In recent times however, it has been impossible not to notice the escalating number of articles describing the seemingly never ending patent disputes between Apples iOS and Googles Android mobile operating systems.
The arguments over which of these tech giants can claim to have the legal or moral high ground have been significant in courtrooms around the world. However, this subject has transcended the courtroom with everyone ranging from basic users, to experts and gadget freaks joining the debate and offering their own thoughts and opinions as to "why my phone's better than your phone".
Now when this first started, Apple were always portrayed as the the big bully who looked down their noses snobbishly at Android. Steve Jobs maintained to his dying day that Android was "stolen technology" while Google have always maintained that they have done nothing for which they should reproach themselves.
Indeed this pattern of an Apple superiority complex seemed to be reflected by consumers, with iPhone users considering themselves owners of an elite piece of technology whilst looking down and laughing at those poor folk who "only" had Android phones.
Things have changed in the last couple of years though, and Android (with massive support particularly from Samsung) have taken a big crunch out of Apple (pun intended), and boy don't Android loyalists want everyone (especially Apple fans) to know about this!
Android devotees will tell you that they have a wider choice of hardware, and more flexibility in terms of customization - they have widgets for heavens sake! They mock iOS because it is so locked in and rigid, and they revel in the freedom that they have to make their phones work exactly the way they want them to.
iOS fans however, really do buy into the Apple philosophy that "it just works", and it does. iOS is neat and tidy, and nice and simple. App developers still design their Apps for iOS first and Android second for these precise reasons! They only have to worry about the iPhone and the iPad, and most iOS users tend to update to the latest version of the OS when it becomes available.
Android on the other hand is an App developers nightmare as the whole platform is so fragmented. There are so many different devices to worry about, and no dominant version of the OS - with some users on Honeycomb, others on Gingerbread, the rest on (the irritatingly named) Ice Cream Sandwich, with Jelly Bean just having been released!
Now you can probably tell that I am struggling a little bit to stay objective here! Hands up - I am an Apple Fan Boy. However, if I force myself to take that hat off - I can completely understand the popularity of Android. People do like choice, and they also like flexibility, and Android provides them with this.
Those who like things nice and simple, and neat and tidy will feel more at home on iOS however.
As with anything in life, it all comes down to personal preference, and what works best for you and I do believe that there is room for both iOS and Android as things move forward. There is even room for Windows phone in the mix for that matter.
Whether Apple and Google/Samsung will ever be friends again is debatable, but what's important is that we all have choice, and we are all entitled to our opinion that our phone is indeed the best!
Take care.
Peter
