Here’s a thought…

It doesn’t matter which OS or Smartphone you have.

Androind vs. iPhone vs. Blackberry vs. Windows Phone 7 vs. Symbian/MeeGo

Since there’s a reception issue with the new iPhone all of the Apple Cynics out there have taken to just ripping Apple a new one for a small manufacturing defect. Their using it as a platform to suggest that their Phone of choice is better that their OS is a better OS.

Here’s a thought… It doesn’t matter. They all still do the exact same things.

Android has features the iPhone doesn’t the iPhone has features the Android models don’t have. The same goes for Blackberries, Windows Phone 7 and Nokia’s Symbian/MeeGo OS’s. Hardware is a hardware, a 1Ghz chip is a 1Ghz chip, 512mb RAM is 512mb RAM, 8, 16, 32 or 64GB’s of storage is the same across the board. The User Interface and scalability of the software are the only main issues.

Apple, Nokia and Blackberry are closed, single vendor units. You know this when you buy it. By choosing any of their handsets you’re making a choice, you’re choosing that environment knowing that software updates, platform support (i.e. Javascript, Flash, HTML5, CSS3) and the developer environments are closed. The handset, Operating System and User Experience are predetermined. That’s the choice, therefore, that’s the rub (for some users). The advantage of this closed system is that it is a single vendor solution, the support ecosystem works better for the users. The software is designed on the same hardware and therefore runs optimally. You don’t have service providers or alternate hardware partners crippling or scaling OS features the create their own user experience. The Closed systems look and function the same unless the manufactures allow the Service Providers to “bake in their kitchen”.

Android and Windows Phone 7 units… Open development and user platforms, with the option of other software partners developing openly and distributing even through unofficial channels. The biggest thing is… Free. Google made and distributes Android for free… Microsoft doesn’t do the same, the license their software out to manufacturers. Google & Microsoft provide the software the Hardware partners, who scale and implement whatever version and User experience they want within a handset. It means a locked OS versions specific to the hardware and the Service Providers or Manufacturers decide whether or not to offer the software updates to users. Certain handsets (i.e. the Nexus One) get updates quickly because that’s the one that Google is the most hands on with. In other examples Updates are dependent on the Hardware and Service Providers.

From my own experience with Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 on HTC devices such as the S640 and the Touch Diamond I was handcuffed to my Service Provider and HTC to decide whether or not to implement the new OS updates. This became problematic in performance related issues my handsets had experienced, in which the OS update was said to resolve a bulk of the problems, but I was tied to a slower response because I had to wait for both parties to decide if the update was doable on the cheap for them. So to resolve a few of the OS issues I was having I had t look to a group of independent developers for hacks and workarounds to both optimize the hardware feature sets and the User Interface. Which made existing in the that particular OS ecosystem a little less repugnant. Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 were pathetic.

Here’s the rub of everything… All these phones do the same thing. They do somethings differently though.

Browsing; Android is focussed on trying to bring you the full web… HTML5, Javascript, CSS3, Flash and more. This is good if that’s what you want. The iPhone; Apple of course has a issue with Flash. Flash has never been supported on any of their mobile devices. This argument is well documented. Blackberry also doesn’t full support flash content… Yet. RIM has confirmed Flash 10.1 in the last half of 2010. Nokia doesn’t have full Flash Support either, although Flash Lite has been on their OS for some time. It also doesn’t mean that is runs well.

Sync; Every phone has a realtime sync with contacts and calendars through various services. There is NO difference in this realm anymore. It used to be that WinMo and Blackberries were the only push or Exchange capable devices. Now, every handset supports Contacts, Calendar, Mail and other sync services through exchange. On the iPhone you can use their Mobile Me service, you can use your Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail services. Gmail you can set up as an exchange service on your iPhone, realtime syncing and cloud based services. Nice. You can do the same in Windows Mobile, you can do it with your Hotmail and Gmail accounts using Outlook and the Calendar app on there as well. No one handset has an edge in this market… Not one.

Multimedia; Apple does have a clear advantage in Multimedia sync and functionality. The established iTunes environment makes it easy. To sync playlists and media effectively on Symbian, Android and Windows Phones you can use DoubleTwist to sync your media. But, point is you need a third party to bridge the gap that the iPhone has over those other models.

Development; Android loyalists will say they have the advantage, iPhone loyalists will say they have the advantage. Windows Phone users will sob, Symbian Users will ask “What’s an App?” Blackberry users don’t care either way. Truth is, Apple’s app store is censored, it’s a closed ecosystem, what do you expect? Android is completely open, so theirs no censorship. The negative part to that is, there are hundreds of poorly authored porn apps. The Advantage to that is. You can bypass your carriers regulations much easier than you can with a Blackberry, Nokia, Windows or iPhone. Meaning your Service provider can’t moan about Google Voice. If you want the workaround… You have to “Unlock” or “Jail Break” your Nokia, Blackberry, Windows or iPhone… When you do that, there are open developer markets that enable you to basically do whatever you want. You can implement new OS features or official apps that weren’t intended to run on your phone. You can scale and customize anything… Anything.

Hardware; Single vendor hardware is married to the OS. This doesn’t mean that every piece of the puzzle fits between hardware generations as it relates to software. My HTC S640 couldn’t run Windows Mobile 6.5. Unless HTC and my Service Provider worked on building it for that handset. I spent $350 on that thing too. The HTC Touch Diamond won’t run Windows Phone 7, again unless the OS is scaled to the handset. Nokia is shifting their OS focus from Symbian to MeeGo… Is MeeGo going to be scaled to two or three year old handsets… Most likely not. Blackberry OS 6 won’t run on a Curve 8300. Android 2.2 won’t be implemented for the HTC Dream. Just like iOS4 has crippled features on a 3G, and won’t even run on the 1st generation iPod Touch or iPhone. This is just how it’s all starting to working. Handsets have shorter software support cycles.

Defects, bugs and support ecosystems; Single vendor solutions like Apple’s, RIM’s and Nokia’s are more direct and quicker. That’s the same with any product, not just phones. Multiple vendors means layered support, means isolating specific issues and a harder diagnosis. One will often shift blame to the other. Throw a Service Provider into the mix and you can three to four or five different support contingencies to navigate. This makes Warranty claims an issue. Because say for instance a specific software issue isn’t covered by the manufacturers warranty. You’re left waiting for the software partner to issue a fix. Which could take forever. And, say the manufacturers warranty and website acknowledges the issue, you have to facilitate a warranty swap through your service provider. The staff at Service level decides that user error or misuse is the cause of the defect. You’re stuck. No swap, no phone… Trust me, I had this happen… Twice. The advantage here is the Single Vendor warranty is quick and easy to navigate. You can go directly to the manufacturer and deal with them. Unless they don’t have that arrangement with the Service Providers (i.e. Nokia and RIM). In Apple’s case, you can go directly to them for support. Advantage iPhone users there. But, there’s always a way to win the day. Trust me!

Right now, I am seeing A LOT of iPhone vs. Android arguments… It’s not about which one is better and being cynical about the others. It’s about which one is right for you as a user. I am done being cynical about tech, it’s fruitless because they all steal from each other and they all do the exact same thing. They just do them differently. And, you as a user can scale your experience in a multitude of ways.

Capacitive vs. Resistive, Push vs. Fetch, SDHC Exapnsion vs. Closed, fixed storage, Flash vs. HTML5, Apple vs. Adobe, iOS4 vs. Android 2.2 vs. Windows Phone 7 vs. MeeGo… They all do the same thing. I can listen to music, post to facebook, update twitter, sync my services, read and write a book, watch videos and do whatever I want with any of them.

To quote my Grandfather Dickerson (R.I.P.) & excuse my language… “Same shit different pile.”