OS War (Android Vs Windows)

Windows Phone 7 is a pretty OS with slick animations and fast performance. Microsoft is no stranger to the smartphone OS market either. Altogether, it has released 12 versions of its mobile OS between the 2000 and 2010, from Pocket PC in 2000 to Windows Phone 7 in 2010 – although the first 11 were arguably pretty awful.

Pros:

• Slick and consistent UI (in terms of menus)
• Decent app selection at launch (Netflix, Slacker, Slingplayer, Shazam, USAA, Endomondo, Xbox LIVE games)
• Zune integration rocks and is good for downloading and streaming music
• Facebook integration is good
• Very stable
• Superb Exchange support, including multiple Exchange account support

Cons:

• No multi-tasking, results in lots of reloading…
• No cut, copy, and paste
• No custom ringtone capability
• Limited customizability on Start screen
• Lack of some key apps (Evernote, Kindle or Nook, and podcatcher)
• Office apps are pretty limited in terms of what you can do from the phone
• Inconsistency in auto rotation (especially lame with kickstand and then Zune always in portrait mode)
• Lock into Zune software for PC connections (no drive or file access)
• Lack of tethering support
• Lack of ability to capture screenshots

On the other Hand, Google’s Android operating system has grown exponentially during the last 12 months. So much so, in fact, that analysts reckon it’ll be the most widely used OS globally by 2012.

Pros:

• True multi-tasking where apps can be running at the same time as other apps
• Customizability of the home screen and panels
• Excellent application selection in the Android Market
• Google services integration with Voice, Listen, Search, Gmail, and Maps
• Full access to the directory structure on the device
• Excellent Exchange integration with slick view options (conversation, faves, attachments)
• Awesome mobile web browser with best text reflow support compared to ANY other platform
• Google Maps Navigation service that is tough to beat and has proven to be reliable
• WiFi Hotspot tethering capability
• Widgets for things such as wireless connection management
• Swype text entry keyboard

Cons:

• Limited quality gaming
• Repeated contact indexing with the Genius button
• Lack of content sources for media (music and video)