Are you thinking of buying a new mobile device or something else from the tech gadgets category? Within the past few years we have seen an explosion in the market of handheld devices and new tech gadgets.

These cool new tech gadgets can do as much, if not more in some cases, than an old PC could. Like any device that runs programs they need an operating system to do so. There are a few of these operating systems to choose from; the one everyone is talking about now is the Android OS from Google.

What is Android?

This is an operating system or OS that runs mobile devices. This OS is based on a modified version of the Linux kernel. Google originally purchased the system from Android Inc and have continued to adapt and evolve it.

Other Mobile Operating Systems

The most commonly known operating systems to date have been Windows Mobile OS, Apple Mobile OS and Linux.

As time goes on we are seeing more operating systems being introduced which is forcing all the fore mentioned software providers to adapt and strive to be the best in the hi tech gadgets market.

So which tech gadgets use which operating systems and what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Windows Mobile OS/Windows CE

The Windows Mobile OS can be found on a wide range of phones from many different brands. So let’s look at its good points:

• Reliable and stable
• A wide range of programs are available
• Touch navigation has been improved by new interface
• Very good sync capability with Google Mobile and Exchange
• Handsets available on networks

Now what are the bad points:

• Old operating systems and is at time chunky and slow
• Inconsistent interface
• Browser is slower than others like Safari
• Interface is not yet very user friendly

The reason for its success up until now has been the fact that Microsoft generally know what they are doing and come with a proven track record, especially on some of the more commonly used tech gadgets like cell phones, car DVD players and GPS navigators.

Apple
Apple commanded a huge share of the mobile device market with the introduction of the iPhone which has been named amongst the best tech gadgets by various writers and pundits.

The iPhone OS for now only runs comfortably on the iPhone itself, with the iPad and iTouch running a version of this.

What are the pros and cons of the iPhone OS?
What are the pros?

• Very reliable
• Lots of apps to choose from
• The best touch navigation interface
• Switch between apps seamlessly
• Quick and slick

What are the cons?

• Apple devices can be expensive
• Apps only available from Apple The Apple OS has been successful because it was the best when it was released and when Apple released its iPhone series it was new and designed for the masses.

Linux

Again with the Linux Mobile OS it is available on a number of hi tech gadgets, but what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages:

• Many Linux apps are free
• Open source means anyone can write programs for it
• Lots of support available on the internet

Disadvantages:

• Still has some bugs
• No official help line
• Cannot run Microsoft apps

Other operating systems that are widely used are the Symbian OS, the Palm OS and BlackBerry.

At the moment it seems that these operating systems are falling behind the ones mention previously in the article.

It is new innovations and mass appeal that are the main reasons for this.

So why has the Android operating system gain so much popularity?

Well the main reason for this the fact that it’s Linux based. This means it has a lot more third party applications available for it.

So what are the pros and cons?

Pros:

• As mentioned before it is open source
• Easily hacked
• Powerful
• Constant updates provided
• Lots of providers designing apps for it

Cons:

• Handsets limited
• Power management issues
• Interface not user friendly

With the relative cheapness of Chinese OEM products we have seen the android being brought to more people quickly. After reading this article you should have a better idea of what mobile OS suits you.