The next battle shaping up in smartphones may be between Microsoft and Google, with Apple sitting on the sidelines secure in its dominant position, one analyst told investors Friday. Indeed, a turf war is in the cards as Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 and Google’s Android fight for the hearts and minds of handset makers. HTC, Samsung, Motorola and LG will become the battleground as the two smartphone operating systems battle for the hardware companies’ attention.
“In the short run,” writes Needham’s Charlie Wolf, “the turf war could put the smartphone manufacturers in the driver’s seat. Ultimately, however, commoditization, accompanied by deteriorating prices and gross margins, appears inevitable for licensees of the Android and Windows Phone 7 operating systems,” Wolf says.
As for Apple, it’s place is secure, given what the analyst calls the iPhone’s “growing brand equity.” Apple’s handset “could end up as the last man standing in this race to the bottom.”
[Fortune]
