Windows Phone 7 or BlackBerry OS 6?

When considering your next mobile purchase, the questions that are most often on peoples lips tend to revolve around the hardware – how many megapixels is the camera? Does it record HD video? Does it have GPS? What is the screen resolution?
But rarely do we hear people ask how well the operating system holds up to the task of managing all of these advanced features. So we've decided to take two of the most advanced smartphone platforms on the market, BlackBerry OS6 and Windows Phone 7, and offer them up to one another, to see which one offers users the most complete smartphone experience.

User Interface - Windows Phone 7 has been designed with the user in mind. Large, brightly coloured tiles adorn your home screen, displaying information and shortcuts to your most popular apps. Quite honestly it's so simple that even a recently thawed caveman could work out how to use it without tuition.

The live tiles are fully customisable, meaning that you can have all of your favourite shortcuts at your fingertips, and be alerted of all of your emails and social network updates in real-time.

Blackberry OS 6 also boasts a user-friendly interface, but with sleeker looks and less on-screen clutter. Your icons are smaller and more discreet, and whilst customisable, allow you to look at things when you choose to look at them, rather than plying you with information in a constant stream, which may be a real plus point to those users who don’t feel the need to be constantly connected.

Winner - Draw

Apps - BlackBerry App World, the official app store from RIM, has grown exponentially since its debut, with RIM reporting daily downloads topping the 2 million mark.

Hundreds of apps are available from as little as 79p, whilst many more are entirely free. The development of BlackBerry apps is a truly Open Source affair, too, with RIM offering developers rights for just $200 for every 10 apps, meaning that the range of applications available will only get better in months and years to come.

The Microsoft Marketplace is also going from strength to strength, though is taking a little longer to gain momentum, due to Microsoft’s slightly prohibitive process for submitting apps, though with Microsoft only allowing mobile hardware developers to use its software if they adhere to minimum specifications, you can guarantee that you'll get a consistently high quality app experience no matter what device you choose to use.

Winner - BlackBerry OS 6

Performance and Battery Life - When Microsoft was developing WP7, tit vowed that it would not be released until each device could last all day on a single charge, and it appears that they have done just that. Reports of battery life have been varied between devices, with some people reporting less than desirable lasting power, but the overall buzz has been positive.

BlackBerry's, however, are legendary for their staying power, with advanced power management systems giving several days of standby from a single charge, and easily outlasting even the most strenuous of work days, which is part of the reason that BlackBerry has got a well-earned reputation for producing devices best for business.

Winner - BlackBerry OS 6

Web Browsing - Fans of Microsoft will love the browsing experience on a Windows Phone 7 device, as it offers a mobile version of Internet Explorer with support for up to 6 tabs, an address bar which doubles as a search bar, easy scrolling and pinch-to-zoom.

This browser really takes advantage of the minimum screen requirement that Microsoft demands, which, on the whole equates to a really top notch browsing experience. The BlackBerry browser has had an upgrade for the release of BlackBerry OS 6, and is sleek, fast and elegant. It also supports tabs and multi-touch, but like Windows Phone 7, unfortunately doesn’t support Flash. Don't let that be a stumbling block though, because the overall experience istight, snappy and easy to use.

Winner – Draw

It's a draw which, to be honest, wasn't terribly unexpected, as both mobile platforms have a range of virtues which will please even the most picky of customers. It goes without saying that what pleases one person, may prove the bane of another and this goes double when you're speaking about smartphone operating systems.
If you're after something minimalist and visually pleasing you'd perhaps be best served putting your tick in Microsoft's box, but if fast, efficient usability is key to you, go for BlackBerry, but whichever one of these two contenders you choose, you're unlikely to be disappointed.