The two most dominant operating systems for the smartphone market are undoubtably Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Many articles have been written and debates voiced over which OS is the strongest. Truth be told, both platforms are feature rich and foundational strong. So how do you decide which smartphone to purchase?

This week we will focus on a few advantages Android has over Apple’s iOS. The advantages may surprise you.

Open Source Creates Explosive Results!
∙ Google’s Android has the edge over Apple’s iOS because it is an open source platform.
∙ Being open source Google has positioned itself so many manufacturers prefer Android to the iOS.
∙ Manufacturers can customize the OS to specific requirements and needs of the smartphone they are producing.
∙ There are many other advantages an open source platform has over iOS however you would have to be a developer to fully appreciate them.


APP installation and integration is major!
∙ For the Google Android APP’s can be installed in a wide array of mediums such as a QR barcode.
∙ Installing with a QR barcode for the iPhone is virtually impossible.
∙ Installation of APP’s on an Google Android are simple, quick and solid.
∙ APP’s for the Android can be found in the Android Market or a third-party site such as AppBrain. Both are just a click and the install is complete.
∙ With iPhone the commonly used method is to hood your phone to iTunes (which needs to be on your computer) search for the APP, download the APP then sync your phone. Many steps that can cause frustration.

Custom ROM is another advantage for the Google’s Android!
∙ ROM stands for ‘read-only memory’ and is basically the smartphone’s operating system. Why is this important?
∙ For one, you can install your own version rather than being saddles with the one that comes with the smartphone.
∙ Second, even if the manufacturer disables functionality (like FM radio and WiFi tethering) with a custom ROM you can easily override the disabled functions.

Another example is Google Voice.
∙ Even though it has been ported to the iPhone it does not work as smoothly as in an Android because the usual behavior of the iPhone APPs is to direct the user to a default dialer or voicemail APP. So if an iPhone users wants to use Google Voice full-time they have to take extra steps just to reach the Google Voice APP.

In my next article we look at the advantages iPhone iOS has over Android.


NOTE: OS stands for ‘Operating System”