With the release of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) a couple of weeks back, I believe a lot of us are actually wondering just what is Window Phone 7 and more importantly, how different is it as compared to Android and iOS. After the break, we will make a brief comparison of the physical layouts, technical specifications and features of all three mobile operating systems with the following release versions: Android 2.2, iOS 4.1 and Windows Phone 7.
Physical Layout
The homescreen of WP7 features two pages. The left column is composed of rectangular/square tabs called Live Tiles. They serve as shortcuts to user’s favorite applications and pull in data from them, similar to Android’s widgets and iPhone icons. The right panel represents a list of all the applications installed onto the phone. A user can swipe to switch between the two pages. Tiles can be dragged around and rearranged on the homescreen the same way icons are re-arranged on the iPhone: tap and hold, then drag.
Technical Specifications
WP7 has certain preset specifications and interface features that will be imposed on all vendors that want to license the OS from Microsoft. This is a direct contrast to the open source Android which does not restrict how the UI design and layout will look like. With the Apache License, vendors can add proprietary extensions without submitting those back to the open source community.
Preset specifications for all the handsets coming with WP7S means that Microsoft not only dictates the user interface but also the technical parameters as well. All Windows Phone handsets must have three buttons: back, Start (Windows key), and search. All Windows 7 Phones must have a high-res capacitive 4-point multitouch display, 5-megapixel camera, FM radio, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, GPS and even standardized CPU and GPU benchmarks.
Microsoft explains this move as their quest for no fragmentation and “taking responsibility for the user experience”, as mentioned by Steve Ballmer previously. This is similar to the way Apple has set standards for their iPhone but obviously for WP7, Microsoft is enforcing this on all their vendors. On the other hand, Android allows every vendor to construct their mobile phone models as they wish. Buttons, keyboard or their absence are up to the phone manufacturer.
On the coding portion, while Microsoft’s approach to social networking with its integrated social networking apps is unique and special, there is one significant challenge facing WP7. Each network, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, has what is called an API (Application Programming Interface) which allows 3rd party services and programs (in this case, WP7, Android, iOS) to access information in its databases. What happens now is that Microsoft had to create a whole subset of instructions for each social network and build it into WP7 at the core level. The issue comes when new social networks gain prominence or if there are updates to the APIs of the existing networks. Will Microsoft then have to update Windows Phone at a core level to deal with the new networks? That sounds like a lot of updating for both Microsoft and their users.
Features Comparison
Last but not least, the team has put together a features comparison list, which should help in the identification of common points and advantages/disadvantages of each individual mobile OS.
It should be noted that Microsoft has promised that Flash Support and Copy/Paste functionality WILL be patched in soon after launch but as of now, it will still be indicated as “Not supported” under WP7.
