iOS 5 vs Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) | Windows Phone 7.5 vs iOS 5 Features and Performance
iOS 5
The mobile operating system by Apple Inc. (known for its amazing finish) has been released for the 5th iteration. Released in October 2011, iOS 5 meant for all versions of iPad, 3rd and 4th generations of iPod touch and iPhone 4S, 4 and 3S.
Though many expected significant UI changes to iOS 5, it remains more or less similar to the previous version in terms of the overall look and feel.
However, the notifications have been improved, and an all-new “Notifications Centre” has been introduced. Users can either ignore or respond to notifications. Users can browse through the list of notifications by up and down swiping. If the user decides to interact, he will be taken to the relevant application. This implementation of ‘Notifications’ has a big resemblance to how ‘Notifications are implemented in Android. A useful widget included in the Notifications section is the weather widget which is location aware and will update the user on current weather update. The new notifications appear in a non obtrusive manner. These notifications will appear briefly at the top of the screen. The lock screen will also display notifications and users can act on them by simply unlocking the screen.
The iMessage available in iOS 5 enables users to reduce messaging costs. It allows users to send text messages between iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices via Wi-Fi and 3G. Since iMessage is built into messaging, it allows users to send text, images, video, as well as locations. Group messaging is also enabled with iMessage and users can relax about security of the content that they share since these messages are encrypted. If the intended recipient supports iMessage, the contact will be coloured in blue, if not the contact will be coloured in green. This enables users to know if the phone is using data package or their phone connection to send the message.
Siri; the voice assistant made available in iOS 5 long with iPhone 4S is the biggest innovative feature of the platform. ‘Siri’ is an interactive assistant capable of doing many tasks for the phone user. The uniqueness of ‘Siri’ is the ability to behave based on context and appears less robotic than other assistants in the market. The downside of this amazing feature on iOS 5 is that it’s only supported by iPhone 4S. Read more on Siri at our review here.
iCloud is another innovative feature of the iOS 5. iCloud is a cloud based service which enables users to sync content between many Apple devices without effort. Contents are synchronised between many devices almost instantaneously. In combination with iCloud, iOS 5 enables users to install updates and software without the help of the PC. iOS 5 devices can now sync over Wi-Fi if iTunes is open in the desktop.
The camera application also has received few upgrades with iOS 5 release. The camera app can be opened from the lock screen. The application provides many features such as grid lines, pinch-to-zoom, and tap focus to compose a quality snap shot. Photos can be taken by pressing the volume up button (Hardware Button) in the device. Improved enhancements to photo s are also available with iOS 5.Users can edit, crop, auto enhance and remove red eye of the photos taken as iCloud will send a copy of the photo to iPad as soon as the photo is taken.
The browsing experience on iOS 5 is another area improved by this iteration of iOS. Tabbed browsing is available for iPad users for the first time. Users can open a total of 9 tabs at one time. Reading list is another feature available with iOS 5 which enable users to keep track of what they are reading.
In addition to the main feature upgrades mentioned above iOS 5 has introduced new multi tasking gestures to the platform. ‘Air play’ mirroring, reminders App, Newsstand and Twitter integration are other areas of improvement on iOS 5. iOS 5 appears to be more polished and refined with a new bundle of enhancements. This version of the OS seems stable in many previous versions of Apple hardware it is intended for, as well.
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Apple iOS 5 Announced: 6 June 2011; Release: 12 October 2011 |
| New Features and Improvements
1. Notification Center – with the new Notification Centre now you can get all your alerts (including new email, texts, friend requests, etc.) in one place without any interruptions to what you are doing. The swype down notification bar appears briefly at the top of the screen for a new alert and disppears quickly. – All alerts in one place – No more interruptions – Swype down from the top of any screen to enter Notification Center – Customize to see what you want – Active lock screen – notifications display in the lock screen for easy access with one swype 2. iMessage – it is a new messaging service – Send unlimited text messages to iOS devices – Send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts to any iOS device – Send group messaging – Track messages with delivery and read (optional) receipt – See the other party typing – Encrypted text message – Switch between iOS devices while chating 3. Newsstand – read all your news and magazines from one place. Customize Newsstand with your newspaper and magazine subscriptions – Browse stores right from Newsstand – When you subscribe it appears in the newsstand – Folder for easy access to favorite publications 4. Reminders – organize yourself with to-do lists – To-do list with due date, location etc. – View list by date – Set time based or location based reminder alert – Location reminder: get alert when you near the set location – Reminders work with iCal, Outlook and iCloud, so that it auto update change to all your iDevices and callendar 5. Twitter integration – system wide integration – Single sign in – Tweet directly from browser, photo app, camera app, YouTube, Map – Reply to friend in the contact by start typing name – Share your location 6. Enhanced Camera features – Instant access to Camera app: access it right from the lock screen – Pinch to Zoom gestures – Single tap focus – Focus/Exposure locks with touch and hold – Grid lines ti help compose a shot – Volume up button to capture the photo – Photo stream via iCloud to other iDevices 7. Enhanced Photo features – on screen editing and organize in photo album from Photo apps itself – Edit / Crop photo from Photo apps – Add photos to album – iCloud automatically push photos to your other iDevices 8. Improved Safari browser – displays only what you like to read from the web page – Removes ads and other clutters – Add to reading list – Tweet from browser – Update reading list in all your iDevices via iCloud – Tabbed browsing – Performance improvement 9. PC Free activation – no more need for PC: activate your device wirelessly and do more with your Photo and Camara apps right from the screen – OTA software upgrades – On screen camera apps – Do more on screen like on screen photo editing – Back up and restore via iCloud 10. Enhanced Game Center – more features added – Post your profile picture – New friend recommendations – Find new games right from Games Center – Get on the spot overall achievement score 11. Wi-Fi Sync – wirelessly sync your iDevice to your Mac or PC vis shared Wi-Fi connection – Auto sync and iTunes back up when connected to power source – Purchases from iTunes appear in all your iDevices 12. Enhanced mail features – Format text – Create indents in the text of your message – Drag to rearrange names in the address field – Flag important messages – Add/Delete mailbox folders on your device – Search mails – Free email account with iCloud that will be updated in all your iDevices 13. Additional Calendar features – Year/Weekly view -Tap to create new event – Drag to edit date and duration – Add/rename/delete calendars directly from your device -View attachment right from calendar app – Calendar sync/share via iCloud 14. Multitasking gestures for iPad 2 – Multi finger gestures – New moves and short cuts like swipe up for multi tasking bar 15. AirPlay Mirroring – Support for video mirroring 16. Innovative new features for differently abled people – Work with specialized hardware accessories for differently abled – LED Flash and custom vibration to indicate incoming call – Custom element labeling 17. iClouds – wirelessly pushes files across multiple devices managed together |
| Compatible Devices: iPad2, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPad Touch 3rd and 4th generation |
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).