Now a days there are a plethora of options when you decide to buy a SmartPhone. Some are cheap and some are priced hefty. But when you deice to buy a SmartPhone, price is not the only thing that you need to consider. The most basic thing that every SmartPhone buyer needs to pay attention to is the Platform or the SmartPhone OS. This decides the usability of the Phone. Unlike PC the OS of a SmartPhone can not be changed whenever you wish, therefore OS selection need to be done very carefully.
The operating system not only decides the user Interface but also which apps you can run or how you can connect with your friends and a lot of other things. It’s like a boutique, where you go to buy clothes u will wear. Some boutique can have the best clothes in town with a wide range and variety, while some offer very few varieties of clothes. Some OS will offer you a wide range of apps to select from, while some offer a very small apps store, some are easily customizable while some are rigid.
Currently there are various Operating Systems available for SmartPhones like iOS(Apple), Android(Open Source and baked by Google), Blackberry OS(RIM), Windows Mobile 8(Microsoft). The basic difference in all these OS comes down to apps and customization. Android is user friendly and easily customizable while Apple’s iOS is rigid but it provides with a very varied and large app store. While these two leads the pack, Blackberry OS and Windows phone falls behind, but still they have their own personalized fun options. With introduction of Lumia range of Phone by Microsoft-Nokia partnership the Windows 8 OS is gaining some traction.
Apple iOS
iOS gives the feeling of elegance with Simplicity. The home screens come with a simple grid of icons which are moveable. The OS provides a very user friendly interface with simple, logical and consistent design. The built-in apps are a delight to use as they are really well designed, facebook and twitter integration is included in the latest version of OS, with the passbook virtual wallet, robust notifications, built-in video chats with other iOS users.
The primary delight to an iOS user will be the usage of the best app store in business. The third-party applications typically come to iOS first, it offers the best selection in books, movies or even the music store is really good. The problem with this iOS is the hardware compatibility, very few hardware can access all iOS 6.1 features. The OS though is very rigid and thus is not open to customization. The Apple’s iOS is no doubt one of the best OS currently present in the market.
Android OS
Android is Open Source and is backed by Google. Being Open Source one can find various flavors of Android like Samsung has customized it’s own version, LG it’s own. Android is the most widely used OS throughout the world, also it is one of the most compatible OS currently present in the market. This OS can be found on every range of phone; from the low-priced to the high-end phones. The most important feature of an android phone is its customization ability. The android interface offers a wide range of customizing options, you can arrange home screens, add live widgets. The Google’s play store, Android’s app store offers a wide range of apps for every mood.With introduction of Google Now in Android 4.1 it has created a new frontier.
Windows 8 Mobile
The erstwhile Windows Mobile has been replaced with Windows 8 Mobile which brings a seamless integration of Desktop and Mobile. Microsoft has partnered with Nokia and produce Lumia line of Windows 8 powered Mobile. Windows 8 has got one of the most creative interface in the market. It has the perfect balance of simplicity and customizability. The home screens consist of live tiles, which can be rearranged according to the user’s preference or priority of people or information he wants in front. It has the windows features and works brilliantly with Microsoft office, Microsoft exchange and Xbox live gaming. The drawback of Windows phone is fewer apps and hardware options, though it has its own apps and games. On the whole it is good, creatively different and fun to use OS.
Blackberry OS
Blackberry is generally regarded as n enterprise platform. So this OS has very less consumer appeal. Because of the market segment it caters to, it is the most secured OS. The most important feature of Blackberry OS is the Communication. The excellent email and Instant Messenger available in this platform are the default choice of corporate users. It is a God’s gift for those who are only interested in messaging and communication. It has a very cool interface which is easy to use and really helpful at times as everything u want is just a swipe away. Even though it has lots of apps of its own it still falls short of the big names in apps that are provided by Android or iOS.
| Features | Apple iOS | Android | Windows 8 | Blackberry OS |
| Interface | It has a very user-friendly interface with simple, logical and consistent design | It provides very smooth and fast UI response and thus it is also very easy to use | It has one of the most creative interface. It is perfect balance of simplicity and customizability | It comes with a normal yet creative user interface. |
| Interface details | The home screens come with simple grid of icons which are moveable | The home screens has been left to be customized by the user himself with a wide range of widgets | The home screen is a array of live tiles, which can be arranged according to user’s preference or priority | It comes with an universal inbox which saves all your messages and texts together and thus are made available a swipe away |
| App store options | It provides one of the best and very large app store. It offers the best collection of books , movies etc. | It also offers wide range of apps on its store, and is just behind the apple’s iOS. | It has very fewer app options as compared to the leading apple and android OS. | It does not have a good range of apps and is mostly good for communication. |
| Customizability | When it comes to customizability the apple’s OS is very rigid and does not offer much options for it. | It offers one of the best customizability options and a lot of things are left to the user to customize and use. | The windows phone also offers good options for customizability. | The options for customizability are very few. |
| Compatibility | It is not compatible with most of the devices. | It has the best compatibility with hardware in the market and is thus seen with in a lot of phones. | It also offers good compatibility with hardware. | It is very rigid and is not compatible with most of the devices. |
| Best features | Offers a large app store and the built in apps are designed well. | Very simple and smooth UI with great customizability options. | Very creative interface and a good compatibility | Very good OS for messaging and communication. |
Introduction of New OS like Firefox OS and Ubuntu Mobile in recent future is going to make the battle more intense and in future only the fittest with highest flexibility will survive in the long run.