Android Ice Cream Sandwich versus iOS 5: Killer features

What I'm about to attempt--comparing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Apple iOS 5--is a little like tiptoeing through a minefield. Most of you won't be happy and somebody could get hurt.

Yet, this comparison must be done. For one thing, Google and Apple have both recently unveiled huge changes that respectively make their mobile operating systems far more powerful, and in some ways more similar to each other. For another thing, weighing the pros and cons of each platform against the other is a scenario that's played out daily among many people who are deciding which phone to buy.

Just a few parameters before diving in. First, I'm overwhelmingly looking at software, not hardware, but I'll point out where hardware does factor in. iOS 5 runs on multiple devices, but is the most powerful right now on the iPhone 4S. Ditto Ice Cream Sandwich. The unreleased Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the one phone that can currently show off the OS update's full spectrum of features, since it was purpose-built to be compatible with them all. That will change for both operating systems as additional future devices are built with the hardware to support the new software.

Second, I'm not just talking about new additions, but trying to look at the OS in its entirety.

Third, I'm looking at what each OS can do natively. Yes, there are scores of third-party apps you can download to do just about anything to satisfy something that one OS lacks that another has, but what we're looking at here is what Apple and Google have decided to bestow, not clever external developers. And I'm not talking about anything you can achieve only by jailbreaking or rooting. Official, but optional apps created by Apple and Google are OK--like Find My Friends and Google Voice.

Third, I'm throwing in two "fun" features for each (these will be the last two). I wouldn't recommend buying an iOS 5 or Ice Cream Sandwich device solely because of them, but they're pleasantly show-offy conversation pieces unique to each platform.

Got all that? Let's go.

Want to unlock that phone? Smile.

(Credit: Google)

You can still use third-party apps to edit; but you won't need to.(Credit: Google)

ICE CREAM SANDWICH

---

Bold, powerful UI

For those who already use it, there's nothing hard about Android. Yeah, you have to know that sometimes you need to access the menu or long press for more options, and there are some extras you can get by swiping in certain places on the screen. But no other major OS can top Android's flexibility in terms of customizing the multiple home screens with stills or moving animations; widgets galore; and apps, apps, and more apps. Ice Cream Sandwich ups the ante by making widgets resizable, too.

And iOS 5?: Apple takes the opposite philosophy and opts for simplicity. There's customization in arranging apps the way you want them and in choosing which items you want in your notifications pull-down and how you take your notifications in general.

Turn-by-turn voice navigation

For many people, this is the platform's ace-in-the-hole. Broken out from maps, Google's turn-by-turn voice navigation for driving directions can effectively replace your in-car dash or GPS navigator--and possibly save you hundreds of dollars.

And iOS 5?: Integrated Google maps are great, but there's no voice readout.

Google services

After logging in with your Google account, the instant account-based access you get to Gmail, Google Maps, the contacts, the calendar, Latitude, and chat are great. I personally rely on Google Voice as well.

And iOS 5?: Gmail is integrated into iOS, you can sync the calendar as well, and Google maps are a de-facto part of the OS (minus voice navigation.) You can download Google apps from the App Store, too. The Google Voice app has a better layout for iOS, in my daily experience, but it's also slower and much less stable.

Camera tools

Ice Cream Sandwich brings on a whole lot of new photo tools, the most significant of which are the photo-editing tools in the image gallery. They include red-eye reduction, straightening, and "hipster filters," whatever those are. The camera app itself adds a useful panorama mode that seamlessly creates a landscape still.

And iOS 5?: Here's one of those places where it's hard to separate the software from the hardware because iOS 5 has great software image rendering, but photo quality also requires the image sensor and camera lens. The app itself lets you switch between the camera and camcorder modes, and between the front and rear cameras. You can adjust the flash level and turn on a grid or HDR mode, but that's about it. In the camera roll, you can create a slideshow, plus crop, rotate, remove red-eye, and auto-enhance, but from the looks of it Ice Cream Sandwich will have more features. We'll know more about those and their quality soon.

NFC

This won't appeal to everyone right now, but NFC (near-field communications) is becoming a big deal in mobile. If you have an NFC-compatible phone (this is where hardware comes in), you'll be able to use the on-board Google Wallet software right away to pay for purchases by tapping or waving your phone near a compatible terminal (MasterCard users can get going.)

Yes, there are still a lot of requirements, and Android isn't the only NFC-capable OS (Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian already support it). But Google's partnerships and software put it in a good position to be immediately useful as the technology ramps up in the U.S.

And iOS 5?: No NFC for iOS 5 yet; it's one of the features we were collectively hoping to see in the update.

Openness
The benefit Android's openness to other manufacturers' custom interface designs is debatable depending on which side of the conversation you're on, but it gives cell phone-makers and carriers the opportunity to offer new features and visual experiences that are variations on the Android theme.

Some people prefer stock Android, just as Google designed it. Others appreciate accessing tools and information in ways that Google didn't envision. The company has clearly borrowed some innovations from these custom UIs, like bring able to open a specific app in conjunction with unlocking the phone (rather than unlcoking to the hom page, then opening your app.)

And iOS 5?: iOS is a famously closed ecosystem, and whether you love it or hate it is a matter of personal opinion. There's also something to be said for uniformity in terms of your expectations of how a phone will behave, and in offering consistent customer support.

Facial unlocking
Android Beam is fun too, but I think facial unlocking is even more novel, fun, and interactive because it (optionally) uses the front-facing camera to recognize your features and let your into your phone. So smile! It's also wholly unnecessary, but a harmless party trick.

And iOS 5?: It'll be the boring power-swipe combo for iPhone, every time.

Android Beam
Right now the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be the only compatible device, but put two of them together and they can transfer content like contact information, maps, and details of running apps (the app you've got open will trigger your friend's phone to open the product page for that app in the Android Market.

And iOS 5?: The closest you can get is a third-party app, but this isn't native.