With Windows Phone 8.1 Microsoft’s OS finally became as full featured as its rivals, which along with its stylish, unique design means it’s a very tempting alternative to iOS or Android. But with Android 5.0 Lollipop Google has improved on its OS in numerous ways too.

Both operating systems have been thoughtfully designed and undergone years of polish to reach the point they’re at now, but there are numerous differences between them, so if you’re wondering what’s different and where each excels, we’ve got the answers.

The Look

Windows Phone 8.1 is arguably the most stylish mobile operating system around and it certainly stands out, with its vertically scrolling interface full of Live Tiles, each of which is essentially a miniature widget. It’s colourful and has far less empty space than Android, which could risk leaving it looking cluttered but as the tiles all line up neatly and are generally colour coordinated it never does.

Many Windows Phones apps and the stock ones in particular are also designed to fit with the look of each other and of the interface as a whole. Menus tend to consist of white lettering on black backgrounds and everything has a clean, minimalist look.

Android



on the other hand has a more conventional interface. Or at least it’s more like other mobile OS’s, notably iOS. There are rows of tiles along the home screen with quite a lot of space between them, there’s also a bar at the bottom which displays the same tiles no matter which screen you’re on and it scrolls horizontally rather than vertically.

The apps in Android are static icons but there’s also proper widget support, which means that you can have for example a large clock or calendar on your screen, or perhaps a news feed. It makes it a lot more customisable and in fact almost anything on Android can be changed or altered, from the keyboard to the entire look and operation of the interface.

So you can make it look and work more or less however you want if you put the work in. If you don’t make the effort to customise it then stock Android 5.0 Lollipop is less stylish and distinctive than Windows Phone 8.1, but it’s by no means ugly, with a new look dubbed ‘Material Design’ which is flatter and more two-dimensional than before, but adds shadows, fluid animations and more. It’s at once cleaner and more detailed than previous Android releases.

Android Lollipop User-Interface

Android apps are more varied in their appearance than on Windows Phone, especially when you consider that different manufacturers put their own overlay and apps on the phones, but the stock apps tend to have a fairly unified look. They’re a little more cluttered than their Windows Phone counterparts, but still have a clean, simple design, so they’re rarely confusing to use.

The Apps

There’s no getting around it, Windows Phone 8.1 has an app problem. The number of available apps has been steadily growing and includes many popular ones like Facebook and Instagram, but there are still under 400,000 available apps compared to over 1,400,000 Android apps

So if you’re happy to stick just to big names then Windows Phone will for the most part serve you well, but if you want a wide selection of apps then Android still has an advantage. Although as you'd expect Windows Phone has native support for Microsoft Office products with greater features which is something business users should consider.

Keen gamers should consider that Android has a much wider and more polished collection of games available, but Windows Phone is the only operating system with Xbox built-in so you can view your trophies and keep in contact with friends wherever you are.





























The Features

One recent addition to Windows Phone is Action Centre. This is an overdue feature which is a lot like the notification screen on Android, allowing you to access notifications and commonly used settings toggles from a pull down bar. It makes general operation of the phone a lot faster than it once was and is both similar to and a match for the Android equivalent.

Though with the update to Lollipop Android has gone a step further, giving you detailed notifications from the lock screen, along with the ability to open or clear them. It also ensures notifications aren’t intrusive, by letting you set their priority and having them pop up in a little box at the edge of the screen, rather than filling up the centre, so you can keep doing whatever you’re doing.

Windows Phone can go blow for blow with Android in a number of other ways though. For example with Windows Phone 8.1 there was a word flow keyboard added, which lets you glide your fingers over letters rather than tapping them and is a match for Swype on Android.

There’s also a basic battery saver and battery monitor like you’ll find on Android and like with Android your apps don’t have to live on the home screen, instead you can tuck the ones that you don’t use much away in an apps list / drawer.

Windows Phone 8.1 finally brings a speed dial function to the OS too, which again makes it a match for Android

In fact in many ways when it comes to actually calling and texting Windows Phone arguably has Android beat, as it seamlessly integrates with Facebook, Outlook and other accounts and it does more than just gives you contact pictures and phone numbers from them, it also lets you see contact’s status updates so it essentially makes your contacts list social.

Windows Phone 8.1 also adds a Wi-Fi Sense feature, which will automatically connect you to public networks, saving you time when out and about.

Android has largely been focusing on performance in the last couple of years, making the OS slicker than ever and allowing it to run well even on low end devices, but Windows Phone 8 has always been able to do that.

In fact overall the core Windows Phone 8 experience has debatably now got Android beat. But you’re better able to make Android your own and with the wealth of apps and customisation options tech-savvy users can easily outdo almost any Windows Phone feature.


check the review for wp 8.1 below

.https://youtu.be/xL_u52AaEw0

# teamlollipop

I don't know. I just love windows and the fact that it is actually tasking.
Also the fact that you can do almost whatever you like to the home screen is a lot more fun though it takes planning.

Google Now vs Cortana

Cortana is the biggest recent addition to Windows Phone 8 and it gives the OS an answer to Google Now.

There are a lot of similarities between the two and both are impressive in their own ways, but they’re not identical. Both services gather information about you and use it to give you tailored information and advice. For example they might give you a traffic warning in the morning because they know a road you take to work has a problem.



Cortana seems a little more adept at gathering information on you though and importantly it’s also easier to keep track of what Cortana knows and delete information that you’d rather it didn’t store.

Other than that they’re very similar. Both respond to voice or written commands and can interact with features on your phone, for example setting a reminder, or perform a web search and whenever possible they’ll speak the answer back to you. Here Cortana again has Google Now beat, as its voice is a little more natural and less like a robot, but it’s no better at actually understanding and carrying out commands.




One area where Google Now has the upper hand is how hands free it can be. If you have your screen on then it will respond to the phrase ‘Ok Google’ at any time, without you needing to press a single button. You could be browsing the net, watching a video or even on the lock screen and you can issue voice commands instantly.


Conclusion



Conclusion

Before Windows Phone 8.1 it would be hard to argue that Android wasn’t the better OS, but with the addition of Cortana, Action Centre and other more minor improvements Windows Phone has caught up.

Now it more comes down to what you want from your mobile OS. Both deliver the basics and even more advanced features like virtual personal assistants, but while Windows Phone is slick, stylish and intuitive, Android has more features and more options.

Android is better suited to those who are tech savvy or want to make the phone their own and those who want a large app and games selection. But if you want something that just works and looks good doing it then Windows Phone 8.1 is arguably the better choice.






i knw after this argument will still commence but for sure



to me thou am an andriod user but i prefer windowsphone 10/8.1



thankx for viewing .....

I've read this article somewhere else. On 3g.co.uk, I think. Funny.

Anyway. Plagiarism aside.

I think Android offers much more than Windows Phone. I've used WP for a long time so I know. I am a serious app user. I like to download and explore apps. And if you happen to be like me, you'd find Windows Phone to be a frustrating choice. I'll give you an example.

BBM did not arrive on Windows Phone until about 7 months after it was made available on Android and iOS phones. And even then, the app was lacking. It didn't come with full features. BBM channel was absent, stickers also, and a bunch of other features. These features became available only recently. The BBM channel was introduced a couple of months ago and it doesn't even work smoothly. And the current version of BBM for Windows Phones still doesn't let you make voice and video calls because these features aren't available.

Same thing is true for WhatsApp for Windows Phones. While other operating systems got new features months ago, Windows Phones only got its about two weeks ago. The UI for this app has hardly changed for years, unlike Android and iOS versions. It's become boring and bland.

Twitter and Instagram have been the same for years. It's painful. They have the same ugly UI. Ugly because I am tired of them.

Most of the cool apps you'll find your friends using on their Android or iOS phones cannot be found on Windows Phones. And if they ever become available, it's month, or even years ahead. In other words you're forced to watch in agony as your friends enjoy cool new apps.

I also find the Windows Phone UI to be painfully boring. I thought it was fascinating and different at first, but as time passed, it got tiring. Yes, you have tiles that flip around and show you more information about a particular app. But really, that's all you get. Apart from changing the background photo for the Start menu and also changing the colors of the tiles and their arrangements, Windows Phone offers nothing more. Overtime, when you've gotten used to the process, you become bored. You cannot change the display fonts to something fancy or edgy. You don't have widgets. You cannot customize the look and feel as much as you'd like to. It becomes frustrating.

Action Center is dumb. You cannot access more than four quick settings. You can only check your notifications and maybe switch on and off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Location, Internet Sharing, Camera, Mobile Data and a couple of other settings. But you are only allowed to have four of these settings in your Action Center. Just four. You can't have all. That's sad.

Sending emails on Windows Phone is a chore. The email application doesn't offer much. You cannot edit the look of texts. You cannot decide to add an attachment to an email that isn't pictures. There's a maneuver, but that only shows how messed up the operating system is.

With Android and iOS. however, you can do all these and more. You have widgets and themes and customizable fonts. You have apps with complete features. You have much more to play around with. I consider Android and iOS to be fun operating systems.

Windows Phone has a very low market share and as a result, developers see no reason to build apps for it. Third party developers aren't even inspired by it.

The only thing I can commend Microsoft for is Cortana. But that won't remain their saving grace for long. You know why? Because they are going to make it available for Android. Yes. Very soon, Windows Phone will fall the way Blackberry did when it made its only saving grace, that is BBM, available to other operating systems. This has made people think Microsoft do not plan on releasing more phones in the future. They seem to want to stick to creating software and making them available to other operating systems instead. There are some apps made by Microsoft that can be found on other operating systems but cannot be found on Windows Phones. Sounds ridiculous, right?

If you just want a pretend smartphone that allows you to do basic things, then Windows Phone might be for you. But if you want much more, run away from it.

Craven:
I've read this article somewhere else. On 3g.co.uk, I think. Funny.

Anyway. Plagiarism aside.

I think Android offers much more than Windows Phone. I've used WP for a long time so I know. I am a serious app user. I like to download and explore apps. And if you happen to be like me, you'd find Windows Phone to be a frustrating choice. I'll give you an example.

BBM did not arrive on Windows Phone until about 7 months after it was made available on Android and iOS phones. And even then, the app was lacking. It didn't come with full features. BBM channel was absent, stickers also, and a bunch of other features. These features became available only recently. The BBM channel was introduced a couple of months ago and it doesn't even work smoothly. And the current version of BBM for Windows Phones still doesn't let you make voice and video calls because these features aren't available.

Same thing is true for WhatsApp for Windows Phones. While other operating systems got new features months ago, Windows Phones only got its about two weeks ago. The UI for this app has hardly changed for years, unlike Android and iOS versions. It's become boring and bland.

Twitter and Instagram have been the same for years. It's painful. They have the same ugly UI. Ugly because I am tired of them.

Most of the cool apps you'll find your friends using on their Android or iOS phones cannot be found on Windows Phones. And if they ever become available, it's month, or even years ahead. In other words you're forced to watch in agony as your friends enjoy cool new apps.

I also find the Windows Phone UI to be painfully boring. I thought it was fascinating and different at first, but as time passed, it got tiring. Yes, you have tiles that flip around and show you more information about a particular app. But really, that's all you get. Apart from changing the background photo for the Start menu and also changing the colors of the tiles and their arrangements, Windows Phone offers nothing more. Overtime, when you've gotten used to the process, you become bored. You cannot change the display fonts to something fancy or edgy. You don't have widgets. You cannot customize the look and feel as much as you'd like to. It becomes frustrating.

Action Center is dumb. You cannot access more than four quick settings. You can only check your notifications and maybe switch on and off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Location, Internet Sharing, Camera, Mobile Data and a couple of other settings. But you are only allowed to have four of these settings in your Action Center. Just four. You can't have all. That's sad.

Sending emails on Windows Phone is a chore. The email application doesn't offer much. You cannot edit the look of texts. You cannot decide to add an attachment to an email that isn't pictures. There's a maneuver, but that only shows how messed up the operating system is.

With Android and iOS. however, you can do all these and more. You have widgets and themes and customizable fonts. You have apps with complete features. You have much more to play around with. I consider Android and iOS to be fun operating systems.

Windows Phone has a very low market share and as a result, developers see no reason to build apps for it. Third party developers aren't even inspired by it.

The only thing I can commend Microsoft for is Cortana. But that won't remain their saving grace for long. You know why? Because they are going to make it available for Android. Yes. Very soon, Windows Phone will fall the way Blackberry did when it made its only saving grace, that is BBM, available to other operating systems. This has made people think Microsoft do not plan on releasing more phones in the future. They seem to want to stick to creating software and making them available to other operating systems instead. There are some apps made by Microsoft that can be found on other operating systems but cannot be found on Windows Phones. Sounds ridiculous, right?

If you just want a pretend smartphone that allows you to do basic things, then Windows Phone might be for you. But if you want much more, run away from it.

actuall yes boss

Craven:
.

i most confess to this

all this apps slow update is due to the fact that microsoft is not an open source


about action center ...... u see microsoft try to build something different from ios and andriod dats y u cant allow it to b d same.... u will notice in windowsphone u scroll horizontally y andriod vertically ... dose are what make it unique in its own way...kk wats d different btw iso nd andriod in icon arrangement notification etc ....dis is wat make windowsphone 8.1 unique nd behold all this are already resolve in win10 mobile ...

about market share am telling u with the adventure of win 10 mobile manufactures wont av choice than to follow Microsoft as well even techno is going into it both htc etc and am sure by the tym d likes of mtk go into windowsphone they make it cheap just as they hav done to andriod and am sure the market share will increase

u said something about the home design.... if u knw root yah phone can u use i front to change d front etc nd d rest nd all dis google open source of a thing dose not allow an average andriod phone to last that is d reason u see people complainin abt there andriod device eg i charge my phone fully it refuse to on again help etc u can check d andriod solution on nairaland and have a rethink


lastly and who told u windowsphone is not fun my brother i can unlock my windowsphone phone with app deployment nd du manythings install games nd apps thats not from d store etc



omg windowsphone av infact more third party ready to develop apps ..... u wanna here am running on windows10 mobile build 10166tp before i reverse back to 8.1 so that i wont miss the official update comming soon



[quote]

bro here is the action center in wp10 mobile











have u heard what microsoft company said about copying andriod pattern here is it bro
"
Microsoft’s CEO says: “We don’t want to build a copycat phone operating system”

In a new interview for ZDNet, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella has shared the company’s plans and ambitions for Windows 10 on all devices, including phones.

The interview is very long and interesting to read in its entirety. Here are the most interesting things about Windows Phone:

Nadella has been pretty clear that Microsoft doesn’t want to make just another phone, running another copycat operating system. He says:
“We have to be on the hunt for what’s the next bend in the curve to be relevant in the future. This applies for any company”

Continuum for Phones could be that innovation behind the curve. Nadella highlights Continuum as the feature that would clearly differentiate Windows Phones from just “another phone” running one of the popular platforms. That said, Microsoft is not going to compete with iOS or Android in the way it did before. The company has promised to focus on fewer phones, devices with unique capabilities, to increase productivity and mobility of work.

Continuum would give end users the possibility to have their PC right into the pocket and if they need to do some work to connect it to a bigger screen, attach a mouse and keyboard, and unleash a PC-like experience with all apps and Windows menus scaling up to the new screen.



Another important part of the interview is the future of Microsoft as a manufacturer of Windows Phones. Nadella says:
“If no OEM stands up to build Windows devices we’ll build them. There will be Lumia devices. So I’m not afraid of saying, okay, it’s all about the OEMs, or it’s all about the ecosystem. It’s about Windows.“ and “”If there are a lot of OEMs, we’ll have one strategy. If there are no OEMs, we’ll have one strategy. We are committed to having the phones in these three segments. And I think the operational details will become clear to people as they see it.”

The above cited sections put bullets in the heads of all journalists who recently claimed that Microsoft was abandoning the phones.

Finally, Microsoft’s CEO talks about its vision on how the app gap between Windows Phone and other platform will disappear. It’s all about universal apps which will be running on a broader range of devices:
“Universal Windows apps are going to be written because you want to have those apps used on the desktop. The reason why anybody would want to write universal apps is not because of our three percent share in phones. It’s because a billion consumers are going to have a Start Menu, which is going to have your app.”

You can find the link to the full interview below. if u want [url]http://winphonehub.org/?id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zdnet.com%2Farticle%2Fceo-nadella-talks-microsofts-mobile-ambitions-windows-10-strategy-hololens-and-more%2F[/url]


my brother am jealousy of win 10 mobile is d best hun ..



Could u imagine using pc apps on yah phone. Bro dat alone is enough fact 4 u 2 fry yah andriod ooooo

All that noise about WindowsPhones being able to run PC apps doesn't move me but who knows. I find the Windows Phone interface simply unattractive. Windows mobile had a conventional look but they decided they wanted something different with WindowsPhone 7 & 8.

Who told me Windows Phone isn't fun? I told myself Windows Phone isn't fun. Because I have used it long enough to know that. I find it boring. "I". I didn't speak for you, I spoke for myself. I gave my review based on my own experiences.

And I'll be honest with you, whatever point you were trying to make, I didn't quite get it. Your topic said Windows Phone 8.1 vs Android Lollipop 5.0. Why are you then bringing Windows 10 into the conversation? I compared the two operating systems you listed based on my experiences. I should also add, I find these pictures to be boring. There isn't much difference. Other than the slight difference in the Action Centre and the new on/off buttons, it looks pretty much the same to me.

With reference to Microsoft making Windows Phone a 'copycat OS', what's the point? You say they are trying to be unique, but here they are stating they are trying to be a 'copycat OS'. Funny.

And in case you had no idea, HTC has been making Windows Phones for a long while now. They are not just 'going into it'. You didn't know because they aren't as popular as HTC android phones. 95% of all Windows Phones are Lumia devices. The rest are other brands. That is enough to tell you all the other brands do not have much faith in the OS, otherwise they'd be taking a huge percentage. The only reason Lumia has a wide share is because Microsoft acquired Nokia.

And don't you think rooting your device before you are able to enjoy it says a lot about how little the device has to offer in its original state? You shouldn't have to tamper with your device before you are able to take advantage of its potentials. That is Windows Phone's problem.

You know what I think? The Windows 10 update is just an effort to try to resurrect their dead market share. It might work, it might not. Really, I hardly care. I am more fascinated by Android and iOS.

Have been an andriod and ios user for long,just got My Ist lumnia device few months ago,and i must confess from the ui,to it applications i love it.... Even if the lumnia i got is not a high end device i must confess i love every thing about it,including it cortana though i made use of apple siri when using my iphone5... But still on still thumbs up to lumnia phones(microsoft lumnia 535)....
And believe me when i say i think i will be in the lumnia line atleast for now...looking forward to an upgrade to a higher lumnia device By GOD GRACE