Comparing The Latest Mobile Phone Operating Systems

Smartphones have come a long way in the last few years. Where there were once very few choices available, the introduction of Apple’s iPhone led to the near-ubiquity of smartphones and other manufacturers have been presenting their own new models, each with a different mobile phone OS to offer.

Each of these systems has different strengths and weaknesses, with some being more suitable for particular users than others; and of course for many, the phone itself will always outweigh the operating system. Which mobile phone OS is the right one for you? Keep reading for a comparison of the major options on the market: Windows Mobile vs. Blackberry, iPhone 3.0 vs. Palm Pre and every combination of the above.

The Palm OS is one of the older mobile phone OS around, having evolved from the days of the Palm Pilot with each new generation. Palm’s products largely fell by the wayside for a few years, with most of the smart phone market gravitating towards Research in Motion’s Blackberry line. Now it’s back with the new Palm Pre OS, which is beginning to get the interest of users.

Email is the most important feature to most users and the Palm Pre OS performs pretty well in terms of speed, though business users may want to look elsewhere for a smartphone-based email solution. The operating system’s integrated email Exchange Active Sync doesn’t support common applications like remote wipe or password policy enforcement. Palm Pre OS does support cut and paste and does a surprisingly good job of handling the QuickTime video captured by the Palm Pre onboard video camera.

The Pre OS is a good choice for the non-business user, something of a departure for Palm. It’s a stable Linux based platform which handles multitasking with aplomb. If you don’t need your smartphone to play nicely with your company’s Active Exchange server, then this is a solid mobile OS choice.

For anyone who doesn’t own an iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile are the biggest names in the mobile phone OS market. Who wins in a Windows Mobile vs. Blackberry matchup? That all depends on what you need your smartphone to do. Both perform well at the tasks they’re designed to do, so the applications which are most important to you will likely determine your choice between the two.

The Blackberry OS is known for two things: its email capabilities and its intuitive user interface. These specialties are on display in Blackberry OS 5, along with some updated multimedia functions which are helping RIM expand its reach beyond the traditional corporate user base of the Blackberry. If you’re familiar with the email features of the Blackberry OS, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that in this regard, the Blackberry outperforms Windows Mobile 6.1. While most email systems are slightly easier to configure on Windows Mobile systems, the Blackberry OS still can’t be beat for speed and convenience. It’s important to note that to synchronize all your enterprise data (email, calendar, contacts, and tasks), you’ll need to install additional Blackberry software, and take into consideration the additional cost to maintain this software. Out of the box, Windows Mobile will synchronize an Exchange Server mailbox (inbox, calendar, contacts, and tasks) without the need for additional software.

However, users who need a smartphone which integrates with their company Active Exchange server and can work with MS Office files sent as attachments will want to go with the Windows Mobile OS instead. As with older generations of the Blackberry OS, you’ll be able to view but not edit these files without installing third-party software. For obvious reasons, Windows Mobile works seamlessly with Office files, allowing users to view and edit these documents on the go.

If web browsing is important to you, the Windows Mobile OS and Blackberry OS both offer mixed results, like any smartphone. Blackberry systems load pages in about half the time, but Windows Mobile’s HTML rendering support is far superior, so users have their choice of speed or visual appeal here. If you use your smartphone for web browsing often, this may influence your choice, though many business users especially will find this to be less of a factor.

In terms of overall performance, Blackberry still rules the mobile phone OS roost, though Windows Mobile has been catching up with every version. Windows Mobile doesn’t handle system resources or multitasking as well as Blackberry yet, but it’s a system you’ll want to keep an eye on. If your job requires working with an Active Exchange server and you’d rather have out of the box MS Office support, Windows Mobile 6.1 is a fine choice.

Last but certainly not least is the iPhone 3.0 OS. The system has recently acquired a firmware upgrade which has added considerable speed along with two features users had been clamoring for: zoom for the iPhone’s integrated camera and copy and paste support, though it still doesn’t offer true multitasking. Unlike most other smartphones, the iPhone isn’t aimed at the business market, though that is something likely to change as the iPhone and its OS evolve.

The iPhone OS offers the stability of a Unix based operating system in an attractive package. The new copy and paste feature offers something a little more than people had been asking for: the ability to select and paste not only text, but multimedia content as well. A Google Maps application is included, something a lot of users find indispensable and several other multimedia features which have made the iPhone a hit with the consumer, if not business markets – and of course, it’s also an iPod with a touch screen and voice activated interface.

So there you have it – there is no single “best” mobile phone OS; it all comes down to a choice of which system best meets your particular needs. If you’re looking at a comparison of the big four mobile phone operating systems in that light, you’re probably left with more questions than when you began; take a deep breath and relax. Before you can decide which mobile phone OS to go with, you’ll have to determine exactly what you need from your smartphone and work from there.

If you plan on using the mobile device in your business, we recommend that you speak to your system administrator before making any final decision in purchasing your next mobile phone. On more occassions than I can count, our technicians have had to let someone know that the mobile device they just purchased will not do what they thought it would do with their company data.

Provided by Jim Horton - North Star Strategic IT
Your Denver source for IT computer support, network consulting and planning, voice over IP (VoIP) solutions, and so much more.

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