iOS vs Android: Choosing between them has never been harder ( IOS 7 Update and 4.2 JellyBean )

Back in the old days when Apple was king and Android was the unruly upstart, it was relatively easy to decide which phone you wanted to purchase.

Desirability, attractive icons and loads of apps to download, but aren't concerned with being locked down at all times? Choose Apple. Want deep customization, freedom to tinker and robust multitasking, but don’t mind the odd catastrophic system crash or crippling lack of decent app support? Android’s the OS for you.

While some of those points still apply today, iOS and Android have never been more alike than they are right now. Apple has enhanced iOS to include multitasking, improved notifications and an all-new “colourful” appearance thanks to the iOS 7 update, while Google has made stock Android more visually appealing and stable, and developer support has grown.

The two rivals have now converged and the end result of this osmosis is that consumers have little to choose between them. Just comparing simple screenshots reveals how similar they are. 

This in itself isn’t a bad thing at all – it’s good that both Apple and Google are able to appreciate what makes their respective software tick, and what elements of their rival’s output is ripe for replication. Google copied iOS way back in 2008, switching from the planned BlackBerry-style interface to a touch-screen, icon-based arrangement.

In turn, Apple has lifted elements such as multitasking and pull-down notifications from Android, and has copied Google Now with the new “Today” feature, which outlines your schedule for the next 24 hours, as well as giving information on the weather, or the traffic on your journey to work. 

The problem is that when you have two operating systems which essentially do the same thing the market suffers as a result. Companies which make software of this kind should be trying to offer something different - although Microsoft’s Windows Phone hasn’t succeeded in toppling either Apple or Google, you have to give it respect for at least trying to do its own thing.

BlackBerry appears to have taken the other route, and is now trying its hardest to replicate what iOS and Android are doing.

Predictably, someone has already created an iOS 7 skin for Android, but there really seems like little point in applying it when the two operating systems are almost indistinguishable. And that makes me feel a little sad. As someone who uses both on a regular basis, I kind of liked the fact that iOS and Android offer different experiences.

Now the two seem to blend into one, and the almost uncanny likeness only serves to accentuate each platform’s deficiencies - lack of control in iOS, lack of overall polish in Android. I hope that future updates will see the two erstwhile rivals diverge on different paths, because it would be a crying shame if they slavishly copied one another and ended up losing their uniqueness as a result.

What are your thoughts on this? If you’re a long-standing iOS supporter, do you dig the new look? Perhaps you’re an Android fan who has long taken issue with iOS’ skeuomorphic appearance, and you’re now wondering if it’s time to make the switch? Post a comment below to share your thoughts, and also let us know if you think we’re talking complete hogwash and that iOS and Android are still poles apart.

Android users can finally capture life in motion using Vine

Vine, Twitter’s video sharing app, is the latest trend to hit social networking. Vine can be downloaded fand allows users to create and record video clips with the maximum of 6 seconds, promoting the user’s creativity. Even brands such as Lowe’s and Gap, are using it to promote and inspire their business.

Previously, Vine was only available for iPhone users, but on June 3, Twitter announced that they had created Vine for Android users requiring Android 4.0 or higher.

Vine 1.0 for Android supports the basic functionality such as capturing and sharing 6-second clips, the Explore tab, sharing to Twitter and the Find Friends feature.  However, There are still some features missing in the Android version.

Vine for Android will soon have all the features, including some that iPhone users won’t have, such as the ability to zoom.  According to Twitter, this feature is impossible on the iPhone.  However, iPhone users have the advantage of front-facing cameras, mentions, hash-tags, search and sharing onto Facebook, which aren’t currently available for the Android.

Twitter announced that Android users should expect frequent updates from Vine over the next couple of weeks.  In a blog post, Twitter also announced that the two apps, on both Android and iPhone, are not completely in sync.  Twitter says future updates may contain some features that may work for only Android users.

Are you an Android user envying iOS 7? There's a skin for that

Those who want to try out the colors and icons of Apple's new operating system on a Google-powered phone now can with the jbOS7 theme.

Android users who want to see if the grass really is greener on the Apple side of the fence now can try out the new color scheme debuting in iOS 7.
A theme called jbOS7 marries the Jelly Bean version of Android with the iOS 7 style. Its creator, shmogt, used some custom icons and TeslaCoil Software's Nova Launcher home screen replacement app.
"It is more than just a background image with some icons," shmogt said by e-mail. "The theme also has a lock screen as well as two additional screens that act as apps. For example, you press the weather icon and it takes you to the weather screen I designed rather than open the weather app. [I] tried to add as much iOS 7 feel as possible."


The new design of iOS 7, which Apple debuted Monday at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), adopts a cleaner look in favor of more elaborate icons and apps that employ skeuomorphism -- a calendar app that looks like a real-world desktop calendar, for example -- that Apple has used so widely for years.
The new, more colorful look has generated some mockery, though, including the Jony Ive Redesigns Things blog by Sasha Agapov.
Gail Santos, a 20-year-old "polygadgetrous" student who likes to experiment with herSamsung Galaxy Note II's home screen, tried the look out for a day "to show my iOS friends what Android can do," she said on Google+.
Update: Santos apparently was just trying out the look that shmogt published at theme-sharing site MyColorScreen, and Santos has removed her original post.
iOS vs. Android can be a polarizing debate, and she evidently grew annoyed with some of the Apple-vs.-Google fanboy squabbling.
"In my opinion, both are good platforms," she said on Google+. "I'm not saying Apple is better just by doing this. Come on, don't make this a big deal. The point of Android is you can do anything with it."