Today buying a smartphone that would is serve you completely isn't a matter of just price alone anymore. Other things are now factored in before making the choice to buy a certain kind of smartphone for use.
For older people, say from 40 years old upwards, what they might need from a smartphone may be totally different from a teenager or young adult. Consequently, its imperative to help you decide on the best choice of smartphone for you.
Operating System (OS)
Operating system for mobile devices are on of the deciding factors to purchase a mobile phone. A lot of people think all smartphones are Android phones which is just funny.
There are 4 now 4 major operating systems you find on recent smartphones. They are Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 OS.
Android Phones
Android phones are those phones that have the Google operating system running in them. Android OS in its self is based on the Linux Kernel and is designed basically for touchscreen smartphones and tablets. Examples of such phones are Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Tecno Phantom A+, Infinix Alpha, Nexus etc. The latest Android version is KitKat 4.4 however, Android Jelly bean 4.2.2-4.3 is still very prevalent.
Major Advantages of Android phones
They are easily customised and can also be easily managed. The interface is very easy to use since they use icons to identify the different applications on the phone. Its easy to use Android phones.
Sharing of apps and files between an Android phone and non-Android phone can be done easily either through Bluetooth or other means. There are also third party stores to download apps aside that provided by Google Play Store. Consequently the number of apps on Android devices are huge.
Finally, phones running Android OS are easy to find, they can be very cheap and will also serve well as they can do everything required by today's standards of smartphones. They have a lot of applications that are useful for download which is the strong and selling points for Android phones. One weak point of Android is that its thought of as been susceptible to virus, malware and other hacking attacks. This can be properly guided against however.
iOS Phones
iOS phones are Apple phones which are based on the Unix kernel. iOS phones are designed primarily for touchscreen phones. Examples are iPhone 4S, 5, 5S and 5C. Only Apple products have iOS running on them unlike Android that have so many devices running Android OS.
Major Advantages of iOS Phones
When it comes to applications, iOS devices have lots of apps too, as much as Android as a matter of fact and in some cases more refined with high design standard. Apple app store is the only recommended store for downloading apps, because the app store is strictly monitored by Apple making sure that malware, virus and information spying softwares are out of the store. However, there are other stores where you can download iOS apps especially if you have a jailbroken device.
Another thing about iPhone is that they are so easy to use. beautiful icons also represent the apps and the interface is neat and colourful. The latest iOS version is iOS 7.0.4 which is running on majority of iPhone devices.
Finally, they are of premium quality. From the design to the shape communicates something that was built not only as an art but as machine. iOS devices are not easily hacked or get virus and malware and so are thought of as more secure than Android
Major Disadvantages of iOS Phones
One major disadvantage is that its not easy to share files from an iPhone to other non-iPhone devices especially through Bluetooth. iOS devices don't connect to other non-iOS devices under normal circumstances except if jailbroken and certain app is installed to make that happen.
Furthermore, ease of putting music and videos and making your mp3 songs as ringtones on iOS devices is small especially for someone that is not too knowledgeable with setting up smartphones.
Finally, iOS devices are not as cheap as their Android counterpart. SO if you are on a tight budget, you may not be able to afford an iOS device.
BlackBerry 10 Phone
BlackBerry 10 phones are the new phones manufactured by BlackBerry company. Example of such phones are Z10, Z30, Q5 and Q10.
Currently, BlackBerry 10 phones runs Blackberry 10 OS on them and are also made for both touchscreen and keyboard based phones. BlackBerry 10 is more very gesture based and as at this writing, the latest version is 10.2.1.
Major Advantage of BB10 Phones
These phones are easy to operate, Bluetooth communication and transfer between non-BB & BB phones is easy. Files can be exchanged easily. Transfer of videos and audios are also very easy just like the Android version. Also, Selecting mp3 songs as ringtones is very easy.
BB10 apps are gotten from the Blackberry app store and are monitored well to keep information spying and malware apps out of it. One good thing is that BB10 devices are secure to a great extent and not open to spying and virus attacks.
Major Disadvantages of BB10 Phones
One of the disadvantages of BB10 phones is the limited amount of apps that are available when compared to the likes of Android and iOS.
Furthermore, the newer BB10 devices aren't too pocket friendly compared to Android devices.
Windows Phone OS
Windows Phone OS are those phones that have the Microsoft owned windows operating system for mobile devices running on them. The main device using this OS Nokia Lumia.
Nokia Lumia is one of the highest device making use of the Windows Phone OS on them. They are quite good in terms of quality and one area that is well marketed is t he stability of the OS.
Major Advantages of Windows Phones OS
However, the good thing about Windows Phone OS devices is that they are built with great quality. Nokia Lumia in particular have very excellent and premium build. Also, camera of Nokia Lumia are very splendid.
Furthermore, its very easy to use windows phone. icons are also used to identify apps but not in tile format like the other OS mentioned above. Furthermore, apps can be downloaded from the Windows app store which is well maintained and growing consistently. The security of Windows Phone devices is quite high too.
Sharing of Bluetooth files from a non-windows phone to a windows phone is also very easy without any modifications needed. Audios and Videos can be transferred easily and your mp3 songs can be used as ringtones easily as you please.
Major Disadvantages of Windows Phone OS
The major issue surrounding windows phones is that just like BlackBerry phones, they have limited amount of apps in trheir app store. A smartphone is generally as powerful as the number of applications it has which greatly increases the task and activities that the smartphone can do.
SummaryIn totally, buying a smartphone is not just about the specs it has or the price tag attached to it but also on the kind of operating system the smartphone is running. The type of operating system will let you know exactly how powerful the smartphone can be with respect to available applications. Currently only Android, iOS and BB10 phones can use BBM while all of them can use Whatsapp.
Furthermore, ease of navigating and using the operating system will also become a factor when choosing smartphone especially when looking at the kind of person to use the smartphone.
As far as we are concerned, Android is the most flexible followed by followed BB10 devices and then Windows Phone devices and then Apple device.
In terms of ease of use, iPhone is the first followed by Android, Blackberry 10 and then Windows Phone devices.
What are your thoughts about this? Drop comments below.
