深具發展潛力的智慧型手機,為結合各式軟硬體、內容與服務的系統性產品,因此具整合角色的作業系統為其主要關鍵。本研究將利用競合策略等相關學理,分析智慧型手機作業系統產業現況與未來趨勢,並聚焦於三大作業系統廠商Symbian、Windows Mobile、Linux,與價值鏈上其他廠商的競合關係。最後建議智慧型手機作業系統廠商該如何發展其競爭優勢,進而成為市場的作業系統標準。 本研究發現,由於智慧型手機作業系統沒有具高轉換成本而鎖定使用者的效應,也不易啟動網路外部性讓單一作業系統獨大於市場,因此未來仍以多作業系統瓜分市場為主要趨勢。然而作業系統廠商要提升市場佔有率,必須著重在產業價值鏈上相關廠商的連結與互補,以強化產品的特性。 現階段的作業系統是以Symbian佔有大部分的市場,Windows Mobile與Linux緊追在後。未來發展上,由於Linux無廠商主導經營管理,因此市場將以Symbian與Windows Mobile為主要競爭廠商。Symbian必須著重在聯盟內部的整合,以維持市場的佔有率。反觀Windows Mobile,由於智慧型手機與個人電腦高度連結,再加上作業系統相似度高之特性,使得Microsoft有機會槓桿延伸其在個人電腦產業的市場地位與資源,將具有相對優勢。因此,未來Windows Mobile的市佔率將可能超越Symbian成為市場的領先者。
Smartphone, a mixed system product combining software, hardware, content, and service, has shown its great market potential. Being a system product, an operating system of a smartphone serves a significant role in determining the success of the system product. The present research applies the value net framework to study the co-opetition structure among existing operating systems in the smartphone market. Three major players, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux, are evaluated so that we could draw conclusions and suggestions for these players. Our research found that the likelihood of incurring significant switching costs and therefore lock-in effect is low in the smartphone operating system market. Due to low network externality, it is not easy to create a winer-take-all kind of monopoly in this market as well. Hence, we expect that major contenders in the operating system market will keep dividing the smartphone market in the short run. In addition, we expect that these major contenders will strengthen their collaboration with complementors within their value net to so that competitive advantages could enhance. Although Symbian leads in the operating system market, Windows Mobile and Linux follow it tightly. We foresee that Symbian and Windows Mobile will become two major competitors in the market since Linux lacks a strong sponsor. To maintain its market lead, Symbian should enhance its alliance management. With its existing installed base in the PC market, Microsoft would take advantage from the convenient synchronous connection to support the penetration of Windows Mobile. We therefore would expect that Windows Mobile may exceed Symbian to become the market leader in the long run.