The 4 screen strategy is the vision being pursued by most of the top tech firms in the world and essentially involves the firms building for these 4 types of devices; the TV, Smartphone, tablet and PC. The notion is that if a firm can have a platform that runs on and unifies all of these 4 devices, then seamless and very innovative things can be done. Interoperability across these devices would be greatly enhanced. Examples would be an app that can run on all 4 devices without any change in source code or the seamless transfer of music, movies and files across devices and so on. Most of these tech firms share the thoughts that a unified platform/ecosystem is advantageous, at least to an extent. The big question though is how this would be implemented.
The tech firms have all been pursuing this strategy in very different ways and as to whose strategy is best are left for the consumer to decide. So then I’ll go on and let you in on what all the major guys have been up to. I will concentrate on the big 3 of Apple, Microsoft, Google plus Samsung.
Below is a table describing the various devices built for these form factors.
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Apple
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Microsoft
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Google
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Samsung
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PC
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Macbook runs MacOSX
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Windows 7 runs on OEM PCs
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ChromeOS runs on OEM PCs
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PCs run Windows 7
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Smartphone
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iPhone runs iOS
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Windows Phone 7 runs on OEM phones
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Android runs on OEM phones
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Phones run Android/Bada
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Tablet
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iPad runs iOS
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Windows 8 to run on OEM tablet in 2012
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Android runs on OEM tablets
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Tablets run Android
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TV
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Apple TV (settop box)
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Xbox 360
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Android runs on OEM TVs
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TVs to run Android in 2012
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Apple
Apple currently has all 4 screen implementations up and running. They have the Macbook, iPad, iPhone and the Apple TV. Their Macbook runs the MacOSX and thought similarities exist between it and the iOS which runs on both the iPad and the iPhone they are different in varying ways. Rumours have it that future versions of both OSes will be heavily integrated. With its release the iPhone4S sold an impressive 4 million handsets in 1 week. And with these sales being powered hugely by apps on the Apple Appstore, they must be pretty serious about app interoperability across devices. AppleTV on the other hand is a small set top box that streams content to any connected TV.For now Apple is calling it a hobby but its being rumoured they will unveil their own TV nicknamed iTV in 2012. Apple might have had their smartphone and tablet strategy right, however its left to be seen how or whether they pull the TV and Macbook in to convergence.
Google
Microsoft
Microsoft launched their Windows Phone 7 (WP7) last year after
killing off the Windows Mobile OS. By partnering with Nokia they launched the super sleek Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone running WP7, but they still lag Android and
iOS units sold wise. They are also prepping to release the next iteration of Windows,
ie. Windows 8 next year. Windows 8 is designed to work on multiple form factors
including tablets, PCs, All-In-Ones (AIO), and even smartphones. It is believed with
the release of WP8 (next version of WP7)and Windows 8 next year convergence would have been achieved
across the PC, tablet and smartphone. Microsoft’s approach to TV though is a
bit more interesting. They intend to use their record setting Xbox360 gaming
console to serve TV content. Though it’s already been implemented content is a
bit low. They recently landed content deals with the likes of Vudu, Verizon FiOS TV, MLB.tv, HBO Go and Comcast which
will help up its cause significantly. It is also being rumoured that a refresh of Xbox360 coming
in 2012 will be based on Windows 8. If all things playout perfectly for Microsoft
then they might be the first to reach convergence for all 4 devices.
Samsung
Samsung on the other hand is currently the market leader in
smartphone sales with its flagship Galaxy phones. It also has a very strong brand in TV and currently has one
of the few legitimate challengers to the iPad in the Galaxy tablets. Their
strategy however is heavily dependent on their rivals. Some Samsung TVs will
very soon be integrated with GoogleTV, Samsung PCs runs Windows and Samsung smartphones
run Android. It is very difficult to determine how they intend to unify their
devices without a common platform running on these devices. It is therefore fair to
say Uncle Sammy has a long way to go if it is to catch up with the big boys on
this next generation fight for dominance
My conclusion
Tech commentators and enthusiasts have all been advocating
for some convergence of some sort for some time now. Tech firms in turn have
been aggressively pursuing these interests and have sort to differentiate their
ecosystem from competing ones. Competition has risen to an extent that the
marketing philosophy is gradually shifting away from marketing the individual
devices to rather marketing the ecosystems. The stronger you are able to brand
your ecosystem the more success you would have selling your devices. An advice
an Apple or Microsoft or Google fanboy would give you is to try and get all
four devices on the same ecosystem. Say if you were on the Windows ecosystem,
then you could save you Office document on your PC and continue working on it
on your phone/tablet on the go. Or you could check up on your Xbox
Live scores on your PC or phone. Currently, a lot of people have devices from
different ecosystems. In the very near future as convergence becomes tighter
and the need for more advanced interactions between these different form-factors
heightens, consumers would gradually begin to incline their preferences towards
one ecosystem. The race is on and the firms are all arming themselves. Sony is warming up fully for this race. As is the likes of Acer and Lenovo. So we
wait and see who does ‘what’ and who’s ‘what’ does ‘what’. However, there is a catch to all these: The almighty CLOUD.
By Guy Free
