Can Apple's iOS really beat Google's Android?
if the iPhone can beat Android as a mobile phone OS. I still don’t think it can in the long run, but a CDMA or dual-band iPhone will certainly give Android a run for its money in the mobile space. However, I’ll gladly take some fragmentation if it means I can have a variety of devices made smarter, better, and more connected by their use of Android. Hardware and software developers don’t think of iOS as an embedded operating system. Android, on the other hand, can absolutely be the embedded OS for a new generation of devices. And several million smartphones along the way.
Well you see, iOS is currently leading the mobile market when it comes to ease of use, slickness of the OS, number of apps and other such factors. It should be noted that I'm not talking about the numbers. If we go by the numbers, then it's Symbian, Android and then iOS.
As for fragmentation, it is the only thing that might kill Android. Yes, it might just kill Android. Manufacturers are plastering their buggy and bloated custom skins on a beautiful OS. I have used the Nexus One and it's snappier than the iPhone and I don't think I encountered many UI bugs. Now that was about the UI.
Let's talk about the updates. Google left the OS updates entirely up to the manufacturers which is nothing but a giant pain in the behind for us, the consumers. I bought my Samsung Galaxy S back in July and I am still waiting for the 'promised' Android 2.2 a.k.a FroYo update. Manufacturers release updates whenever they damned well please. The Android OS versions currently in the market are 1.5(Cupcake), 1.6(Donut), 2.0(Eclair), 2.1(Eclair), 2.1.1(Eclair), 2.2(FroYo) and the upcoming 2.3(Gingerbread). This leads to even more fragmentation.
Coming to screen sizes now. Screens on Android phones range from as minute as 2.8"(HTC Wildfire etc) to as huge as 7"(Samsung Galaxy Tab. I consider it as a big Galaxy S because it is.)
Too many versions of one OS and too many different screen sizes make it very difficult for developers to develop quality apps for Android. What Microsoft have done with Windows Phone 7 is that they have laid down certain rules for the manufacturers which they 'have' to follow. Screen sizes are only 3.7", 4.0" or 4.3". Plus the hardware has been specified too. This doesn't leave a developer dumbfounded like in the case of the Galaxy Tab. Sasmsung tossed out a 7" phone and now most of the apps on the Android Market fail to scale properly to the screen.
Some apps are only compatible with 2.0+ version of Android or screens with specific resolutions.
Apart from that, different manufacturers and carrier like Amazon, Samsung, Verizon etc. are coming up with their own app stores. This makes it increasingly difficult for users to find the apps they want.
So, fragmentation is only good up to a certain point. What's happening to Android is insanity.
No, it cannot, not in hundred years and it obvious from the increasing rate of mobile market being captured by Android devices.
Even Symbian has a huge market share and last time I checked, people weren't talking so well about it.
Dude its the other way around.
Its Android trying to catch up with iOS. iOS now holds some lakhs of apps and Android still to match that level.
But, being an Open Source project it has every chance of crossing iOS in near future.
Yes, considering that it is an Open Source project, it might surpass iOS in near future. But what Google needs to do is put a leash on the manufacturers and stop the Android Market from fragmenting. If the current trend goes on, Android would be the next Linux.
IOS all the way because its UI rocks... none phone os has ever able been able to match up to it..!
A phone is not limited to the UI. If we go with the UI, even Windows Vista looked great. We all know how good it was.
Other factors such as control over your device, being able to do stuff that you want, having the latest technologies on your device ( Yes, I'm talking about Flash 10.1) is what matters too.
I use both Android and iOS on daily basis and I find iOS to be much more polished, at least for now. It has all the apps I need and I'm talking about high quality apps, not the add ridden ones. I would start using Android full time if it gets apps of iOS quality. One more gripe about Android is the Samsung TouchWiz on my Galaxy S. It's laggy and buggy. Really hoping Google does away with this Custom UI crap in Gingerbread.
If you ask me, I'm rooting for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 as I am kind of a Microsoft fan, Windows and Xbox 360 user. Microsoft have worked really hard on integration. It's not that they've tied their OS to their own phone. They're licensing it to Manufacturers like Samsung , HTC, Dell, LG and they are coming up with all sorts of cool devices. But the OS updates, the Windows Phone Marketplace and other OS-related stuff is being controlled by Microsoft. Manufacturers have no control over updates and all. They just make the hardware and that's about it. No custom UI, no manufacturer bullcrap.That is the policy that Google should follow with Android if they want to compete with iOS.
