Can Apple's iOS really beat Google's Android?

[bhishma]

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.

[rhitwick]

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.

[gagan007]

No, it cannot, not in hundred years and it obvious from the increasing rate of mobile market being captured by Android devices.

[sourabh9agrawal]

Why everybody is in quantitative race?How many of us can install 1 lakh applications in our mobile and actually use all of them?None.The point here is the quality.I dont consider that ios is superior because it has greater amount of applications.Its the stability that makes an ios great.In rest all of the categories android is superior than ios.I use an android phone and iam free to do any thing with it, no restrictions at all.Its the restriction which makes ios really bad os,actually its the company strategy.So if some one wants to use mobile as a mobile only and need to limit its networking capabilities and have lots of money to waste and who donot want any customer support and can handle some signal reception problems so for them ios suitable for rest android is here to stay for long.

[krates]

IOS all the way because its UI rocks... none phone os has ever able been able to match up to it..!

[Sam]

depends on personal choices. some mayn't like the default UI of iOS & its inability to install theme. if you start comparing these two, it may even suppress Win vs Linux comparison also.

[NainO]

Like rhitwick said its android which is trying to catch up with iOS.
Apple iphone store market hav more than 3 lakh apps whereas android market hav more than 1 lakh. But android market hav 60% apps FREE.
Even the latest installment iOS4 is uncapable of full multitasking. On the contrary android hav full multitasking support from the very beggining.
In mobile industries, android is the top gainer and hav more %age than iOS. The OS with most %age decrease in its market share is SYMBIAN, buy still it tops in market with highest %age.

[hahahari]

I would just be happy if they both try to beat each other hard and then both improving their products tremendously. I dont care who wins if the consumers (ME!) benifits.

[allenmobis]

Well! If you like how the iPhone and the IOS is running things, life is beautiful. And to be perfectly fair, Apple design engineers whose job is to make sure you'll love the interface and how it works. Nevertheless, for example, If you want more control over how the widgets appear or what the interface looks, then in this case, Android is your best option. Simply the Best!

[SunnyChahal]

Originally Posted by bhishma

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.

Originally Posted by gagan007

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.

Originally Posted by rhitwick

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.

Originally Posted by krates

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.

[gagan007]

I never said about the existing market share, I was talking about the rate at which Android is spreading its legs (may be I should be more specific next time).

You know when Nokia tumbled Motorola's monopoly back in 90s, it was termed a paradigm shift by specialists. I do not know if you know this already or not but just for the sake of other members (good I specified myself now), Motorola was adamant on using the existing technology (analog) for wireless communication. They thought that as they were the market leaders, others will follow them anyhow. Nokia changed the equation by bringing digital tech to the market.

I think people at the helm in Nokia have forgotten about that and they are on the same path as Motorola at that time. They received a big blow in the form of iPhone and in my personal opinion Android might bring a change to seal the fate of Nokia (it may be too early to say, but hey no one is gonna charge me for that )

[desiibond]

Of course Android will be the no.1 The reason is simple:

iOS device manufacturers: Apple

Symbian device manufacturers: Nokia, Sony Ericsson
Android device manufacturers: SE, Motorola, HTC, Samsu
ng, LG, Asus, Acer, Dell, Garmin ,Huawei, Toshiba, Creative, NEC, Sharp, ZTE, Lenovo etc. And the list is increasing.

The more the manufacturers are, the better the choice and and competition will be fierce. Choice is the main reason why we are seeing heavy growth of Android. Had Google made Android closed source and had they put it only one their Nexus device, it would've bombed big time and people would've forgot about it by now.

[gagan007]

this person ---> kbharathb is spamming the board...someone ban him and ban him quick...


EDIT: This is embarrassing. I saw his another post in other thread which was out of context. That had same site links. I thought he was an auto-bot

[desiibond]

Originally Posted by kbharathb

100% it cannot bec apple is The world’s largest app platform.
With over 250,000 apps in practically every category, iOS 4 is the platform for the world’s largest collection of mobile apps. Apple gives third-party developers a rich set of tools and APIs, and they’ve been creating apps and games that redefine what a mobile device can do. Where to find these apps? Just browse the App Store from your iPhone and download them with a tap.

Hold on buddy. how many apps of those 250k apps are worth getting? There are 999 twitter apps but hardly 12 are worth using. If you still not aware, Android already overtook iOS in USA and in one step away to be the biggest platform ouside USA

[bhishma]

There are many experts here

[desiibond]

Originally Posted by bhishma

There are many experts here

^^^^Troll!

[SunnyChahal]

Originally Posted by bhishma

there are many experts here

Troll! Fail! Ban! Nao!

[krates]

afterall jailbreaking your device is legal so why people talk crap that you can't customize IOS???

[sam9s]

iOS ... use the phone as Apple wants ....... Android ..... Use the Phone as "you" want .....Simple ....... the level of customization on Android is impeccable PERIOD. iOS brought multitasking and few other updates which is like reinventing the wheel and people are raving about it ..... strange ....... iPhone 4, retina display the best human eye can perceive, but S-AMOLED looks strangely better ........ I can go on .... but I guess you get the idea .....