Android versus iOS – A mobile operating system platform war between Apple & Google is reaching boiling point as the search giant readies its tablet-friendly Honeycomb for a host of upcoming slates.
Should you be running Apple’s iPhone 4 or Android’s HTC Inspired 4G, Droid X, Droid Incredible, Nexus etc. What is the differences between the two operating systems and which one is going to give me the best buck for my Dollar?
The Android versus iOS platform war is heating up, with very little differentiating these two compeditors from each other. For example, just one day after Apple announced its new in-app subscription model (Apple is looking to take a 30% cut of all subscriptions sold on IOS devices), Google responded with a similar scheme. Google may soon launch its long-expected music service to compete with iTunes, and Apple may be trying to hone in on mobile social products such as Google Buzz with a revamped Mobile Me (allowing you to share photo’s with your friends).
Here’s a breakdown of some of the major features in the iOS and Android universes. Hopefully this will help you show who’s got what and which platform offers you the best features you are looking for:
- Third-party Apps
In a classic case of “mine’s bigger,” Apple, Google and the press spend a lot of time talking about how many apps the two stores have. The reality is that each store reached its critical mass a long time ago i.e. there is essentially an app for any major feature in both stores.
There are some gaps, such as Android’s lack of a Netflix streaming app, but for the most part each store has its fair share of apps. But in case you were wondering, iTunes has more than 350,000 iPhone apps plus a few thousand more specifically for the iPad. Android had more than 100,000 apps at last count in late 2010, that number has likely gone up dramatically since then. A recent study by security firm Lookout found the Android market was growing at a rate three times faster than the iTunes App Store.
In conclusion, both platforms are fairly evenly matched in the apps contest.
- Music and Video
Apple’s U.S. iTunes music store has more than 13 million songs and is the dominant player in the U.S. digital music business owning about 70 percent of the market. Google hasn’t got into the music game yet, but the search giant has been talking about a cloud-based music service for Android for close to a year. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said Google’s music service would be launching soon, according to the Guardian. Google and Motorola have a close working relationship on Android products such as the first Honeycomb-based tablet the Motorola Xoom.
As for video, Apple again has a wide selection of movies and TV shows on iTunes, while Android relies on third-party services such as Blockbuster.
To sum this up, Apple is still leading the multimedia game. However, Android has big plans in store for us and is sure to give iTunes a run for its money shortly.
- Mobile Hardware
Hardware is easily the biggest differentiator for the two platforms. Apple currently sells just two smartphone models, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS (essentially the iPhone 4 is just a revampted iPhone 3GS, hence the same product). Both are available on two different carriers in the U.S (Verizon Wireless and At&t – see updates on this battle in following blogs). Apple also sells the iPod Touch and the iPad.
Android has nearly 40 Android phones available for sale in the U.S. at all four major U.S. carriers. And has more than eight iPad-like Android devices available, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Dell Streak 7, but the Motorola Xoom and HTC Flyer are coming soon as well as devices from LG, Toshiba, a new Galaxy Tab and many others.
Hence, there is a much wider range of products to chose from for Android giving you a better chance at finding a phone that fits your needs. Having said that the iPhone is still very much a premier cell phone and is the popular, trendy phone amongst the multi media sect. The Android phones are catching, if not already caught up, with Apple in this respect and offers competing phones at a more competitive price.
- Set-top Boxes
Both companies are using their mobile platforms to enter the highly contested set-top box market (control the gaming and tv market). Google has made more of an attempt to enter this market with Google TV, which combines television, online video and the Web into one platform for set-top boxes and Internet-connected HDTVs. But Google TV has seen resistance from major television networks unhappy with Google’s multimedia mash-up.
The iOS-based Apple TV is a more humble offering than Google TV that includes Netflix, iTunes and PC-to-Apple TV streaming via AirPlay. Google plans on opening up Google TV to third-party apps, and Apple is expected to do the same for Apple TV.
- The Web
Both platforms making use of the latest coding (HTML 5) and support the highly functional Web apps available.
Adobe Flash is where the two systems differ (Adobe Flash video–the most popular format for Web video). Apple is pushing for Web sites to adopt their iOS-friendly mp4 format by refusing to allow Flash functionality to be built into iOS. Android, meanwhile, supports Adobe Flash 10.1 in Android 2.2 or greater.
Hence, this is a limiting function in the Apple platform, though a larege number of video content is also encoded using iOS-compatible formats.
- Extras
There are plenty of other extras offered on the two platforms. Google’s Android, for example, offers extensive voice commands for sending text messages, e-mail, placing phone calls, Web browsing, opening apps and search. The iPhone’s native voice commands include music playback controls and voice-activated dialing; however, you can use Google’s iOS app for voice-based search.
Both companies are trying to get into the social space, however, neither of their attempts have made any real impact on the likes of Facebook an Twitter.
My take on it:
The question is really which is better for you. As you can see there is very little in it when you compare Android versus iOS – both offer all the latest features and user experiences. The Android OS is still fresh out the box and when version 2 is released this tally might well skew a little in favor of Android. Apple’s iPhone still carries a more trendy status symbol than the Android phones. However, this is changing and if your ego is in check you will most likely get more bang for your buck with an Adroid phone which are well placed and offer all the latest features and more.
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