With an onslaught of new phones and operating systems, there is no wonder some of the older generations seem to be struggling a bit with technology! When you think you have the hang of one thing, the next moment there is something else which everyone says is better than the last. The only problem is that, usually, it is a little more complex than the others.
So I thought it would be good to have a look at what the different Phone OS’s are and why one would look at them. To qualify myself (not trying to be arrogant in this, just have some experience), here is my history of phones, briefly: I started on a Nokia (as most of anyone has) and had my fill of Symbian. From there I moved to Samsung (which by the way is still being used by a family member). After that I went into the Smartphone arena with a Windows mobile device (or two), followed by BlackBerry, and now I am using Android. There is only one OS that I have not used as my own device and that is iOS.
To be fair, keep in mind that it has been a bit since I used some of these OS’s and so am making comments based on what I had as well as what I have used/seen recently.
In 2007 Symbian held a little over 60% of the market share of cell phones in 2011 that number has dropped to 22%. Symbian is quickly becoming obsolete, even Nokia, when they signed with Windows showed their intentions. So in my personal opinion, it is far down the list of must have phone OS’s, that being said, one thing I will give it, it still remains one of the easiest GUI’s to use, so if you looking for something really simple that covers the basics, that’s where I should go.
Windows is probably the dark horse of the OS family. It should sync without a problem with windows computers, but has been known to have issues like duplicating contacts in Outlook. Windows is also usually very heavy on hardware requirements and it is for this reason that I would steer clear of windows on a phone – that is until the beefy hardware available runs windows.
RIM (or rather Blackberry as most people know it) is a bit of an interesting case. It is still one of the best devices that I have used for a few reasons: free on device browsing and email, instant message, etc; the GUI is very simple; and if you are running a windows computer, the sync between them is fairly simple! It remains one of my top choices, and although I did move away, I may just consider going back at some point.
iOS: the one that got away… well the simplest way for me to express my understanding of and use of iOS is that if you are technically challenged, but want a full on Smartphone which will do everything that you need, and simple to use, but still has decent power and hardware, this is your OS.
After all is said and done, this is a guideline that you can use to help decide, but the best way to find which phone you need and want, is to try them.
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