MTR

Android vs iOS - The argument for Samgsung or Apple

If you are in the market for a new smartphone, or contemplating upgrading your existing smartphone, you will no doubt have seen the two main types of handset - those from Apple that run iOS, and those that run Android, made by other manufacturers.

There are many compelling reasons for choosing Android over iOS. Here are some of them:

1. Highly customisable. The open nature of Android lends itself to being much more user customisable than iOS. Home screens can be adorned with app shortcuts or useful widgets.


2. True multitasking. The android OS comes with a built-in task manager. 3rd party task manager apps can provide detailed information on running apps, letting you know which apps are consuming the most CPU.

3. No need for iTunes. Android devices can interface with a computer via a USB cable, and the internal memory storage will appear on your computer as a standard USB mass storage device. You can copy files (music, photos, videos) to and from the phone using just the file manager (such as Windows Explorer). Unlike Apple products, there is no need to use additional software such as iTunes. This means your Android phone doubles as a USB storage device (so long as you remember to take your USB cable).

4. Open filesystem. This follows on from the last point - the filesystem is quite open. You can view, modify and even delete the data files used by most applications.

5. Wider app selection. Whilst the apps on the Android market are somewhat of a lesser quality than the Apple App store, there is a greater selection and a greater proportion of Android apps are free. A few major iOS app developers are now producing Android versions, with similar quality. But most of the smaller Android apps are written by independant authors, resulting in varying quality.

Hardware comparisions

Here we will compare two of the most recent and top-selling smart phones from Apple and Samsung - the iPhone 4 (iP4) and Samsung Galaxy sII (SGS2). Granted, the Galaxy SII is nearly half a year younger, but since Apple hasn't yet released anything newer, we can only compare their latest offering with Samsung's.

1. USB interface. Apple uses their proprietary dock connector. The Samsung Galaxy uses an insustry standard micro-USB type B connector, found on many other smartphones made by Nokia, HTC, Motorola and LG. Spare Micro USB cables are therefore easier to obtain and cheaper. If you're stuck somewhere and running low on battery, you'll also have more chances of finding a compatible USB cable to charge your phone.

2. Camera. The iP4's camera is 5 megapixels. The SGS2's camera is 8 megapixels. Clearly the Samsung is the winner here.

3. Display. The IP4's display uses the latest in LCD technology. The Super IPS display has a resolution of 000x000. With a pixel density of xxxppi, it is at the limits of the human eye's ability to resolve individial pixels. Apple chose to use the moniker 'Retina Display' as a selling point.

The SGS2's screen is substantially larger than the IP4's display, by 0.x inches. However it has a lower resolution than the IP4, at 480x800. This results in a noticebly grainier picture than the IP4, but the Super Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (SAMOLED) display exhibits a strikingly high level of contrast, with super dark blacks and bright whites. When displaying a darker image, OLED displays consume less electricity than a backlit LCD.

4. Storage expansion. The SGS2 features a micro SD card slot, accepting cards up to 32GB. Unfortunately, the iP4 does not have any other memory expansion options (short of replacing the entire handset with one having more built-in memory).

5. FM Radio. The absence of a hardware FM receiver in the iPhone means that if the user wants to listen to broadcasts, a streaming internet radio app is required to listen. If the listener is only interested in local terrestrial FM broadcasts, a dedicated hardware FM receiver will save battery power and bandwidth/data charges.

There are 3rd party add-on FM receivers available for the IP4, but it means carrying an extra piece of kit.

Other considerations

Because Android is based on an open source operating system (Linux), the operating system is aimed more at advanced users. Recent UI customisations by handset makers tend to transform the phone OS into a more mainstream user interface.

Rooting an android device is similar to 'Jailbreaking' an iOS device.