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iPhone OS 4 versus Windows Phone 7: the tale of the tape

So now that Apple's finally addressed (well, sort of addressed) the 800-pound gorilla known as multitasking, it's time to take a good, hard look at how iPhone OS 4 stacks up against Redmond's completely redesigned mobile monster that's destined to hit handsets toward the end of the year. Though the two companies have taken vastly different paths to get to where they are with their mobile strategies today, there are some striking similarities between the platforms; take that multitasking we already mentioned, for example -- both iPhone OS and Windows Phone are looking to keep processor and battery utilization to a minimum by putting the emphasis on managed services for background apps rather than just letting them run roughshod over your fragile hardware. Of course, there are some striking differences, too -- so let's have a look, shall we?



iPhone
OS 4

iPhone
OS 3.1.3


Windows
Phone 7

Windows
Mobile 6.5.3

Kernel Type

OS X

OS X

Windows CE 6

Windows CE 5

Platform Adaptability

Good

Good

Good

Excellent

Platform Age

Adolescent

Adolescent

Young

Mature

First-party Enterprise Support

Exchange

Exchange

Exchange

Exchange

Wireless Tech

GSM, WiFi

GSM, WiFi

GSM, CDMA, WiFi

GSM, CDMA, WiFi

Screen Gestures

Yes

Yes

Yes

Limited

Screen Tech

Capacitive

Capacitive

Capacitive

Capacitive / Resistive

Multitouch

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

UI skinning

Limited

No

No

Yes

Input methods

Virtual / external keyboards

Virtual keyboard only

Virtual / physical keyboards

Virtual / physical keyboards, T9 / triple tap, character recognition

Notification style

Modal pop-up, icon badge

Modal pop-up, icon badge

Unobtrusive banner / pop-up

Modal pop-up

Contact integration / management

Exchange ActiveSync, Mac OS Address Book, Google Sync

Exchange ActiveSync, Mac OS Address Book, Google Sync

Exchange ActiveSync, Google Sync

Exchange ActiveSync, Google Sync, Domino, BlackBerry

Multitasking

Limited / managed

No

Limited / managed

Yes

Copy / paste

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Media support / ecosystem

iTunes

iTunes

Zune

None

Global search

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Firmware updates

Tethered

Tethered

Tethered, OTA

Tethered, limited OTA

Browser Engine

WebKit

WebKit

Trident (IE)

Trident (IE)

Tethering

Yes (varies by carrier)

Yes (varies by carrier)

Unknown

Yes

Stereo Blutooth

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SDK Availability / Support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Official App Store

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

App Availability

High

High

Low (unreleased)

Medium

Native Applications

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Unsigned Applications

No

No

No

Yes

On-Device App Management

Excellent

Good
(no folders)

Good
(no folders)

Good