Engadget has put a nice little chart together that compares key features of iPhone 3 and 4 to Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Phone 7. Funny, it almost makes Windows Mobile 6.5.3 look like the most capable OS of them all!
| iPhone OS 4  |
iPhone OS 3.1.3  |
Windows Phone 7  |
Windows Mobile 6.5.3  |
| Kernel Type | OS X | OS X | Windows CE 6 | Windows CE 5 |
| Platform Adaptability | Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
| Platform Age | Adolescent | Adolescent | Young | Mature |
| First-party Enterprise Support | Exchange | Exchange | Exchange | Exchange |
| Wireless Tech | GSM, WiFi | GSM, WiFi | GSM, CDMA, WiFi | GSM, CDMA, WiFi |
| Screen Gestures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Screen Tech | Capacitive | Capacitive | Capacitive | Capacitive / Resistive |
| Multitouch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| UI skinning | Limited | No | No | Yes |
| Input methods | Virtual / external keyboards | Virtual keyboard only | Virtual / physical keyboards | Virtual / physical keyboards, T9 / triple tap, character recognition |
| Notification style | Modal pop-up, icon badge | Modal pop-up, icon badge | Unobtrusive banner / pop-up | Modal pop-up |
| Contact integration / management | Exchange ActiveSync, Mac OS Address Book, Google Sync | Exchange ActiveSync, Mac OS Address Book, Google Sync | Exchange ActiveSync, Google Sync | Exchange ActiveSync, Google Sync, Domino, BlackBerry |
| Multitasking | Limited / managed | No | Limited / managed | Yes |
| Copy / paste | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Media support / ecosystem | iTunes | iTunes | Zune | None |
| Global search | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Firmware updates | Tethered | Tethered | Tethered, OTA | Tethered, limited OTA |
| Browser Engine | WebKit | WebKit | Trident (IE) | Trident (IE) |
| Tethering | Yes (varies by carrier) | Yes (varies by carrier) | Unknown | Yes |
| Stereo Blutooth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SDK Availability / Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Official App Store | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| App Availability | High | High | Low (unreleased) | Medium |
| Native Applications | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Unsigned Applications | No | No | No | Yes |
| On-Device App Management | Excellent | Good (no folders) |
Good (no folders) |
Good |
This chart is straight from the Endgadget article. Like I said, I count 6 green boxes under Windows Mobile 6.5.3… more than any other. What do you guys think? Is Microsoft moving in the wrong direction with Windows Phone 7? Losing multitasking, copy/paste and native apps – three things that made 6.x stand out over the years…
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