iOS (previously i-Phone OS) is a mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple Inc. Originally released in 2007 for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms, it has been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPad and Apple TV. Unlike Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Google’s Android, Apple does not license iOS for installation on non-Apple hardware. As of September 12, 2012, Apple’s App Store contained more than 700,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 40 billion times. It had a 21% share of the smart phone mobile operating system units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012, behind only Google’s Android. In June 2012, it accounted for 65% of mobile web data consumption (including use on both the iPod Touch and the iPad). At the half of 2012, there were 410 million devices activated. According to the special media event held by Apple on September 12, 2012, 400 million devices have been sold through June 2012.
The user interface of iOS is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface. Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).
In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch layer. The current version of the operating system (iOS 6.1.3) dedicates 1-1.5 GB of the device’s flash memory for the system partition, using roughly 800 MB of that partition (varying by model) for iOS itself.
Before iOS 4, multitasking was limited to a selection of the applications Apple included on the device. Users could, however “jailbreak” their device in order to unofficially multitask. Starting with iOS 4, on 3rd-generation and newer iOS devices, multitasking are supported through seven background APIs:
- Background audio – application continues to run in the background as long as it is playing audio or video content
- Voice over IP – application is suspended when a phone call is not in progress
- Background location – application is notified of location changes
- Push notifications
- Local notifications – application schedules local notifications to be delivered at a predetermined time
- Task completion – application asks the system for extra time to complete a given task
- Fast app switching – application does not execute any code and may be removed from memory at any time
In iOS 5, three new background APIs were introduced:
- Newsstand – application can download content in the background to be ready for the user
- External Accessory – application communicates with an external accessory and shares data at regular intervals
- Bluetooth Accessory – application communicates with a Bluetooth accessory and shares data at regular intervals
Game Center is an online multiplayer “social gaming network” released by Apple. It allows users to “invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader board.” iOS 5 and above adds support for profile photos.
Game Center was announced during an iOS 4 preview event hosted by Apple on April 8, 2010. A preview was released to registered Apple developers in August. It was released on September 8, 2010 with iOS 4.1 on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 2nd generation through 4th generation. Game Center made its public debut on the iPad with iOS 4.2.1. There is no support for the iPhone 3G and original iPhone. However, Game Center is unofficially available on the iPhone 3G via a hack.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of iOS?
If you are an Android or Blackberry fan, you might be wondering what all the fuss is over IOS software. As you probably already know, IOS is Apple’s mobile operating system which was originally developed for the iPhone, but has now expanded to support various other Apple devices including the iPad and iPod touch.
As much as people rave about Apple products, their one flaw is not being able to run Flash or Shockwave videos. This means that if you are on your iPhone and want to look at a site which might include video clips and animations, whether it’s Party Poker or You tube, unless you’ve downloaded the alternative software, you cannot view the whole page properly. However, apart from this problem, iPhones have many great advantages.
IOS technology allows you to interact and manipulate your screen in a variety of ways. This makes it much more user friendly because you can alter the screen size by simply placing two fingers in the centre of the screen and dragging them away from each other. This is particularly useful if you have a visual impairment, or if you have just forgotten your glasses, because within an instant, everything can be made much bigger. Double tapping the screen returns the page to its normal size, or if you wish to zoom out, simply reverse the zoom in motion. There are plenty of other touch screen motions, such as sliding your finger to the left or the right to scroll through photos, as well as dragging and dropping items to customize your apps.
These might all sound like nifty little moves, but there are some disadvantages too. For example, you cannot interact with the screen if you’re wearing regular gloves which are certainly a pain in the winter. Sometimes the screen can freeze, before suddenly performing all the controls you were frantically pressing while the screen was frozen, which causes all sorts of problems.
We are therefore not expecting the disappearance of regular computers soon, neither the one of not mobile adapted web sites. This is particularly significant when critical or sensitive information is at stake, or the user’s money. A mobile device, be it an I Something, a blackberry or Android device is used much more casually than a regular computer. You might use it on a bus, in a crowd, while queuing at the post office… and that makes impulse actions much more probable! This is an asset for cheap iOS apps or tunes, but could become a danger when a user may move his finances, take part to apart poker game, or do anything else she may later repent not having done with more concentration. This is the reason why responsible operators allow the use of their services only from the relative calm of a computer. Perhaps there will be fewer clients, but despaired ones are no good publicity!
Android is the world’s most popular mobile platform. With Android you can use all the Google apps you know and love, plus there are more than 600,000 apps and games available on Google Play to keep you entertained, alongside millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies. Android devices are already smart, and will only get smarter, with new features you won’t find on any other platform, letting you focus on what’s important and putting you in control of your mobile experience.
Android has become a need rather than luxury these days, and its popularity has increased rapidly among the smart phones. Android App Development is nowadays has become an important tool for developing mobile applications. There are lots of OS which are available these days but among all of them android is the best one, as it can be handled easily and also it is very easy to implement because of its open source nature. The (SDK) facilitated by the Android assists the developers to start developing and working on the applications instantaneously and the app can be implemented faster. Android is a product of Google and it is owned by open handset alliance group.
The android mobile platform constitutes of an operating system (OS), the middleware, main applications, and a (SDK). The SDK facilitates the developers with the APIs and tools needed for Development. The distribution platform is of an open nature which allows the android developers to develop the applications and freely distribute them over the internet.
Some of the major benefits of using android OS in mobile phones an smart phones are as follows:
• Android is based on Linux. This facilitates easy accessibility to rich development environment and core functionality of the mobile device.
• It allows quick information gathering. It also provides the accurate information sought.
• The cycle is drastically reduced.
• The development tools are easy to use.
• All the information and services are provided to the developers without any biasness.
• It provides rich browser facilities as well. This facilitates the developer to provide enhanced services.
Android is a Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.
Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community of developers writing applications (“apps”) that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java programming language. In October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play, Android’s primary app store, was 25 billion.
These factors have contributed towards making Android the world’s most widely used smart phone platform, overtaking Symbian in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the software of choice for technology companies who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high tech devices without developing one from scratch. As a result, despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications on televisions, games consoles, digital cameras and other electronics. Android’s open nature has further encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other operating systems.
Android had a worldwide smart phone market share of 75% during the third quarter of 2012, with 750 million devices activated in total and 1.5 million activations per day. The operating system’s success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called “smart phone wars” between technology companies.
Open Source Community
Android has an active community of developers and enthusiasts who use the Android source code to develop and distribute their own modified versions of the operating system. These community-developed releases often bring new features and updates to devices faster than through the official manufacturer/carrier channels, albeit without as extensive testing or quality assurance; provide continued support for older devices that no longer receive official updates; or bring Android to devices that were officially released running other operating systems, such as the HP Touch Pad. Community releases often come pre-rooted and contain modifications unsuitable for non-technical users, such as the ability to over clock or over/under volt the device’s processor. Cyanogens Mod is the most widely used community firmware, and acts as a foundation for numerous others.
Historically, device manufacturers and mobile carriers have typically been unsupportive of third-party firmware development. Manufacturers express concern about improper functioning of devices running unofficial software and the support costs resulting from this. Moreover, modified firm wares such as Cyanogens Mod sometimes offer features, such as tethering, for which carriers would otherwise charge a premium. As a result, technical obstacles including locked boot loaders and restricted access to root permissions are common in many devices. However, as community-developed software has grown more popular, and following a statement by the Librarian of Congress in the United States that permits the “jail breaking” of mobile devices, manufacturers and carriers have softened their position regarding third party development, with some, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony, providing support and encouraging development. As a result of this, over time the need to circumvent hardware restrictions to install unofficial firmware has lessened as an increasing number of devices are shipped with unlocked or unlockable boot loaders, similar to the Nexus series of phones, although usually requiring that users waive their devices’ warranties to do so. However, despite manufacturer acceptance, some carriers in the US still require that phones are locked down.
The unlocking and “hackability” of smart phones and tablets remains a source of tension between the community and industry, with the community arguing that unofficial development is increasingly important given the failure of industry to provide timely updates and/or continued support to their devices.
The market of Android app is very vast and it is not easy for a user to decide that which one is the best. However still there are some apps which we should use as they are very useful in our day to day life. Most of us may require it sometime so it is always better to keep these apps handy on your smart phone and let your device to work properly for you. Apps are the key thing of smart phone and if you have an Android smart phone then it is better to use some important apps. It will be of no use if you are not taking the complete benefits from your device. Here we are discussing some useful apps for you.
(1) Voxer Walkie-Talkie:- Many times we do not want to just keep dialing the number and wait in case of hold. You can make your device “push to talk” very similar to walkie-talkie as Voxer app is available for you. Your device should have Android 2.2+ and you can easily talk to your family members or friends over 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi. The working of this app is very similar to Walkie-Talkie and it is available for free.
(2) Speedtest.net:- Every year a new “G” technology is coming into the market. These technologies are changing the way we are accessing the internet. Now 2G, 3G, 4G are very popular. Therefore we require a testing program on our smart phone to check the speed of internet. Speedtest.net is available for users to test the ping and download as well as upload speed. You can use it in Android 1.6+ device and is available for free.
(3) ASTRO File Manager: – We can term it as a Windows-style file explorer. It is useful for those who like to install Android APK files directly whenever they need. ASTRO is available as a free ad-supported app. It also has the complete version without ad.
(4) Foursquare: – It is the social media app and it offers single-click check-ins as well as integrated Google maps for flawless experience of Google.
(5) Auto Memory Manager: – We need to check the memory section of a computer if we want to enhance the performance of a computer. Now smart phones also work on the similar way. Auto Memory Manager app is available if you want to check the memory of your smart phone. You can set memory priority on apps according to your requirement and the app is available for free.
6) Beautiful Widgets: – You can customize the home screen of your phone through this app. Different elements like weather report, clock, battery status etc. can be adjusted as per the need. You can make your home screen more useful as well as beautiful through this app as the information which you require frequently will be available on your home screen itself. The price of this app is .89 only.
(7) Tasker: – You can program commands for the smart phone with ease through this app. Play the music automatically as soon as you plug in the earphones. Turn off the Wi-Fi as soon as you finish your work. It makes your smart phone smarter and the price is .49 only. best android download site must visit.
Advantages Of Android Mobile
- Multitasking – Yups, Android phones can run many applications, it means you can browse, Face book while listened to the song.
- Ease of Notification – Any SMS, Email, or even the latest articles from an RSS Reader, there will always be a notification on the Home Screen Android phone, do not miss the LED indicator is blinking, so you will not miss a single SMS, Email or even Miscall.
- Easy access to thousands of applications via the Google Android Android App Market – When you love to install applications or games, through Google’s Android App Market, Agan can download applications for free. There are many thousands of applications and games that are ready for download on Android phones You.
- Phone options are diverse – Talk Android phone, it will feel ‘different’ than the IOS, if the IOS is limited to the iPhone from Apple, then Android is available on mobile phones from various manufacturers, from Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HTC to Samsung. And each handset manufacturer also presents an Android phone in the style of each, such as Motorola with its Motoblur, Sony Ericsson with its Timescape. So you can freely choose the Android phone in accordance with the ‘brand’ favorite.
- Can install a modified ROM – not satisfied with the standard view of Android, do not worry there are many custom ROM that can be used in your mobile phones Android .
- Widget – absolutely right, with the widgets on the home screen, You can easily access a variety of settings quickly and easily.
- Google Maniac – If you are a loyal user of Google services ranging from Gmail to Google Reader Android phone has integrated with Google services, so you can quickly check e-mail from Gmail.
Disadvantage of Android Mobile
- Continuous Internet connection – Yups, most Android phones require a simultaneous Internet connection alias continuously active. that means must be prepared to subscribe Again GPRS packet that suits your needs.
- Advertising – Application in the Android phones can indeed be obtained easily and for free, but the consequences in each of these applications, will always be ads on display, either the top or bottom of the application.
Windows Mobile is a family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smart phones and Pocket PCs. Windows Mobile is the predecessor of Windows Phone. In February 2010, Microsoft announced Windows Phone to supersede Windows Mobile, with the new operating system incompatible with Windows Mobile devices and software. As a result, Windows Mobile has been discontinued.
The final version of Windows Mobile, released after the announcement of Windows Phone, was 6.5.5. Microsoft has stated that the Windows Phone operating system is incompatible with devices designed for Windows Mobile as “Windows Mobile 6.x devices do not meet Windows Phone hardware requirements designed to ensure a consistent user and developer experience”, and software designed for Windows Mobile is incompatible with the new operating system.
Most versions of Windows Mobile have a set of standard features such as multitasking and the ability to navigate a file system similar to that of Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT, with support for many of the same file types. Much like its desktop counterpart it comes bundled with a set of applications to perform basic tasks. Internet Explorer Mobile is the default internet browser and Windows Media Player is used for media playback, such as video and music. Microsoft Office Mobile, the mobile versions of Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook Mobile is the default office suite. The ability to install third party software has existed since the original Pocket PC implementations. A client for PPTP VPNs is standard. Internet Connection Sharing is supported on compatible devices, which in mobile phones allows the phone to make its Internet connection available to computers via USB and Bluetooth.
Most devices with mobile connectivity include a Radio Interface Layer. The RIL provides the system interface between the Cell Core layer within the Windows Mobile OS and the radio protocol stack used by the wireless modem hardware. This allows OEMs to integrate a variety of modems into their equipment.
The user interface has changed much between versions but the basic functionality has remained similar. The Today Screen, later called the Home Screen, shows the current date, owner information, upcoming appointments, e-mail messages, and tasks. The taskbar shows the current time and the audio volume and of devices with a cellular radio the signal strength.
Software may be developed by third parties for the Windows Mobile operating system. Developers have several options for deploying mobile applications. These include writing native code with Visual C++,managed code that works with the .NET Compact Framework, writing code in Tcl-Tk with eTcl, GCC using CeGCC., Python using PythonCE. or server-side code that can be deployed using Internet Explorer Mobile or a mobile client on a user’s device. The .NET Compact Framework is a subset of the .NET Framework and hence shares many components with software development on desktop clients, application servers, and web servers which have the .NET Framework installed, thus integrating networked computing space.
To aid developers Microsoft released software development kits (SDKs) that work in conjunction with their Visual Studio development environment. These SDKs include emulator images for developers to test and debug their applications while writing them. Software can be tested on a client machine directly or be downloaded to a device. Microsoft also distributes Visual Studio 2008 / 2005 Professional Editions, and server / database counterparts to students as downloads free of charge via its Dream Spark program. Third party integrated development environments can also be used to write software such as Lazarus, Resco Mobile Forms Toolkit, Lexico, NS Basic and Basic4ppc. Some third party development environments allow coding to be done on the device itself without the need for a computer.
Developer communities have used the SDK to port later versions of Windows Mobile OS to older devices and making the OS images available for free, thus providing the devices with the current feature set. Microsoft has tolerated this procedure for some time but decided in February 2007 to ask developers to take their OS images off the net, which in turn raised discussions. At the same time Microsoft offered upgrades to Windows Mobile 6 versions to manufacturers for free.
Windows Mobile applications are strongly encouraged to be optimized for touch screen user interfaces. The developer also needs to take into the account the lower CPU performance of older devices.
Advantages Of Windows Phone
1. New Today screen:
Though the “classic” Today screen is still available, 6.5 introduces an all-new version that somewhat closely approximates the Zune’s home screen experience (whether that’s a harbinger of things to come remains to be seen). Perhaps more than any other single feature, the new Today screen gives 6.5 a freshened look — but ironically, many users will never see it because it’s often replaced by a manufacturer customization (in HTC’s case, Touch FLO).
2.”Honeycomb” Start screen:
The main menu of old — a white screen with a grid of boring, old icons — looked like a relic of Windows 3.1. Happily, it’s gone here, replaced with a themed alternating list of thoroughly modern images for default apps. The Start menu is gone, too — pressing the Windows icon in the upper left of the screen now leads straight to the new Start screen.
3.Finger-friendly UI elements:
Windows Mobile’s notorious for being unable to shake the stylus, but 6.5 makes some additional baby steps to help fingertips do all of the work — inertial scrolling in many screens and a redesigned context menu style both help here.
4. New lock screen:
Though not revolutionary, Microsoft put a commendable amount of thought into this one — instead of merely settling to give the user one way to get back into their device, 6.5′s lock screen gives you multiple points of entry depending on the current status; if you’ve got a new text message, for example, you get a separate unlock slider that can take you straight to it.
5. Revamped Internet Explorer:
6. Windows Marketplace:
The biggest news in 6.5 might not be a 6.5 specific feature at all, ironically. Windows Marketplace finally takes WinMo into the all-important world of consolidated, managed mobile app stores, but it’s only exclusive to 6.5 for a few weeks before being made available to 6 and 6.1 later this year.
7. Exclusive content:
It’s hardly a platform “feature,” really, but Microsoft is making a pretty big deal of the fact that it’s signed on a number of internationally-recognized designers like Isaac Mizrahi and Vera Wang to craft themes for 6.5 that ship with the platform free of charge (we’re not sure if you’ll find them on every 6.5 phone to be produced, but they came loaded — albeit turned off by default — on our Pure).
What Are The Disadvantages Of Windows 7.5 Mobile?
The main advantages of windows 7 phone is that it supports high quality apps in high resolution and if u are a game lover then you would love it But i will not recommend it as buying apps legally is too expensive Jail breaking your wp7 or 7.5 will be a tough task as chevron ( jail braker software) is not very compatible Wp7 supports Bluetooth only with smart phones or like the one having windows platform Moreover they don’t have file manager which is a very big issue.
The disadvantage of window 7.5.
- No copy / paste facility
- No video support as given for OS .
- No file manger
- No facility of third party Apps. are the most disadvantage of window 7.5 phone.
- Problem with Ending Calls.
- Poor Battery Performance.
- Freezing Defect.
- Solution for Firm ware Update.
- Freezes and Automatically Re Starts.
- Need to be charged after Couple of Hours.
- There is no system wide file manager to manage the files and data in the mobile.
- No video calling support is given for the OS as default.
- Very limited third party apps are allowed for the mobile.
- No Bluetooth and USB mass storage mode to change when connected to PC.
- No copy/paste is available which makes it very hard if you want to copy some data inside your mobile or to move it from one place to other.
- No Divx/Xvid video support.