Google, Apple, Sony, Samsung, Blackberry and certainly the Android-eco system are all in for massive change. Of which I have no idea if its for the best. So lets take a look at whats on the cards and the impact of each.Samsung
I enjoy change but sometimes it can back fire on the consumer, something I have been saying allot about with Samsung's every quest to ram Tizen at us in all sorts of interesting ways, by interesting I mean irritating. However that aside, Samsung's been in talks with Blackberry to purchase whats left of the giant and its corporate centric business, which it hopes will take some of the corporate pie away from Apple and give the Korean company some patents in the Enterprise space where Knox failed to get traction. So that would mean Samsung would then have 3 (yes three) OS platforms to worry about, its own Tizen, Android and then Blackberry's own platform.
That's alot to manage, especially when Samsung hasn't been very good at system updates on just about any hardware they make. Axing jobs would be its second job after working out which platform to stick with, I cant imagine they would want to change out BB quickly in fear of upsetting the clients who still enjoy the platform. Would it be a case of lifting the features and backing them into a Tizen made handset with a Blackberry stamp on it. Genius idea if they can make it work, instant massive user base on a platform which can run Android coded apps right from the Blackberry store or visa verse.
Maybe the end of Blackberry OS as we know it.
Google & Apple
Here we have a very interesting set of changes, firstly Apple are making more software, apparently a search engine to rival Google.
Lets face it Apple have not had a good run since Steve Jobs left this earth sometime ago (from a software QA perspective at least). Borked iOS upgrades, piss poor Apple Maps; still not working, and plenty of Mac users up in arms their previously reliable laptops now getting the Microsoft school of coding treatment. Yes, what I am trying to say is, making maps was no fun, and I'm not sure making a search engine from the ground up is an easy thing to do, regardless of throwing money at it. Just ask Bing. But, if they can make it work then Google's revenue would be in huge risk, plenty of Apple users would jump all over it as if its the answer to world hunger without really any thought of "why" of "is it any good". I should imagine it will take years of getting right, but the impact on Google's bottom line would be huge.
So what can Google do in the meantime, I know, open up an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) on T-Mobile or Sprint. A good way to get user data from handsets while being OS heterogeneous. Now that's a smart move, assuming people are willing to jump networks for what appears to be right now, no unique selling point. Unless deeply discounted plans are on their way with a purchase of a Nexus (that can also swap between 2 networks) or whatever the pet project is this week, thus securing Android as the default platform for the US. Hopefully starving off Tizen or anything else coming along.
Sony
Last year Sony dumped the laptop business and the brand name VAIO. Which I thought was crazy at the time because ending the PC business to save cash is one thing, selling a strong brand name is completely another.
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Now there was nothing wrong with VAIO Laptops & computers, far from it, Sony just couldn't make any money from them after selling off its semi-conductor business. The brand name was strong, something Sony should have realized before sticking with the "Xperia" name on handsets.
Anyway Sony's loss is an investment companies gain, and when VAIO handsets come to market (if they do) then the one company that will suffer is Sony (along with a few of the smaller Android OEMs).