Poll 004 Results: What OS is on your primary mobile phone?

[jmcilhinney]

The poll is on microsoft-centric forums, so WP being higher than expected isn't surprising. I use a Windows Phone (just bumped it up to 8.1). I like the phone and WP. The issue I run into is missing apps. That's my only legitimate complaint. I prefer the OS over Android; however, missing key apps not enough to override the better OS.

I decided to get a Windows Phone because I wanted to make the most of my existing development skills with Microsoft technologies. I would imagine that there would be a fair number of folks on this site in the same boat. I have never used an iPhone in anger but I have used an Android phone for a while. I was not a big fan, although I will admit that I didn't really use it long enough to get properly acquainted with it. I took to Windows Phone straight off, although I had already been using Windows 8/8.1 on a desktop and a touchscreen for a while and was already au fait with the tiled UI.

What surprised me about the poll was how high Android was, especially relative ti iOS.

I'm not surprised. It's my understanding that Android's worldwide market share is above 70% while iOS has about 13%. It actually looks like that survey is skewed towards iOS in a head-to-head with Android. It really just looks like 10% share was taken off Android and plonked onto Windows Phone.

From what I've seen and experienced, I think that Windows Phone is a superior OS to iOS or Android in principle, although it has been missing some features that the others have. You'd expect that though, because it arrived on the scene much later. Microsoft has caught up quite quickly though. Windows Phone 8.1 basically puts it on par with iOS and Android, with each having basically the same major features and a few little tricks of their own. The test for Microsoft now that they have caught up will be to add more innovative features of their own that people will then say that iOS and Android lack. I think that they've done everything they can up to now to boost adoption and app development.