Too many operating systems on mobile phones is hindering the growth of cool mobile applications, according to Arun Sarin, the CEO of Vodafone. In addition, ease of development makes it easier to build an attractive, easy to use application. Mr. Sarin pointed out that the magic number is not one, just fewer than there are now. Apple was cited as an example of how to build that better UI.

Mr. Sarin made his remarks in the keynote session of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, according to Peter Sayer of IDG News Service. "The first imperative for us is world-class user experience," Sarin said. "The easier the interface, the more you use it and the more you get onto the Internet."

Mr. Sarin estimated that there are too many mobile phone OSes, maybe 40 in all, and that’s too many. Fewer would help developers concentrate on a better user experience, he suggested. ""Note, I didn’t say one!" referring to the PC world. "We’ve seen that movie before."

"Apple has raised the bar with the iPhone, and we all now know how important user interfaces are," he said. "We as an industry will have to raise our game to provide the kind of user interface that our customers are now becoming accustomed to."

iPO notes that Apple facilitated that approach by selecting OS X and its development and graphics tools. In hindsight, that was one key decision that led to the success of the iPhone. Now, the other manufacturers will follow suit -- if they can find an OS that fills the bill. Google hopes that Android will be that answer.