If you are looking to upgrade-to or purchase a new smartphone, you must be already aware of the fact that there is plethora of smartphones available in the market with a couple of new ones adding up to the list everyday. On top of it, there are multiple number of mobile operating systems to choose from, that adds up to the chaos and confusion of a smartphone buyer. Whether you should go for the Google’s discovery – Android, and enjoy seamless multimedia on your phone; hook up with a blackberry to satisfy your need to flawlessly stay connected 24×7; or indulge yourself with Apple’s love – the iOS and remain among the elite class of mobile users? Here is a quick walkthrough of the mobile operating system options available for you and their advantages and disadvantages. Lets just jump-in and understand the pros and cons of each OS.

 Current smartphone operating systems in the market:

• Android
• iOS
• Blackberry
• Windows Phone

 Apart from the above 4 operating systems dominating the smartphone market, there are several other operating systems that are either outdated, not so popular or not liked by many and they include, Bada by Samsung, Meego, WebOS by HP, Symbian (currently owned by Nokia), etc.

 Android:

Founded by a small startup and later taken over by Google, Android is one of the most talked about operating system in today’s mobile scenario, with a combination of beautiful user interface, multi-tasking capabilities and tight integration with Google products like Gmail, Gtalk, Google calendar and contacts, to name a few. Thus increasing your productivity level manifold while you are on the go. Not just that, it will also fulfill your multimedia needs.

As per a recent research, Android is the fastest growing mobile OS and currently owns the highest market share followed by Apple’s iOS and Research in Motion’s (RIM) blackberry.

Advantages:

• User friendly
• Seamless integration with Google services
• Best multi-tasking support
• Thousands of third party applications and games that can be downloaded directly from ‘Google Play’ – Google’s own app store for mobiles
• Price range of Android handset starts from mere Rs. 5000 and goes as high as Rs. 35,000 to 40,000

 Disadvantages:

• Unlike the old fashioned Nokia phones loaded with Symbian and Java software, Android devices needs lots of power resource thus not letting you use the phone for more than a day with a single charge
• Software of the phone is not updated on timely manner

Apple iOS:

Apple’s proprietary operating system, named iOS is known more for of its uber-clean, organized and minimal looks. The phone looks and feels clutter free and suave.  The brand name and exclusivity adds to the charm. If you are someone who likes to remain exclusive and be a part of the elite group of mobile users, then iOS is something you should checkout for, as its price factor doesn’t let any tom, dick and harry afford one!

Advantages:

• User friendly
• Minimal and clean user interface
• Exclusivity
• Good multi-media capabilities
• Wide range of available accessories
• Millions of third party developed Apps and games

Disadvantages:

• Highly priced
• Unlike Android, it doesn’t lets the users customize and tweak the software to a great extent
• Being Apple’s proprietary OS, available only for Apple iPhone

Handsets with iOS:

Available only for Apple’s very own iPhone that starts with a price of Rs. 30-40K depending on its variants.

Blackberry:

Are you a business tycoon, belong to the corporate world, or at least a person with the huger to stay connected with the world wide web 24×7 and exchange hundreds of emails everyday? Then Blackberry is something that won’t ever disappoint you. The phone is backed by a robust system of delivering emails and data flawlessly that no other mobile platform could ever get at-par with. However, the smooth connectivity comes for a price that is 4-5x of the usual data charges. Compared to the traditional GPRS/EDGE services, the whooping charges for dedicated Blackberry data services remains a major setback for Blackberry.

Blackberry data tariff starts from Rs. 300/- a month and varies from operator to operator and from plan to plan.

Trivia:

As per a survey by a mobile phone portal, more than 80% of elite Indian Businessmen, Bollywood celebs, Cricketers and Politicians are found using a Blackberry Smartphone.

Advantages:

• Flawlessly remain online for 24hours a day and 7 days a week
• Get instant notification when there’s a new email on your inbox
• The optimized software lets Blackberry based handsets to last as much as 2 days or more with a single charge
• True multi-tasking

Disadvantages:

• Blackberry App world doesn’t come with a wide range of options for Apps and games
• Unlike Android and iOS, looks and user-interface is not that attractive
• Higher data service charge when compared with traditional GPRS/EDGE charges

Suggested handsets:

Just like Apple, RIM too develops both, the software and hardware and it has quite a range of handsets under its offering, that starts from approximately 9K INR.

Windows Phone:

A successor to Microsoft’s old and outdated Windows Mobile OS, Windows Phone promises to meet the next generation requirement in smartphone industry. The OS is relatively new and it would be too early to comment on it yet. We suggest you go for this platform only if you like to own something different and remain out of the crowd. It also has quite good integration with Xbox, so if you already own an Xbox, then you might like checking it too!

Final Verdict:

The other operating systems mentioned in the beginning have time and again proven to be underdogs and are on the verge of being withdrawn. Considering them would not make much sense and will add up to the already existing dilemma of mobile phone buyers. So we suggest you make a smart choice based on the above info and opt for one of the phones listed above, we have also compiled some data from the mobile phone industry that will help you in better decision-making. Whichever phone you reach out for, we hope it brings you the joy and fun.

Over to you!

Are you a smartphone user already and would like to add up your take on any of the operating systems? Just drop it as a comment.