social and other APIs and location information.
Appcelerator’s offerings also include customizable metrics for actions and events. App data can be stored in the cloud or on the device, and apps can take full advantage of hardware, particularly camera and video camera capability.
If we need a functionality that is not in the Appcelerator Api no need to worry,We can write a module in native and add module to the project thats it,we can extent the api as per our requirement.
PhoneGap:
PhoneGap, the recipient of the winning pitch at Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco’s 2009 Launch Pad event, is a FOSS framework that helps you develop apps for iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Android, Palm, Symbian and BlackBerry devices using web development languages such as JavaScript and HTML. It also allows for access to hardware features including GPS/location data, accelerometer, camera, sound and more.
The company offers a cross-platform simulator (an Adobe AIR app), as well as online training sessions to help you access native APIs and build functioning mobile apps on the PhoneGap platform.
RhoMobile:
RhoMobile offers Rhodes, an open source, Ruby-based framework that allows for development of native apps for a wide range of smartphone devices and operating systems. OSes covered include iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, RIM and Symbian.
WidgetPad :
WidgetPad is a collaborative, open-source mobile development environment for creating smartphone apps using standard web technologies, including CSS3, HTML5 and JavaScript.
This platform includes project management, source code editing, debugging, collaboration, versioning and distribution. It can be used to create apps for OSes such as iOS, Android and WebOS.
The framework lets you write your code once and use it to quickly build apps for every major smartphone. Native apps are said to take full advantage of available hardware, including GPS and camera, as well as location data.
MoSync:
MoSync is another FOSS cross-platform mobile application development SDK based on common programming standards. The SDK includes tightly integrated compilers, runtimes, libraries, device profiles, tools and utilities. MoSync features an Eclipse-based IDE for C/C++ programming. Support for JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, Python and other languages is planned.
The framework supports a large number of OSes, including Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and even Moblin, a mobile Linux distro. Currently, support for iPhone is present in the nightly builds and will be integrated in early Q3 with the release of MoSync 2.4. BlackBerry support is coming later this year, as well.