Will Android rule the world? And should you care?

Mashable links to a new IDC report claiming Android will rule half the smartphone market by 2015.

I am unimpressed.

Clearly, I’m a big fan of mobile. But I think there are better uses of your time than worrying about which mobile OS platform will have the greatest market share down the road. Do you care whether your customers are on a Windows machine or a Mac? Usually not. Because, as long as your site works in your customers’ web browser, the underlying platform is irrelevant. Mobile is rapidly moving in that direction. According to a survey last year, most customers prefer their mobile device’s web browser over apps developed for a specific device.

That’s not to say apps can’t be a useful part of your strategy. But, base your decisions on what your customers are doing. Make sure you’ve covered the basics of a mobile strategy and let the market sort itself out. While you don’t want to be late to the game if Android does, in fact, take over the world, you can be too far out in front, too.

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Image credit: Google Android using Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

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android, mobile, strategy