Credit: Computerworld
It was supposed to be a genteel discussion, a dispassionate side-by-side comparison of Apple's iOS and Google's Android: How they stack up on security, OS updates, App stores, customization and innovation.
And mainly, it was just that, as Computerworld's Android blogger JR Raphael and Apple expert Michael deAgonia both explained which side of the mobile OS fence they're on and why. (Playing the role of referee: Computerworld Executive Editor Ken Mingis.)
But, hey, these guys aren't really dispassionate about their technology choices, and so before anyone knew it, DeAgonia was slamming Android on security, Raphael was asking whether anyone really thinks Siri is all that, and in a flash the debate was on.
The two agreed that Android has a fragmentation issue – thanks to slow-moving carriers who rarely push out Android updates in a timely manner. And they agreed Apple is much more locked down as an OS, making it appealing to enterprise IT but confining for users who want more in the way of UI tweaks.
And it was something of a draw when it comes to the broader issue of who innovates more. (DeAgonia's decision to start his talking points here with early Macs was ruled out of bounds by Mingis, who noted that Google can hardly be faulted for things that happened before it was even a company.)
Amid the back-and-forth emerged a lot of details about what makes both iOS and Android special in their own ways.
Programming note: Check out the big-screen image behind Raphael – courtesy of the pro-Android video team, basically calling out DeAgonia and Mingis as Apple sheep.
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