The war of the smartphone operating systems is well and truly raging in 2011, with Google’s Android technology appearing to be leading the march at the moment. Research from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech revealed that 38 per cent of UK smartphones run a version of Android, and that Google’s OS has a 54.7 per cent share in the US. Meanwhile, in Japan, a staggering 58.3 per cent of smartphone users have chosen Android as their operating system.
Android’s dominance has left Windows Phone 7 and Apple’s iOS playing catch up, but some industry commentators have predicted a potential resurgence for the Windows OS if Nokia’s new Windows Phone 7 smartphones take off in a big way. Meanwhile, the Apple iPhone 5 is set to be released later this year in a move that will only further intensify the mobile operator competition.
Here are three of the best examples of each operating system that you can find for sale on the high street right now.
Apple iPhone 3GS
The current talk amongst iPhone fans may well be all about whether or not the iPhone 5 will trump the iPhone 4, but those who appreciate true usability will know that the iPhone 3GS is the best mobile release from Apple to date. With outstanding internet connectivity, a superior camera to the iPhone 4 and great graphical processing power, the iPhone 3GS has been the Apple mobile to beat since it was released at the same time as the iPhone 3.0 firmware update.
Samsung Galaxy S
This is the smartphone that landed Samsung up there with the big boys of the mobile world, fighting it out with the likes of Apple and HTC for valuable market share. It’s about to be succeeded by the Samsung Galaxy S IIbut it remains to be seen as to whether or not the new kid on the block will better its predecessor’s beautiful graphics and wonderfully varied functionality. Both the Samsung Galaxy S and the SII will be available with the Android 2.3 update, new Android keyboard and copy and paste features.
HTC HD7
The Windows Phone 7 operating system is known for operating on smartphone handsets which somewhat lack in the screen-size department. So, when the HTC HD7 launched with its 4.3 inch, 800×480 resolution screen, the pair were a match made in heaven. The HTC HD7 is the smartphone that best exhibits Windows Phone 7’s capabilities, powering the OS with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 576MB of RAM.
