When it comes to operating system, you must know the mainstream operating system -Android, iOS and Windows Phone. And these days Android4.1 Jelly Bean and iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 have become very hot. Plenty of folks are interested in the three systems, whether they decide to buy a tablet or a smartphone. But what exactly are these systems? Let’s take a closer look at them and compare them in a few aspects.
Apps
Android is currently at 600,000 total apps. Most of those will run on tablets, but the number of tablet-optimized offerings is obviously lower than iOS (Google won't give an official number, but a quick run through Google Play makes the situation abundantly clear).
Apple owns totally 650,000 apps in the app store and 225,000 of them are for iPad.
Windows Phone currently has 100,000 apps available for download, of course less than the other two. Since the Windows 8 tablet is to be waited, there are no apps for tablet at the moment.
Maps
Android 4.1’s mapping system bases on the well-known Google Maps, bringing Street View, 3D and indoor mapping. Integrating with Google Now, the mapping system continues the sat-nav experience for both pedestrians and motorists, providing details of how and when to leave to get to your appointments on time.
A maps service of Apple own is supplied like Google and Microsoft. Not only does it deliver traffic updates, points of interest, and turn-by-turn navigation (which is well integrated throughout iOS 6), there are 3D maps which both look cool and might be helpful when lost in the middle of a crowded metropolis. But Apple lacks public transit directions, which makes users very inconvenient.
Windows Phone 7 was of course a showcase for Microsoft's Bing maps, but the mobile navigation turf will belong to Nokia on Windows Phone 8. Fortunately, there are terrific NAVTEQ maps, turn-by-turn navigation, 3D buildings, offline caching, and dynamic routing for public transit. There aren't many bells and whistles here, though, for better or worse.
Browser Sync
The Chrome Beta on Android also offers tab syncing with your desktop, but bookmark and search syncing in the bargain are thrown. When there are more desktop Chrome users in the world than any other browser, a lot of people will be taking advantage of this feature.
New in iOS 6 are iCloud Tabs, and them unify your browsing across all of your iOS and OS X devices. It's not a full cloud browser that offers the same tab view across all devices but rather a list of tabs tucked behind an icon or sub-menu, along with your bookmarks.
Browser sync is conspicuously absent from Windows Phone, which is odd considering it will run the same version of Internet Explorer that Windows 8 will in the WinRT environment. Then again, with Windows 8 and WP8 both not expected until this fall, there's a lot of time for Microsoft to make this work. Fingers crossed.
Facebook Integration
Android has always been good for Facebook sharing, and there's no reason for that to change with Jelly Bean. You can share and upload from pretty much anywhere in the OS, or inside most Android apps. Plus you can pull Facebook data for your contacts already stored on your phone, or pull all your Facebook friends into your contacts.
Facebook is integrated throughout iOS 6, which means you can update your status and upload images from various apps (not to mention notification center), sync contacts, and have your Facebook events coordinate with your iOS Calendar. Plus a third-party API is on the way, so all apps can integrate Facebook into their wares.
Facebook integration has always been one of Windows Phone's selling points, as the platform seamlessly integrates features like status updates, images, Contacts, Chat, and Events into Microsoft's own sections (People, Messaging, Calendar, etc). It's as well-designed as Facebook integration can get.
Voice Commands
With Jelly Bean, speech recognition is about to get a big update. Google has always allowed for voice search and dictation across the entire OS, but now it taps into Knowledge Graph and a built-in speech recognizer that will be in future devices. Not only should Android voice recognition improve dramatically, but it will recognize voice input even while offline and, like Siri, can spit back Wolfram-like semantic search results (with or without your voice).
Siri wasn't amazing in iOS 5, but it worked. In addition to being able to dictate texts and emails, schedule calendar events, and set timers, Siri in iOS 6 has much more promise, given its ability to pull data from even more sources (sports scores, movie times, dinner reservations), in more useful ways. Plus, Siri will be able to interface with car audio and navigation systems once iOS 6 goes live in the fall.
Windows Phone also has voice commands, allowing you to place calls, send texts, search the web, and launch an app all from your device. It may not have the depth of Google and Apple's efforts, but it's there.
NFC
GGoogle also seems keen to use NFC, using services such as Android Beam and Google Wallet (currently only available in the US). The premier service allows for the instantaneous sharing of contacts, media and apps between two enabled phones, whilst the latter stores your card details to allow instant payment in stores.Google's Android beam gets an overhaul in 4.1. It now provides instant transfer of photos, videos and apps, as well as the instantaneous pairing of NFC enabled Bluetooth devices.
iiOS 6 brings in Passbook. Whilst not entirely a NFC based app, it does provide a lot of the same features, keeping varying tickets to sports, the theatre, airlines or store cards all in one easy to access, and constantly updated place.We're expecting Apple to announce NFC capabilities in the iPhone 5 – given the fact rivals are all over the contactless technology.
Windows Phone 8 packs in Microsoft Wallet, making use of any NFCtechnology packed into handsets. This is all set to tie in to varying applications installed on the phone, allowing payment via services such as Paypal. Other applications, such as instant pairing of Bluetooth accessories will also be supported.
Video Chat
Android's Gmail/Google Talk-based video chat system is a bit more universal, considering you can video chat with anybody who has Gmail on a Mac, PC, or Android phone. And yes, you can chat over 3G or Wi-Fi. But Google's ace in the hole, surprisingly enough, might just be its updated Google+ app, which features improved Hangout support and will be available for both Android and, some day soon, iPad.
Apple has FaceTime, which can place calls over 3G or Wi-Fi, and works fairly well. But its also a pretty insular app that only works with other Apple devices.
Microsoft's secret voice chat weapon is Skype, which is arguably the most universal standard of them all. There are already proper Skype apps for Macs, PCs, iOS, and Android—and Microsoft owns all of them.
Media
With the introduction of the $300 Nexus Q, Google just provided its own streaming standard for Android-based devices. The hubs will be able to take audio and video streams, and spit them out to televisions and speakers (powered by the Q's 25-watt amplifier). Plus you can link hubs together for more robust multi-zone streaming than what Apple offers. Think of it as Sonos for Android, complete with the modest sticker shock.
iOS 6 has Airplay, which has been one of the easier, more intuitive implementations of media streaming we've seen so far. You can push music from your computer or iOS device to AirPlay-approved speakers, AirPort Express routers, and Apple TV (which also accepts video and iOS device mirroring, and soon OS X mirroring). And if you're streaming from a computer, you can push to multiple AirPlay devices. But like some of Apple's other features (FaceTime, iMessage), AirPlay doesn't really extend past the Apple product ecosystem. That said, you'll find AirPlay baked into more and more devices with each passing month.
Windows Phone will have SmartGlass to serve as its media streaming portal to the Xbox. Though built directly on top of DLNA streaming standards, the app simplifies and visualizes the process of pushing content back and forth between the Xbox and Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 devices. Plus, Smart Glass can beam supplementary content to your device while watching a TV show, such as Game of Thrones. Toss in the possibilities for gaming and support for Windows, Android, and iOs, and you have yourself a very intriguing streaming platform.
Tablet support
Android 4.0 was perceived as the operating system that united both smartphone technology with tablet PCs. It took the best of 2.3 (Gingerbread) and combined it with 3.2 (Honeycomb) to provide a seamless experience that has been shown off well on the likes of the Asus Transformer Prime and the released and Google nexus 7 has used the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which is considered as the best android system.
Microsoft shows off the new Microsoft Surface tablet running windows 8 these days for this part. Whilst there is no word from Microsoft as to whether we will see a Windows Phone 8 Tablet, we would bet that it ties in strongly to Windows 8, as they are both based upon the same kernel to allow easy development on both. Since Windows Phone 8 also supports the 1280x768 resolution, seeing a tablet running the mobile OS is not as farfetched as it might once have been.
For iOS, you may have heard of it… the iPad. Taking the world by storm since its release, the iPad has grown in popularity and is boosted by iOS 6 bringing Siri over from the iPhone 4S to the new iPad.
Verdict
The smartphone or tablet markets have the ability to support over one operating system at a time for the demands of the users who want different stuffs from different handsets.However, If we observer the markets we probably know that Apple and Google will remain in the dominant position but the fate of Microsoft is still uncertain.
Android is currently at 600,000 total apps. Most of those will run on tablets, but the number of tablet-optimized offerings is obviously lower than iOS (Google won't give an official number, but a quick run through Google Play makes the situation abundantly clear).
Apple owns totally 650,000 apps in the app store and 225,000 of them are for iPad.
Windows Phone currently has 100,000 apps available for download, of course less than the other two. Since the Windows 8 tablet is to be waited, there are no apps for tablet at the moment.
Maps
Android 4.1’s mapping system bases on the well-known Google Maps, bringing Street View, 3D and indoor mapping. Integrating with Google Now, the mapping system continues the sat-nav experience for both pedestrians and motorists, providing details of how and when to leave to get to your appointments on time.
A maps service of Apple own is supplied like Google and Microsoft. Not only does it deliver traffic updates, points of interest, and turn-by-turn navigation (which is well integrated throughout iOS 6), there are 3D maps which both look cool and might be helpful when lost in the middle of a crowded metropolis. But Apple lacks public transit directions, which makes users very inconvenient.
Windows Phone 7 was of course a showcase for Microsoft's Bing maps, but the mobile navigation turf will belong to Nokia on Windows Phone 8. Fortunately, there are terrific NAVTEQ maps, turn-by-turn navigation, 3D buildings, offline caching, and dynamic routing for public transit. There aren't many bells and whistles here, though, for better or worse.
Browser Sync
The Chrome Beta on Android also offers tab syncing with your desktop, but bookmark and search syncing in the bargain are thrown. When there are more desktop Chrome users in the world than any other browser, a lot of people will be taking advantage of this feature.
New in iOS 6 are iCloud Tabs, and them unify your browsing across all of your iOS and OS X devices. It's not a full cloud browser that offers the same tab view across all devices but rather a list of tabs tucked behind an icon or sub-menu, along with your bookmarks.
Browser sync is conspicuously absent from Windows Phone, which is odd considering it will run the same version of Internet Explorer that Windows 8 will in the WinRT environment. Then again, with Windows 8 and WP8 both not expected until this fall, there's a lot of time for Microsoft to make this work. Fingers crossed.
Facebook Integration
Android has always been good for Facebook sharing, and there's no reason for that to change with Jelly Bean. You can share and upload from pretty much anywhere in the OS, or inside most Android apps. Plus you can pull Facebook data for your contacts already stored on your phone, or pull all your Facebook friends into your contacts.
Facebook is integrated throughout iOS 6, which means you can update your status and upload images from various apps (not to mention notification center), sync contacts, and have your Facebook events coordinate with your iOS Calendar. Plus a third-party API is on the way, so all apps can integrate Facebook into their wares.
Facebook integration has always been one of Windows Phone's selling points, as the platform seamlessly integrates features like status updates, images, Contacts, Chat, and Events into Microsoft's own sections (People, Messaging, Calendar, etc). It's as well-designed as Facebook integration can get.
Voice Commands
With Jelly Bean, speech recognition is about to get a big update. Google has always allowed for voice search and dictation across the entire OS, but now it taps into Knowledge Graph and a built-in speech recognizer that will be in future devices. Not only should Android voice recognition improve dramatically, but it will recognize voice input even while offline and, like Siri, can spit back Wolfram-like semantic search results (with or without your voice).
Siri wasn't amazing in iOS 5, but it worked. In addition to being able to dictate texts and emails, schedule calendar events, and set timers, Siri in iOS 6 has much more promise, given its ability to pull data from even more sources (sports scores, movie times, dinner reservations), in more useful ways. Plus, Siri will be able to interface with car audio and navigation systems once iOS 6 goes live in the fall.
Windows Phone also has voice commands, allowing you to place calls, send texts, search the web, and launch an app all from your device. It may not have the depth of Google and Apple's efforts, but it's there.
NFC
GGoogle also seems keen to use NFC, using services such as Android Beam and Google Wallet (currently only available in the US). The premier service allows for the instantaneous sharing of contacts, media and apps between two enabled phones, whilst the latter stores your card details to allow instant payment in stores.Google's Android beam gets an overhaul in 4.1. It now provides instant transfer of photos, videos and apps, as well as the instantaneous pairing of NFC enabled Bluetooth devices.
iiOS 6 brings in Passbook. Whilst not entirely a NFC based app, it does provide a lot of the same features, keeping varying tickets to sports, the theatre, airlines or store cards all in one easy to access, and constantly updated place.We're expecting Apple to announce NFC capabilities in the iPhone 5 – given the fact rivals are all over the contactless technology.
Windows Phone 8 packs in Microsoft Wallet, making use of any NFCtechnology packed into handsets. This is all set to tie in to varying applications installed on the phone, allowing payment via services such as Paypal. Other applications, such as instant pairing of Bluetooth accessories will also be supported.
Video Chat
Android's Gmail/Google Talk-based video chat system is a bit more universal, considering you can video chat with anybody who has Gmail on a Mac, PC, or Android phone. And yes, you can chat over 3G or Wi-Fi. But Google's ace in the hole, surprisingly enough, might just be its updated Google+ app, which features improved Hangout support and will be available for both Android and, some day soon, iPad.
Apple has FaceTime, which can place calls over 3G or Wi-Fi, and works fairly well. But its also a pretty insular app that only works with other Apple devices.
Microsoft's secret voice chat weapon is Skype, which is arguably the most universal standard of them all. There are already proper Skype apps for Macs, PCs, iOS, and Android—and Microsoft owns all of them.
Media
With the introduction of the $300 Nexus Q, Google just provided its own streaming standard for Android-based devices. The hubs will be able to take audio and video streams, and spit them out to televisions and speakers (powered by the Q's 25-watt amplifier). Plus you can link hubs together for more robust multi-zone streaming than what Apple offers. Think of it as Sonos for Android, complete with the modest sticker shock.
iOS 6 has Airplay, which has been one of the easier, more intuitive implementations of media streaming we've seen so far. You can push music from your computer or iOS device to AirPlay-approved speakers, AirPort Express routers, and Apple TV (which also accepts video and iOS device mirroring, and soon OS X mirroring). And if you're streaming from a computer, you can push to multiple AirPlay devices. But like some of Apple's other features (FaceTime, iMessage), AirPlay doesn't really extend past the Apple product ecosystem. That said, you'll find AirPlay baked into more and more devices with each passing month.
Windows Phone will have SmartGlass to serve as its media streaming portal to the Xbox. Though built directly on top of DLNA streaming standards, the app simplifies and visualizes the process of pushing content back and forth between the Xbox and Windows 8/Windows Phone 8 devices. Plus, Smart Glass can beam supplementary content to your device while watching a TV show, such as Game of Thrones. Toss in the possibilities for gaming and support for Windows, Android, and iOs, and you have yourself a very intriguing streaming platform.
Tablet support
Android 4.0 was perceived as the operating system that united both smartphone technology with tablet PCs. It took the best of 2.3 (Gingerbread) and combined it with 3.2 (Honeycomb) to provide a seamless experience that has been shown off well on the likes of the Asus Transformer Prime and the released and Google nexus 7 has used the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which is considered as the best android system.
Microsoft shows off the new Microsoft Surface tablet running windows 8 these days for this part. Whilst there is no word from Microsoft as to whether we will see a Windows Phone 8 Tablet, we would bet that it ties in strongly to Windows 8, as they are both based upon the same kernel to allow easy development on both. Since Windows Phone 8 also supports the 1280x768 resolution, seeing a tablet running the mobile OS is not as farfetched as it might once have been.
For iOS, you may have heard of it… the iPad. Taking the world by storm since its release, the iPad has grown in popularity and is boosted by iOS 6 bringing Siri over from the iPhone 4S to the new iPad.
Verdict
The smartphone or tablet markets have the ability to support over one operating system at a time for the demands of the users who want different stuffs from different handsets.However, If we observer the markets we probably know that Apple and Google will remain in the dominant position but the fate of Microsoft is still uncertain.
