eWeek has an article with the provocative title of…

Linux to Outsell Windows in Mobile Internet Device Market

…that says: Linux will be the top-selling operating system in the mobile Internet device market, outselling Microsoft Windows Mobile and other rivals by 2013, said ABI Research. It goes on to report that In MIDs, all mobile OSes are starting out about equal, “without the baggage of previous histories such as existed in the smart-phone market.”

Do you see the problem with the ABI Research assumptions? It appears to be mixing the netbook/mini-note type Mobile Internet Devices (MID) devices with smartphones. It doesn’t make any sense at all to compare, say, an Asus Eee PC or Nokia N810 (MID devices) with a RIM Blackberry or Nokia N95 or Samsung Blackjack II (smartphones). And, if you did, there is, in fact, a clear mobile OS market leader. It is probably the Symbian S60 with multiple generations of devices from Nokia and Sony-Ericsson that have sold many millions of units. The RIM Blackberry and Windows Mobile can probably be considered significant vertical niche market players in the enterprise space. And, the relative newcomer, the Apple iPhone, certainly has captured a significant mindshare and decent sized market share for a year old device.

I think Linux has made a huge unexpected gain in the mini-notebook space. Previous Linux-based smartphone have not made a dent in the smartphone marketspace. However, this could change if the Google Android based phones take off later this year or early next year. That, however, remains to be seen. And, Apple has a huge headstart on them.