iPhone versus the Competition
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With all the big news settling down a bit about the launch of the new iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, we can focus our attention back on Apple in general and how it measures up to the competition.
iPhone 5
It can run on 2G, 3G and 4G networks, has an 8MP camera on the back and a 1.2MP camera on the front, an internal card slot storage of 16, 32 or 64 GB, and Siri. While the entire world isn't an iPhone fan, it was the top-selling smartphone out of the major four in September 2013, handily beating out competitors on all four U.S. carriers. Its easy-to-use interface, compact size and availability in the mid-range group has combined to make the iPhone the most popular smartphone- for now.
Android
Close on the iPhone's heels is the Android operating system, a collection of highly customizable smartphones that allows users to make it exactly how they want. However, the detailed level of the customization of the Samsung Galaxies, Sony Xperias and HTCs can make it overwhelming for a beginner user, possibly cutting off a sizeable enough demographic. One benefit that they do have in their corner is the sheer number of phones operating on the Google OS.
Windows
Nokia is the latest player to add Windows to its smartphones, starting with an undefined update launch that'll combine the Lumia's OS with Windows'. Microsoft, though, is still the main manufacturer of Windows smartphones, and have realized they need to step up their game if they're going to compete with other brands. While making their phones bigger and brighter is a good step, Windows still has a far way to go to catch up with the size of Apple and Android's app stores.
Blackberry
This is one smartphone that's sinking faster than Atlantis. Blackberrians, as the phone's users have been nicknamed, are jumping ship as fast as though it was the Titanic, but there are still die-hard users out there who cling to Blackberry's history and reputation. However, until Barack Obama switches from his Blackberry, the death knell hasn't officially sounded.
Bada/Symbian/Palm
These last three round out the market, small players but still relevant in some aspects. Samsung is the main user of Bada, although the platform has merged forces with Tizen and the future is a little murky for them. A little clearer is that of Symbian's, a platform that started small but grew steadily to become the dominant platform for Nokia phones. Symbian is mostly known for being fun and different when smartphones first emerged, placing the emphasis on cross-media integration instead of on business needs. As a result, Microsoft just bought Nokia, taking Symbian along with it.
Last but not least, there's Palm OS, the fancy phone that introduced stylos and screen-writing to the masses. The Palm OS Treo gave users a touch screen, full keyboard, wireless web browsing, email and mobile third-party apps, revolutionizing the smartphone landscape. Unfortunately, Palm hasn't quite kept up, or even at the front of, trends, and has largely fallen off the popularity wagon.
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