The Green Bot is fast gaining steam in India and has now become the leading operating system for smart phones. Here’s a lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not: Android is the most versatile and open OS you can find in the market today. Its user interface is amazingly flexible and although it may come across as complex to some, the choice of customising your widgets (something that iOS lacks) and the user experience more than makes up for that. Google voice by-voice navigation is great and can effectively replace your standard GPS. NFC (Near Field Communication) is making roads into the consumer world and is regarded as the next big thing. iOS 5 missed the trick on this one unlike Android devices, which are increasingly featuring NFC. A seamless Internet experience is guaranteed, with Flash support on board. The Android market is vast and offers over 2,50,000 apps. It gives you the apps you really want and that too, without anyone controlling your choices.
Apple’s renaissance famously started with the ‘Think Different’ campaign and it seems that the Android OS has taken over it. You can choose from a wide range of devices that run Android. Consumer is king and Android respects that, allowing you to choose from companies like HTC, Samsung, Sony and more, all of which bundle this OS with their own customisations. It may prevent a seamless experience of the Android ecosystem, but it stands for what Android is: open, flexible and in tune with consumer choices.
The iOS is the brainchild of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Like Jobs, the iOS is intriguing, suave and also highly controversial primarily because Jobs was adamant about his software working only on Apple devices. But, this is undoubtedly one of his best decisions. An Apple device has its own charm, right from its impeccable hardware to its smooth software functioning. iOS is simple to use, fun to operate and is quick and convenient. The response to user input is immediate and provides a fluid interface. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface. Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device rotating it in three dimensions.
iOS 5 introduced the iCloud service, the notification centre as well as improvements to native apps such as camera. The operating system also features new applications such as the ‘Reminders’ app and iMessage, an application that allows iPod touch, iPhone and iPad users to communicate, much like a chat service but can only be used between these devices (Apple’s answer to BlackBerry Messenger!).
On the whole, an Apple product (both hardware and software) stands in a class of its own. And even though comparisons with other operating systems are inevitable, the iOS holds a place of its own in the consumer market. As Steve Jobs believed, the consumer doesn’t know what they want and it was his ‘job’ to give it to them!
Volume 2 Issue 1
