What Are Android Phones And What Are The Features That Set Them Apart From IPhones?

Until recently, if you wanted to surf the Internet, play a game, read the news, read a book, check the weather, watch a video, or track your diet, you had to be in front of the computer and go online. But, the invention of mobile phones, particularly smart phones, has drastically changed how the world operates. Before, mobile users were limited to voice calls and text messaging. Now, nearly all things are possible because of the advent of smart phones.

Currently, the two most popular smart phones are the iPhone and Android phones. While it's true that the iPhone series is more popular, the difference in popularity is very small. Analysts believe that Android phones will dominate the smart phone market in the next five years. Because of this fearless prediction by technology enthusiasts, many are becoming curious - what are Android phones and what are the features that make them uniquely different from Apple's iPhone?

The term 'Android' refers to a kind of operating system designed for mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs. It is developed by the Open Headset Alliance, which is mainly led by Google. This software has a large number of developers who create applications (or 'apps') that offer functionalities never before seen in previous mobile devices. Now, going back to the question 'What are Android phones?', well, they are simply smart phones equipped with the Android operating system.

If you're considering buying an Android phone, there are several options to choose from. Cell phone brands like HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, and Dell make use of the Android system in most of their units. If you want to go for an HTC Android phone, the HTC One S, HTC Rezound, and HTC Evo 3D are three of the most popular in the market. If it's a Motorola Android phone that you want, the Droid Razr Maxx, Droid Razr, and Droid Bionic are the best ones out there. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Epic Touch 4G, and Galaxy S II, on the other hand, are the best Samsung Android phones to date.

Now, let's answer the second question - what makes Android phones uniquely different from the iPhone? There are so many differences between Apple products and Android phones, especially when it comes to browsing options, desktop management and design, notification system, and app market.

1.) Browsing Options. Android phones have probably the best browsers on the market. Unlike the iPhone which only has Safari as its browser, Android phones have three browsers, namely Opera Mini, Dolphin, and the default browser. What is more, these Android browsers have Flash support, which the iPhone's Safari still doesn't have.

2.) Desktop Management and Design. Instead of just having icons scattered on your phone's desktop (like the iPhone), Android phones add active widgets on the desktop - always accessible and visible even without launching the application itself. There are widgets for just about every application in the Android Market - from checking the weather, viewing the calendar, checking the dictionary, playing music, to keeping up to date on Facebook - everything is easily accessible because of widgets. Meanwhile, for the iPhone, you will be forced to flip through their app list to locate and launch each application. If you wanted to check the current weather condition, for example, you'd have to find the app, launch it, and then wait for it to load. With Android, all of that information can be displayed directly on your desktop just a finger swipe away.

3.) Notification System. With Android, all apps can have access to the notification system which makes viewing reports easier. For example, if you have Facebook, it is not necessary to open the app to find out if you have notifications. Android alerts you of new messages, voice messages, Facebook notifications, etc. all in just one window.

4.) App Market. While it's true that the Apple Appstore has more than 180,000 applications, the Android market is expected to catch up in the coming years. The Appstore may be the winner when it comes to the number of apps, but the Android marketplace is a lot better in many ways. For one, the Android market is a completely open market. For free apps, you don't have to bother about entering a password (like in iPhone) every time you install anything. For paid apps, on the other hand, you simply enter your information on the Google Market one time and you're done.

Manufacturers are constantly creating new Android phones every year. And although Android hasn't completely slain Apple's handset yet, analysts predict that it will be dubbed 'iPhone killer' in the next couple of years.