Posted in iPhone News by admin. Published June 27th, 2009
RIM BlackBerry OS
The RIM BlackBerry Bold, loaded with BlackBerry OS.
What it is: This software powers RIM’s BlackBerry smart phones, including stalwarts such as the Curve, the Pearl, and the 8800, as well as the newer Bold and Storm, and the upcoming Tour.
How it works: The basic concepts behind the BlackBerry interface have changed remarkably little in a decade. And why should they? In its own way, the BlackBerry interface is as logical and consistent as the iPhone’s: On most models you perform virtually every function in every application with a trackball, a Menu button, and a button that lets you back out to the previous screen. Master those three actions, and you can whip around the OS with extreme speed. (The Storm replaces the standard BlackBerry controls with an iPhone-style touch interface that has garnered lukewarm critical response.)
How it looks: The BlackBerry OS is fairly mundane and text-centric, though recent models such as the Bold dress it up with crisper fonts and slicker icons.
Built-in applications: The BlackBerry’s e-mail and calendaring applications continue to set the standard for efficient design and reliable real-time connectivity with widely used messaging systems such as Microsoft Exchange. The Bold has a much-improved browser that rivals those associated with iPhone OS, Android, and WebOS in its ability to display sites as their designers intended; BlackBerry music and video apps are serviceable enough but still secondary to the productivity tools.
Third-party stuff: Once upon a time, users didn’t have many BlackBerry programs to choose from, but recently the market has boomed. Thousands of options–from productivity apps to games–are available now. Many, but not all, are available via RIM’s new App World software service. Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 selections are even more bountiful, though.
Bottom line: The BlackBerry OS is an old dog, but a smart one–and one that is proving itself capable of learning new tricks. It will be interesting to see whether the upcoming Storm 2 does a better job of bringing a touch interface to the BlackBerry experience than the first Storm did.
Posted in iPhone News by admin. Published June 27th, 2009
We revisit our mobile OS battle royale, as Apple’s powerful new iPhone OS 3.0 enters the ring against Palm’s brash young WebOS and three burly veterans. Who is the champ now?
Two and a half years ago, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone and said that its software was five years ahead of the competition; and since then, the rest of the industry has been busy playing catch-up. The past few weeks have seen the release of Palm’s impressive Pre (with its WebOS operating system) and Google’s first major Android update. Older operating systems such as Symbian S60 are showing up on increasingly iPhone-esque phones, too, such as the Nokia N97.
But Apple has been busy, too. Last week, it released its third major version, iPhone OS 3.0, which ships on the iPhone 3GS and is available as a free upgrade for owners of previous iPhones (and as a $10 upgrade for iPod Touch owners). It remains the next-generation mobile OS to beat.
The new iPhone OS 3.0 boasts more than a hundred new features–some of them subtle and whimsical, others more overt and useful. Version 3.0 represents an evolutionary, not revolutionary advance. Its stiffest competition comes from two operating systems that didn’t exist when the iPhone was first announced and that seem to have drawn plenty of inspiration from Apple’s phone: Android and WebOS. Except for its lack of mutitasking for third-party apps, however, iPhone OS 3.0 feels richer and more mature than either of those two OSs. Read the rest of this entry »
Two and a half years ago, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone and said that its software was five years ahead of the competition; and since then, the rest of the industry has been busy playing catch-up. The past few weeks have seen the release of Palm’s impressive Pre (with its WebOS operating system) and Google’s first major Android update. Older operating systems such as Symbian S60 are showing up on increasingly iPhone-esque phones, too, such as the Nokia N97.
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