Android versus iPhone: Winner Takes Most

That's right, my belief was that the Android platform would beat out the iPhone OS way back when and that time is coming just around the corner.  Google announced some major improvements at the Google I/O conference that really turns their flagship mobile product into the best mobile platform out there.  Let's take a look at four reasons the little green alien will kick ass:

• The faster and more powerful browser - While Google already had a pretty decent browser built into the Android OS, it was still the younger, more awkward version of the iPhone's browser.  Actions while browsing the web on an Apple device were simply smoother and faster to load.  Android had no problem with this before as they allowed any browser to come in and fix the problem (and people did - Dolphin, Sky Fire, Mozilla, etc) but now they're taking the lead and rolling out a browser that's not only faster, but sexy and simple to boot.
• New APIs - I know this seems a bit technical but it's not that complicated.  The Android OS is fairly open (there are still some hooks that are unavailable to the normal developer) and this means one thing for end users.  More amazing applications that continue to rock your world.  Sure the iPhone has some snazzy games but the latest Android release opens up tethering, more security features (for the enterprise) and an unlimited amount of space for applications (now that they can be saved to the expandable and removable SD card).
• Oh yeah, that little thing named Flash - While Apple continues to believe that just because they don't support it up on their platform the rest of the world will roll over and simply replace all of their Flash developed apps and sites, Google is embracing the fact that there are numerous technologies out there.  With this latest release, Flash will be supported directly in the OS (because of their open platform, Sky Fire already does this on Android).  This doesn't meant that Google isn't looking forward.  Their browser supports HTML5 and all of the other great web standards but they've given users the choice to log on to their everyday sites.  This is a big deal for more people (and their grandmothers).
• Multitasking - Need I say more?  The ability for me to run multiple applications at the same time is important to my productivity.  If Apple wants me to replace some of my everyday hardware with theirs, they have another thing coming.  I, along with the rest of the world, work on more than one thing at a time.  I hope Apple gets with the program but for now, this is a major reason to stick with Android in my book. 

I'm not saying that the iPhone (or other Apple products) will be obsolete any time soon but I do believe that over the next 12-18 months people will realize that Google's product is pretty amazing and will eventually win the mobile war if Apple doesn't choose to open up and smell the web (the open web that is).  People need choice, it's part of what makes us human.

Some of my favorite Android apps, revisited.

It's been a while since I've done a top 5 or top anything list so I wanted to share some of my favorite Android apps since I've fallen in love with my Nexus One (second only to my wonderful wife).

Seesmic - The #1 Twitter client for Android.  Not only is it fast, simple to use and has great alerting capabilities but it's also free and has one of the most intuitive user interfaces of any of my currently installed apps.

NYC Bus & Subway - As most of you know, I've moved to New York City and this has been a literal life saver since I've gotten here.  This along with Google Maps (which is not included in this list as it's pre-installed on the device) has helped me to find my way home.  It's been the guiding beacon of hope on those cold, dark nights wandering around The Big Apple.

TouchDown - As a corporate mail user (who's unfortunately still on Exchange), this makes my life ten times easier!  It gets push email via ActiveSync and syncs contacts, calendars and tasks from my corporate account.  It does all of this while keeping it's grubby Exchange mitts off of my awesome Google services.

Listen - Google Listen is one of those apps that I can't believe I never wanted before but now know that I can't live without.  It was love at first listen (pun totally intended) when it pulled down a Car Talk episode, cached it and let me listen to the whole thing on the train ride from the office home.  Not only does it let you pull down podcasts but it lets you pull down all podcasts that match specific search terms as well.

PdaNet - While travelling is a large part of my job, it's nice to know that not only can I get online with my phone but a quick connection to my laptop (via USB) and my laptop gets some interweb juice as well.  Just remember, the only thing worse than needing to work while at the airport is needing to work while at the airport and paying for it.

Of course these aren't the only apps that make my life easier but I wanted to share with you some of the great apps that are available to almost every Android user.  Oh yeah, being able to run all of these at once (with background tasks) is a nice plus as well...  So take that iPhone users.