Operating systems for phones did not really play a major role in the past: Every company had another selfmade, more or less intuitive OS on their phones. Well, Java might have slowed down what happens now, but today the OS is becoming one of the central buying decisions besides the other features. But what happens? We still get not real choice. What do I mean by saying so? Let me explain.

I have to start with a confession: I do not like Windows Mobile. At least not until now. Maybe 7 will be the next big thing, maybe not. But if someone is happy using it, just go ahead and have fun. Same with Symbian S60, but that is, again, rather my problem than someone elses. Actually, I think all of the phone-OS-companies still have quite a while to make something close to perfect. But at least the are working quite fast.

So what do I want? I would like to have the choice to put any OS onto the very same phone. Why? Because it is possible with PCs for quite a while now. You are free to use Windows, any kind of Linux and, with some workarounds, MacOS on standard PCs. This gives customers to marvellous opportunity to choose the best hardware independent from the software. Great, isn’t it? But with Smartphones it is different. You are, once you decide for one device, forced to use the OS it ships with. So very often you get a great piece of hardware combined with crappy OS.

Examples? Well, look at the Samsung Omnia for great tech and crappy OS, and vice versa the Google G1 for a cool OS (at least 1.5) in a shitty box. What I want is one device that can run different OS. Maybe (I am dreaming, I know) with a boot manager that allows me to choose one. That would be perfect.

The question is: Will this happen in the nearby future? And who is likely to do so? HTC could, but they are probably too busy producing OEM. Samsung has the licenses to do it, but as long as they insist issuing 120 phones a year, this is really unlikely. Nokia still believes in Symbian only, Sony Ericsson is probably not brave enough (guys, I am just challenging you), LG is also not so well known for a variety of OS. Did someone say Motorola? Come one, are they still alive? So, little choice, but wasn’t the the brave to make a fortune?

Please wake me up and tell me that someone is working on it. If not, let me sleep and dream about it.