In the battle of iPhone vs Android there is yet to be a clear winner.
Without question, iPhone has had a profound influence on the look & feel of all smartphones. The graphic below illustrates the stark differences between mobile phones BIP (Before iPhone) and AIP (After iPhone). Screens have gotten bigger and physical keyboards have tended to disappear since iPhone was introduced.
Mobile Phones Before & After the Arrival of the iPhone (graphic spotted in the Twitter stream of Josh Helfferich @Digeratii)
In terms of user experience, many would argue that iPhone retains an edge. A Fox News comparison for consumers published last fall showed iPhone narrowly beating out Android, with top marks in 7 categories such as multitasking and app selection, while Android won in 5 categories, including web and data speeds and ease of sharing on social networks.
At least for now, iPhone / iPad users tend to make more purchases more using their mobile phone and tablets. A New York Times article quotes one app maker, who saw higher sales on iPhone than Android, as believing that the difference comes from the ease with which iPhone handles credit card payments through iTunes.
But Android has plenty going for it: you can get an Android phone for far less than an iPhone, makers of Android-compatible phones are quickly closing the features gap, and iPhone is still only available on two major carriers. Those are deal-breakers for certain users.
So the race for market dominance continues. We’ll keep you posted and would love to hear your comments.