| Feature |
iPhone OS 4.0 |
Android 2.2 Froyo |
| MultiTouch |
Phenomenal Multitouch interface, great UserInterface, unbeatable gestures |
Good Multitouch interface, good UI, decent gestures. |
| Multitasking |
Yes. Looking closely, apps pause in the background, cripple multi-tasking. Apps except VoIP, Streaming, don’t execute in background, no matter what. |
Full Multitasking, OS allows full background processing on demand, kernel controls and kills apps when low on resources. |
| Push/Cloud Notifications |
PUSH notifications, cloud notifications to trigger apps. |
Apart from what iPhone does, Cloud notifications can initiate Intents (Actions) within defined applications. E.g. open a map with a specific route from PC, without touching phone. |
| Sync/Backup |
Contacts, email, calendar, apps, music, videos Only via iTunes |
Wirelessly sync Contacts, email, calendar apps, Apps settings (app data) over 3g, Wifi. Sync multiple devices by Automatically getting apps on new phone with same Google login |
Corporate/Business users
Features |
Exchange support, VPN client, email sync, Remote Wipe |
Exchange support, VPN client, email sync, Remote Wipe plus Open API
(Device Admin API) for further extending the scope. |
| App Installation |
From app Store or via USB
iTunes sync |
From Marketplace or remotely from PC/Mac via Online marketplace.
Choose any Android phone (if you have multiple) and app gets installed automatically. |
| Music download/Sync |
iTunes via USB or iTunes store on iphone. |
Over the Air (OTA) transfer to phone without touching the phone from
PC or via any 3rd party stores. |
| Stream Music from PC to phone |
Use 3rd party apps |
New Official plugin (Simplified media) works with iTunes, Windows
media player and lets you stream any media onDemand right to your Android
device. |
| Gaming |
Much bigger,better gaming base |
Small gaming base, but newer, powerful OpenGL APIs, and Dalvik VM JIT are making Android more
powerful for all the existing and future apps. |
| Game Social Networks |
XBox Live alike social
network for iPhone gamers |
Unavailable |
| Internet Browser |
Safari Browser is decent on speeds |
Nexus one was already faster than IPhone 3GS OS 4.0, Android 2.2 makes Javascript run 2-4x times faster using Chrome’s V8 engine making it World’s Fastest Mobile Browser. And Froyo support Flash Player 10.1 with Multitouch |
| No. Of Apps |
Nearly 180,000 |
50,000 |
| App Updates |
Individual, Update all at a time |
Individual, Update all, Automatic App updates as soon as update
becomes available |
| App Performance |
No App performance improvements in 4.0 from 3.1.3 or 3.1.x |
Dalvik VM’s JIT (Just in time compiler) is now enabled, all existing apps (which already run fast vs Iphone) would run 2x – 4x times faster than Android 2.1 |
| App Feedback/Crash Reports |
Users can rate the Apps and judge based on that |
Users can see Ratings, Failures, Crashes and Complete Java StackTrace of failures |
| Tethering |
Bluetooth + USB. Wifi only on Jailbroken devices |
USB + Wifi out of the box. No word on bluetooth |
| Turn by turn Navigation |
Good apps available, but not for free |
Google Maps Navigation is the most superior navigation app, yet, free |
| eBook reading |
Superior iBooks + Kindle reader |
Inferior 3rd party apps, Kindle coming soon. |
| UI customizations: Widgets, Skins, themes |
Only wallpapers |
Everything: Themes, Widgets, Skins, Multi-Screen Wallpapers |
| Hardware access from Browser |
GPS location via GeoLocation API |
Upcoming access to magnetometer, accelerometer, GPS, Camera, microphone and more |
| Integrated Search |
Search email, sms, app names instantly |
Google search, apps, search within apps (when supported by app) |
| Notifications |
Decent Notification manager, can get annoying. |
Notifications hide smartly and are easily accessible when needed. |
