Alright, following are the mobile OSes I remember off the back of my head:

  1. Windows CE
  2. Windows Mobile
  3. Symbian Series x
  4. Symbian Anna
  5. Symbian Belle
  6. Symbian^3
  7. Meego
  8. Maemo
  9. Bada
  10. Android
  11. iOS
  12. Tizen
  13. Blackberry
  14. I am sure I have missed lots of them killed at various stages of their lifecycle


Out of the lot, iOS and Blackberry have been pretty much focussed on both software and hardware front, Android has been battling multiple versions and form factors, but has otherwise been focussed, Windows has evolved from CE to Mobile to now a full-blown (almost) Windows 8.

Let's look at the others: Palm faltered somewhere along the lines and was gobbled up, Symbian was killed by its own parent and Maemo/Meego died in their infancy. Samsung tried its own Bada platform but nowadays not much is heard about it. And now the news is Samsung with Intel and a few others is launching Tizen.

Just how many different OSes are we going to have? The rate at which these OSes are being nipped in the bud without trying its full potential is alarming. Why can't companies actually commit to some long term plans with these mobile OSes?

.