It’s hard to justify the lack of a mobile computing device these days. Not just from a work perspective, but culturally, in my experience at least, we’ve come to expect a certain amount of connectivity from our peers. Maybe you need your first mobile device. Maybe you’re looking to upgrade. Once you figure out the physical aspects (storage, processor, etc) if you still don’t have your heart set on anything, maybe I can give you some things to consider. I’ll mostly be discussing Windows 10 Mobile, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. These being the most common at the moment and having access to the largest developer support, the use cases for other mobile device operating systems to be the better option are slim, suggesting maybe your choice of device is pretty much locked in.
Windows Mobile 10
Actually the 4th generation of Windows Phone, the successor to Windows Mobile, which stretches back to 2000, WM10 is named so to help connect it to it’s contemporary desktop OS. It had a much smaller market share and relatively small amount of devices on which to run.But if you were looking for a device to fit into your Windows ecosystem, nothing else could scratch that itch quite so effectively as this. Ask Apple users how important it is that a device feels familiar. They’ll tell you.
Form Factor Options
Windows 10 Mobile came on phones and tablets. Though Microsoft did release first-party offerings, there weren’t many, though I found them to be second only to Apple and Samsung flagship products in build quality. With third-party offerings available, the price of entry for Windows 10 Mobile could range from almost as high as Apple to almost cheap as any mid-range Android device.
Programs
Interestingly, feeding into the entire point of Windows Mobile by the time of WM10, there was a lot of work put into making programming tools to make it easier to port software between Windows 10, Windows Mobile 10, and X-Box. With Microsoft Store as your primary way to get software, it was thought that eventually, with the tools that Microsoft was developing, along with Windows Bridge for Android and Windows Bridge for iOS, your WM10 device could run almost anything you could ever want.
Security
With the might of Microsoft behind it, Windows has always had the whole world out to exploit it, but always a great track record for it’s reaction time to deal with such things and WM10 certainly would have benefited from that in the long run. More recent security concepts wouldn’t reach it, but in it’s time, I really didn’t hear a lot of negativity on the subject of security specifically about WM10 phones.
So What’s The Downside?
You may have noticed that I keep talking about Windows Mobile 10 in the past tense. This was not an accident. Support for this operating system ended in 2020, on the 14th of January. Microsoft had already given up on Windows Bridge for Android and much of the promise of WM10 would never be fulfilled. If you are going to get a WM10 device, you probably aren’t getting it in a store with any sort of warranty. That may or may not influence your decision, but I would suggest you look for a device with a better support ecosystem unless your interests for the device are more historical or centered around collecting.
iOS
Going chronologically, iOS is the second oldest, with the iOS App Store opening July of 2008. Technically, iOS refers exclusively to the operating system of the iPhone series, but is closely enough related to the iPadOS as to make the distinction useless for my purposes in this post. In any case, iOS is the originator for much of what we take for granted in cell phone and tablet design.
Form Factor Options
With the 2017 discontinuation of the iPod, you’ll only be considering a device that uses iOS if you are in the market for a smartphone or a tablet computer. Apple has long had a reputation for building high-quality devices and charging a premium for them, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.
Programs
With few exceptions, you will be restricted to what apps you can find on the App Store. I imagine that this isn’t that big of a deal anymore with the massive amount of programs on the App Store, but it will get pretty tricky if you need something that isn’t already there.
Security
Though iOS has had it’s scandals from time to time, Apple has been very aggressive on security. Even having access to the physical device does not get one appreciably closer to the data on the device. Modern iPhones even have co-processors and encrypted, reserved memory to prevent any authentication information from being accessible to the rest of the phone.
So What’s The Downside?
Price is a big one. Apple seems to consider itself the gold standard for the market segments of the products it sells, and your wallet will know it. The App Store has been described to me as a “walled-garden”. Beautiful, but inescapable under normal circumstances. If your software needs are niche, and you can’t find an app that is to your liking, it is unlikely that relief is on it’s way. You might ask yourself why it is that I spend so much time mentioning the hardware? Because they are inseparable. You can’t get a non-Apple device that runs iOS and you can’t get an Apple device that runs anything other operating system.
Android
Debuting a few months after iOS, Android is the market leader in smartphones. It’s so ubiquitous that one might find oneself assuming that another person has an Android phone before being surprised that they have something else. The Play Store is massive, the software solutions seemingly infinite. It’s Linux-based and by now does most anything you might expect a device of it’s type to do.
Form Factor Options
Hoo boy. Apple has phones and tablets. Because Android isn’t locked to a specific manufacturer’s output, the sky is the limit. Smart TV’s, smartwatches, and automotive entertainment systems can be found that run Android. Android has powered video game consoles and home appliances. I mean, it also has phones and tablets, but it’s everywhere. In fact, though obscure, there are even laptops and some projects devoted to bringing Android to desktops.
Programs
The Google Play store is how most users get programs onto their Android devices, but I’d hazard a guess that the offerings on the store, massive as they are, probably make up half or less of the available options for a determined user. With much less oversight as to what you can install and from where, you should be able to find multiple variations of whatever you want. Eventually, the major problems become whether you have the storage to hold all the programs or the willpower to downsize by uninstalling the programs you don’t use because it takes the better part of a minute to scroll past them all.
Security
Android has multiple options for malware removal and security, and over the years, more hardware considerations have been pursued to secure devices that run it. In recent years, it seems a huge push is moving toward multi-factor authentication.
So What’s The Downside?
With this much market share, the king has countless contenders for the crown. Whatever issues another mobile OS has, Android’s issues will be sought and exploited mercilessly. While most users will hardly ever have to deal with it, many exploits that can force an Android to run unsigned code have been used and patched and reiterated on over the years. You have almost limitless options for form factor, software, and indeed, price-point, but in exchange, it’s much more up to you to be diligent. Fortunately, the same practices that keep you safe on your desktop directly assist you here.
ChromeOS
ChromeOS arrives on the scene several years after Windows Phone, the new kid on the block has had time to learn from the mistakes of it’s forbears. Another Linux-based OS, ChromeOS is slowly working on a sea change that may change the landscape of computing. First though, it might have to overcome it’s early reputation as the OS of low-powered laptops.
Form Factor Options
ChromeBooks, -boxes, -bits, and -bases are your major options here, so far as commercial availability, Chromebooks are your laptops, Chromeboxes are tiny, small-form-factor desktops, Chromebits are your even smaller computers designed to plug into a monitor and tv, though one could be fooled into thinking they were designed to get lost in your couch cushions. Chromebases are All-In-One computers (think iMacs). If you want to get a headstart on familiarizing yourself with ChromeOS and have a spare PC around, Google has ChromeOS FLEX, designed for such a purpose.
Programs
Though it’s initial pitch was very similar to iPhoneOS, to be a very light OS that mainly ran web-based software, developers for ChromeOS have the option to make packages that approximate regular apps in their form and function. Though the Google Play Store is your marketplace, you aren’t walled in, Over the years, ChromeOS has expanded to allow most Android and even a large amount of Linux programs to run. ChromeOS can even run Steam in much the same manner as the SteamDeck.
Security
With a Trusted Platform Module, the many biometric options with which to log in, multi-factor
authentication, and default full disk encryption, ChromeOS might not be the most secure OS for your mobile device, but it’s close, and poised to overcome it’s competition.
So What’s The Downside?
ChromeOS is a victim of it’s cautious beginnings. Where Windows Phone, iPhoneOS and Android came out to great fanfare, my recollection was that many didn’t see a need for ChromeBooks when they first came out. I certainly didn’t . It takes time and impressive features to overcome something like that, and ChromeOS doesn’t have impressive features that you can see without using one. It’s impressively lightweight, based on Gentoo Linux, and can run Steam, and no one would know it unless they tried it. ChromeOS also might not have time. There are rumors that Google might be merging ChromeOS into Android.
The Service Side
As a technical support person, what does all this mean to you? It seems that inter-connectivity is a very valuable and widespread goal of developers. Many users consider the ability to transfer files and works between devices when selecting devices. You will likely need to at least be able to direct users on how to connect to networks and change basic system settings. Different operating systems have different vulnerabilities and exploits that one must keep track of and account for. One must always be aware of indirect threats. As an example, an attacker could use an exploit unique to a user’s lost phone to access that phone, then use that phone to access company information in an otherwise legitimate manner. Developers may need to create and test different variants of the same program in order to fill the needs of users. Depending on what your field and work circumstances are, you will need to deal with mobile devices and their capabilities in a different way.
Comments