The war between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android rages on stronger than ever, but with the recent release of iOS 5 and Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) on the horizon, there has never been a better time to do a basic comparison of the two. There are a lot of pros and cons for either side, but I will try to cover some core features and hopefully point you in the direction of the platform that suits your needs best.

Let’s start with the user experience in general. When comparing iOS and Android, you must take into account that an iOS-powered phone only means one thing: an iPhone. This is a powerful thing because it allows Apple to focus on one single device and optimize its operating system as best as possible. Android does not provide that single platform. This means that your experience can vary from phone to phone, manufacturer to manufacturer. If you pick up an iPhone, you know exactly what you are getting. If you pick up a Motorola phone, it will be a little different from an HTC phone, which will in-turn be a little different from a Samsung phone.

This turns out to be a blessing and a curse for both parties. On one hand, Apple gives you that seamless user experience, but it limits your hardware options. If you want a faster processor, larger screen, physical keyboard, or microSD card slot, you are out of luck. The issue with interchangeable batteries also comes up quite often when discussing iOS and Android. Android phones enable you to switch batteries if need be and, while the iPhone has excellent battery life on its own, it still eventually runs out of juice and can leave a traveler without a phone if he or she is not careful. Now, because Android gives you that large variety of handsets, it does come at a price. Some phones are going to run slower, be less optimized, or have problems that are only affecting people on your version of Android, on your specific phone from your specific carrier. Updates, though not important to everyone, come at varied times (or not at all) and are not deployed by Google, but by your manufacturer. On the flip-side, if Apple updates iOS, every single customer can update to the latest version. If you have a problem with your iPhone, there are literally millions of other people that may be experiencing the same issue.

One of the biggest reasons people invest in a smartphone is for the various apps that can be run on them. According to Apple’s website, there are over 500,000 apps available for download through the App Store. With nearly 400,000 apps (and a recent milestone of 10 billion apps downloaded), Google’s own Android Marketplace is no slouch. It’s possible to find an app for just about anything in either store so there is no reason for one to claim victory over the other in this department. The one thing I can give to Apple is that apps tend to get made first for iOS and then ported to Android later. This goes for big name games and major utilities, but this trend seems to be changing a bit as the Android Marketplace is growing and slowly building a better reputation for profitability. One major plus to the App Store is that Apple monitors app submissions much more closely and, because of iOS itself, creates a much more secure operating environment. Android has recently drawn a lot of attention due to issues with malware so it is something to take notice of when considering the two. It is by no means a rampant problem, but it is indeed possible to harm your phone by downloading suspicious apps.

Talking about apps brings up a few other issues as well, though. While iOS gets big name apps a bit more quickly, there is one category of apps where Android can have a moment in the spotlight: customization. In general, iOS is built for consistency and stability, whereas Android is built for tinkering. There are apps for things like widgets, themes, skins, custom fonts and icons, lock screens, and even application launchers. Due to the protected ecosystem of iOS, it does not allow for these kinds of customization. Android gives you the impression that you can really make your phone your own. It also means you can slow it down to a point of near uselessness, so there is a happy medium there that every tinkerer needs to find with his or her own device.

Media management and file management in general are also topics worth covering as well. While Android may ship with a basic file browser, both Android and iOS have advanced file browsers on the respective stores and both have similar features (compress files, extract compressed files, connect to network drives/computers, etc.) so that is pretty much a draw. The one issue here is that, with iOS, you still have to rely on iTunes to a certain extent. With an Android device, you connect to any computer via USB (or Wifi with apps like AirDroid) and can manage them as if the phone was a USB hard drive. iOS does have apps that can enhance the capabilities of its media management, but in terms of out of the box support, you must use iTunes for managing movies, music and pictures and it must be on your computer.

When you consider everything, the iPhone and iOS are marketed as an overall user experience and Apple manages to make it work quite well. The phone runs smoothly, the operating system and apps, in general, are all very well polished. The user interface is very intuitive and helps create a user friendly environment that someone with even minimal technical knowledge can work with. Android markets itself as a less restricted alternative to iOS, focusing on some of the more unique qualities it offers, like the potential for customization and the wide variety of handsets. While some power users may gravitate towards the platform for the many options it provides, Android is a stable, fully functional operating system that just gears itself towards make those options as accessible as possible. In the end, the choice is more up to whatever suits your needs best and that choice should always be left to the consumers themselves.