iPhone? Android? Windows?

Its almost to the point now where everybody, their mother, AND their mother's six year old child has a smart phone. And the question commonly comes up: What is the best kind of phone to get? And, luckily for all you avid followers of my work, I have the answer for you: it depends :)

The type of phone you should buy depends on so many things. It used to be, if you wanted a touch screen smart phone, you got an iPhone, and thats just not the case anymore. There are so many more good options out there. Some people disgree with that last statement, but its the truth. Some of the most popular are Apple, Samsung, and Nokia, but these are just a few. In recent years, companies like LG, HTC, Motorola, Asus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Sony, and others are really starting to make a name for themselves. But more importantly than brand, is operating system.

Apple has created it's own operating system called iOs. It consists of a minimalistic, flat design of app icons on the homescreen. This can make it very simple to find what you are looking for, but not always the most efficient.

The next largest operating system would be Android. Android was created by Google and is considered an "open" operating system. Basically, this means that you have a lot more freedom, as a user and a phone manufacturer, to tweak the device to your liking. This means that even though a Samsung home screen and an LG homescreen look very different, they both are running on Android. Contrary to that, all iPhone home screens will look similar to one another.

The third largest, and up and coming, operating system is Windows Mobile. Windows is behind in the phone game by a pretty fair amount, but they are showing promise. They use a system called "live tiles" on their home screen, which shows live updates in small boxes for things like your social networking apps. Probably one of their biggest draws is the design of their devices. Nokia is the most popular manufacturer for Windows Mobile and they are coming out with some seriously cool and interesting devices. Many Android operation OEMs and Apple seem to have VERY similar looking devices. But when you see a bright lime green phone with a huge camera lens sticking out the back, it grabs your attention, and it's probably a device running windows.

So the question still remains...Which phone should I get? Here are my suggestions:

If you want a phone that is simple, works smoothly almost all the time, has a great camera, provides excellent customer support, and has a plethora of accessories, an iPhone is for you. The down side would be that you are constrained to what Apple allows you to do with your device. You have VERY little options for tweaking, changing, or(some may say) personalizing your device.

If you get bored quickly and constantly are looking for change or you are just not looking for a "me too" phone, Android is where you want to be. Android allows for much more freedom in use of your phone and so many options to choose from when buying. In 2014 Samsung, alone, put out over 50 different phones, and Apple put out 2. Another perk of an open OS is that you can download and install ringtones and text tones for free. There are many more compatible formats for music and movies, allowing you to watch movies that you have not purchased in the Google Play store on your device. One of my favorite things about Android is being able to pick default apps to use. If you have an Apple device and want to email or text, by default you will have to use their messaging or email app. With Android you can pick from many different email or messaging apps that you might like better than the stock versions. The downside to Android phones are that they all tend to be plain black slabs with a screen (with a few exceptions) and that you have to be able to deal with intermittent freezing, rebooting, and other software issues, but that is the price of an open operating system. But the tweakabilty is endless. 

If you are looking for a sleek, uniquely designed phone with an operating system that works seamlessly with your windows computer, grab a Windows phone. But, you must also consider that Windows is playing catch up and they do not have near the amount of apps or buying options that either Apple or Android would have. 

Well, I do hope that this has been helpful if you are looking to purchase a phone. Obviously I did not cover all aspects of all the phone types, but I tried to give out the most important information. I personally enjoy aspects of both Android and Apple iOS and it would be impossible for me to pick the one I like best. Thanks again for taking the time to read this. 

Be safe, be courteous. 

Ryan