Gap between iPhone and competitors ‘closing’

Competition between the Apple iPhone and other models on the market is heating up, one expert said this week.

After Microsoft announced that a new version of Windows Mobile would be available on a range of handsets, Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at Canalys, commented on whether this meant Apple had its work cut out.

However, despite improvements to Windows Mobile, such as a better browser and applications store, the brand has taken "an evolutionary step forward, rather than a revolutionary one", he said.

And while it does not quite match up to the iPhone’s software just yet, manufacturers are catching up.

"When the iPhone came to market it was notably ahead of the competition," Mr Cunningham explained. "Since then, others have closed the gap slightly … but Apple and the iPhone are still ahead in many areas."

He added that in the past, Windows Mobile had been positioned behind the curve, given that other creators were bringing innovative operating systems, such as Android, to handsets, making them more appealing to consumers.

Mr Cunningham’s remarks follow a report published in August this year that focused on the operating system market.

It found that during the second quarter of 2009, Windows Mobile was the main loser in this category. Android took three per cent of the smartphone market in this period and volumes were predicted to rise due to the introduction of the software in phones from Samsung and HTC.

In the report, vice-president and principal analyst at Canalys Chris Jones said Android brought another ingredient to the diverse mix of platforms available to consumers.