Android 4.2 vs Windows Phone 8
The battle between operating systems is a worthy discussion to take upon. This may not be a battle literary, but we tend to see developers constantly developing new features, which act as weapons and these weapons are operated by the consumers. Some weapons are really good which makes the OS to advance and gain reputation while some features are so bad that consumers try to move into a new OS realm damaging the reputation of the OS. When you look at the core level, any operating system used in a smartphone is built upon a single task; effectively managing the meager power available in the mobile computing platform and making the best use of it. However, with the recent advances, the term meager power is outdated. Hence the operating systems are built to be run on powerhouses, and this presents a problem for moderately powered devices. In fact, this problem can be broadly seen as the backward compatibility. Today we are going to discuss about two operating systems; one is a minor upgrade to an existing version while the other is a major rollout. The minor upgrade can be pushed to the comparable devices while the major rollout would need devices built specifically for this purpose. Let us talk about the minor upgrade which is Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with the major rollout Windows Phone 8.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Review
Android 4.2 was released by Google on the 29th of October at their event. It is a practical combination of ICS and Honeycomb for tablets. The major difference we found out can be summed up with the Lock screen, camera app, gesture typing and multi user availability. We will look at these features in depth to understand what they offer in Layman’s terms.
One of the most important features introduced with v4.2 Jelly Bean is the multi user capability. This is only available for tablets which enable a single tablet to be used among your family very easily. It lets you have your own space with all the customization you need starting from the lock screen to applications and games. It even lets you have your own top scores in the games. The best thing is that you don’t really have to log in and log off; instead, you can simply and seamlessly switch which is just great. A new keyboard has been introduced that can make use of gesture typing. Thanks to the advancements of Android dictionaries, now the typing app can offer you suggestions for your next word in the sentence which enables you to type the whole sentence using selection of words offered by the app. The speech to text ability is also improved, and it is available offline as well, unlike Apple’s Siri.
Android OS v4.2 offers a new immersive experience with the camera by offering Photo Sphere. It’s a 360 degree photo stitching of what you have snapped and you can view these immersive spheres from the smartphone as well as share them on Google + or add them in Google Maps. The camera app has been made more responsive, and it starts super quick, as well. Google has added a component called Daydream for idling people like me where they display useful information when idling. It can get information from Google current and many more sources. Google Now is also alive than ever making your life easy for you before you even think about making it easy. It now has the ability to indicate photogenic spots nearby and to track packages easily.
The notification system is at the core of Android. With v4.2 Jelly Bean, notifications are fluid than even. You have expandable and resizable notifications all in one place. The widgets are also improved and now they automatically resize depending on the components added to a screen. Interactive widgets are expected to be facilitated more in this operating system, as well. Google hasn’t forgotten to improve the accessibility options, as well. Now the screen can be magnified using three tap gestures and visually impaired users can now interact with the fully zoomed screen as well such as typing when zoomed in. The gesture mode enables seamless navigation through the smartphone for blind users along with the speech output.
You can simply beam photos and videos with v4.2 Jelly Bean on your smartphone. It’s easier than ever and more simple and elegant too. Google Search component has also been update and as an overall, the operating system has become faster and smoother. The transitions are silky and an absolute pleasure to experience while the touch responses are more reactive and uniform. It also allows you to wirelessly stream your screen to any wireless display which is a cool feature to have. Right now, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is available in Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. We are hoping that the other manufacturers will also release their updates soon.
Microsoft Windows Phone 8
Microsoft released the newest version of their mobile operating system back in the late Octobers with the debut of few Windows Phone 8 devices. The most famous among the devices running on Windows Phone 8 right now is Nokia Lumia 920, which is considered as a high end product. As an operating system, it seems Microsoft is aiming to conquer the mobile operating systems market that is covered currently by the Research in Motion or Blackberry. Ideally Microsoft will try to grasp the third position of the smartphone market which is impressive if they do it.
Windows Phone 8 introduces some new features that introduce a refreshing breeze to the existing usability perspective of the smartphones. However, there are certain counterarguments regarding the same issue as well. Let us look in to those factors and try to understand which arguments can be materialized in reality. In terms of usability and the interface, Microsoft has retained their unique metro style interface with the tiles. In the Windows Phone 8, the tiles are live as such can be flipped and it’ll reveal useful information on the other side. A major complain from the Android fans moving in to Windows Phone 8 is the issue with customizability. While Android gives users a high degree of customization options, Windows Phone 8 limits it to changing the colors and the position of the tiles in the home screen.
Windows Phone 8 comes with some unique features like skydrive integration and people hub which is a people centric information center. The DataSense app gives an overview of the data usage and Microsoft has also added Microsoft Wallet in Windows Phone 8. It is commendable that they have integrated NFC support and speech recognition via Audible while the new Camera Hub app makes taking photos easier than ever. Since Microsoft acquired Skype, they have made amendments and integrated skype at the basic level so that the user can take a skype call just as easily as taking a normal call which is pretty impressive. Microsoft also provides integration with their services like Xbox, Office and SkyDrive. They are also letting you accommodate the usage of smartphone by your kids by creating them separate account.
The new operating system is certainly faster than its predecessor with better graphics and better responsiveness. The manufacturers seem to follow a unique square corner design that immediately separates a Windows Phone from other smartphones in the market. We don’t know whether Microsoft imposes this on the vendors or not, but it certainly is becoming a trademark for Windows Phones. The complain that most people make about the Windows Phone 8 is the lack of applications. Microsoft promises to increase the apps steadily. However, there are enough apps right now, but the problem is there are certain vital apps that are not available like Dropbox.
Conclusion
This is not a black and white scenario where one OS is the best and the other is rubbish. Rather this is a scenario which is highly subjective depending on your usage pattern and complexity of life. Windows Phone takes an exceedingly simplistic approach while Android 4.2 adds up some spice and makes the operating system suitable for complex tasks. But above all, what you might look at is the quantity of applications available in the Windows Phone market compared to that of Google Play which is significantly boosted. Given time this may be compensated but, as of now, there exists a colossal gap. Other than that, as a fact, everything else may well be subjective so we’ll leave you to decide on which OS you would prefer.