Google's Android Eclipses Apple to Become the MS-DOS of Our Time

Apple may have shipped a record number of iOS devices during the most recent quarter, according to analysts at IDC. Android’s share of the mobile phone market topped 80 percent of units shipped for the first time since IDC began tracking the Google-created operating system, the research firm said in its release of its most recent quarterly figures. The triumph of Android would seem to vindicate Google’s choice not to go head-to-head against Apple with its own proprietary mobile operating system and hardware. As every first-year business student knows, Microsoft gobbled market share from, most notably, Apple, as it licensed out its MS-DOS operating system to multiple hardware makers. By giving away an open source operating system that, among other things, helps hardware makers set lower prices, Google ensures maximum exposure to the maximum number of mobile users.