Thursday, January 10, 2013

iPhone vs. Android is Alien vs. Predator: whoever wins... we lose

Having had a number of discussions with my colleagues about iPhones and Androids recently I decided to write a follow up blog to the one I posted earlier with the same title

Much has changed in the last two years since my original post. Android platform is now much more widely used and is winning the market share. New entrants into the market, such as Windows Phone devices haven't really managed to take market or mind share and the dinosaurs such as Blackberry are slowly disappearing. So this is still very much a two-horse race. iPhone vs. Android.

Here at Vadacom we work with both the iPhone and the Android platform. We didn't back then. Here is my opinion on where the platforms are at from the business use point of view:

While Android is still lacking some critical integration features, it is certainly catching up to iPhone. The user interface on some of the newer devices feels as responsive as iPhone. The availability of the apps is certainly getting close. There are also some cool features that now exist in Android but not in the iPhone yet.

Much seems to be device and vendor dependant. Most Android phones are still falling behind because as they get older the vendor doesn't provide a timely update to the OS. So older iPhones hold up much better compared to the older Androids as the OS in those phones is usually more current.

Where is some of the new devices do now outshine the new iPhone 5 in features. The device to watch, in my opinion, is Nexus 4. One reason: apparently Google will keep this one up to date with the new releases. So, here are a couple of comparisons of Nexus 4 vs. iPhone 5:

10 Things the iPhone 5 Can't do that Nexus 4 Can

Google Nexus 4 vs iPhone 5 - Screen, Power and Software

Our clients are split fairly evenly in their business use of iPhones and Androids.

Here at Vadacom we turn your iPhone or Android into a Mobile Extension of VadaXchange VOIP PBX.

VadaXchange Mobile Extensions feature enables mobile phones to have the same features as other cordless phones attached to the VadaXchange PBX as an extension of the system. The call is made using a regular service, while it is billed to your VOIP account, so your business saves money which more than justifies getting a smartphone. After that you gain a lot in productivity.

While developing for iPhone using iOS SDK is still slightly faster, Android allows much better integration with the environment outside the VadaXchange App. With Android we are able to register VadaXchange as the default dialling application for contacts. We also put hold and transfer button right on the front of the standard phone app on the phone to allow call transfer of PBX based calls. This nicely and seamlessly turns the Android phone into the VadaXchange PBX extension.

I must confess that I believe iOS 6 and iPhone 5 made really underwhelming progress from the innovation view point. My personal view is that unless Apple is able to make a big leap with the next iOS version and the new range of the iOS based devices this year, we will see Android continuing dominating the market share to the point where iOS will become another niche player. That would be a shame as I am a great believer in having competition to fuel innovation.  Plus, I still love my iPhone.

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