The battle for dominance of the smartphone world is one that has been raging for a few years. Speed of connection is not the only consideration when you are surfing on the move; you also need to choose with what device to use that web access. The big three are going head to head again with official releases so how do they compare?
Interface
Windows
It was interesting to see Microsoft take a jab at Android during their Windows Phone 8 launch event. Windows Phone 8 improves on Windows Phone 7 by allowing users to further customize the home screen.
While I applaud Microsoft allowing users this massive level of customization, it’s actually pretty basic. The Live Tile idea makes the interface interesting because allows users to quickly view important information. The Windows Phone 8 interface is just another way to present information, as Android has widgets that do much the same.
Microsoft's offering bases itself around a system of 'LiveTiles'. These are used in a similar way to widgets on Android, providing information at a quick glance. Users of Windows Phone 7, or Windows 8 on tablets or desktops will feel right at home.
In terms of user customisation, much like iOS, Windows Phone 8 is relatively closed. Live Tiles can be resized, so that more important tiles can take up more screen real estate, and the tile colour can be any of 20 variations. It is also possible to change the lock screen, to bring up photos, or widgets and notifications.
iOS
The iOS 7 interface is a radical new look compared with previous iterations. Although with a clean and modern new look, the formula based upon simplicity is one that has been stuck to. Icons have had an overhaul, and there is transparency through apps, giving iOS devices a more unified feel.
Users familiar with previous iOS versions may be in for a bit of a shock, with elements such as the lock screen taking a new look. Elements now seem more rounded, and much brighter than before. On the face of it, things seem very different with iOS 7, but the real changes go deeper.
Apple Inc. is releasing a new iPhone that is said to be a ditto copy of the iPhone 5 on September 10 2013.
Android
Android is currently sitting at version 4.2, which is another iteration of the popular Jelly Bean OS. Jelly Bean built upon the work done by 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with everything being much smoother with 'Project Butter', and the introduction of Google Now.
Pretty much every OEM has placed a skin over the top of Android, take a look at HTC's Sense, Samsung's Touchwiz or Huawei's Emotion UI.
That said, nigh on every version builds on the use of multiple home screens populated with widgets, and apps being kept tidy in a 'drawer'.
Stock Android 4.2 doesn’t change anything visually but include internal improvements. Android still offers an excellent amount of customization while offering an easy to use interface. If you don’t like the stock experience, the Google Play store also features a lot of launchers that can replace the stock one.
Features
Windows Phone 8 offers a lot of interesting features that are comparable to other operating systems. The ecosystem that Microsoft is trying to present sounds excellent because it bridges Windows Phone 8 users together while allowing non-Windows Phone 8 users to participate. In the launch event, VP Joe Belfiore directly mentioned iPhone users would be able to see shared calendars.
Data Sense is a lot like Android’s Data Usage setting. It monitors how much data is used and adds Wi-Fi hotspot search. Microsoft’s claim that it will compress webpages for more site browsing is only a slight bonus because most data usage comes from apps. It’s nice of Microsoft to condense the amount of data used on mobile browsers, but I can’t see people browsing site to site once app developers release their native apps for Windows Phone.
Kid’s Corner is an interesting addition because it creates a sub-user account for kids on the device. It’s a great way for parents to control the usage of their device, but it's more likely that the majority of users will only have one user.
The Android 4.2 update adds more function to Google Now, which is available for anyone running Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). It adds Gmail scanning for flight info and package tracking as new cards. Google plans on continuously adding more cards for Google Now.
Another big feature added to Android 4.2 is the use of Knowledge Graph to provide better answers to searches. In terms of search, Android’s link to Google Search has been good, but Knowledge Graph will help improve the quality of results. Smaller updates include tablet-only multiple account support, gesture typing, and more functionality with notifications which don’t dramatically change the experience on Android.
iOS 6 hasn’t really shown the usefulness of the apps that Apple was proud to announce.Maps is still a work-in-progress and Passbook doesn't have many supporting apps. Siri received an update for more accurate results and you can use voice to post to Facebook, but there wasn’t anything drastically different. The latest OS does allow you to share photos in your Photo Stream and iCloud, but the cloud backup service isn’t transparent for most users.
Life in the Cloud
Microsoft is pushing Skydrive integration with Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. Content is automatically uploaded to Skydrive allowing you to access it through a browser. It’s great to see Microsoft starting to use Skydrive as a service bridging Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. The auto uploads will help photophiles a lot and the ability to create and edit documents in Office 2013 will be a benefit for users. Skydrive offers 7 GB of free storage, but still hasn’t defined exactly how well Skydrive will work between devices. Microsoft is really starting its push towards more a more seamless ecosystem for first party services.
Though Microsoft is pushing Skydrive as the best cloud-based system, Android has been cementing itself in cloud productivity with Google Drive for years. The focus on cloud syncing in Android makes it possible to easily switch from device to device with the same account and still have all your info and files. You can use the different productivity apps in Google Drive and see the updates push to the webapp with almost no delay. Android’s cloud service is built into the majority of its apps.
Apple’s cloud presence is a lot more minimal. There isn’t much cloud productivity inside any of the first party Apple apps because you have to buy the various iWork apps on both iOS and OS X. Google offers Google Drive apps for free, but syncing between Apple devices requires you to buy multiple versions of the same program on different devices. iCloud backups on iOS devices is still very convoluted. You can choose which app data to backup to iCloud, but all apps are set to backup by default which can fill your storage quickly.
Having data backups for certain apps is great like game data or user settings, but the 5 GB that Apple offers feels very small even compared to the same amount of space that Google offers. Apple claims having easy backup solutions, but there are issues with what Apple decides what will or will not count against the 5GB of storage. If you have a lot of apps, those 5 GB could be filled quickly without you even realizing it.
Maps
Given the kerfuffle surrounding the launch of iOS Maps on iOS 6, there was a disappointing lack of map based announcements with iOS7, although 'developers have been making great improvements to Maps', which will bring features such as being able to push mapping info from a Mac of MacBook to an iDevice.
There has been no such problems for mapping on Android, given that Google has managed to port across its Google Maps desktop browser application so successfully.
Google maps provides one of the most comprehensive mapping apps available, as well as being able to provide information through its Local app, and sat-navving via the Navigation app. Google's recent acquisition of Waze is going to throw in user based traffic updates as well.
Microsoft has also got a decent map app. Bing maps brings over many features that were prevalent throughout Nokia phones of old, including Nokia's turn-by-turn directions from Nokia Drive. Other useful features include downloading maps for offline use, pinning favourite locations and Local Scout (similar to Google's Local).
Multi-tasking
iOS7 brings more changes to the Multi-tasking window as well. No longer does a swipe from the bottom bring up recently used apps, but a newer interface that shows information from the app screen, as well as the app icons along the bottom.
Google's multi-tasking has been handled for a long time through the long press of the home button, if the device has one, or through the dedicated button on total touch screen devices. This brings up a quick window of what was last on the app whilst you were using it, and can be swiped to dismiss.
Windows Phone 8 has a similar method of bringing up its multi-tasking window. Long pressing the back button brings up the multi-tasking screen, allowing users to flick across to the app they wish to use.
Verdict
It is impossible to draw firm conclusions.
iOS is a stable and intuitive platform. It is the most immediately easy to use mobile OS. But it is limited: even with the plethora of apps available our tester found it difficult to complete tasks involving Office or Flash. The iOS7 launch is arguably as important to the Cupertino-based firm since Steve Jobs first took the stage in 2007 to launch the original iPhone. A number of previous devices (iPhone 4, 4S, 5, iPad 2, 3, 4, iPad Mini and iPod Touch 5th generation) will be getting the update, with the OS also being a major precursor to the upcoming iPhone 5S/6, iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2. Apple therefore has a very large existing customer base ready to upgrade, with those on earlier iDevices also potentially looking to the launches of the next line of products. iOS is also highly successful in the business market, as well as the personal market. It is therefore almost impossible to say that iOS7 will be a flop, after all the trouble that Apple maps gave iOS6, it is still very popular.
Android is Apple's biggest worry, making strides through the mobile market.Android handsets are still the most popular on a world wide scale, but only just over a third are actually running Jelly Bean, with the fragmentation the major negative point against what is a highly versatile platform. Google Play offers a comparable selection of apps and media, it is a genuine rival to Apple's platform. But this customisable OS remains a compromise: it is not as polished as iOS, and it offers not as much in the way of true functionality as does Windows 8 Pro.
Windows Phone 8 has the most to prove among the three operating systems. Since the device and OS is an entire step forward from Windows Phone 7.5 because it requires new hardware to experience, Microsoft has to sell the usefulness of the device and the connectivity between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Releasing alongside Windows 8 and highlighting the connectivity between each OS, Microsoft has an uphill battle convincing users to switch from Android or iOS. It can do it all, but the learning curve is steep. There is literally nothing you can't do on a Windows 8 phone that you can do on a PC including editing your documents with the Microsoft's gem product- Office.
Another subtle but effective change in the navigation settings is the
ability to sort all apps more easily, set desktop apps to be listed
first, and keep your desktop background on the Start screen.
