. However, they are currently somewhat simpler, and deal more with the wireless versions of broadband and local connectivity, mobile multimedia formats, and different input methods.
The increasing importance of mobile devices has triggered intense competition amongst software giants such as
in 2007, Apple significantly disrupted the mobile industry and effectively ushered in a new era of mobile operating systems for smartphones and other devices that focus on user experience and rely on finger-operated touch-based interaction. In November 2007, Google formed the
with 79 other hardware, software, and telecom companies to make inroads into the smartphone market through its new Android operating system. Though its reception was mainly positive from the media and public, the release of Android created a rift between Apple and Google, eventually leading to the resignation of Google's ex-CEO, Eric Schmidt, from Apple's board of directors.
Since the launch of both Apple's iOS and Google's Android, the smartphone market has exploded in popularity and in May 2010 accounted for more than 17.3% of all mobile phones sold. This has led to greater consumer awareness of the various mobile operating systems, with telecoms and manufacturers regularly advertising the advantages of their OS. As of January 2011, Google holds 33.3% of the smartphone market worldwide, demonstrating amazing growth for Android which held only 4.7% a year earlier. Nokia, Apple, RIM, and Microsoft hold 31%, 16.2%, 14.6%, and 3.1% respectively.
Mobile platforms are in the nascent stage and any projection regarding market growth is hard to make at the present time. However, a clear trend is the surging growth of mobile operating systems which are developed for smart devices, rather than for feature phones. As of February 2011, Nokia has announced a partnership with Microsoft which effectively ends the development of Symbian OS, the most popular feature phone OS, by the end of 2011 in favor of
It is noteworthy that Intel is taking the initiative to focus on portable devices other than mobile phones. They are Mobile Internet Devices (MID) and
(UMPC). Meantime, Palm abandoned its plan to develop
has estimated that in 2009 the installed base of smartphones with integrated GPS was 163 million units worldwide, of which Nokia accounted for more than half (51%), having shipped cumulatively 83 million GPS devices. On January 22, 2010, Nokia released a free version of Ovi Maps in an effort to increase its number of users.
's MeeGo among many others. Android, Bada, webOS and Maemo are built on top of
The disparity between the U.S. installed base of iOS at 43.1% and its share of browser-based page views at 58.5% suggests that iOS users are heavier-than-average consumers of Internet content. Additionally, in August 2011, 97.2% of all tablet Internet traffic in the U.S. was delivered to iPads.
Only the latest versions are shown in this table, even though old versions may still be marketed.
| Feature | iOS | Android | webOS | Windows Mobile | Windows Phone | BlackBerry OS | Symbian | Maemo | MeeGo | bada |
| Company |
Apple |
Open Handset Alliance/Google |
Palm, Inc (HP) |
Microsoft |
Microsoft |
RIM |
Symbian Foundation |
Nokia |
Linux Foundation |
Samsung |
| Current Version |
5.0.1 |
4.0.1 |
2.1.2 (Phones)
3.0.2 (Tablet) |
6.5.3 |
7.5 |
7.0.0 |
9.5 |
5.0 |
1.1.2 |
2.0 |
| OS Family |
Darwin Darwin is an open source POSIX-compliant computer operating system released by Apple Inc. in 2000. It is composed of code developed by Apple, as well as code derived from NeXTSTEP, BSD, and other free software projects....
|
LinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
|
Linux |
Windows CEMicrosoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...
5.2 |
Windows CE 7 |
Mobile OS |
Mobile OS |
Linux |
Linux |
Proprietary RTOS A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
or Linux |
| Supported CPU Architecture |
ARMARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
|
ARM, MIPSMIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...
, Power ArchitecturePower Architecture is a broad term to describe similar RISC instruction sets for microprocessors developed and manufactured by such companies as IBM, Freescale, AMCC, Tundra and P.A. Semi...
, x86 |
ARM |
ARM |
ARM |
ARM |
ARM |
ARM |
ARM, x86 |
ARM |
| Programmed in |
C C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, Objective-CObjective-C is a reflective, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.Today, it is used primarily on Apple's Mac OS X and iOS: two environments derived from the OpenStep standard, though not compliant with it...
|
C, C++, Java Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
|
C |
C++ |
Many, .NETThe .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
(SilverlightMicrosoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
/XNAMicrosoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
) |
Java |
C++ |
C/C++ |
C++ |
C++ |
| License |
Proprietary EULA except for open source components |
Free and open source |
Free and open source except closed source modules |
Proprietary |
Proprietary |
Proprietary |
Eclipse Public License |
Free and open source except closed source components |
Free and open source |
Proprietary |
| Public issues list |
No, But there is an unofficial tracker |
|
|
|
No, but there is a unofficial collection |
|
|
|
|
|
| Package manager In software, a package management system, also called package manager, is a collection of software tools to automate the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software packages for a computer's operating system in a consistent manner...
|
iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
|
APK Android application package file is the file format used to distribute and install application software and middleware onto the Google's Android operating system. To make an APK file, a program for Android is first compiled, and then all of its parts are packaged into one file...
|
App Catalog (Official)
Preware (3rd party homebrew) |
Windows Mobile Device Center Windows Mobile Device Center is a synchronization software program developed by Microsoft, and the successor to ActiveSync. It is designed to synchronize various content including music, video, contacts, calendar events, web browser favorites, and other files between Windows Mobile devices and the...
/ActiveSyncActiveSync is a mobile data synchronization technology and protocol developed by Microsoft, originally released in 1996. There are two implementations of the technology: one which synchronizes data and information with handheld devices with a specific desktop computer , and another technology,...
|
Zune Software The Zune software functions as management software for Windows Phone 7, Zune devices, and Microsoft Kin, a full media player application with a library, an interface to the Zune Marketplace, and as a media streaming server. Zune Software is used to sync with all devices with Zune functionality....
|
BlackBerry Desktop Manager |
Nokia Ovi Suite |
dpkg+apt-get |
rpm+yum+zypper |
? |
| Wireless system updates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Multi-user Multi-user is a term that defines an operating system or application software that allows concurrent access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving the...
|
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|
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| Guest Mode |
|
No, but possible with 3rd party ROM MIUI MIUI , developed by Xiaomi Tech, is an aftermarket firmware for cell phones based on the open-source Android operating system. It features a heavily-modified user interface that does away with the Android app drawer and has drawn comparisons with Apple's iOS...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Per application runtime modifiable permissions |
Notifications in 5+ |
No, only Background Data Usage on 4+, more with 3rd party firmwares |
|
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Parental controls Parental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software...
|
|
3rd party software |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Remote device location tracking |
|
3rd party software |
? |
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Remote device locking and/or data wipe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Non English languages support |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Underlining spell checkerIn computing, a spell checker is an application program that flags words in a document that may not be spelled correctly. Spell checkers may be stand-alone capable of operating on a block of text, or as part of a larger application, such as a word processor, email client, electronic dictionary,...
|
|
|
|
? |
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| Built-in system-wide dictionary |
|
No, available on selected devices |
? |
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Autoexpanding text replacements |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Emoji is the Japanese term for the picture characters or emoticons used in Japanese electronic messages and webpages. Originally meaning pictograph, the word literally means e "picture" + moji "letter". The characters are used much like emoticons elsewhere, but a wider range is provided, and the icons...
support |
|
? |
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
AccessibilityAccessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
features |
|
? |
? |
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Search multiple internal applications at once |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| Core applications missing search |
Bookmarks |
Calendar (available since 3+ and HTC Sense HTC Sense is a graphical user interface developed by HTC Corporation for mobile devices running Android, Brew and Windows Mobile.Based on the TouchFLO 3D design, HTC has referred to HTC Sense as both a user interface in itself and also as a user experience layer on top of TouchFLO 3D.Announced June...
) |
? |
? |
Text Messages nor Calendar, nor Music nor Video |
|
|
|
|
|
| Search all fields of internal objects |
|
|
|
|
|
Search on notes body and contacts notes field was removed on OS6 |
|
|
? |
|
Proxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
|
|
but only global, not per connection |
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| On-device encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
|
(3rd party software may attempt brute-force attacks on password) |
|
|
|
|
(3rd party software may attempt brute force attacks on password) |
|
|
? |
|
| External storage encryption |
External storage not supported |
|
External storage not supported |
? |
External storage not supported |
|
|
? |
? |
|
| Cloud encrypted storage |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Sync to Cloud communication encryption |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
? |
3rd party software |
? |
? |
| Desktop Sync |
|
No, but available on HTC Sense HTC Sense is a graphical user interface developed by HTC Corporation for mobile devices running Android, Brew and Windows Mobile.Based on the TouchFLO 3D design, HTC has referred to HTC Sense as both a user interface in itself and also as a user experience layer on top of TouchFLO 3D.Announced June...
|
3rd party software |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Local Full backup |
|
No, but possible with rooted devices and 3rd party software |
|
|
|
and memory card (7+) |
|
? |
? |
|
| Core Data missing Sync |
|
Bookmarks (before 4), SMSs and Settings |
|
|
Favorites, Text Messages and Settings |
|
|
|
|
|
| cut, copy, and paste |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| undo Undo is a command in many computer programs. It erases the last change done to the document reverting it to an older state. In some more advanced programs such as graphic processing, undo will negate the last command done to the file being edited....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| Visual voicemail Visual voicemail is random access voicemail with a visual interface. Such an interface presents a list of messages for playback and may include a transcript of each message. In recent months, several companies in the telecommunications space have integrated a visual element into their voicemail...
|
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Call log duration |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Contact Groups |
3rd party software |
or 3rd party software |
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Phone number linking to dialer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
|
| Addresses link to maps |
|
nor in Gmail |
? |
? |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
| Dates link to calendar |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Default Web Browser/Engine |
Webkit WebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
|
Webkit |
Webkit |
Trident Trident is the name of the layout engine for the Microsoft Windows version of Internet Explorer.It was first introduced with the release of Internet Explorer version 4.0 in October 1997; it has been steadily upgraded and remains in use today...
|
Trident |
Webkit |
Webkit |
Gecko Gecko is a free and open source layout engine used in many applications developed by Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation , as well as in many other open source software projects....
|
Webkit |
Webkit |
| Browser direct Internet connection (increased resilience to outages) |
|
|
|
|
|
, routes through BlackBerry Internet Service The BlackBerry Internet Service is a service that provides BlackBerry smartphone users with access to Internet browsing, allows email messaging, instant messaging using the BlackBerry Messenger service, and more.The service also allows...
. Direct browsing supported over WiFi |
|
|
|
|
| Browser keeps windows open on shutdown or crash |
|
|
|
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
|
| Browser Search Engine options |
Bing Bing is a web search engine from Microsoft.Bing may also refer to:* An onomatopœia of a bell sound* Bing cherry, a variety of cherry* Bing , Chinese flatbread* Bing , a German company that manufactured toys and kitchen utensils...
, GoogleGoogle or Google Web Search is a web search engine owned by Google Inc. Google Search is the most-used search engine on the World Wide Web, receiving several hundred million queries each day through its various services....
, Yahoo! SearchYahoo! Search is a web search engine, owned by Yahoo! Inc. and was , the 2nd largest search engine on the web by query volume, at 6.42%, after its competitor Google at 85.35% and before Baidu at 3.67%, according to Net Applications....
|
Many |
Many |
? |
Bing, Google |
Google, Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, User Defined |
Google |
? |
? |
? |
| Browser Find on Page |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Browser/Email Save Images |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Browser/Email Save PDFs |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Browser Save Audio/Video |
|
|
|
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Browser Save Page |
Any page in 5+ |
|
|
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Browser Text Reflow |
; 3rd party browsers on prior versions |
|
|
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
|
| Browser Reader Mode |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
PlayBook OS 2.0 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Browser file upload |
3rd party software |
but crashes on big files |
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
|
| Browser form navigation |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Browser Private Browsing mode |
|
or with rooted devices and 3rd party firmware |
? |
? |
3rd party software |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Official Application Store |
App Store |
Android Market Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
|
App Catalog |
Windows Marketplace for Mobile Windows Marketplace for Mobile is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Mobile platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third parties. The service was available for use directly on Windows Mobile 6.x devices and on personal computers...
|
Windows Phone Marketplace Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
|
App World |
Symbian Horizon, Ovi store |
maemo.org, Ovi store |
? |
Samsung Apps |
| Non-discriminatory Stores |
Apple discriminates based on country and own Apple policies |
? |
Discriminates by country. Can be circumvented via homebrew |
? |
Discriminates by country |
3rd party software |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Unified Inbox |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
? |
? |
|
| Email Sync protocols supported |
POP3, IMAP, MAPI |
POP3, IMAP, MAPI |
POP3, IMAP, MAPI |
POP3, IMAP, MAPI |
POP3, IMAP, MAPI |
BES, BIS, Push e-mail |
POP3, IMAP |
POP3, IMAP, Exchange |
POP3, IMAP |
POP3, IMAP |
| Non-intrusive Notifications |
|
|
|
? |
|
|
|
|
|
? |
| Push Notifications |
|
|
|
? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| End-to-end Encrypted End-to-end encryption encrypts clear data at source with knowledge of the intended recipient, allowing the encrypted data to travel safely through vulnerable channels End-to-end encryption (E2EE) encrypts clear (red) data at source with knowledge of the intended recipient, allowing the encrypted...
Push Notifications |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Screen orientation lock |
|
|
? |
? |
|
3rd party software |
|
? |
? |
? |
| Custom Home and Lock Screen wallpaper |
|
|
? |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Separate volume for Ringtone and Media |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Custom Ringtones |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3rd party software |
? |
|
| Custom SMS/MMS tones |
|
|
|
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Custom Vibrate Alert patterns |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Non-carrier-based integrated messaging |
(iMessage iMessage is an instant messenger application developed by Apple for iOS 5. iMessage was released on October 12, 2011 to the general public.-History:iMessage was announced by Scott Forstall at his keynote speech on June 6, 2011 at the WWDC 2011...
) |
|
|
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Offline Voice Commands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Voice Recognition |
(Siri Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
on iPhone 4SThe iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Non-English Voice Recognition |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Sound Recorder |
|
and not voice controlled) |
3rd party software |
? |
3rd party software; Very limited (Doesn't work in background and not voice controlled) |
|
|
3rd party software |
? |
? |
| Call Recorder |
|
Prevented by OS restrictions, but possible with 3rd party firmware |
|
|
|
|
|
3rd party software |
? |
? |
| Camera tap-to-focus |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
|
? |
| On device picture info (including Exif data) |
|
|
|
? |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
| On device picture categorization |
|
|
3.0+ |
? |
|
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| On device picture description and search |
|
|
? |
? |
|
? |
, Allows setting a description, but search will not use it |
? |
? |
? |
| Turn off shutter sound |
|
|
|
? |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
| Picture crop |
|
|
3rd party software |
? |
3rd party software |
? |
|
|
? |
|
| Photo red-eye reduction |
|
|
? |
? |
3rd party software |
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
| HDR In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods...
photos option |
|
No, 3rd party software available |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Photo/video import from memory cards |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
|
|
? |
? |
? |
| Video trim |
|
No, but 3rd party software available. |
|
? |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
|
| Sound trim |
|
No, but 3rd party software available |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Tethering |
Bluetooth, USB (carrier dependent), Personal Hotspot (Wi-Fi Tethering) (carrier dependent, iPhone 4 & 4S since iOS 4.2.5/4.3, or with 3rd party software and "jailbreak") |
Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB, Bluetooth |
Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot (officially AT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and Verizon WirelessCellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
only). USB, Bluetooth, and Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot via homebrew |
USB, Bluetooth, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot (with 3rd party software) |
Internet Sharing (Wi-Fi Hotspot) |
USB, Bluetooth, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot |
USB, Bluetooth, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot (with 3rd party software) |
microUSB, Bluetooth, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot |
|
microUSB, Bluetooth 3.0, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot |
USB On-The-GoUSB On-The-Go, often abbreviated USB OTG, is a specification that allows USB devices such as digital audio players or mobile phones to act as a host allowing a USB Flash Drive, mouse, or keyboard to be attached.- Architecture :...
|
|
|
|
? |
|
? |
|
? |
? |
? |
| Interchangeable external memory cards |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Text/Document Support |
Microsoft Office, iWork, PDF, Images, TXT/RTF, VCF |
Microsoft Office 2003/2007, PDF, Images, TXT/RTF |
Microsoft Office, PDF |
Microsoft Office Mobile, PDF |
Microsoft Office Mobile, PDF |
Microsoft Office, PDF, OpenDocument |
Microsoft Office Mobile, PDF, djvu |
text files, PDF, HTML, Multiple office formats with free 3rd party software |
|
Read only: text files, PDF, HTML, Multiple office formats |
| Printer support |
|
No built-in function, but have apps use Google Cloud Pint available for 2.0+ |
|
? |
No, but 3rd party software available |
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
| Audio Playback |
AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV |
AAC LC/LTP 3GPP, HE-AACv1 (AAC+) (before Android2.1), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+)(before Android2.1), AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MP3 (Mono/Stereo 8-320 Kbps constant or variable bit-rate), MIDI (Type 0 and 1, DLS versions 1 and 2), Ogg Vorbis, PCM/WAVE (8- and 16-bit linear PCM, rates up to limit of hardware), WAVE |
MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV |
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MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WAV, WMA pro, AMR-NB, MIDI |
MP3, WAVE, WMA, AAC+, MIDI, AMR, eAAC+, FLAC, OGG |
All |
All (some require optional debian packages) |
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MP3, AAC, WMA, M4A, XMF, 3GA, MMF, MIDI, WAV, AMR |
| Video Playback |
H.264 AVC, MPEG-4, M-JPEG |
H.263, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4 SP, DivX, XviD, VP8 |
MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 |
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H.263, H.264, WMV, MPEG4, MPEG4 @ HD 720p 30fps, DivX, XviD |
MP4, WMV, H.263, H.264, DivX, WMV, XviD, 3gp |
H.263, H.264, WMV, MPEG4, MPEG4 @ HD 720p 30fps, MKV, DivX, XviD |
All (some require optional debian packages) |
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WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, AVI |
| Wired video out |
or VGA, 576p/480p via component or composite; 1080p on iPad 2 or iPhone 4S The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
in 5+ |
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| Wireless video/audio streaming to set top boxes/TVs/speakers |
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No, DLNAThe Digital Living Network Alliance is a non-profit collaborative trade organization established by Sony in June 2003, and has more than 250 member companies in the mobile, consumer electronics, PC, and service provider industries...
available on selected devices |
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No, Play To (DLNAThe Digital Living Network Alliance is a non-profit collaborative trade organization established by Sony in June 2003, and has more than 250 member companies in the mobile, consumer electronics, PC, and service provider industries...
) available on some devices |
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| Media player on-device playlist creation |
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| Media Player Fine Scrubbing |
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3rd party software |
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| Media Player Double Speed Playing |
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3rd party software |
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| Turn-by-turn Turn-by-turn navigation is a feature of some GPS navigation devices where directions for a selected route are continually presented to the user in the form of spoken and visual instructions. The system keeps the user up-to-date about the best route to the destination, and is often updated according...
GPS |
3rd party software |
as it only downloads a 10-mile radius) or 3rd party software |
Carrier software, 3rd party software |
3rd party software |
and 3rd party software |
3rd party software |
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| Alternative routes in maps |
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3rd party software |
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| Multitasking |
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| Record video with voice while calling |
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(Not available on some devices) |
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| Desktop interactive widgets |
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| Lock screen widgets |
voicemail, camera |
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| Notification view widgets |
3rd party software with "jailbreak" |
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3.0+ |
3rd party firmware |
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BluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
keyboard |
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; previous versions via 3rd party software |
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| USB keyboard |
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| Videoconference front video camera |
(iPhone 4 & 4S, iPod touch 4th generation, iPad 2; can connect to Macs with webcams) |
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| Direct file transfer |
Bluetooth using 3rd party software on jailbroken devices |
, Wi-Fi Direct Wi-Fi Direct is a standard that allows Wi-Fi devices to talk to each other without the need for wireless access points .-Basic Wi-Fi:...
4+ and selected devices and NFCNear field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...
(small data) 4+ |
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Wi-Fi Direct Wi-Fi Direct is a standard that allows Wi-Fi devices to talk to each other without the need for wireless access points .-Basic Wi-Fi:...
2+ and NFCNear field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...
(small data) 2+ |
| Voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
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or 3rd party software (like SkypeSkype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
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3rd party software (like fring) |
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3rd party software |
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SSHSecure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client...
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3rd party software |
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| OpenVPN OpenVPN is a free and open source software application that implements virtual private network techniques for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities. It uses a custom security protocol that utilizes SSL/TLS for...
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No, but possible with 3rd party firmware |
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Remote Desktop |
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3rd party software |
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| WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access and Wi-Fi Protected Access II are two security protocols and security certification programs developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks...
PEAPThe Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol, also known as Protected EAP or simply PEAP, is a protocol that encapsulates the Extensible Authentication Protocol within an encrypted and authenticated Transport Layer Security tunnel...
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| Remote Frame Buffer RFB is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user interfaces. Because it works at the framebuffer level it is applicable to all windowing systems and applications, including X11, Windows and Macintosh...
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ScreenshotA screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
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No, but possible through homebrew or SDK. |
3rd party software |
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GPUA graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
Accelerated GUIIn computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
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, OS 7.0+ |
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| Official SDK platform(s) |
Mac OS X using iOS SDK |
Linux, Mac OS X and Windows |
Linux, Mac OS X and Windows |
Windows |
Windows |
Windows, Mac OS X |
Windows using Symbian SDK or Linux, Mac OS X and Windows using Nokia Qt SDK |
GNU/Linux |
GNU/Linux and Windows |
Windows |
| Extra cost to develop |
Free ($99/year to distribute on App Store) |
Free ($25 once to offer it on the Android Market Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...
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Free |
Free |
Free ($99/year to offer it on the Windows Phone Marketplace Windows Phone Marketplace is a service by Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 platform that allows users to browse and download applications that have been developed by third-parties...
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Free SDK, Free Signing Keys, Free Publishing in App World |
Free (1€ once to offer it in the Ovi Store Ovi by Nokia is the brand for Nokia's Internet services. The Ovi services can be used from a mobile device, computer or via the web. Nokia focuses on five key service areas: Games, Maps, Media, Messaging and Music. Nokia's aim with Ovi is to include third party developers, such as operators and...
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Free |
Free |
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| Feature | iOS | Android | webOS | Windows Mobile | Windows Phone 7 | BlackBerry OS | Symbian | Maemo | MeeGo | bada |