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Google's Android favored for phones, tablets

Google's Android operating system is favored for smartphones and tablets, according to an analyst, and a report citing comments from Nvidia's CEO.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Google's Android operating system is seen as a future favorite for smartphones and tablets, according to a research note released Tuesday and comments from the chief executive of graphics chip supplier Nvidia.

Victoria Fodale, an analyst at ABI Research, said Tuesday in a research note that the Scottsdale, AZ-based marketing research firm anticipates that Linux-enabled smartphones, led by the success of Google's Android, will comprise 33 percent of the worldwide smartphone market by 2015. "With more than 60,000 smartphones shipping per day, Android has catapulted ahead of other Linux mobile platforms," according to the note.

The momentum for the platform can be attributed to its flexibility, she said. "The Android platform can be modified so that (device markers) can differentiate their products and the licensing terms allow (makers) to innovate while still protecting proprietary work," wrote Fodale.

She cautioned, however, that though Google has built early momentum, Android is not without competition. Industry heavyweights Intel, Nokia, and Samsung recently announced two other new Linux-based operating systems, bada (Samsung) and MeeGo (Intel, Nokia), she wrote.

Halfway around the world, Android received a vote of confidence for tablets from Jen-Hsun Huang, the chief executive of graphics chip supplier Nvidia, according to a report Monday from IDG News Service. "The good news is that we finally have an operating system to unite behind," Huang said, referring to Android on tablets. Huang was speaking to reporters at the Computex show in Taipei. Nvidia's Tegra 2 chip is expected to appear in tablets later this year.

Windows, on the other hand, is not suitable for tablets, he said. "Windows is too big and it's too full featured for smartbooks and tablets," the report quoted Huang as saying. Computer and device maker Asus may disagree, however. That company said it is bringing out a Windows-based tablet next year.

And needless to say, Android already faces stiff competition in both the tablet and smartphone markets from Apple's OS X operating system, which is used in the immensely popular iPhone and iPad.