Usability
iOS was the first smartphone OS to get the whole touchscreen navigation thing right, and all of its rivals – including Windows Phone 7.5 – have borrowed liberally from it. Its app icon-driven interface is still a doddle to use, and the ability to swipe between multiple homescreens remains the navigation method of choice in the industry.
Windows Phone 7.5, meanwhile, has taken many of the core principles introduced by iOS and has applied them to a fresh, streamlined interface. Here there are only two home screens – the main one packed full of animated live tiles (a feature iOS could do with adopting at least partially) that offer you glanceable info and a second for all of your apps.
Winner: Draw - It’s hard to argue with iOS 5′s familiar, iterative approach, but there’s also no denying that Windows Phone 7.5′s fresh perspective has created a uniquely modern and integrated OS. One thing’s for sure – both are extremely slick and a fair bit more usable than Android.
Style
In terms of style, iOS 5 hasn’t changed all that much from the early days, which – as mentioned above – makes it the most familiar mobile OS on the market. The other side of this is that it’s also the least fresh of the lot. While we’d never call Apple’s OS ugly, it is in danger of feeling ever so slightly dated. iOS 6 needs to feature a spruce up, especially given the new competition.
That new competition is, of course, Windows Phone 7.5. And it’s gorgeous. If you’d told us four or five years ago that Microsoft would soon make an OS that was more stylish than its Apple equivalent we’d have laughed in your face, but here it is. The Metro UI is slick, inviting and easy on the eye. It even gives standard apps like eBay and Flickr the edge over the iOS and Android equivalents, so that they’re often nicer to use on Windows Phone hardware.
Winner: Windows Phone 7.5 - While die-hard Apple fans will no doubt differ, and Microsoft’s mobile OS isn’t to everyone’s tastes, it’s far easier on the eye than Apple’s four-year-old design.
Speed
We’ve only used iOS 5 on the brand new iPhone 4S, so can’t speak for the older hardware, but we do know that Apple’s uniquely holistic approach – controlling both hardware and software – means that its operating systems run like buttered silk. There’s scarcely a hint of lag or stutter as you scroll through the homescreens, and the latest web browser is extremely fast too.
Microsoft has managed to get very close to Apple’s all-in-one approach by strictly defining the hardware requirements for Windows Phone handset manufacturers. This, in conjunction with the tightly honed Windows Phone 7.5 OS, makes for a smooth navigation experience that rivals iOS 5. Its IE9 web browser is also very responsive.
Winner: draw – Both operating systems are quick and responsive, and neither requires a mountain of RAM to operate smoothly either.
Apps
Apple’s iOS has reaped the rewards of being first, as well as of being tied closely to the popular iTunes digital content service. As a result, it has by far best app store in the business – both in terms of range and quality of apps. Of course, navigation is another story, but judging by the sheer number of cheap apps on offer it would be churlish to complain too much.
This is arguably Windows Phone 7.5′s biggest weakness, and there’s at least as big a gap between the two app services as there is between their respective visual styles. Windows Phone is playing catch-up in a big way, and while progress has been made, it’s simply not yet getting the unique apps to compete with Apple’s App Store. This is also the one area in which Microsoft’s Metro UI doesn’t seem to provide a satisfying navigation experience – at least not in its current form.
Source is
http://www.fonehome.co.uk/2011/10/31/ios-5-vs-windows-phone-7-5-mango-battle-of-the-operating-systems/
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