There are a few key differences between the most popular 3 Mobile Operating systems that set them apart from each other and each provide unique advantages, Im going to go over 3 main categories and what each OS Brings to the table, Ill start by saying which OS is my favorite for each category and why, Then go on to detail the features of the others.
Applications
Whilst every Mobile OS has Apps (what is a phone nowadays without them?) Each OS has its own Niche as far as which apps it does best and why
iOS 4 (previously known as iPhone OS)
iOS wins in sheer numbers, and general functionality, And since they are so far almost always downloaded much more often than the same application for other OS's, Companies tend to make an iPhone App before jumping to other OS's, and they tend to put more effort and function into the iPhone version of their apps then their android and WebOS brothers. Its also easier for developers to make apps that work with every iPhone (rather than lets say, android) because there are only 4 models of phone (so far) that run iPhone os (iphone 2g, 3g, 3gs, and 4 + the iPad). Rather than lets say, the hundreds of different phones, hardware, and carriers of android.
This also means that iOS Apps are updated more often, and get new features first, and Although this is seems to be changing with the shifting market, So far the apps almost always have more Polish and functionality in general.
WebOS (Palm Pre, Pixi)
Applications on WebOS have the potential to be about as in-depth and functional as apps for the iPhone, yet the user-base is much smaller, So developers tend to Write apps for WebOS Last, if at all. Apps in WebOS Run in "cards" which mean that you can run many applications at once, and very easily and naturally swipe through them and "throw them away" to close them. All in all its a very natural feeling interface that once the user is used to, feels very futuristic and works very well and feels very intuitive...... Unfortunately there are only a few thousand WebOS applications, Where as there are 150,000+ iPhone applications (albeit many of them are pointless website replacements and terrible ad-supported games).
Palm has recently been acquired by HP and the coming wave of hardware is sure to bring WebOS's app Game closer to that of the dominant player Apple, Only time will tell, But HP has openly said they bought Palm for WebOS and its amazing interface and they will surely not leave it out to pasture.
Android (Google's Mobile OS)
Applications on android have much more freedom than on other mobile systems. For instance android allows applications that "replace" functionality of apps built into the phones, meaning instead of clicking on "music" you can download one of 100 Open-source or customizable music players and use them to play your music instead (providing more "codecs" so you can use whatever type of music you want, etc), Where apple doesn't like to "confuse users" by offering them apps that replace functionality of apps that come with the phone, Whilst (conveniently enough for apple) at the same time Forcing the user to use their (most of the time locked-down or limited functionality) program.
Multitasking
WebOS
WebOS's Cards interface is widely considered the best implementation of mobile multitasking to date, You press the center button, And your apps shrink into thumbnail-like "cards" of which you can re-arrange and "toss" off the screen to close, It gives you a very good idea of what is running and makes the user feel like they are manipulating physical objects naturally rather than interacting with a machine (IE clicking an X in the top of a window)
All of these programs are ACTUALLY RUNNING though (with the exception of intense games which automatically pause when you press the center button) so your phone may noticeably slow down when using multiple apps more so than with other OS's, And when you are running too many programs, Your phone will notify you with a "Too many cards" popup prompting you to close some running programs to speed things up a bit.
iOS 4
On the iPhone 4 and 3GS (only on iOS4), Double tapping the home button brings up a row of icons of your most recent programs, These programs arent really 100% running, They are partially "frozen" as most of the time they arent actually doing anything when you arent in the app, Only taking advantage of a certain set of services that apple lets developers access to run only certain functions in the backround, IE Finishing a download in the backround, or being on a call, or Playing music from pandora, The music will continue to play after you press the home button, and double tapping the home button and swiping to the right will even let you play/pause/next track, without opening the app back up. There are other services like notifications, where For instance in a program like AIM, after you leave the app, it can still notify you of new messages, after which in order to respond to you must open the app again.
Most of the time this limitation is invisible to the user (for the most common multitasking services at least), and Apple has said it will update iOS to include more of these services for more apps to use background services so eventually it may be hard to tell the difference between this and "true multi-tasking" like on WebOS
Android
Android is among the most fragmented of the Mobile OS crew, Having hundreds of devices from multiple manufacturers, carriers, countries etc, its always changing and manufacturers are always trying to add their own skins and software to improve its UI and functionality.
Holding the home button on any android device brings up tiles of applications that are running, or were running recently.
Android manages what programs are actually running based on available memory etc, So if you start opening games and webpages, it might "save" that app where you left off and put it somewhere it isnt actually running, meaning they will take a little longer to open back up when you return to them, but they wont start you from scratch.
an example would be, Loading a webpage, Whilst text messaging, and playing a game of doodle jump. When i start the webpage loading, i can leave and text message, then go to doodle jump, start a game, then return to the web page and it will have loaded, I hold the home button while playing doodle jump and tap internet,doodle jump will pause and my web page will pop up, i can then hold the home button and go back to my text message, and i will be just where i left off in all of these apps, when i return to doodle jump, i just tap resume and im playing again.
Lets say i open 10 other applications after pausing doodle jump, It will prioritize my most recent apps, so when i hold the home button it will only show my 6 most recent ones, but doodle jump is still saved, just not instantly accessible from that menu, i go to the "app drawer" where all my apps are and tap it, and it only takes a half second longer to load than it normally would to resume if "active" and pops me right back to where i was in the app.
Generally, its a great approach, and most of the time the user doesnt need to have it explained to them in such detail in order for it to "just work" for them how they need it to. But "task manager" apps are useful for killing off the apps you arent going to need again for a while to speed things up and save a little battery life. And as such are a very popular app category in the android world.
Notifications
WebOS
WebOS does notifications very well,
A gentle "ding" sound along with a small icon on the bottom of their screen shows up and tapping on that icon shows a preview, and tapping on that preview brings you to whatever app/message you have received. If you want to dismiss the notification, you simply swipe it off the screen as if you were throwing away a piece of paper. Its really great, All the apps take advantage of it, its very "unobtrusive", and the slide to dismiss gesture really keeps with the general flow of WebOs and makes the whole thing feel more natural and consistent than the other OS's, although its most similar competitor is android.
Android
Android Does notifications in almost the same way as WebOS, Albeit the notification icons show up in the top rather than the bottom, And instead of swiping them away to dismiss, there is a "clear" notifications button in a "drawer" you drag down from the top of your screen to see recent notifications from any applications, tapping on them brings you to the relative app and clears the notification you have addressed.
iOS4
iOS Notifications are often lauded for being "too intrusive" meaning if your doing something, it pops up in front of it, pauses your game, or interrupts whatever it is you may be doing with little blue dialogs that have anything from text messages, to facebook notifications. Apps can make use of these, but most users prefer notifications that gently let them know something is going on in another app, but doesnt "change focus" or force them to stop what they are doing in order to dismiss or address it.
To be frank, I love all of these OS's They all bring creativity and innovation and their own advantages to the table, I Love WebOS's notifications, I love the iPhone's Simplicity, and i love android's diversity (choose from hundreds of phones, keyboard or not, and customize everything you could want about your phone). I really look forward to seeing continued innovation in the mobile industry and i hope this has helped clarify the ups and downs of the Choices we have in Mobile computing today so that in the end we can all have a great mobile experience.
To learn more about these 3 Operating systems feel free to check out their relevant Wikipedia pages
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