Feature Articles

Operating on a Touch - The Touch OS Feature

By Seow Tein Hee & Sutlej Soin - 5 Apr 2009

Comparisons and Conclusion

Judging them from All Angles

To reiterate the purpose of this article, it is to help users figure out which touchscreen capable mobile phone operating systems is best suited for various usage needs. To make a fair judgment on the current touchscreen capable mobile phone operating systems, we've only assessed the following established contenders:- iPhone, Symbian S60 V5.0, Android and Windows Mobile 6.5. Having had extensive hands-on experience with these touch-screen mobile operating systems, we were able to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of each of the respective mobile OS. However, both the webOS from Palm and BlackBerry 4.7 from Research in Motion will be omitted from our comparison matrix since we've yet to give them a thorough evaluation.

We've rated the usability of each OS in the following categories of touchscreen navigation, multimedia, productivity, web usage and application support for the four operating in the below table with key points. We adopted a simple rating scheme with 3 HWZ logos meaning Good, 2 meaning Fair, and 1 meaning Below Average in their respective categories.

Mobile OS Comparisons
OS/Category Touch navigation Multimedia Productivity Web Applications
Apple iPhone OS
  • Capacitive
  • Integrated multi-touch
  • Touch gesture
  • CoverFlow interface for both music and video
  • On-screen QWERTY keyboard
  • POP3 support
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Webkit
  • Utilizing Apple's Safari engine
  • App Store with millions of apps for download





Symbian S60 V5.0
  • Resistive
  • Touch gesture
  • Symbian multimedia interface for both music and video
  • On-screen QWERTY keyboard in landscape orientation
  • Mail for Exchange, BlackBerry and POP3 support
  • Webkit
  • Utilizing Nokia Web Browser
  • Coming soon
  • Nokia Ovi Store




Not admissible
Google Android
  • Capacitive
  • Multi-touch possible (unavailable to consumer units)
  • Touch gesture
  • Music player only
  • Requires third party application for video player
  • Lack of on-screen keyboard
  • Easy synchronization with Google account
  • Webkit
  • Fledgling Android Market





Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5
  • Resistive
  • Touch gesture
  • Windows Media Player Mobile for music and Video
  • Microsoft Office Mobile including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
  • Pocket Internet Explorer
  • Slow loading speeds
  • Coming soon
  • Windows Marketplace




Not admissible

By now, you would have realized the real motive of the comparison chart. The fact is, each mobile phone touch-screen OS has its strengths, one that may or may not be easily emulated by the competition.

Entertainment-wise, the iPhone wins the day with its multimedia delivery, with the Symbian S60 V5.0 coming in at a close second. But mind you, this is still heavily based on the devices that accompany the OS. Our assessment is that of operating system's native capability. The Google Android was the weakest of the lot, seeing as how it doesn't come bundled with its very own video player. However, It you're more of the savvy sort and actually prefer choice of applications to suit your needs, the Android may well be your preferred choice.

In terms of productivity, you would still see Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS gaining the upper hand with its support for push emails and Exchange server. Add in the fact that you get ready-to-use office applications such as Microsoft Office Mobile, and you'll see its distinction.

Nonetheless, it's prudent to note that when it comes to the web browsing experience, we are torn between two specific areas: Apple's iPhone OS, and Google's Android. Developed from its own webkit roots, both browsers have shown themselves to be capable of delivering an intuitive web browsing experience, displaying web pages as much, and as fast as you get with a full fledged system. In fact, we would go as far as to say that the Android platform is built for the web addict who can't keep themselves off the internet.

Of all the categories we're assessing, the Application Support area is one that will get interesting in the months to come. The Apple App Store has seen a steady and mature growth over the past three years, and is considerably the strongest of the lot. However, Google's Android Market is striving to achieve what the Cupertino company is doing, and it seems like the possibility is there. Nonetheless, in its infancy stages, the Android Market will need time to prove its mettle against the big boys. What's in store for the other two players? With Microsoft, the stage is set for their Windows Marketplace for Mobile, but we suspect that developers probably won't bite with the US$99 per submission ruling being imposed on this. Nokia has been a staunch supporter of the Symbian platform, and it does show with its upcoming Ovi Store. However, the Ovi Store won't see fruition anytime till the second half of 2009. While we can't yet assess this segment for both of these operating systems till much later in the year, each has significant clout in their respective turf and it remains to be seen how this influence will pay out in the applications support category.

Putting aside your device preference aside, it's also time you take stock of what OS works for you best when it comes to your mobile lifestyle.

No doubt how fancy or intriguing a smartphone device is, its capabilities are ultimately limited by the operating system behind it. As such, we hope our assessment in this article has helped you narrow down the operating system that has most support for your usage needs, and thus the devices that would be powered by it.

Even with our above assessment, the ultimate choice has no doubt been made harder by the variety of mobile operating systems out there and their various tweaked versions accompanied by individual devices that's powered by them. And we haven't even factored in the Palm Pre's webOS nor the BlackBerry OS 4.7. And trust us, you haven't heard the last of this, as we'll be following up with more news about these two operating systems and more when they're within our grasp. Till then, keep on walking, and enjoy your mobile experience, whichever you choose in the near future.

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