Microsoft or Android or Apple?

This is really a start to a discussion rather than an article, but I thought it was useful to put down my thoughts and musings on this subject.

Microsoft or Android or Apple?

I get asked this a lot, and there isn’t a definitive answer but here are my thoughts.

If you have an Apple Mac PC, then I always think it makes sense to have an iPhone and iPad. These devices work together, they work the same and everything syncs so you know where everything is. Apple devices have been doing this for several years and, not that I’m an expert here, I understand it works well.

This is now possible with Windows 10. So, for example, I have a Windows 10 desktop, tablet and mobile phone. They all look and work the same, everything syncs so I can find what I want on any device.

However, there is also the Android operating system which is available on smart phones and tablets, this is provided by Google. Amazon Fires use a version of Android. Samsung phones currently use a version of Android too, but there is talk that Samsung are going to develop their own operating system for their phones.

(By the way, an operating system (OS) is the software that runs a device and the user interface is what we see and how we use that operating system.)

I know lots of friends/family who have, for example, a Windows desktop or laptop, an Android phone and an iPad, or different combinations. There is no problem with this, they all work together. But, of course, you end up with 3 different operating systems with another user interface to learn, 3 different accounts, possibly 3 email addresses you can use, and 3 areas of cloud storage. For some this is not a problem. However, the common complaint I get is “I can never find anything. I don’t know where I stored it” and so on. Also, if not set up properly, email does not sync between devices so email can be a struggle to control. So there is a definite benefit to sticking with one operating system.

(Also to answer another common question – iCloud is the cloud storage provided by Apple, OneDrive is the cloud storage provided by Microsoft, then there is Google Drive, Amazon Drive, Dropbox and many more. If you have an account with any of these companies you will have a certain amount of storage for free. However, you need to be sure you know which storage you are using so you can find your files/music/photos again. I would choose one and stick with it. If you are an Apple girl stick with iCloud, if you are a Microsoft girl stick with OneDrive and so on.)

At the end of the day there is no wrong or right answer to the original question – Microsoft or Apple or Android? Don’t believe anyone who says that one thing is fantastic, the best and the other is rubbish. This is never the case. Microsoft, Android and Apple all have their advantages and disadvantages and you have to choose what works for you.

If anyone has any thoughts of their own on this I would love to hear it.