If we look at the computer industry as a whole, it is an ever extending chain of platform contests. In the beginning many different systems wrestle it out until one or two claim superiority over the rest. The case of smartphones is no different.

Although the scale of engagement is debatable, platform wars have been going ever since the smartphone and tablet industry has come into being. We all know about the age-old tussle between Apple and Microsoft.

While it is way too early to declare a clear-cut winner, research and surveys presented by Business Insider at their IGNITION WEST: Future of Mobile conference in San Francisco, show that iOS and Android are actually leagues ahead of other mobile operating system platforms.

However, it is interesting to note here that competition between iOS and Android is not as neck and neck as it seems. Even though Android usage is skyrocketing, a self-evident majority of developers are not following suit and continue to prefer the iOS platform over Android. This is largely due to the availability of better development tools and higher buying rates for apps in iOS platform, which includes a dedicated apps user-base. Fragmentation issues in Android don’t help the cause either.

Overall, 2012 may prove to be a decisive battlefront for platform supremacy and provides an open opportunity for market heavyweights iOS and Android to take the game away from each other.

Source: BusinessInsider