Android v/s Windows Mobile 7 v/s iPhone v/s Blackberry v/s Nokia

Android
  
   

• Open platform.
• Can compile custom firmwares - good for hackers and other.
• Good framework, extended on each new firmware.
• Supports multitasking. 
• Nice IDE - Eclipse, NetBeans.
• Development SDK is free.  
• Easy to debug, can send logs to developers.
• Programming language is Java but bridges from other languages exist (C# .net - Mono, etc)
• Java is a high level language that appeared in 1995. Android supports Java 1.5 and translates the byte code to its own custom Dalvik byte code optimized for mobile devices.
• For the hardcore programmers, Android offers the possibility of programming in C using the native dev kit NDK.
• Can run script languages like LUA, Perl, Python, etc.
• Can install third party applications from sdcard, random sites - not locked to a specific market.
• Applications can hook and override everything - email interface, SMS sending, custom keyboards, etc.
• Supports widgets.
• Can publish applications on the Android market instantly - initial one time registration fee is 25E.
• User has access to the sdcard and can use it as a USB disk.
• No Adobe Flash support yet. Probably will be available in Q2 of this year.  

Windows Mobile 7

                   

• Closed platform. 
• MS breaks compatibility with WM 6.x - this is very bad.
• Programming environment is Silverlight and XNA.
• No native programming ie no hooking and overriding keyboard, etc - they removed PInvoke.   
• Nice IDE - Visual Studio 2010.
• Does not support multitasking for third party applications.
• Third party applications can only be installed from the MS marketplace.
• No Adobe Flash support.

iOS (iPhone)

        

• Closed platform.
• No multitasking except for some Apple applications. Multitasking is probably going to be introduced in the next vertion of the iPhone, the iPhone 4.
• Development kit costs ~90E.
• Programming language is Objective C - but bridges exist from Java, C#, etc.
• Objective C appeared in 1986.
• Next version of iPhone is supposed to only allow Objective C code, this means the bridges are out and you must program in Objective C if you want to create an iPhone application.
• Applications are not allowed to duplicate the iPhone functionality - ie no custom email interface, etc.
• Does not support widgets - unless the phone is jail broken.
• User does not have access to the sdcard - user can only do synchronization via internet or LAN.  
• Third party applications can only be installed from the Apple store. For testing the applications, developers can use Ad Hoc publishing.   
• Publishing on the store is a very lengthy and tiresome process. Apple has many and bizarre rules. Many applications were rejected for strange reasons.
• No Adobe Flash support.

BlackBerry OS

           

• As it is now, the programming environment is Java native and J2ME - not worth mentioning since they will probably be extinct pretty soon.
• No Adobe Flash support yet. Probably will be available in Q2 of this year.  
• We expect a new OS so we will just have to sit patiently and see what's going to happen.

Symbian (Nokia)

      

• Opened Symbian and says the future will be QT and WRT - they will cut support to any other environment including J2ME.
• QT is a framework that adds a layer of abstraction over gui, network, gps, etc.
• QT is cross platform and cross programming language - C++, C#, Java, etc. the licenses are GPL and LGPL.
• QT runs on Maemo, MeeGo, BlackBerry, Symbian, Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, desktop PC, consumer electronics, car entertainment, etc.
• WRT - web runtime - a cool feature that allows users to write applications in HTML, JS and CS. You build the app like a normal web page, and you interact with the phone platform/hardware using the WRT bridge.
  No need to learn any other technology. Just HTML, JS and CS. Very important: JS can call native code, but also the other way around. It seems you can call WRT JS with native code.
• Supports widgets.
• Supports Adobe Flash Lite.

Thanks,

Parag