Battle for Mobile OS Domination is Over?

cellular-news covers a new report from Strand Consult that believes the "battle for the OS market will diminish significantly over the coming period for one reason and one reason only; the future battle on the mobile market will not be between OSs, but instead be between user interfaces (UIs)." The article states UIs can basically be divided into 3 types:

1. UIs that contains APIs
2. UIs that run on a VM (Virtual machine)
3. Simple UIs without APIs

The article then differentiates between the three and says Strand Consult noted that "this increased focus on UIs will be able to upset the power balance between the mobile players in the mobile value chain, as the UI allows a much greater level of individualisation on the mobile handsets and also gives the possibility for other players than just the OS manufacturers to enter this important new mobile market area."

The article concludes that "UIs will become a very central part of the future mobile market. All market players will be interested in gaining control over the handset's UI and by using UIs with APIs or UIs that run on a VM, they will be able to achieve the same network effect that is characteristic of the OS market today."