Should you choose a Windows Phone or an Android smartphone?
Android or Windows Phone: what's great about Android
As the most popular mobile OS on the planet, Android offers an unprecedented range of handsets at a variety of price points. There's an Android to suit every wallet.As a consequence support for Android from software developers and media owners is second only to one: iOS. You can find every app you could possibly desire in Google Play, and you can purchase music and movies from a variety of sources.
Android offers a level of customisation to both end user and hardware manufacturer. Not all Androids are the same, far from it. But the sheer popularity of Android devices means that there are lots of compatible third-party devices and accessories for Android.
Most importantly, after all this time the Android experience is now good. Like all major mobile OSes Android is good-looking and intuitive, at least in the more recent flavours.
Android or Windows Phone: what's bad about Android
That sheer variety of handsets is not always a good thing. You can find a product at every price, but you may not wish to purchase and use the cheapest Android phones, and you are not guaranteed value at a higher price. The range of phones from different manufacturers also means that accessories and cases may not be compatible.
And it's not just hardware. Because Android is open hardware makers aren't forced - or even incentive's - to keep their handsets up to date with the latest version. As a consequence phones are available with a bewildering variety of operating systems on them. Throw in the fact that manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC write their own versions of Android to give their handsets a unique flavour.
This leads to a variety of quality of experience - Android is far from a curated end-to-end experience. It means not all apps work on all phones, far from it. And not all Android phones even offer access to Google Play.
Not that this is always a bad thing. Some Android apps are terrible. And the choice of media outlets can be confusing. Choice and variety aren't always to be desired, and hardware makers will often push you in the direction of their own media- and apps stores. They may not have your best interests at heart.
And even if you are an experienced Android user, you may not have used the version of Android you are getting. There is no unified experience. Finally, there is a perceived security risk with Android. Access to Google Play is relatively unfettered for Android developers, so you can't always be sure that the app you are downloading is legitimate.
