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Apple iOS 5 vs Windows Phone 7 Mango
Clare Hopping
We compare Windows Phone 7 Mango and Apple iOS 5 to see which is the best OS
Windows Phone 7 Mango vs iOS 5
Published on Jun 13, 2011
Microsoft fuelled the iOS 5 vs Windows Phone 7 fire last week, with Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore publicly sharing his ‘flattery’ that Apple has copied many of its Windows Phone 7 features.
But just how similar are the two platforms? We take a look at the similarities and differences.
UI
Both Windows Phone 7 and iOS 5 have pretty static homescreen user interfaces in comparison to Android.
Although Windows Phone 7’s tiles can be added and are live, they’re not like those on Android where you can add any application to the homescreen. Only certain applications can be added and customisation is certainly not Windows Phone 7’s strong point.
A number of new APIs have been added with Windows Phone 7 Mango, meaning you can fit more information on each tile, but it’s still not as interactive as Android.
iOS 5 is also pretty static, with only app icons appearing on the homescreen. There aren’t any live tiles or live feeds available, but Apple has improved the notifications system to make it a little more interesting.
Winner: Windows Phone 7
Notifications
As discussed above, Apple’s iOS 5 and Windows Phone 7 are both a bit boring when it comes to the homescreen, but Apple has attempted to rectify this by adding notifications to the homescreen and lock screen.
When you get a notification, a message will pop up at the top of the screen. If it’s a message or a tweet, Facebook message or SMS, a preview will show up. Just tap on it to head straight to the app.
You can also pull the notification bar down from the top to view all of your notifications.
Notifications on Windows Phone 7 work through the live tiles interface of the operating system. When you get a new text message, email, Facebook message or are mentioned in a Twitter feed, it’ll pop up on the live tile.
Winner: iOS 5
Social networking
Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced Twitter to its Windows Phone 7 platform. With the Windows Phone 7 Mango update, Twitter will form part of the People Hub, meaning you’ll be able to access all of your Twitter conversations and streams from one place.
With iOS 5, Apple has integrated Twitter into the platform, rather than you having to download a third party client to use on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
It also means you can tweet links direct from the photo application, browser, YouTube or Maps.
Your phonebook also integrates with Twitter, so when you start typing one of your contacts’ names into Twitter, iOS 5 will detect it and @ them automatically.
Winner: iOS 5
Lock screen
The previously static lock screen on iOS has been revamped to make it more intuitive and interactive.
Now, if you receive a text message, tweet or any other notification, it will pop up on the lock screen so you can see straight away what’s going on. With just a swipe, you can open up the notifications too.
Just like with iOS, the lock screen on Windows Phone 7 shows your notifications including missed calls and voicemail, texts and emails. You can’t open up the notifications though – they’ll just display as numbers next to the relevant icon.
You can also the trigger the camera from the lock screen, just like on iOS 5 – just press and hold the camera button.
Winner: iOS 5
