Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) vs Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) | WP 7.5 and Android 4.0 | Android Ice Cream Sandwich vs Windows Mango | Windows Phone 7.5 vs Android 4.0 Features and Performance
Google Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich was in the news since January 2011, and Google finally announced it officially at the Google I/O 2011 Keynote on 10 May 2011. Ice Cream Sandwich is the code name for the newest version of the Android platform that will be launched before the fall of 2011. Android Ice Cream Sandwich will be a major release, which will be compatible with all Android devices. Android 4.0 will be a universal operating system like Apple’s iOS. It is a hybrid of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). On the other hand, Windows Phone 7.5, code named as Mango is the last released mobile platform by Microsoft. After Microsoft rebranded the operating system, three major versions were released; Windows Phone 6.5 and Windows Phone 7 are the first two versions, and its updated version is the Windows Phone 7.5, code named “NoDo” and “Mango”.
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
The Android version designed to be used on both phones and tables was officially released in October 2011 alongside the announcement of Galaxy Nexus. Android 4.0 also known as “Ice Cream sandwich” combines the features of both Android 2.3(Gingerbread) and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).
The biggest improvement of Android 4.0 is the user interface enhancement. Further confirming the commitment to more user friendly mobile operating system, Android 4.0 comes with a new typeface called ‘Roboto’ which is more suitable for high resolution screens. The virtual buttons in the Systems bar (Similar to Honeycomb) allows users to navigate back, to Home and to recent applications. The folders in the home screen allow users to organize applications by category simply by drag and drop. The widgets have been designed to be re sizable and allow users to view content using the widget without launching the application.
Multitasking is one of the strong features in Android. In Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) the recent apps button allows users switch between recent applications easily. The systems bar shows a list of recent applications and have thumbnails of applications, users may instantly access an application by tapping the thumbnail. The notifications are also enhanced in Android 4.0 (Ice cream Sandwich). In smaller screens notifications will appear at the top of the screen and in bigger screens notifications will appear in the System bar. Users can also dismiss individual notifications.
Voice input has also been improved in Android 4.0 (Ice cream Sandwich). The new voice input engine gives an ‘open microphone’ experience and allows users to give voice commands any time. It allows users to compose messages by dictation. Users may dictate the message continuously and if any errors are available they will be highlighted in gray.
The lock screen comes packed with improvements and innovation. On Android 4.0 users can do many actions while the screen is locked. It is possible to answer a call, see notifications and browse through music if the user is listening to music. The innovative feature added to the lock screen would be ‘Face Unlock’. With Android 4.0 users can now keep their face in front of the screen and unlock their phones adding an even more personalized experience.
The new People application on Android 4.0 (Ice cream Sandwich) allows users to search for contacts, their images across multiple social networking platforms. Users own contact details can be stored as ‘Me’ so that information can be shared easily.
The camera capabilities are another area much enhanced in Android 4.0. Image capturing is enhanced with continuous focus, zero shutter lag exposure and decreased shot-to-shot speed. After capturing images users can edit them on the phone with the available image editing software. While recording video users can take full HD images simply by tapping the screen as well. Another introducing feature on the camera application is the single-motion panorama mode for larger screens. Features such as face detection, tap to focus are also onboard Android 4.0. With “Live Effects”, users can add interesting changes to captured video and video chat. Live Effects enables changing the background to any available or custom image on captured video and for video chat.
Android 4.0 is the mobile operating system which takes Android platform to the future. There for it is no surprise that the new operating system has focused on the NFC capabilities of future Android smart phones and tablets. “Android Beem” is a NFC based sharing application which allows two NFC enabled devices to share images, contacts, music, video and applications.
Android 4.0, also known as Ice cream Sandwich comes to the market with many interesting innovative features packed. However, the most important and noteworthy enhancement would be the upgrade the user interface has received to give it a much needed finishing touch. With fast passed release cycles, many previous Android versions seemed a little rough around the edges.
Windows Phone 7.5
Windows Phone 7.5, code named as Mango is the last released mobile platform by Microsoft. It was initially reported as Windows Phone 7.1, but with further improvements and new features added, at release it was named as Windows Phone 7.5. Windows Phone 7.5 has hundreds of new features compared to the previously released versions.
Social network integration has become necessary in most mobile applications. Most mobile operating systems tend to support the Social networking “need” by native or third party applications. The latest versions of Windows Mobile are not shying away in this aspect either. Windows Phone 7.5 includes integration with social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live for one touch access.
In Windows Phone 7.5, most features are categorized under ‘Hubs”. Contacts are organized via “People Hub”. Contacts can be manually entered and at the same time can be imported from Facebook friends, Windows Live contacts, Twitter and LinkedIn. An outstanding feature of the “People Hub” is the ability to create groups from the contacts in the phone address book.
Email, messaging, browsing, calendars, and all other applications necessary for a good enterprise ready mobile operating system are available in Windows Phone 7.5. For browsing, it has Internet Explorer 9.0 and Bing search engine. Nevertheless, the biggest advantage Windows Phone has over its contemporary’s is the “Office Hub”. This enables users to create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents. You can sync your working document to SkyDrive for future retrieval. SharePoint workspace is also available in “office Hub”.
A much-applauded feature in Windows Phone is the nicely designed user interface. The “Metro UI” as Microsoft would call it includes live tiles (Small Square like areas on the screen, which bring user up to date with latest data). These animated tiles include missed call alerts, updates from social networks, message alerts, etc. Most Windows Phone screens will not miss a chance to rotate and flip and thereby making the “new user” awestruck and “a more accustomed user” irritated (maybe).