Until the emergence of smartphones, Microsoft was considered as the global leader in the mobile operating system market. With its wide range of Windows palm gadgets and pocket PCs, Microsoft was increasingly adopted by mobile device manufacturers residing in different corners of the world. Later came Android in the year 2007. Owned and marketed by the search engine giant i.e. Google, Android has been successful in gaining traction in the smartphone world with 1.2 billion+ Android powered smartphones being sold in the year 2014. The success and demand of Android Application Development Services is also immensely commendable. If you’re the one who isn’t familiar with the key points of difference between Android and Windows Phone operating system, then continue reading this post which highlights the topic better.

Android VS Windows Phone- User Interface

While Android has its static icons placed all over the home page, Windows Phone 8.1 comes with a stylish user interface that’s based on Microsoft’s Metro Design language. Additionally, Windows Phone also has a full screen interface comprising of neatly lined up Live Tiles consuming all the empty space, keeping the home page clutter-free.

Android VS Windows Phone- Email & Social Media Integration

Talking about the seamless integration of email and social media icons/buttons/links. Windows Phone definitely rules the Android operating system. While Android will automatically associate your contacts with their respective email and social media profiles, Windows Phone comes with a feature called “Hubs” which combines a specific user’s local and online content. For instance, apps running on Windows Phone Operating system will have a Picture Hub that would display all the photos captured via the device in addition to the ones that are already stored in the app user’s Facebook account.

Android VS Windows Phone- Availability

While Android is an open source platform ever-available for any kind of moderations by device manufacturers, Microsoft Windows Phone is a closed-source platform that is owned and managed by Microsoft and developer are refraining from making any changes to its programming code.

Android VS Windows Phone- Apps

When it comes to building apps for both these top-notch operating systems, Android beats Windows Phone. Reason being that there are over 1,400,000 apps available on the much-hyped Google Play Store, with only 300,000 apps available on the Windows Phone Store. This disparity in the count of apps is related to the app development model that is being followed by Google and Microsoft.

Android VS Windows Phone- Speed and Stability

While the vast variety of Android enriched handsets stands as the prime reason behind the slow speed and stability of Android, Windows 8 is a stable and fast operating system. Talking about the features, Windows 8 is packaged with features like Kids Corner, Rooms etc. On the other hand, we have Android OS which includes features like Android Cloud To Device Messaging(C2DM), Multi-touch, Multitasking, Video Calling and Screen Capture.

Android VS Windows Phone- Supported Platforms

Multiple platform support is indeed the prime concern of every app developer who’s going to build an app that targets devices running on a specific operating system. While Android OS is supported by several platforms including ARM, x86, MIPS and I.MX, Windows Phone is just supported by the x86 platform.

Android VS Windows Phone- Updates

Operating System updates are always keenly observed by both, developers as well as end users. While Android OS updates are provided by multiple parties in consortium, updates to the Windows Phone operating system are made by its owner i.e. Microsoft.

Conclusion
Now that you know about the key points of difference between Android and Windows Phone, I’m sure you would have made up your mind as to which one you’ll target during your upcoming mobile app development project.