Mango from Microsoft, Ice Cream from Google ?

Smartphone operating systems news:  Google unveiled features of Android 4.0, also known as "Ice Cream Sandwich", in a joint demo with Samsung.   Microsoft has been gradually rolling out the "Mango" update to Windows Phone 7 users.  Both are competing with the leader Apple made iOS 5.


What is new in the Android 4.0 ICS ?

1. Gmail now previews two lines of each email;
2. Navigation is easier between messages and calendar days. Swiping left and right will switch across messages (Gmail) or days (Calendar);
3. Email addresses are turned into “chips” or business-card like ribbons of information, with pictures, contact info and quick links to actions;
4. Pinch to zoom works with calendar events, which should adjust the number of lines you see on the Calendar screen.

Google debuted Android 4.0 this week in Hong Kong, along with the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, which will be the first gadget to run it.  It has a Face Unlock, which is designed to recognize the user's face instead of a password.

Nokia news: Microsoft's Mango Windows Phone 7 is released.  

What is new in Mango for developers?

1. - Background processing
2. - New profiler and emulator for testing
3. - Use of Silverlight + XNA together
4. - Silverlight 4
5. - IE9 web browser control
6. - Live Tile enhancements: use of back of tiles and ability to update Live Tiles locally
7. - Deep linking into apps from notifications and Live Tiles
8. - Additional sensors; direct camera access, compass & gyro
9. - Fast application switching
10. - Networking / sockets for communications
11. - Local SQL database for structured storage
12. - Access to calendar and contacts for apps.

And the winner is Apple ..

With iOS 5, Apple added over 200 new features, taking a mobile operating system that was already years ahead of anything else and moving it even further ahead.

Twitter integrated right into iOS 5.  The iOS 5 makes it even easier to tweet from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Sign in once in Settings, and suddenly you can tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, or Maps.