IPhone

• iPhone and iPodImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of herval
  
  Apple's iPhone is in a class of mobile phone technology called the Smartphone. On January 9, 2007, Apple calmed all the rumor mills with the first announcement of the impending iPhone. IPhone released on June 29, 2007, first in the US and worldwide a month later. The follow-up to the iPhone, the iPhone 3G came out July 11, 2008 and almost a year later, the iPhone3GS in July and August 2009 worldwide.
  
  

Features

• AppleImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Stephen
  
  The iPhone has iPhone OS 3.0, based on the famous Mac OS X Darwin Foundation OS. IPhone 3G and 3GS have much faster data speeds, better Internet connectivity and can "share" the connection almost anywhere. As of September 2009, the iPhone "App Store" reportedly has over 85,000 applications that are down-loadable, free or for a price. The 3GS has better VGA video, and can be edited and shared inside the phone itself, and has the Cut, Copy & Paste feature, unlike other phones.
  
  

Considerations

• App storeImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Simon Strandgaard
  
  The inability to run more than one application at a time is a problem. There is also much criticism because iPhone owners must use AT&T's service, and in the recent past, service has been choppy at best, with no way to switch providers. Full use of the iPhone features requires the purchase the iTunes package, and J.D. Power & Associates gave the iPhone a rating of two stars for having such a short battery life.
  
  

Microsoft

• Windows Mobile phoneImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of tomsun
  
  Microsoft's Windows Mobile Smartphone operating system, based on Windows CE and released originally as the Pocket PC operating system, first released as Windows Mobile, took place on June 23, 2003. It released with four editions, two for the Pocket PC, one for the Smartphone and one for the Pocket PC Phone Edition, based on Windows CE 4.20. Since then there are updates, including the most recent, Windows Mobile 6.5. The newest release comes with a sister release of an "app store" called the "Windows Mobile Marketplace."
  
  

Features

• Microsoft errorsImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Steve Jurvetson
  
  Windows Mobile OS has the power and ability of the Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. Their latest release, Windows Mobile 6.5 comes equipped with the new Internet Explorer Browser for Mobile called "IE6 On 6." Some Windows Mobile phones have 3G capabilities, allowing for faster download speeds and data transfers. The 6.5 version also includes "The Cloud," which allows for backing-up of data via cross-platform computing. If you ever lose your phone, as long as you have backed up your data, you will always have access to it.
  
  

Considerations

• Mobile phoneImage by Flickr.com, courtesy of Lindsey T
  
  The Windows Marketplace for Mobile does not have many applications available. The ones available must use the same language as the country to have access to them. For example, there are only two applications available to Windows Mobile users in Finland. Most Windows Mobile phones include the Microsoft ActiveSync feature. According to WebProNews.com, it is a dud and "fails 10 out of 10 times."