Leading Mobile Computing Device Platforms
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Leading Mobile Computing Device Platforms |
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Computer Education Techniques, Inc. aggregates and evaluates information in the public domain - source commercial software company websites, international standards committee projects, open source software, print journalism, and public television. An organization and taxonomy is applied to the information and IT subject matter.
The internet and enormous growth of smartphones and tablet computing devices is directing resources and technologies to cloud storage, software as a service, and mobile computing. An independent assessment of the technical accuracy is made and then distributed through CETi and technology partner websites.
The last update was November 2019; additional aggregation of content was performed at ProjectFIND from May through August 2021. Links and summary information have been placed on the www.computeredtech.com website.
Component - Hardware / Software |
Apple Corporation |
Microsoft Corporation |
Alphabet - Google Android |
Alphabet - Google Chrome |
| Hardware Architecture and CPU | Tightly controlled both proprietary hardware and software. Apple devices sell at a premium price and are highly regarded. | Wintel with an increase use of open source software - GitHub and integration of Linux. | Open source software model. Google continues to develop and invest in its own App - ecosystem. | Chromebook is being developed for the education market. |
| Device | Computer MacBook and iMac Apple iPad Apple iPhone Apple watch Apple television |
Wintel devices: desktop computer laptop computer Surface tablet Microsoft phone |
Android device with many manufacturers - smartphones, tablets, watches, The leading manufacturer is Samsung - Galaxy. Google manufacturers Pixel devices. |
Chromebook - In addition to Google Pixelbook, there are several manufacturers: ASUS, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. |
| Operating System | Apple iOS and macOS UNIX-variant. There also is iPadOS and watchOS. | Microsoft Windows 10 to 11 | Android - Linux-variant | Chrome OS - Linux variant |
| Development Platform SDK | Proprietary and controlled by Apple- “Walled Garden” | Now hybrid and selectively open source software - e.g. GitHub | OSS: open source software - monorepo single repository | OSS: open source software - monorepo single repository |
| Search Portal | Google Search - by default | Bing search | “Google it” | “Google it” |
| Web Browser | A version of Safari has been installed and tested on the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. | Edge | Chrome | Chrome |
| Installation Over the Internet | Apple Store - brick and mortar stores and virtual store - profitable business. | Microsoft Windows Store now is an experience center; it primarily is an online and digital store. | Google Play Store - online and digital store | Google Play Store - with instructions for the Chrome operating system. |
| Game Platform | Third Party | Xbox Activision 1 |
Third party | Third party |
| Cloud storage Data center | Apple - iCloud | Microsoft One Drive |
Google Drive is a component of the Google Cloud Platform. | Google Drive is a component of the Google Cloud Platform. |
| Local Storage on Disk - File Disk System | Apple Mac file management https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-up-file-sharing-on-mac-mh17131 | How to use with Microsoft Windows: File Explorer Desktop - settings network administration | Several partitions (like boot, system, recovery, data, etc.) to organize files and folders. | Google Drive Only - No internal local storage. |
| E-mail System | Apple mail, known as Mail, is the e-mail client provided with the Apple operating systems: macOS, iOS,
iPadOS, and watchOS. Starting with the release of iPadOS 14, Apple allowed third-party mail clients such as Gmail and Outlook to become the default mail app. |
Microsoft Outlook is a highly rated e-mail system. Alternative open source e-mail systems can be installed such as Thunderbird can be installed.
There also are "legacy e-mails systems such as Yahoo e-mail, AOL-hotmail, and mail.com which can be installed on the MS Windows operating system. |
Gmail is available free of charge with Google Android devices and available for cross installation and integrated use on all the leading mobile computing devices and cloud platforms. It is the most widely used. |
Gmail is available free of charge with Google Chrome devices and available for cross installation and integrated use on all the leading mobile computing devices and cloud platforms. |
The information also is incorporated into the CETi knowledge base and selectively added to the course search engine.
Apple is the single most widely used smartphone device platform in the world. Its iPad, iPod, and watches are considered to be premium products. Only Apple has a significant brick and mortar retail presence, the Apple Store, for its devices and software. Apple apps are marketed through the Apple Store and its website. Operating systems and web apps are updated and installed over the internet. Developers are required to pay for/license/use the Apple development tools and meet Apple standards for security before distribution through the Apple Store. The Apple web app system is extensive. Apple iCloud is its cloud storage service.
Most widely used SaaS applications such as Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been rewritten to run on the Apple operating systems for the iPad, iPhone, and MacOS desktops and MacBooks computers. Apple has business software for its desktop and mobile computing operating system devices. The default Apple web browser is Safari; other leading web browsers such as Google Chrome can be installed.
Although a tightly closed proprietary operating system and development platform, certain widely used industry standard cloud driven SaaS and Apps services can be installed, such as the Google Gmail can be installed on Apple devices. Apple Mail is the default e-mail on iPhone and iPad devices. Alternative cloud storage providers - e.g. Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Box can be configured for access to the Apple desktop and mobile computing devices. Apple is known for the security associated with its platform.
Google manufactures a comprehensive mobile device platform - Pixel brand and provides the online Google Play store for purchasing web apps. The leading third party manufacturer for the open source Android platform is Samsung Corporation - Galaxy brand - smartphones, phablets, tablets, watches and televisions. The Google chrome web browser is the most widely used web browser in the world; it is the default web browser on Android mobile computing devices and can be installed on mobile devices and desktop computers on Microsoft and Apple platforms. Google Drive is the default cloud service provided with Gmail. It is the most widely used e-mail account - approximately 1.7 billion users. It also provides an open source suite of applications: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation slides, calendar, etc.
Android smartphones with less than 2 GB of RAM should be using Android Go Edition. Reimagined apps like Google Go and Camera Go take up less space and start up faster. Files helps shares information without using data. Google Play continually gets new apps made just for Android Go edition.
Android uses several partitions - such as boot, system, recovery, data, etc. to organize files and folders on the device. This is similar to the Microsoft Windows File System. Each partition has its own functionality. Android doesn’t normally come with a default file manager; it will be necessary to install a file manager App, like Astro file manager, to locate and manage files and folders. The sdcard partition is the main storage area for user data and files. It also contains App settings and data. The standard Android operating system licensing term is for three years.
Microsoft Windows is being repositioned to as an operating system that bridges the leading device ecosystems: Google and Apple. Microsoft will enable connectivity to a phone or other PCs. Microsoft Windows 11 includes new features, revised Start menu moved to the center, and a Microsoft Store with Android apps. It is a strategy for competing with Google and Apple and generating profits in the mobile computing device space.
Microsoft has been closing its stores and moving its retail operations online, keeping just a small number of locations and transforming them into “experience centers.” The more than 80 Microsoft stores that closed due to the coronavirus pandemic have not been reopened as it applies a new approach to retail. Microsoft had been relying more on its services such as cloud computing, with the retail locations focusing on its Surface tablets and laptops as well as Xbox gaming gear. But the physical stores failed to gain the momentum of rival Apple. The closures were because the Surface mobile computing business has been losing momentum in the consumer space.
Microsoft has indicated that it will continue investing in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows. The initial plan was to have four locations become Microsoft Experience Centers: London, New York, Sydney and Redmond, Washington. Amazon has been bringing its Android app store to the revamped Microsoft Store, and Windows 11 PCs will be able to run the software, regardless of the microprocessor that powers them.
Microsoft Windows 11 has higher device processor requirements than Windows 10. TPM: Trusted Platform Module and increased security can be implemented with Windows 11. Not all computing devices with Windows 10 currently installed will be able to install TPM.
PB Newshour Reporting
Financial Times Online - December 10, 2022
Microsoft faces a ‘landmark battle’ to save Activision Blizzard deal Tech giant’s efforts to appease regulators runs into a more activist antitrust regime on both sides of the Atlantic ocean.
