What do you think, which is better – iPhone or Android? Well if you are not able to decide on one, that’s OK because both these operating systems are among the best in the market. In this article, we will try to figure out the benefits one has on the other, so that when it comes to buying one, you are well-informed.

The question whether iOS or Android is a better operating system is being discussed in newspapers, magazines and most prominently on the internet. The debate has assumed prime significance as according to com score data, despite Apple launching the ambitious iPhone 4G, its market share dipped again. iPhone and Android both are in competition with each other to dominate the smartphone market. Some of the latest reports are not so heartening for Apple. Canalys, an analysis firm found out that out of the total number of mobile phones shipped in the third quarter of U.S., 44% were Android based compared to iPhone’s 26%. Nielsen too released a study stating that Android phones outsold all other smartphone platforms. Despite all these surveys pointing towards an increased popularity of Android phones, die-hard iPhone fans still believe that iPhone is something that comes out once in a generation and thus is invincible. We certainly can’t conclude who is the winner in this rivalry, but we can help a bit in comparing various features of both the operating systems. One thing that is to be remembered is, there are hundreds of phones that use Android operating system as compared to Apple’s four iPhones

User-Friendly

On an ease-of-use perspective, most critics believe that using applications on the iPhone is much easier than Android devices. Even if iPhone is your first smartphone, the experience will be cleaner and simpler. Android, as it is still coming up, just needs to fine-tune a bit.

Control

Android phones allow you to bring widgets to your home screen to have recent updates, without you having to launch a dedicated application. iPhone on the other hand rules with an iron fist. Apple provides tools and guidelines but enforces them rigidly and then the apps can get rejected as well. Android is an open source software for installing applications from even outside the market.

Multitasking

Android is better suited for multitasking as compared to iPhone. You can even install a new application with another one running in the background. iPhone on the other hand is a bit rigid as far as multitasking is concerned.

Applications

The Apple apps store has about 200,000 applications as compared to Android’s 100,000. While apps can be free or paid for in Apple apps store, Android has the advantage that all the apps are free.

Choice of Phones

If you want an iPhone operating system, you have a limited choice of phones. One can choose either iPhone 4G or the iPhone 3GS. The older iPhones, iPhone 2.5G and iPhone 3G run on older iPhone operating system. As far as Android phones are concerned, one can choose from hundreds of phones available in the market. While Apple comes out with a new iPhone every year, new Android phones are released every month.

Feature	iOS 4	Android 2.2
3rd party multitasking	Yes	Yes
Wi-fi tethering	No	Yes*
Photo editing	Yes	3rd party
Live wallpapers	No	Yes
MS exchange support	Yes	Yes
SMS threads	Yes	Yes
Adobe flash support	No	Yes
Home screen folders	Yes	Yes
System wide orientation lock	Yes	No

* Carriers may charge

This was a comparison of the specifications of iOS and Android. The first iPhone came out in the 2007 and since then it has been the most desirable phone in the market. While the Apple Apps store is known for its applications and games, many people feel that Android’s open source platform is a something that iPhone lacks. By open source we mean that developers have a much better control over the phone. For example, if the flash player was missing on Android like it is on iPhone, developers could develop one without waiting for Google to build or permit developing one. The proponents of both these operating systems often claim that their operating system is better than the other. As far as we are concerned, we think in the end, it boils down to the consumers and their preferences. No two customers are alike, that is why some may appreciate Apple’s better control, while some like Android’s open source strategy. In this battle of iPhone vs Android, the consumer is the king. I hope this article on iPhone or Android is helpful to you.