A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a desktop computer or laptop. 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.
Typical examples of devices running a mobile operating system are smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers and information appliances, or what are sometimes referred to as smart devices, which may also include embedded systems, or other mobile devices and wireless devices.
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The increasing importance of mobile devices has triggered intense competition amongst software giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple, as well as mobile industry leaders Nokia, Research In Motion (RIM), and Palm, in a bid to capture the largest market share pre-emptively.[1]
With the release of the iPhone 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 Open Handset Alliance with 79 other hardware, software, and telecom companies to make inroads into the smartphone market through its new Android operating system.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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 Windows Phone.
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 Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC). Meantime, Palm abandoned its plan to develop Foleo, which was to be a companion device for a smartphone.
Canalys 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.
Operating systems that can be found on smartphones, mobile OS-powered tablet computers, and other mobile devices include Google's Android, Apple's iOS, RIM's BlackBerry OS, Microsoft's Windows Phone, Linux, HP's webOS, Samsung's Bada, and Nokia's MeeGo among many others. Android, Bada, webOS and MeeGo are built on top of Linux, and iOS is derived from the BSD and NeXTSTEP operating systems, which are all related to Unix.
The most common mobile operating systems are:
Source | Year | Symbian | Android | RIM | iOS | Microsoft | Bada | Other OSs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gartner [44] | 2011 Q3 | 16.9% | 52.5% | 11.0% | 15.0% | 1.5% | 2.2% | 0.9% |
Gartner [43] | 2011 Q2 | 22.1% | 43.4% | 11.7% | 18.2% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.0% |
Gartner [45] | 2011 Q1 | 27.4% | 36.0% | 12.9% | 16.8% | 3.6% | N/A | 3.3% |
Gartner [46] | 2010 | 37.6% | 22.7% | 16.0% | 15.7% | 4.2% | N/A | 3.8% |
Gartner [46][47] | 2009 | 46.9% | 3.9% | 19.9% | 14.4% | 8.7% | N/A | 6.1% |
Gartner [47][48] | 2008 | 52.4% | 0.5% | 16.6% | 8.2% | 11.8% | N/A | 10.5% |
Gartner [48] | 2007 | 63.5% | N/A | 9.6% | 2.7% | 12.0% | N/A | 12.1% |
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.[50]
Only the latest versions are shown in this table, even though old versions may still be marketed.
Yes | Tablet-only | Beta | Limited | 3rd party | No |
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 | 4.0.3 | 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 | Linux | Linux | Windows CE 5.2 | Windows CE 7 | Mobile OS | Mobile OS | Linux | Linux | Proprietary RTOS or Linux |
Supported CPU Architecture | ARM | ARM, MIPS, Power Architecture, x86 | ARM | ARM | ARM | ARM | ARM | ARM | ARM, x86 | ARM |
Programmed in | C, C++, Objective-C | C, C++, Java | C | Many, C++, .NET, Lazarus | Many, .NET (Silverlight/XNA) | Java | C++ | C/C++ | C++ | C++ |
License | Proprietary EULA except for open source components | Free and open source[7] | Free and open source except closed source modules | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Eclipse Public License | Free and open source except closed source components[51] | Free and open source | Proprietary |
Public issues list | No, But there is an unofficial tracker[52] | Yes[53] | No | No | No, but there is a unofficial collection[54] | No | Not anymore[55] | Yes[56] | Yes[57] | No |
Package manager | iTunes | APK | App Catalog (Official) Preware (3rd party homebrew) |
Windows Mobile Device Center/ActiveSync | Zune Software | BlackBerry Desktop Manager | Nokia Suite | dpkg+apt-get | rpm+yum+zypper | ? |
Wireless system updates | 5+[58] | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes[59] | Yes[60] | Yes[61] | Yes | No |
Multi-user | No[62] | No[63] | No[64] | No | No | No | No | No | No[65] | No |
Guest Mode | No | No,[66] but possible with 3rd party ROM MIUI[67] | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Per application runtime modifiable permissions | Location access;[68] Notifications in 5+[69][70] | No,[71] only Background Data Usage on 4+,[72] more with 3rd party firmwares[73] | No[74] | ? | No[75] | Yes[76] | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Parental controls | Yes[77] | 3rd party software[78] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Remote device location tracking | Yes[79] | 3rd party software[80] | ? | ? | Yes[81] | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Remote device locking and/or data wipe | Yes[79] | Only Exchange 2.2+[82] | Yes[83] | Yes | Yes[81] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Non English languages support | Yes[84][85][86] | Limited[87] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited (Search is not diacritical mark insensitive) |
Underlining spell checker | Yes[88] | 4+[89] | Yes | ? | Yes[90] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No |
Built-in system-wide dictionary | 5+[91] | No, available on selected devices[92] | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Autoexpanding text replacements | 5+[93] | ? | Yes[94] | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Emoji support | Yes[95] | ? | ? | ? | Yes[96] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Accessibility features | Yes[97][98][99] | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Search multiple internal applications at once | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No[100] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Core applications missing search | Bookmarks[101] | Calendar[102] (available since 3+ and HTC Sense) | ? | ? | Text Messages[103] nor Calendar,[104] nor Music nor Video[105] | |||||
Search all fields of internal objects | iOS will not search Contacts notes field[106] | Only search Contacts name field but not any other field[107] | Yes | Yes | Contacts are only search by name[108] | Limited on most models[109] Search on notes body and contacts notes field was removed on OS6[110] | Yes | Yes | ? | Only searches contacts by name |
Proxy server | Yes | 3.1+[111] but only global, not per connection[112] | No[113] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
On-device encryption | Yes[114] (3rd party software may attempt brute-force attacks on password[115]) | 3+[116] | No | Yes[117] | No[118] | Yes[119] (3rd party software may attempt brute force attacks on password[115]) | Yes | Yes | ? | No |
External storage encryption | External storage not supported | No[120] | External storage not supported | ? | External storage not supported | Yes[121] | Yes | ? | ? | No |
Cloud encrypted storage | No, data stored on iCloud is accessible by Apple[122] | No, data is accessible by Google and US Intelligence Agencies[123] | ? | ? | No, data is accessible by Microsoft and the US Government[124] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Privacy[125] | When synchronizing locally and not using iCloud (that keeps data unencrypted) | Not possible since there is only Google synchronization (that keeps data unencrypted), possible with HTC Sense Desktop Sync | ? | Yes | When using your own Exchange server instead synchronizing with public cloud servers (that keeps data unencrypted)[126] | When using your own BES instead of BlackBerry cloud BES (that keeps data unencrypted)[127] | When synchronizing locally and not synchronizing with Ovi (that keeps data unencrypted) | ? | ? | ? |
Sync to Cloud communication encryption | Yes[128] | 2.3.4+[129] | ? | ? | 7.10.7720.0+[130] | Yes[131] | ? | 3rd party software | ? | ? |
Desktop Sync | Yes | No,[132] but available on HTC Sense[133] | 3rd party software[134] | Yes | No[135][136] | Yes | Yes | Yes[137] | Yes | Yes |
Local Full backup | Yes, using external computer[138] | No,[139] but possible with rooted devices and 3rd party software[140] | Limited official backup. Full backup via homebrew[141] | Yes | No[142] | Yes, using external computer[143] and memory card (7+)[144] | Yes, using external computer and memory card | ? | ? | No[145] |
Core Data missing Sync | Bookmarks[146] (before 4), SMSs and Settings[139] | Favorites,[147] Text Messages[148] and Settings[149] | ||||||||
cut, copy, and paste | Yes[150] | Yes[151] | Yes | Yes | Yes[152][153] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes[154] |
undo | Yes[155] | No[156] | Limited | Via Ctrl+Z using default keyboard | No | No | No | Yes | ? | No |
Visual voicemail | Yes | 4+[157] | ? | ? | Yes[158] | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Call log duration | Yes[159] | Yes[160] | ? | ? | No[161] | Yes[162] | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Multiple Mobile Phones per Contact | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No[163] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Contact Groups | 3rd party software[164] | 4+[165] or 3rd party software[166] | ? | ? | 7.5+[167] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Phone number linking to dialer | Yes | Some devices[168] | Yes | Yes, but not in browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes, but not in browser |
Addresses link to maps | Yes[169] | In Contacts, but not in Calendar[170] nor in Gmail[171] | ? | ? | Yes[172] | ? | In Contacts and Calendar | ? | ? | ? |
Dates link to calendar | Yes[173] | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Default Web Browser/Engine | Webkit | Webkit | Webkit | Trident | Trident | Webkit | Webkit | Gecko | Webkit | Webkit |
Browser direct Internet connection (increased resilience to outages) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, routes through BlackBerry Internet Service. Direct browsing supported over WiFi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Browser keeps windows open on shutdown or crash | Yes | No[174] | No | No | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | ? | No |
Browser Search Engine options | Bing, Google, Yahoo! Search | Many[175] | Many[176] | ? | Bing, Google[177] | Google, Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, User Defined | ? | ? | ? | |
Browser Find on Page | 4.2+[178] | 1.5+[179] | ? | ? | Removed in Mango update[180] | Yes[181] | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Browser/Email Save Images | Both[182] | Yes | ? | ? | Browser[183] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Browser/Email Save PDFs | Yes[184] | Yes | ? | ? | Yes[185] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Browser Save Audio/Video | No | Yes, but only links, not embedded media | Yes | ? | No | Yes (embedded media not supported) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Browser Save Page | Offline web apps;[186][187][188] Any page in 5+[189] | 4+[190] | No | ? | No | Yes[191] | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Browser Text Reflow | Reader mode on 5+;[189][192] 3rd party browsers on prior versions[193] | Yes | No[194] | ? | No | Yes[195] | No | ? | ? | No |
Browser Reader Mode | Yes[189][192] | ? | ? | ? | ? | Beta PlayBook OS 2.0[196] | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Browser file upload | 3rd party software[197] | 2.2+,[198] but crashes on big files[199] | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes |
Browser form navigation | Previous, Next, AutoFill, and Done buttons[200] | Next button[201] | ? | ? | No[202] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Browser Private Browsing mode | 5+[203] | 4+[204] or with rooted devices and 3rd party firmware[205] | ? | ? | 3rd party software[206] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Official Application Store | App Store | Android Market | App Catalog | Windows Marketplace for Mobile | Windows Phone Marketplace | App World | Symbian Horizon, Nokia store | maemo.org, Nokia store | ? | Samsung Apps |
Non-discriminatory Stores | Apple discriminates based on country[207] and own Apple policies[208] | ? | Discriminates by country.[209] Can be circumvented via homebrew[210] | ? | Discriminates by country[211] | 3rd party software | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Unified Inbox | Yes | No[212] | Yes | Yes | 7.10.7720.0+[213] | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | Yes |
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 | 5+[214] | Yes[215] | Yes | ? | Yes[216] | 6+[217] | Symbian Belle+[218] | Yes[219] | Yes[220] | ? |
Push Notifications | Yes (Apple Push Notification Service) | Yes[221] | Yes | ? | Yes[222] | Yes | Yes | 2+[223] | ||
End-to-end Encrypted Push Notifications | Not possible, Apple must have access to notifications cleartext[224] | Possible, notifications are handled by the application that can decrypt it[221] | ? | ? | Possible, raw notifications are handled by the application that can decrypt it[225] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Screen orientation lock | Yes[184] | Yes[226] | ? | ? | No[227] | 3rd party software | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Custom Home and Lock Screen wallpaper | 4+[184] | Yes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Separate volume for Ringtone and Media | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No[228] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Custom Ringtones | Yes[229] | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7.10.7720.0+[230] | Yes | Yes | 3rd party software[231] | ? | Yes |
Custom SMS/MMS tones | 5+[232] | No, but available on some Phones[233] | Via homebrew[234] | ? | No[235] | Yes[236] | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Custom Vibrate Alert patterns | 5+[237][238] | No[233] | ? | ? | ? | Yes[236] | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Non-carrier-based integrated messaging | 5+ (iMessage)[239] | Google Talk | AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo | ? | Windows Live Messenger, Facebook Chat[240] | BBM | Many | ? | ? | ? |
Offline Voice Commands | Yes[241] | No[242] | 2.1+ | Microsoft Voice Command | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Voice Recognition | 5+ (Siri on iPhone 4S)[243] | Yes[244] | 2.1+ | Yes | Yes[245][246] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Non-English Voice Recognition | Yes[86] | Yes | ? | ? | Yes[96] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Sound Recorder | Limited (Not voice controlled) | Very limited (Doesn't work in background[247] and not voice controlled) | 3rd party software | ? | 3rd party software; Very limited (Works under locked screen but doesn't work in background and not voice controlled) | Very limited (Doesn't work in background and not voice controlled) | Yes | 3rd party software[248] | ? | ? |
Call Recorder | Prevented by OS restrictions | Prevented by OS restrictions,[249] but possible with 3rd party firmware[250] | No | Yes[251] | No | No[252] | Yes | 3rd party software[248] | ? | ? |
Camera tap-to-focus | Yes[184] | 4+[253] | ? | ? | Yes[254] | ? | ? | ? | Yes[255] | ? |
On device picture info (including Exif data) | Only location[256] | Only date and location; more with 3rd party software[257] | Yes | ? | No | ? | Not full Exif | ? | ? | ? |
On device picture categorization | 5+[258] | No[259] | 3.0+ | ? | No[260] | Yes, photos can be renamed and searched | Yes, albums and tags[261] | ? | ? | ? |
On device picture description and search | No | No[262] | ? | ? | No | ? | No, Allows setting a description, but search will not use it | ? | ? | ? |
Turn off shutter sound | In silent mode[263] | In silent mode[264] | In silent mode | ? | 7.10.7720.0+[265] | ? | In silent mode | ? | ? | ? |
Picture crop | 5+[266] | Yes | 3rd party software | ? | 3rd party software[267] | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
Photo red-eye reduction | 5+[268] | 4+[269] | ? | ? | 3rd party software[270] | ? | Symbian Anna+[271] | ? | ? | ? |
HDR photos option | Yes[272] | No,[273] 3rd party software available[274] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Photo/video import from memory cards | With Camera Connection Kit[275] | No | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Video trim | Yes | No,[276] but 3rd party software available.[277] | Yes | ? | No | ? | Yes[278] | ? | ? | Yes |
Sound trim | Yes | No,[279] but 3rd party software available[280] | No | ? | No sound recorder | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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&T and Verizon Wireless only). USB, Bluetooth, and Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot via homebrew[281] | USB, Bluetooth, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot (with 3rd party software) | Internet Sharing (Wi-Fi Hotspot)[282] | 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-Go | No[283] | 3.1+[284][285] | No | ? | No | ? | Yes[286] | ? | ? | ? |
Interchangeable external memory cards | Only for photo/video import with an optional accessory | Yes | No | Yes | No[287] | Yes[288] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Text/Document Support | Microsoft Office,[289][290][291] 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 | Yes (AirPrint)[292] | No built-in function,[293] but have apps use Google Cloud Pint available for 2.0+[294] | Yes[295] | ? | No,[296] 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),[297] HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+)(before Android2.1),[297] 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 [298] | MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV | 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) | MP3, AAC, WMA, M4A, XMF, 3GA, MMF, MIDI, WAV, AMR [299] | ||
Video Playback | H.264 AVC, MPEG-4, M-JPEG | H.263, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4 SP, DivX, XviD, VP8 [298] | MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 | 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) | WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, AVI [299] | ||
Wired video out | Up to 720p via HDMI[300] or VGA,[301] 576p/480p via component[302] or composite;[303] 1080p on iPad 2 or iPhone 4S in 5+ | 1080p on select devices | No | ? | ? | No | Nokia AV Out (PAL/NTSC), HDMI | Nokia AV Out (PAL/NTSC) | ? | ? |
Wireless video/audio streaming to set top boxes/TVs/speakers | AirPlay[304] | No,[305] DLNA available on selected devices | ? | ? | No,[306] Play To (DLNA) available on some devices[307] | ? | ? | ? | ? | DLNA[308] |
Media player on-device playlist creation | Yes[184] | Yes[309] | ? | ? | Yes[310] | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Media Player Video Scrubbing | Yes | Yes | No | ? | 7.10.7720.0+[311] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Media Player Audio Scrubbing | Yes | Yes | No | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Media Player Fine Scrubbing | Yes[312] | 3rd party software[313][314] | No | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Media Player Double Speed Playing | Only Audio Podcasts[315] | 3rd party software[316][317] | ? | ? | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Turn-by-turn GPS | 3rd party software | Google Maps Navigation (will not work with limited phone coverage[318] as it only downloads a 10-mile radius[319]) or 3rd party software | Carrier software, 3rd party software | 3rd party software | 7.10.7720.0+[320] and 3rd party software[321] | 3rd party software | free global Nokia Maps and 3rd party software | Nokia Maps and 3rd party software | Samsung LBS (Route 66) | |
Alternative routes in maps | 5+[322] | No[323] | ? | ? | 3rd party software | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Multitasking | Very Limited, Apple-approved functionality only. OS 4.0+[324] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[325] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2+[223] |
Record video with voice while calling[326] | No | Yes (Not available on some devices) | ? | ? | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | ? |
Desktop interactive widgets | No | Yes | Via homebrew | Yes | Yes (through "live tiles") | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Lock screen widgets | Media player; 5+: Notifications,[214] voicemail, camera[327] | Notification and Camera | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Notification view widgets | 5+: Stocks and weather;[214] 3rd party software with "jailbreak"[328][329] | ? | 3.0+[330] | 3rd party firmware | Yes (through "live tiles")[331] | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Bluetooth keyboard | Yes[332] | 3.1+;[333] previous versions via 3rd party software[334] | 2.0+ | Yes | No[335] | Yes | Yes | Yes, with plugins | ? | ? |
USB keyboard | With Camera Connection Kit[275] | 3.1+[333] | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Videoconference front video camera | Yes (FaceTime)[336] (iPhone 4 & 4S, iPod touch 4th generation, iPad 2; can connect to Macs with webcams) | Hardware currently available on some models | Pre3 and TouchPad only | No | Yes[337] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Direct file transfer | Bluetooth using 3rd party software on jailbroken devices[338] | Bluetooth,[339] Wi-Fi Direct 4+[72] and selected devices[340][341] and NFC (small data) 4+[72] | No | Bluetooth | No[342] | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Yes Wi-Fi Direct 2+ and NFC (small data) 2+[343] |
Voice over IP | FaceTime or 3rd party software (like Skype) | Yes (SIP)[344] or 3rd party software (like Skype) | Yes[345] | 3rd party software (like fring) | 7.10.7720.0+[346] | 3rd party software[347] | Yes (SIP) or 3rd party software (like Skype) | Yes (SIP)[348] | ? | No[349] |
SSH | Yes[350][351] | Yes | Via homebrew | No | 3rd party software | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | ? |
OpenVPN | ? | No, but possible with 3rd party firmware[352] | Yes | Remote Desktop | ? | Yes | 3rd party software | Yes | Yes | ? |
WPA PEAP | Yes[353] | Yes[354] | Yes[355] | ? | Yes[356] | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Show remembered Wi-Fi connections | No[357] | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Remote Frame Buffer | ? | Yes[358] | Via homebrew[359] | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? |
Screenshot | Yes[184][360] | 4+ also available on 3.7 or earlier with Cyanogen Mod and on certain devices E.G Samsung Galaxy S II [361] | Yes | Yes[362] | No,[363] but possible through homebrew or SDK.[364][365] | 3rd party software | Yes[366] | Yes | ? | Yes |
GPU Accelerated GUI | Yes | 3+[367] | Partially (in Enyo apps) | No | Yes[368] | Yes, OS 7.0+ | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
Official SDK platform(s) | Mac OS X using iOS SDK | Linux, Mac OS X and Windows[369] | Linux, Mac OS X and Windows[370] | Windows[371] | Windows[372] | Windows, Mac OS X[373] | Windows using Symbian SDK[374] or Linux, Mac OS X and Windows using Nokia Qt SDK[375] | GNU/Linux[376] | GNU/Linux and Windows[377] | Windows[378] |
Extra cost to develop | Free ($99/year to distribute on App Store[379]) | Free ($25 once to offer it on the Android Market[380]) | Free [381] | Free | Free ($99/year to offer it on the Windows Phone Marketplace[382]) | Free SDK, Free Signing Keys, Free Publishing in App World | Free (1€ once to offer it in the Ovi Store[383] | Free | Free | ? |
Feature | iOS | Android | webOS | Windows Mobile | Windows Phone 7 | BlackBerry OS | Symbian | Maemo | MeeGo | bada |
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