Samsung throws its hat into the ring

It seems like all I talk about these days is mobile platforms. Android this, iPhone that, Windows Mobile here, Blackberry there, etc... But if you thought there were enough players in this market already, think again. Just this week Samsung announced the launch of its own 'open' mobile platform, Bada.

The whole plan by Samsung is to move away from using the Windows Mobile platform on its phones and instead shifting to open (free) platforms. Samsung will shift to using Android and Bada over the next couple of years as it looks to retain control over its phones.

I think moving to Android is a smart move for Samsung, but trying to launch a new platform probably won't work. Samsung may be the number 2 phone handset maker, but they have less than 5% of the smartphone market. That's simply not enough phones to gain any real traction among app developers. Their best bet would be to focus on handsets and leverage an existing open platform like Android to retain control over its phones and cut down on OS licensing costs.

The mobile platform market is already pretty fragmented right now, so I don't think adding more players at this point is going to do us any good. I'm not against competition, but in a game where market share is king, if you're not already in this space today you're probably too late.