When you think of a desktop computer, chances are you are thinking of Windows, start key, taskbars and all that has come to define the operating system. Windows has made Microsoft a familiar brand among households and offices alike. Not because it was the only operating systems for our computers, Unix/Linux and MacOS (OS X) have all along been around, but it has been relatively user-friendly and affordable compared to the alternative OS.
However, that is about to change; not that the other OS are gaining popularity or Windows is becoming less user-friendly and expensive for people. Well, Windows 8/8.1 was not as user-friendly, but still users could always revert to using the earlier versions of Windows. Microsoft has since corrected on that flaw with the release of Windows 10 and made it available for free to users for a whole year. Even now, there still ways users can still get Windows 10 for free.
The rain started beating Microsoft with the first release of Apple’s first touchscreen device back in 2007. Although the device was slow and buggy, it brought a new fresh design in how users can connect to the internet and consume digital content. One year later, Google released its first Android OS for mobile, and it gained a lot more traction. Partly because Google released it as open source thus inviting developers and Android devices are more affordable compared to iOS devices.
Almost ten years later, both iOS and Android have undergone many innovations making their products more appealing and able to satisfy users’ needs. It is these mobile devices that are eating up into Microsoft’s tuff. Stats by Netmarketshare shows that over the last five years, internet traffic shows the number of users accessing the web on Windows-based devices are at 63 percent, down from 88 percent. While those accessing the internet on a mobile device now stands at 30 percent.
Well, Microsoft has it Windows mobile, but it has yet to gain significant tractions. In the mobile market, Android and iOS make up the top 94 percent with Android taking the lion’s share of about 66 percent.
One of the biggest pull factors for users to mobile devices is the convenience that comes with being able to access digital content and the internet while on the move. Mobile devices have also come of age in from both the software and hardware fronts.
