Mobile Operating Systems - A Short Guide

If you’re confused about operating systems for mobile devices, check out our handy guide below. If this doesn’t answer your question, give us a call and we’ll run through it with you.

What is an operating system?

An operating system (or OS) makes sure that your device operates and that the software applications which are designed for it function according to the rules of that operating system.

Every device has an operating system such as Windows Mobile, iOS, BlackBerry, Android. These are pre-installed by the device manufacturer who decides which operating system will go with which device. Some manufacturers use an operating system built by a separate software company i.e. Motorola may use Microsoft or Android operating systems; and some manufacturers use their own operating systems (proprietary) such as Apple/iPhone or RIM/BlackBerry. Nokia previously used their own operating system ‘Symbian’ but their new models use Microsoft Windows Phone 7.

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