Today’s market is getting pretty crowded with superphones. There are currently four major players in the smartphone market (although Windows Mobile is pretty much dead until 7 comes out), and let’s face it, Palm is the smallest of the bunch. Here at webOSroundup, we believe that this is simply because most people don’t know the advantages of webOS and its associated devices. So to fix this, today we are beginning a series that outlines the advantages of webOS when compared to the other devices and platforms that are out there.

The series will be covering the gamut…webOS vs Android, webOS vs. iPhone OS, Pre vs. the Android’s Flagships, and finally Pre vs. the “Jesus” phone itself, the iPhone.

Today we will focus on the differences between webOS and Android as a platform.

If you are a superphone guru, you can skip past this little section, but for those of you who are new to the smart phone world, here is some history and details about the two platforms.

Basic Training

Android is the operating system (OS) that Google bought from a little company called Android Inc. in 2005. They changed it to an open source platform and the first official release came out all the way back in October of 2008.

Android Facts

• The source code is written in Java.
• It is based on Linux
• It has a WebKit based browser (just like webOS and the iPhone).
• It supports multi-touch, but a lot of its devices do not allow it (which we will talk about more in a future article).
• It is open source. This means that aside from the official releases, developers and companies can expand and add new features on their own.
• Supports limited multitasking
• Currently has a fleet of developers and has approximately 20,000 applications on its marketplace.
• Heavily supported by Google, which gives great integration to their products and exclusive apps like Google Goggles

Conversely we have webOS by Palm. WebOS was originally introduced to the world at CES 2009 (along with the Palm Pre). It is a proprietary platform that is completely controlled by Palm. The purpose of the OS was to have a framework for mobile devices that was heavily reliant on the Cloud. Its SDK (Software Development Kit) is called Mojo and was released in beta form shortly after the release of the Pre in the summer of 2009. The official release came at CES 2010.

WebOS Facts:

• Most applications are written in HTML and Javascript, but there is also a PDK (Plugin Development Kit) for developers wanting to go straight at the Linux kernel for access to the GPU (see our video of Asphalt 5 to see the results of that)
• Natively supports multi-touch
• Card system makes multitasking a breeze
• It is proprietary, which means no one can extend the OS except for Palm
• Very developer friendly (including a web based development environment called Ares, and a $1 million contest). Currently around 1,200 apps are available on the Catalog.
• Synergy brings all of your contacts from around the web together in a (relatively) easy to use format.

So now you know the basics, why is webOS better? Glad you asked.

Android Based Refrigerators

The main point of contention is the dispersal of Android and the many, many flavors of the OS. Now, generally speaking, open source is a great thing, and I  have been personally a big supporter of it. However, in the world of phones and gadgets, open source opens things up in such a way that it can hurt the quality of the platform.

Case in point. Right now there is a plethora of devices running and about to be running on Android. Everything from phones, to video conference devices, to tablets, to refrigerators all have one form of Android or another. To complicate matters, each device manufacturer puts their own spin on the OS. Heck even the hardware is different from device to device. Multi-touch support (only some Android phones support it)? Physical keyboard? What about a trackball?

Now why does this matter? Apps…in the end it is all about the apps. Right now Android has over 10x the number of apps in its marketplace, but over the coming years this will certainly not be true. As the number of Android devices grow developers are going to have to take into account how their apps look on all those devices. This isn’t just a difference in pixels. If you have an Android based 10 inch tablet, it is a completely different user experience than with a 3 inch phone. Even if you just limit things to the phones, do you build in trackball support? Multi-touch? Realistically, you have to support all of them which bloats the development budget. With Android out in the wild, there is no control over how the platform will be used which can cause a lot of headache for developers.

WebOS, on the other hand, is a strictly controlled environment. Palm can control what devices use webOS and choose platforms that will best work with the OS (i.e. no webOS toasters). As a developer this makes a big difference because you don’t have to develop five different versions for different user experiences.

Which version am I on?

So lets say you just purchased a killer new phone…the HTC Hero. It has all sorts of amazing features that you just love. Three weeks later a new phone called the DROID comes out. “No problem,” you think, “It is an Android phone too. My phone is just as cool.” Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Why? Because the DROID has a new version of Android that comes with some of the best navigation software on the market. Your phone is now obsolete even though you have the same OS. The reason for this is that, like Windows Mobile, when a device manufacturer selects a version of Android, they don’t ever have to upgrade it.  Now, lucky for you Hero owners out there, HTC has committed to upgrading the phones to the newer version of Android sometime this year…6 months or so after it has been released.

With webOS, the upgrades are automatic. When version 1.4 comes out you don’t have to be sad that your phone doesn’t get the awesome new video recording features because you get it automatically without doing a thing. Come on…how cool is that?

From a developers perspective (yup…still all about the apps) the different features that are available with the various version really affects what your app can do. Do you create your app for the lowest common denominator but lose out on some sweet features? Or do you target the latest and greatest but lose 50% of your target audience.

This post from Android.com shows what I am talking about.