Windows Phone 8 vs. Jelly Bean vs. iOS 6: Which one comes out on top?

iOS 6 and Jelly Bean still ahead of the Windows Phone 8

Apple introduced iOS 6 at WWDC, after that Microsoft unveiled its Windows Phone 8, and later on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was released at the Google I/O event. To stay in the competitive mobile market, Microsoft is trying to rebuild the mobile platform. In order to understand these leading OSes, why not compare them? Here’s what we have come up with.

User Interface

Apple’s iOS platform is loaded with innumerable features. The company has tried to introduce many newer versions over the year, but its UI has somewhat remained the same all along. The iOS 6 has minor visual changes with the same plain menu stretched across pages, although Android offers complete customizations as you can place your favorite widgets and re-size them on the homescreen. Microsoft’s Windows phone 8 is much similar to Windows Phone 7.5, but it has been given a new touch with lively tiles, which can be resized. What’s more, Window Phone 8 UI can also be used to personalize the lively tiles.

Maps

The iOS 6 has its own Mapping app powered by TomTom. Google Maps is used in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean integrated with Google search listings. Microsoft is also trying to enter in the mobile market with a big bang. To promote Windows Phone 8, Microsoft will add the Nokia Maps in the phone and tablets. Apple’s iOS 6, Google’s Jelly Bean and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 are configured with 3D views, turn by turn navigation and traffic information. Windows Phone 8 and Jelly Bean support offline mode for maps, but Apple’s iOS 6 doesn’t.

Voice assistant

Apple is trying hard to improve Siri-integration within iOS 6. Jelly Bean has some speech recognition and voice search abilities. It also has the knowledge graph and a built-in speech recognizer. Microsoft’s Window Phone 8 is loaded with voice commands to make calls, send texts and search the web, etc.

Social Network Integration

The iOS 6 is wholly socially integrated. Earlier Apple’s iOS 5 had Twitter integration, but the company has added Facebook in the iOS 6. Jelly Bean is completely loaded with social integrations like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Google+ and Picasa, etc. After learning the tricks of marketing, Microsoft has also integrated Windows Phone 8 with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Windows Live.

Mobile Payment

Apple’s iOS 6 has a feature called as Passbook, which allows you to keep your debit cards, credit cards and tickets, etc. in one place.  Jelly Bean includes Google Wallet, which allows mobile payments rewards, offers and deals, etc. Google Wallet is accelerated to NFC. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 has a feature called Wallet helping store your credit/debit cards, rewards and additional features.

Calling Features

The iOS 6 is loaded with many calling features like ‘rejecting the call with a response.’ It also allows you to personalize your settings with response templates. You can use the DO NOT DISTURB feature, where the device won’t disturb you about your calls/messages. Android offers a feature known as quick auto-replies after declining calls. It also allows you to filter out your calls for some specific people. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 has advanced filtering and call block options.

Video Calling

Apple’s FaceTime can be used on cellular networks and Wi-Fi. However, it is limited to ‘i’ devices, while Google’s Android offers Gmail and Gtalk to communicate with Gmail users on other device platforms. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 allows video calling by Skype, which supports other devices and platforms.

Apps

App store is loaded with many apps and their numbers are increasing one after another day. Google has also redesigned the Google Play store. Microsoft is planning to add some more apps.

Conclusion:

Although the Windows Phone 8 has been loaded with some really good features, it still lags far behind the iOS 6 and Jelly Bean in terms of user experience, features and apps. There is no doubt that Microsoft has done well with the Windows Phone 8, but to catch up to Apple and Android, it has to do a little bit more. But the question is will the Windows Phone 8 give the iOS 6 and the Jelly Bean a run for their money? Well, it will depend on how well the Windows Phone 8 devices do in the market. While Apple and Android devices are literally dominating the market, Windows Phone handsets and tabs have not been able to do that well. With the Windows Phone 8, Microsoft has done its bit. Now it is up to the handsets maker to do their part as well.