Google, Apple and Microsoft Preparing OS Evolution?

iNVEZZ.com, Friday, July 19: Each of the three leading US tech giants is looking to unify its respective mobile and desktop operating systems to be able to build more features into their mobile platforms and meet the expectations of users of desktops and laptops who would like to see some of the mobile features on their platforms.

Over the past year Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) have all taken steps suggesting that the end goal of each company is to merge its respective desktop and mobile operating systems. However, the change will probably happen slowly and will come as more more of an evolution rather than revolution.
**Mobile dependence**

Yesterday, two of the biggest US tech companies, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp, released quarterly financial reports that missed analysts’ expectations and sent their stocks down in after-hours trading in New York. The results can be seen as further evidence of the growing importance of the mobile market in the broader tech industry. Google earnings and revenue came in weaker-than-expected, with one of the reasons for that being a six percent decline in the prices of ads caused in part by an industry-wide shift to a greater focus on mobile advertising. As for Microsoft, the results of the Redmond-based software giant were negatively affected by weak demand for its Surface range of tablet computers.

The mobile revolution, supported by the introduction of faster and more reliable networks, has changed the landscape in the computer industry by enabling hundreds of millions of people to have a meaningful computing experience while on the go. The explosion of mobile usage has made it clear that tech companies, even those which have driven the mobile market to its current heights, need to step up efforts to ensure that they meet the growing demand.

**Blurring the lines**
!m[](/uploads/story/4157/thumbs/pic1_inline.jpg)The leading players in operating systems – Apple, Google and Microsoft — are gradually changing in response to the new trends among users, with all three seeming to be aiming to build software platforms that can be used on traditional desktop and laptop computers as well as on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The three tech giants have made changes in their corporate structures to bring closer divisions working on their respective operating systems for mobiles and traditional computers. Apple started the trend last year when it appointed Craig Federighi as senior vice president of software engineering, thus putting him in charge of both the iOS and Mac OS.

Google followed suit in March, when it named Sundar Pichai, who had been in charge of the Chrome OS, as senior vice president of Android, Chrome & Apps. Pichai had insisted that the two systems would remain separate, but it is hard not to think that the two systems will be integrated in some way at some point, especially given the Google’s vision of creating products that mutually benefit each other.
And last week Microsoft joined in by appointing Terry Myerson executive vice president of the Operating Systems group as part of a large reorganisation of the company. Although Microsoft was the last of the three to make this move, it had been the most aggressive in terms of talking about creating one OS for all platforms with Windows 8 supposed to be the beginning of that merging of desktop and mobile.
**The Google share price closed at $910.68 on 18.07.2013**
**The Microsoft share price closed at $35.34 on 18.07.2013**
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