Major Differences Between Windows And Android Phones :
Key Difference: Android is an open source, free, Linux-based operating system for
smartphones and tablets. The system was designed and developed by Android Inc.,
which was funded and later purchased by Google in 2005. Windows Phone is a series
of proprietary software developed and marketed by Microsoft Corporation.
Windows Phone is a closed-sourced, which means that it is solely developed by
the company and protected by copyright. The company offers a bunch of new
features compared to the older Windows Mobile OS.
Smartphones are a recent phenomenon and
weren’t always this popular. Prior to the Android vs. iPhone vs. Windows
debate, there would only be the Windows palm pilots or pocket PCs that ruled
the market. These were also only popular for many businessmen keeping
appointments and phone numbers in one place. Then Android was introduced to the
market in 2007 and a lot of changes were made bringing technology to the point
we are now. While, many people believed that Android was a just a rookie
gearing up to fail, not many people saw that it would become one of the most
popular smartphone OS in the market. This has also caused many other companies
to step up and challenge Android. Windows has recently launched the Windows 8
Mobile systems and is currently a popular OS among Nokia fans. Android and
Windows Mobile are two different operating systems that run on phones,
smartphones and tablets.
Android
is an open source software, which means that the code is freely available under
the Apache License for modification and distribution by device manufacturers,
wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Android was first unveiled in 2007
and the first phone running on Android, HTC Dream, was sold in October 2008. As
the Android is open source software, manufacturers can modify the operating
system to suit their respective needs and phones. This becomes a cheap and
feasible alternative for the manufacturer, as opposed to developing an
operating system in-house or hiring a software company to do it.
Among
the number of various companies, Google has also launched its own line of
smartphones based on Android, called the Google Nexus. Each device in the Nexus
line is produced via collaboration between Google and a leading original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner. Traditionally, each new Nexus phone is
launched with a new version of Android and provides the unadulterated Android
experience.
Furthermore,
as many manufacturers are running Android on their phones as well as the added
benefit of Android being open source, many developers can develop content, apps
and games for Android. The content, apps and games are then available in Google
Play, the Android App Market, many at times freely. Hence, developers get
to showcase their talent on a widespread forum, and the availability of
numerous and free apps and games, make Android popular for consumers.
Another popular feature of Android is
the number of apps and the Google Play. Google Play, formerly known as the
Android Market is an application distribution platform, where developers
publish applications for the many Android users. The applications are also
developed by an open community and many of them are free for downloading
through Google Play. Android is also popular because of constant and frequents
updates that are available by Google. Google releases major updates every six
to nine months, with minor updates much faster. The latest Google update was
the 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, which is Google’s 17th update since the launch of Android.
Windows Phone is a series of
proprietary software developed and marketed by Microsoft Corporation. The
software is the successor to the original Windows Mobile platform but it does
not support it as the older platform has been discontinued. It is aimed at the
consumer phone market rather than the enterprise market. The system was
launched in October of 2012 and the company announced the software at the
Mobile World Congress in February 2010. Microsoft released an updated version
of Windows Phone 7 and showcased features such as: Internet Explorer 9,
multi-tasking of third party apps, Twitter integration, Windows Live and
Skydrive access. The latest release is the Windows Phone 8, which offers the
new Live Tiles is currently being offered on the new Nokia Lumia series.
Windows Phone is a closed-sourced,
which means that it is solely developed by the company and protected by
copyright. The system offers new features such as: a whole new interface, text
input by an on-screen virtual keyboard, threads messaging, Internet Explorer browser,
organized contacts via People Hub, Email access (support for Outlook.com,
Exchange, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail), Xbox Music, Xbox Videos, Xbox Video Store,
Games Hub, Bing Search Engine, Bing Maps, Voice recognition function,
turn-by-turn navigation, Office Suite (Microsoft Office Mobile), Multitasking
capability, syncing capability with Zune software, Windows Phone App and
Windows Phone Store. The Windows Store is limited as there only a few number of
apps. The company has yet to populate the store with the number of apps that is
available on Apple Market or Google Play.
Android
|
Windows Phone
|
|
Company/
Developer
|
Google
|
Microsoft
|
Programmed
in
|
Java, C,
C++
|
C, C++
|
OS family
|
Unix-like
|
Windows
|
Initial
release
|
September
23, 2008
|
October
21, 2010
|
Supported
platforms
|
ARM, MIPS,
x86, I.MX
|
x86
|
License
|
Apache
License 2.0
Linux
kernel patches under GNU GPL v2
|
Commercial
proprietary software
|
Default
user interface
|
Graphical
(Multi-touch)
|
Graphical
(Metro UI)
|
Working
state
|
Current
|
Current
|
Source
model
|
Open
source software
|
Closed-source
|
Updates
|
Updates
are provided by different parties in the consortium.
|
Updates
are only done by Microsoft.
|
Applications
|
Applications
are created by an open community of developers.
|
Applications
are created by tie up companies and Microsoft.
|
Touch
style
|
Capacitive
technology
|
Capacitive
technology
|
Offers
native support for
|
Google
Sync for Gmail, Contacts, and Google Calendar.
|
Mail,
Exchange, Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Windows Market, etc.
|
Number of
applications
|
Over
700,000 applications
|
Limited
number of applications.
|
Language
support
|
Multiple
language support
|
Multiple
language support
|
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