http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
[you also mention SDK availability - where can one get the Pre SDK?]
]]>Mar 19th 2009 12:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Windows Mobile does have global search, and has wide support for gestures (e.g. switching from one e-mail account to another is just a swiping gesture away).]]>Mar 19th 2009 12:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
I know, and they also left out any skinning options like HTC offers that make Winmo much easier to use. the new Touchflo3d ads a WHOLE LOT of functionality to windows mobile but they did the review like there was no way to improve winmo... A touch pro 2 or a touch diamond 2 with touchflo3d could take on/down an iphone any day.]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/


App Store Breakdown (currently 28,600 apps)

5,772 Games
3,930 Entertainment
2,882 Books
2,428 Utilities
2,019 Education
1,605 Lifestyle
1,305 Travel
1,220 Reference
1,087 Productivity
981 Sports
890 Music
760 Navigation
755 Healthcare & Fitness
625 Business
551 Photography
545 Finance
444 Social Networking
380 News
286 Medical
135 Weather

]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
(some do have the SDK, but its very very few in number)]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Just because they have all of those apps available doesn't mean I need all of those apps. I would rather have a few that "just work" than have twenty thousand that are "just OK". Take for example the 1,087 "productivity apps" that are available for the iphone, I have access to all of those, sure, but in the end I can be much more productive on a blackberry or winmo phone. See what I am saying? The sheer number of apps is not relevant, the goal is to have apps that are the most useful and productive

]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Uh, Windows has more apps than OSX. Would you also recommend that people stop using that OS so they can get with the one that the market obviously supports more?

]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/

Does that apply to everything? For example, Windows users say Windows is better because it has more apps than OS X. From my experience, Windows has a butt load of apps, but a good majority of them are shareware apps that do very few things badly. I'm not saying your answer is right or wrong, but it would be instructive to remember this when the PC people bash Mac users for buying Macs because they like iLife or Final Cut Studio or Logic or Shake or Textmate.

Quality is more important to some people, which is why people are buying the iPhone. The UI is much easier to use than the other phones and obviously more intuitive.

]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/ ...There is no SDK available yet. You can already develop your application (we don't have the
> UI elements yet, but they can be temperately replicated with CSS till we get the SDK/emulator).

We don't have a WHOLE lot more than simple UI elements. We don't have SQL APIs, we don't have web-server APIs (serviceRequest), we don't have sound, accelerometer, etc etc etc.

If you want to make a simple Javascript widget that doesn't do anything interesting, you're set!

Otherwise...where's the SDK?
]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
no you're just wrong, sorry.
sure they're not all in one place but Windows Mobile has more Apps available to date- just google for pocketpc and smartphone software
the one site i go to has roughly 6,000 apps so imagine adding every single WinMo software site together]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
That is what is known as a "personal opinion". Please do yourself a favor and learn the difference between that an a fact.

I know that Apple fans have a very difficult time telling the two apart and just assume their personal opinion should be chiseled in stone.]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 2:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
@P.A.C Man: fart, flashlight and beer apps fall into which category? Those numbers are impressive, I won't deny, but they don't automatically reflect quality.

Windows Mobile devices were always directed for a more corporate user, so many of those just-for-fun apps don't show up with the same frequency. Of course the OS itself is not well know for its amazing performance, which doesn't really gives people much motivation to make those apps as well.

As for the webOS, yeah, there is not SDK right now. But so was the case with the iPhone, which started with no SDK at all, then only the limited web app's SDK some months after release, and only then the full native SDK after... what, a year?

I'm not saying webOS is gonna kill all iPhone apps, but there will be a native (even if not compiled) SDK available just after release of the device itself, so there is a lot of potencial for good development. At least most of those apps you see today on the iPhone should be possible to replicate on webOS just after release. Only time will tell how good they will be.]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/


"We currently have 20,000 applications available for Windows Mobile devices"

—James Blamey, group product manager for Microsoft Mobile Communications Business.




According to James Blamey, you're wrong.

Of course, math was never my strength, but it would seem that 28,600 is more than 20,000. Just saying. You can call this guy on the phone and argue with him about it.





]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/ ...webOS' apps are made with web technologies, but they don't run *from* the web. All apps
> should be running straight from the device, so there is no offloading to kill the productivity on the OS...

Incorrect.

Read the first chapter (or if you want to spring for it, the now-available 2nd chapter, too) of the official WebOS development guide pointed to by Palm's developer web site. Check pages 2 and 3, for example.

Sure, you can have entirely device-resident widgets. But the REAL power begins when your client-side GUI connects to a Web-based application server.
]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 2:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Apps like the contact manager or the calendar can run at all times without internet connection. They will, however, sync their data when a connection is made available. The same way any of the other OSes listed on the article would if you install Google Sync on them.

So again, there is no offloading, because the device doesn't *need* to send data to the cloud for processing, even if it *can* do that. There is no difference from any other device or OS on this category.]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/ ...those apps are native applications that run entirely from the device, loading data from
> the web as needed, but they don't need a connection open at all times to perform core functions...

I would (strongly) suggest again that you read pages 2 and 3 of that chapter from Palm - they outright discuss offloading functionality to the web (and, in fact, if you want to hide your source code from the user, that's about the only way to do it - put it out there in the cloud instead of on the device).
]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 2:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Are you trying to say that Apps offered on OS X are of higher quality then those offered on PC?

And the reason the iPhone sells more units is because of one word; Marketing. Even if the iPhone had a horrible OS (not saying that it does,) if you market it enough, buy enough advertisements, people will buy it. The average consumer does not read Engadget, or check out the reviews at Cnet, they just pick the one they see on TV or the one everyone is talking about. Not to mention, that Apple holds a large market share in the MP3 player market, thus their brand awareness is the highest of all these competing OSes. Windows mobile has very little brand awareness because its not clearly associated with one phone, the average consumer is not aware of it's presence. If you ask a person walking into a AT&T or Verizon store; "What do you think about Windows Mobile?" their reply would be; "I don't know, but i know the HTC Touch Diamond, Sony Xperia are pretty cool." Blackberry on the other hand are pretty adept at this marketing thing too, they ship much more units then Apple, just look at the Storm, its OS is obviously flawed yet with enough advertisements, they're selling pretty well.

Speaking of MP3 player market, here's an unrelated rant;
By the way, you have to give it to them, Apple is a brilliant marketing machine, i mean take a look at their line of MP3 players: iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod Shuffle are clearly inferior to their competitors, offering inferior audio quality to Microsoft's Zune, almost all iRiver branded devices, Cowan's whole lineup, and sometimes less functionality; Zune, Cowans both offer unique functionality, yet they hold such a large market share and are able to charge a premium for their products as well. Other then the iPod Touch which offers unique functionality in the MP3 player market, but if you take a look around, the iPod Touch is not responsible for the huge market share. The other 3 don't do anything original, nor anything well enough to justify their position in the market. The other 3 are average at best, the marketing department at Apple are the true geniuses. ]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Because of the architecture of the OS, it's very easy to create apps this way, making the mobile app simply a frontend for the application as a whole and sending that data for the server for actual processing. But unless you want to make a heavy processing utility or are really worried about your source code (which is a real concern right now, I agree), there is no reason why you should do that.

Simple applications, like the majority of what people use on a day-by-day basis should run just fine as totally local apps, and therefore there should be no concern about high data plan usage.

I will make an in-depth reading on the new chapter (I have already read the 1st a few times), as soon as I manage to find it. For some reason only the first chapter is showing up on the Developer Network for me right now. If you could point me to the right direction I would be very thankful.]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 3:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/


They say PCs are better because Windows has more apps, but if the iPhone has more apps than Windows Mobile, the apps must automatically "suck."

They say Windows is better because it has 90 percent of the market, but if the iPod has more market share than the Zune, it's not better, it just has better "marketing."


Give me a break.


Basically, no matter why Apple products sell, in the mind of a PC fanboy, they lose.

]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780596802097/]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
iPhone's web browser is horrible control wise (and stability wise) it registers false positives and negatives all the time. It feels like they used Newton's handwriting recognition as their controller. It's always registering clicks for me when I'm trying to drag. Ignoring clicks even though it shows I selected a link, etc etc. I wish it let us use a stylus.

And iphone's keyboard is horrible! I'd kill for bluetooth kb support, or one that plugs into the dock port. ]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
I did however re-read the first chapter, and I must say that while I do understand the logic about the whole off-loading business you described, I didn't find a single reference to it on said pages 2 and 3 you commented a few times.

There are a few talks about common development techniques for the web and how those compare to developing for webOS, and there are comments about how current internet services and applications should work fine on the browser, which is a way to leverage web content without having to develop native apps for the device.

Like I said before, the book does go and describes how easy it is to make "connected applications, or applications that leverage dynamic data or web services", which describes pretty much all Sinergy-ready applications already made for webOS, but that is very different from claiming these apps are off-loading processing to the web.

The difference is, in a extreme example, saying that a Calculator app is only going to handle data input, but actual calculations will be done on the cloud, instead of making a full app that gets the data from the user, process that data and displays the result without a web connection open.

You can make apps that need a constant web connection to be useful (Twitter, or Last.FM apps for instance), and you can even make apps that handle all data on-server and just use the device as a dumb terminal (a LogMeIn app would do just that, specially for security purposes), but the webOS doesn't *require* that from the developer of every single app.

There can be (and surely will be) many Todo List apps that require no internet connection at all, so this off-loading is not a inherent problem of the OS, just another tool the developer has to make good apps.]]>Mar 19th 2009 3:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/> Basically, no matter why Apple products sell, in the mind of a PC fanboy, they lose.

@P.A.C Man: the thing is that no one claimed (on this particular thread at least) that Windows apps are better than iPhone's. All comments are only about how big numbers don't reflect superiority either for the plataform, or for the apps.

Apple might have the claim of most apps than any other plataform, but as Bert said, this says more about its marketing department than of the inherent quality of its apps, which is not even measurable.

Sure there are a lot of great apps for the iPhone, but there are also many for all other plataforms, so these numbers are pretty much meaningless. Of course Apple is always going to spin then to their benefit, but in the end of the day it doesn't change the life of the end user in any way.

quantity != quality

BTW, you might see that Windows users are usually very much aware of the problems with our plataform of choice. We have no problem criticizing Windows for its faults. The only thing that really bother us is how many Apple users (not saying that you are among them, read it like its written, there are no second intentions here) like to chant about the suposed superiority of their beloved computers while ignoring or trying to spin it like an option any problems the plataform might have.

I'm cool with open, inteligent dialog with users of any plataform, but have little patience with mindless preaching. AFAIK there are no Microsoft fanboys, we use Windows because that's the best for whatever we need doing.]]>Mar 23rd 2009 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
You went through all that trouble to find a quote of James Blamey saying that WinMo has less apps than the iPhone, and yet you somehow didn't think to provide a link? C'mon...

And regarding the whole "fanboy" thing - You don't honestly think that iPods would be dominating the MP3 market if they didn't invest billions in marketing, do you? They have a product that is sleek and smooth, and offers less features than their competitors. That's just common sense.]]>Mar 19th 2009 10:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/22224/23248/microsoft-marketplace-mobile-app-store.phtml
http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_t11/mobile-store-windows.html



]]>Mar 20th 2009 12:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
I always thought the argument against apple computers was that they are overpriced. Maybe that's just me.]]>Apr 3rd 2009 2:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 12:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 12:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 12:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Well Symbian S60 does have Global Search... I go to the search option on the active standby and I'm able to search EVERYTHING on the phone from; email messages to txt msg, music and videos etc.

So apple didnt really bring anything new to the arena of Smartphone OSes besides a crappy mess of pages of icons and now pop ups asking for more money.

I also own an iPhone 1st gen and i gotta say my N95 8gb blows it out of water.
]]>Mar 19th 2009 12:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 12:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Android and webOS, in particular. I'd love if "holding down" the home button on the Palm Pre would bring u to the same cards view, only with the cards a lot smaller and occupying the lower portion of the screen, with the remainder of the screen for shortcuts and widgets, as on Android.

It would be the most perfect patch Palm would ever make. For all I know, HOLDING down the home button doesn't do anything yet.]]>Mar 19th 2009 6:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 12:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Everyone there is an Apple dog-crap-on-my-boot-licker...

A troll like me get highest ranked all day long! Sick!]]>Mar 19th 2009 12:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Good article Engadget! One concern: I don't use the Storm but on my Blackberry all notifications are tray/background except alarm and calender. I can't imagine the Storm being too different, is it?]]>Mar 19th 2009 12:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/But is this really a specs question ?]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 1:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/engadget has little bias and even that is shunned upon enough times by the readers.
oh well, in the states apple is pretty big... so is gizmodo (run a google trends)]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/

As for this article, I give it an A+++ from my iPaq, running WM 6.0!]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
- Background apps: The iPhone has a push notification service which should amount to the same thing.
- Platform adaptability: iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPod Touch 1G, iPod Touch 2G. Yes, they're all by the same vendor, but the same goes for RIM's Blackberry OS. The iPhone's OS runs on 4 devices. RIM's OS doesn't run on many more than that.

Also, I don't get the moaning about the iPhone 3.0 software being "what was supposed to have shipped". Reviews have resoundingly stated that the iPhone is ahead in nearly everything that it offers (web browsing, mobile email, appstore...etc), but the criticism has been that it offers too little. The 3.0 upgrade solves that. The towers are still there, Apple have just patched the divots in between.

Of course, while Apple have been patching those divots, the rest of the industry has been catching up. For example, whilst web browsing on the iPhone is certainly better than Android, it doesn't have the competitive edge it used to before. Still, a fantastic update IMO - been using it for a day, and I like the new features.]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Push notifications =/= background apps (multitasking)

Multitasking = minimizing one app and start other apps while the first one is still running in the background.]]>Mar 19th 2009 1:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Apple has repeatedly said they won't allow it for THIRD PARTY APPS, because of battery life.

]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/Mar 19th 2009 2:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/19/mobile-os-shootout-iphone-os-3-0-enters-the-fray/
Keyword Count Density
os 66 2.2%
iphone 57 1.9%
neutral 48 1.6%
mobile 44 1.46%
windows 36 1.2%
apps 32 1.06%
apple 32 1.06%
engadget 24 0.8%
blackberry 23 0.77%
android 19 0.63%
search 16 0.53%
webos 16 0.53%
web 15 0.5%
touch 12 0.4%
good 12 0.4%
ui 11 0.37%
sdk 11 0.37%
palm 11 0.37%]]>Mar 19th 2009 2:46PM