Just in case you’re wondering, OS stands for operating system, so a mobile OS is the software that runs your mobile phone.
If you’re confused, think of how Windows controls a PC and you won’t go too far wrong.
‘Why is this so important?’ you might ask.
Well, we can do much more than make calls with our phones these days. So much so that they’ve become like mini-computers; meaning software has a crucial role to play.
A phone can no longer get away with looking good externally; it needs brains to go with the beauty.
Therefore, the OS powering a phone becomes a crucial factor when you’re deciding which handset to go for.
The question is, which OS is currently leading the way?
Lets investigate.
Apple’s iOS
The iPhone (and iPad) are both powered by iOS, which has redefined the way we not only think about mobile phones, but computing as a whole.
The main plus points of iOS are it’s speedy performance, slick image and the millions of applications you can download to extend its functionality from the gargantuan App store.
The main drawbacks are that iOS is only available on Apple products meaning it essentially only lives on one handset – the iPhone.
So if this software is your OS of choice, the decision about your next phone is already made for you and it’s pretty much a case of ‘tough luck’ if your not a fan of the hardware.
Choice is restricted in other ways too, particularly when it comes to appearance. Whilst other operating systems allow you to completely customise layout, icons and various other bits and bobs, you’re heavily restricted with iOS.
It’s kind of like Apple saying ‘this is how our phone should look, so don’t mess with it’.
That’s a difficult pill to swallow for many, but they get away with it for the most part because their OS is so damn good.
It’s safe to say Android has taken over the world in the last year or so, with big name phone manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC and Sony Ericsson all adopting the software as their primary OS of choice.
And that’s the real beauty of Google’s system; you can enjoy it on an assortment of handsets meaning there’s quite-literally an Android phone for everyone, available in all manner of shapes, sizes and colours.
Android itself is also completely customisable, so you can make your phone “your phone” by dragging and dropping whatever you see fit onto your main screen.
Like Apple’s system, there’s a massive application shop (Android Market), which isn’t as big as the App Store, but is growing steadily and already boasts hundreds of thousands of useful apps.
If there is a drawback to Android, it’s that it can get glitchy at times meaning it isn’t quite as smooth as iOS at present, but over time its unquestionably becoming bigger, better and more refined.
Microsoft brings all their big toys to the party with their much-improved OS, namely the Office suite of tools (Word, Excel, etc) as well as the might of Xbox gaming.
So you’ve immediately got two gigantic markets to entice: the Microsoft Office loving business crowd and the millions of online gamers.
The OS itself is decent, but the consensus seems to be that it lacks several of the major features you can get on iOS and Android handsets.
One major plus of Microsoft’s mobile OS is the awesome tiled home display, which allows you to fully customise your experience. It’s clever, interesting and completely original.
The MarketPlace is where you go to get your app fix but it has a way to go to get anywhere near iOS or Android in terms of the number of applications available.
Like Android, there are loads of Windows phones to choose from with more hitting the shelves every week, so you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to hardware and that’s certainly a nice position to be in.
Best of the rest
The Blackberry OS and particularly Nokia’s aging Symbian format both come up well short of the above three in my opinion, but even though I discounted them from the contest I thought they were worthy of an honourable mention.
The result
My personal preference is for Android simply because I think it’s generally better than Windows in most ways and offers greater freedom of choice than Apple’s iOS, which is restricted solely to the iPhone.
So there you have it, my OS of choice – Android.
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