Clearing misconception between the android os and the iOS

Article on Mobile OS war!
By  Faisal Mohammed (faisal1600@gmail.com)


This article is written by one of my best friend Faisal he is a technical geek on mobile technology and he earlier wrote this article explaining the difference between iOS and android and it was his idea to get this on my blog because many people are having the misconception that the android os is actually a copy of the iOS, so here's a word from my friend to you all explaining the actual difference between them. 

There’s a common misconception/hypocrisy that Android copied iOS .....

Bt the truth is Android is not a derivative/copy/inspired of/from iOS. It is a modified version of the Linux Kernel, which was initially released in 1991...and iOS is developed after MAC OS and released in 2007,which is so very different from LINUX The development of android is from the year 2003 by a company called 'Android Inc' and two years later it was acquired by Google.

When people say Android is copied from iOS , then they fail to note the biggest difference.....Android is an FREE & OPEN SOURCE, while iOS works in a closed eco system where the program files (application system files are hidden from the end user) ,so then tell me how come.. A ''copied'' thing is so vastly different from the supposed source.


One more big difference in both the OS is the notification bar. Android has this bar which slides down anywhere in the UI to give information about the happenings in the device, very user friendly bar on the top of the screen, which iOS has just incorporated in its 5^th iteration.

If we talk about the UI (user interface)...then yes it has similarities just on the icons visual front. But the whole working and eco system is different  and Android unlike iOS is modifiable and highly widget based so the manufacturers take liberty of skinning the whole UI according to their customer base.eg Samsung uses its 'Touchwiz’ layout...have a look at HTC SENSE...which is android...and very very different from iOS and stock android...

If we draw an analogy with Motorcycles, every motorcycle has the brake on the right foot, gear lever on left, throttle on right hand, clutch on left etc. And all of the engines work on the principle of fuel combustion. So we don’t say that they copy each other, do v? So same way the UIs are made according to that. 

The basic idea of a touch screen UI is to make it as thumb/finger friendly as possible. So if the icons are as big as an iOS, Then it is for being user friendly & not being a copy , because it looks good and this Layout of iOS has been similarly used way long before iOS...have a look at BREW mobile OS, Symbian UIQ which existed much before iOS came into existence.

Having used both the OS'es' for a considerable time...i can say iOS is more refined, chivalrous, simple and glossy. On the other hand ANDROID is so damn powerful that it gives u the whole control of it in your palm, so more possibilities.


Apart from these two OS. Symbian has got boring with age but the way it runs its software at on a comparably less hardware from its competitors is commendable. Symbian’s new ANNA update doesn’t change anything.
Nokia’s new MEE-GO still looks bleak as it is in its infancy stage and yet to see developers support like its counter parts iOS and Android.
RIM BB OS is the pioneer OS of connectivity and speed of processing the internet on it. 


PS: Why don’t we say Windows is ''copied'' from Macintosh OS? Windows came way after Mac and has an alleged history of inspiration from Mac, so we should be ridiculing windows, rite? But we don’t, coz vast majority uses Windows and not MAC.!!!....think.....???