he battle for Smartphone supremacy is at the peak with Google releasing the Samsung Galaxy
Nexus to counter Apple’s iPhone 4S that runs iOS 5.
With the iPhone 4S flying off the shelves, Google will be relying on the fourth iteration of
Android, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), to continue attracting users. We take a look at how
the operating system shapes up against iOS 5.
User interface-android gets a revamp, iOS gets a polish
Ice cream Sandwich will come with a revamped interface, which aims to blend the best
of existing Android Honeycomb and Gingerbread platforms. Google has created a new
typeface, which it claims is optimized for high resolution screens. The “Roboto” font might
have a comical name, but it looks swish, is easy to read and provides a refreshed look to the
Android platform. Gone are the context sensitive buttons that have been sitting under the
touch screen on previous Android smart phones. These have been replaced by virtual buttons
in the system Bar similar to the Honeycomb platform. The onscreen buttons come in the
form of Back, Home and Recent Apps. A feature that Android had borrowed from iOS is the
ability to create them by dragging and dropping apps on top of each other. This feature has
been long overdue and will help users to group items together without the three click process
of having to create a folder and then drag items into it.
Meanwhile, Apple resisted the temptation for an overhaul, and to be fair the iOS
platform didn’t really need one. The solitary home button is still found beneath the screen on
iOS devices and home screens display apps and folders in the same fashion.
A key addition to iOS is the inclusion of a Notification center, which funnily enough has
been borrowed from Android. This is accessed by swiping a finger down from the lock
screen a feature that has also just debuted on the stock version of Android.
Apple has also integrated Twitter into iOS, allowing users to tweet directly from core
applications such photo, camera, you Tube, Maps as well as the safari browser.
Voice controls- siri has a head start
Apple has taken voice recognition to the next level. The software included in iOS 5 that
has created the most buzz is the voice recognition, from what we have seen so far this is shaping
up to be the best example out there. Siri is capable of understanding nature speech and of
answering questions as well as performing tasks. It is possible to dictate emails and txt messages
as well as set appointments and reminders and these features work well as the video below
shows. In the US, user can also say thing like”I want a pizza” and siri will search the area for
pizza restaurants close by. This feature is yet to be available outside the US, but a expected to
land in the UK in the not too distant future. Google is no slouch when it comes to voice
recognition either. The ability to search hands-free on mobile devices has been available for a
while, but didn’t set the would alight. Of course, siri will force everyone including Google to up
their game and unsurprisingly ICS introduces additional voice capabilities. Users are now able to
dictate text and can speak continuously or pause if needed. As text is entered, any errors are
underlined and these can be corrected with a quick tap. Google seems to have nailed down the
dictation aspect, but there are no signs of ICS being able to do the other things can do. Perhaps
we will see the “Droid “assistant in the near future.
Multitasking-ice cream sandwich shows the biggest improvements
ICS has just upped the stakes when it comes to Smartphone multitasking, edging it ever
closer to desktop experience. Depressing the recent apps button will bring up a list of thumbnails
of apps used, and tapping one of these will take users directly to that app. In comparison, multitasking
on iOS 5 smart phones is no different than with iOS 4 devices. Users can double tap the
home button and this brings up a row of apps that are being used together with music controls. It
is surprising that apps haven’t improved this as even Windows phone mango has a better system.
Internet-Too close to call
Andy Rubin, the vice president of mobile at google and the man behind android, claims
that ICS will incorporate a “desktop-class browser”, so big thing are expected. User will be
pleased to hear that page loading times will be significantly improved. Google is touting some
pretty impressive benchmarking results. The firm says that pages load nearly 220 percent faster
on the older Google Nexus S when using ICS in place of Android 2.3 Gingerbread in the V8
Benchmark suite. The revamped Android will allow users to sync Google chrome bookmarks
from all of their accounts, and allow users to save content so it can be viewed later. Users can
also tinker with the prowler’s zoom levels and change default test sizes. Of course, Android
also comes with flash support, which means that the platform provides one of the best all-round
internet experiences.
Another feature that we were happy to see is the data usage menu, which has been lacking
in Android devices. Users will now be able to see exactly how much data they are crunching
through on a cellular and Wi-Fi network. Android 4.0 will also tell users how much data each
app is using and will allow users to set warning levels or limits. This is going to be really useful
for people who have crossed their data limited before and for travelling users.
Unsurprisingly, iOS 5 also brought a significant speed bump to browsing compared
with previous devices .In over test we found that the iPhone 4S was able to load pages at least
a couple of seconds faster than the iphone4. On the ipad, tabbed browsing is also available,
bringing this closer to desktop browsing. Additionally ,a “Reading list” feature has been added
to safari, allowing users to cache pages to cache pages so that they can be viewed offline, much
like with Android 4.0. The iCloud also keeps this reading list synced across apple devices. As
regards usage monitoring, it is possible with iOS devices to see the total amount of data sent over
a cellular connection but not on an individual app basis, and there is no way to set warnings or
limits. Adobe Flash compatibility remains a major omission for Apple devices, and this does not
look like being rectified soon.
In terms of raw speed expect there to be little difference between the platforms, but Android
has the edge as it provides a more rounded experience.
Messaging and email
Android has made some significant improvement in this area. ICS comes with improved
error correction and word suggestions. A spell checker underlines miss-spelt words and tapping
on this will bring up suggestions. In terms of email, users can credit quick response and store
them in the app, this enter them from a menu when composing. When a replying to a message,
it is also possible to Reply All and Forward without having to change screen. Enterprise users
will be pleased to hear that the Email app supports exchange ActiveSync v14. EAS certificate
authentication is included and administrators will also be able to limit attachment size or disable
them altogether.
A resizable email widget also lets users flick through recent emails right from the home
screen, then jump into the email app to reply.
Meanwhile, Apple has introduced a new messaging service that aims to compare with BBM
and Google talk. iMessage allows user to send a instant messages between iOS 5 devices via Wi-
Fi or 3G. Users are able to send texts, photos, videos, contacts and locations. The app is synced
with iCloud, so users can start a conversation on one Apple device and continue it on another,
which will be useful for users who have multiple iOS devices.
Basic improvements have been made to email-with users able to format text, flag messages
and search the body of text messages. User can also setup an @me.com email, which is then
synced with iCloud.
Cloud-iOS finally follow in Android’s footsteps
Android has been synced to the cloud pretty much since day one, with users able to link their
Gmail account to their device and access games, photos, emails and contacts across devices.
Apple has only just started to offer cloud based services, in their form of iCloud. This service
aims to back up photos, mail, contact, music, documents and apps. However, free storage is
limited to 5GB per user.
Android ice cream bonus
Ice cream Sandwich also has a couple of extra features as it aims to outshine iOS. These
come in the form of Face Unlock and Android Beam. Face Unlock to pretty self explanatory, as
it allows user to unlock their devices with their faces instead of a pin. The system users facial
recognition technology to register a face and is able to recognize it later when unlocking the
'device.
Meanwhile, Android Beam allows two Android devices to share a content using near-field
communication (NFC). Links to apps, contacts, music, videos can be exchanged and there is no
menu option or paring required. Devices just need to be touched together to send. The feature is
similar to the “Bump” app available for iPhones, but Google’s app should be faster.
Overall
Both operating systems have a vast number of features that makes them appealing, but it feels
like a Android just has the edge when it comes to areas such as notifications, multitasking and
web browsing. Face Unlock and Android Beam are also interesting features, and Google will be
hoping that these apps generate interest in the platform.
Apple does, however has head start when it comes to voice recognition. Siri has certainly
captured the imagination of their public and shows Apple’s ability to take existing technology to
the next level.
There is little to separate the platforms in terms of user interface, but Ice Cream Sandwich is a
complete overhaul thus some bugs had been reported.
By
C.Mejari
II CSE
