Hi everyone, Today i received details of my first Samsung Mobiler mission and it is to compare Android to RIM, I will try to make the comparisons fair and will give my own honest opinions.Over the past 5 years i have used a vast variety of phones including Symbian's, iOS, Blackberry and most recently Android so i think I am in a fair position to judge constructively.
Only a few years ago RIM had the monopoly of the business world due to the great QWERTY keyboards and push email service that was rivaled by no other and an instant messaging service that allowed Blackberry owners to speak to each other instantly via a unique push message service. Over recent times Google's Android OS has become a huge rival to RIM and hopefully in this post i can point out the strengths of both OS and my personal preference and why etc.1. Comparisons
*Push Email and Instant Messaging*
As i mentioned in the intro to the article, Blackberry are renowned for there Push Email service and BBM instant messenger which allows users to keep in touch and share photos and other files easily although this is restricted to Blackberry users only.
From an Android owners point of view i can honestly say this service is now matched if not beaten by the Google alternative, firstly i use a Gmail address and Android will natively push my emails and give me a notification in the status bar that is easy to access at any time by a pull down menu. Secondly the Android market boasts over 200,000 apps which includes several FREE instant messenger applications such as Whatsapp and Liveprofile, unlike BBM you can add friends who are using iPhones, Blackberry's or any other android device and share files in the same way you do on RIM's BBM.
Winner: Android
*App Stores*
Currently the Blackberry App Store hosts around 37,000 apps and most of them are paid applications, Android offers 200,000 apps and over 80% of them are free!
Winner: Android
*Ease of use*
Blackberry have always had quite a learning curve, up until OS 6.0 the menus were plain white with text and many of the key settings and options were embedded into different categories that made things hard to navigate.
OS 6.0 has somewhat improved this but still requires a bit of learning by the user. When i had my Bold 9780 i always made sure the first thing i did was install a theme that changes the way you navigate. The slider at the bottom to change through Media, Settings, Internet etc was just too cumbersome. As far as i remember there wasn't a way to set your favorite apps or to place anything on the screen. Messaging was somewhat easier though with all your emails, sms and push notifications going into one unified inbox, this was a nice feature that i sometimes miss on Android.
Android has come a long way since i first used 1.6 Donut, i can honestly say its the most pleasurable OS i have ever used (2.3 Gingerbread). The ability to place widgets on your home-screen and receive up to date news, or a constant view of your twitter feed saves the need to go flying through 4 or 5 different apps to check your information.
On other popular mobile Operating Systems you don't have an option where to place your icons, they are all snapped into a grid but on Android you can place them wherever you want to. Android also has a pull down menu from any screen which will show any missed notifcations and has quick access to Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS etc..
Winner: Android
*Web Browsing*
There isn't a lot that can be said on this one because Android wins hands down. The Android browser support flash which can give you desktop like browsing on your mobile. Blackberry improved the browser in OS 6.0 by using a new webkit but without gestures and flash i feel this is an area where RIM really need to improve if there to keep up with the times.
Winner: Android
*Media Experience*
Once again there isn't any real contest here, Android has a rich music player experience, a dedicated youtube app and then other media apps such as Spotify, Last FM and Soundhound. Also with most of Samsung's offerings they have multiple video codec support which means far less hassle in playing different types of video format.
Also on top end Android phones now cameras of 5 and 8 megapixels come as standard, on top if this you can download several different types of photo editing software from the android market! This makes an android phone the perfect mobile snapper!
Overall i think Android wins on media aswell!
Winner: Android
*Conclusion*
After taking a brief look into some of the key features of both operating systems i see no real reason to pick a Blackberry over android now. Blackberry's tend to have an outstanding keyboard, great battery life and good call quality but after using the Samsung Galaxy Pro i can honestly say its the right time to convert! Android has a far better selection of apps, a better web browser, navigation and maps and a much richer media experience.
It might seem my article was a little biased but i have used both extensively and i can honestly say Android is the present and the future, it will only improve even more. Rim will need a massive update to even get close to catching up.
Thanks for reading, any questions please ask!
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