Android Cupcake vs Windows Mobile 6.5 vs iPhone 3.0: Preview

Microsoft, Apple and Google have all announced upgrades to their operating systems in recent months, but which makes for the biggest improvement? We pit them against each other in our three-way head-to-head.

IT Pro Verdict

Google, Apple and Microsoft have all announced very different updates to their OS��s, so it’s hard to say which is better per se. Apple’s iPhone was already slick but its update is the most needed because it addresses features that surely should have been present in the first place. Windows Mobile 6.5 improves the look of the OS, and makes it easier to use but it’s still won’t bridge the gap with its two main competitors.Google therefore takes the prize for the most improved OS, as it has significantly ironed out any glitches that it had with the first device, and with the new features, such as improved email and internet facilities it’s made it more friendly and appealing to use, especially for business users.

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So while the majority of the Google Android updates are to fix bugs and quirks in the original version of the new firmware. Apple has taken a different approach and used its 3.0 update to add key features that it has been missing from the start.

New iPhone features

For those who were driven crazy by the inability to copy and paste text and photos, you can now do this on the new version of Apple's OS. To copy text, you simply need to double tap on highlighted text and double tap. A cut, copy and paste' dialogue box will appear, signifying that you've copied it to the clipboard. To paste the copied text into another application, double tap again and it'll paste the text. If you paste the wrong thing, a shake of the iPhone will undo the action.

You can use the same method to copy photos and paste them into an email. Just select the ones you want to copy, double tap the screen and they'll be saved on the clipboard. Access a new email and double tap to paste them.

Another highly useful feature, glaringly omitted missing in the first and second firmware platforms was search in email, calendar and iPod. In true Apple style though, you can't search the actual email content of your messages, only the sender and subject. Hopefully, this'll be a feature available in the fourth incarnation.

There have always been problems with connectivity on the iPhone, from using it as a 3G modem on your computer, to playing music through stereo headphones. Now, you can do both with the addition of 3G tethering and A2DP stereo Bluetooth. Hurrah!

Other severe oversights with the iPhone were the lack of MMS messaging and the lack of a landscape keyboard making typing emails a little tricky thanks to the small portrait keyboard. Both are now possible. You can send photos, business cards and sounds to other people using MMS messaging if you don't fancy using an email to send them, plus you can type until your heart's content on the larger landscape keyboard.

Clare Hopping
Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.

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