Android has an easy ride for the next 12 months

Motorola, Verizon and Google must surely be celebration the initial success of  the Andriod platform based Droid.

However, while celebrating their respective successes they must not forget that it cant get easier than this. It seems all are desperate to hang on to anyone who even makes a feeble attempt to take on the iPhone. Remember the initial euphoria surrounding the Palm Pre, which sounded quite similar to one currently surrounding the Droid. Though the euphoria sounds a bit more credible as it backed by the muscle of Google.

All smart phone manufacturers are operating in a space which is either dominated by the iPhone or filled with passive participants, a bleeding competitor or a niche player

Passive Participants:-

• Too passive to be called competitors
• Nokia the global market leader can at best be decribed as a passive participant in the smartphone segment. 
• Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG are associated more with feature phones than with smartphones.

Bleeding Competitor:-

• Palm has been bleeding since the past many quarters. Its ability to compete in the long run is questionable
  
• Motorola too would have been a question mark had it not been for the Droid.

Niche Player

• RIM with its Blackberry is solid in its own niche but not strong enough to take on the iPhone

The industry structure has left an open space for someone viable to come and take on the cult of Apple. Andriod appears to be the only viable alternative at this point in time and has the might of Google backing.

Microsoft's Windows Mobile 7 could have presented an another viable alternate to the iPhone but then the Windows Mobile 7 launch slated for Q3-10, not accounting for any delays gives an easy ride to Android for the next 12 months.

Will Win Mo regain ground lost to the Android in the next 12 months remains to be seen