Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Battle of the Mobile OS's: A Short Roundup


I still remember the days of Palm vs. Pocket PC, Palm OS vs. Windows Mobile. They're back, but this time, it's a four-way battle. The stakes are higher, and the operating systems are more powerful than ever. Who do you think will win the race? or at least the race to your wallet.



iPhone OS X

A slimmed-down version of Apple's OS X is at the core of every iPhone and iPod Touch. With such a powerful operating system, the iPhone can run apps that belong more on your Mac than on a mobile phone, and play games that belong more on a gaming console.



Google Android

Yes, typical of Google, the version of the Android operating system found in the HTC G1 is practically still in beta development. Despite this, all the nerds are a-buzz with the possibilities of Android. Its open architecture -- familiar to Linux fans -- allows anyone to develop applications for Android phones, as well as make improvements to the OS itself.



Palm WebOS

Palm's brand new operating system. WebOS is slated to power all Palm devices for the foreseeable future. Comparisons to the iPhone have been drawn with WebOS's familiar navigation, but crucially, WebOS is capable of a few things OS X can't do: multi-tasking with its "cards" system, and cut and paste.



Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is the self-same operating system that ran your old Pocket PC PDA. Since then it has undergone radical cosmetic surgery, a heart replacement and about a gazillion nip tucks here and there. Still going strong. Windows Mobile is your first choice if connecting to enterprise networks is your priority. Word has it that WinMo 6.5 has some nifty visual tweaks.

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