The iPhone 4 is out, and so far, has garnered great reviews and first impressions — and rightfully so, it’s a wonderful device and possible the best smartphone on the market. But Google’s Android platform can easily top it in the near future.

Openness

It’s no secret that the Android platform is more open than iOS 4. Besides the usual stuff like Flash, which is available on Android and not iPhone, there’s less restriction on what kind of apps developers can create. For instance, there are multiple browsers to chose from on Android, while Apple only allows Safari (and Opera, but technically it doesn’t render web-pages on the device itself). Furthermore, Android developers can use any script language to code their apps in, while Apple limits that as well.

Handset variety

While iOS is only available on an iPhone, Android is available on a wide selection of smartphones — so many that Android has surpassed iOS in traffic. The selection of Android-powered smartphones ranges from the impressive Motorola Droid (and the new Droid X), to Google’s Nexus One to HTC’s 4G Evo — there’s usually an Android phone for everyone, especially if you’re one of those who likes a physical keyboard.

Apps

It’s no secret that big feature on iPhone is the massive app library, currently has around 150,000 apps, while the Android marketplace has around 50,000. However, the Android app marketplace is actually growing faster than iPhone’s. Recently more and more developers and jumped on the Android bandwagon due to its openness, especially developers who relied on Flash middle-ware, which Apple recently banned.

No AT&T

If apps are the best feature about the iPhone, AT&T’s service is the worst. There’s no shortage of criticism of the service, and AT&T’s promises to fix the network have repeatedly disappointed. Now it seems to be getting worse, as AT&T has, due to network stress, added caps on data for the iPhone. And since the iPhone is only available on AT&T, users are stuck with the carrier. And dropped calls. Android phones on the other hand, are available on virtually every major network in the US and the rest of the World.

What Android needs to improve to keep its momentum

Android isn’t perfect, and while it’s capable of beating the iPhone 4, it’ll need to improve on a number of areas. Firstly, Android needs to even out the bumps it has suffered along the road, and the upcoming 2.2 version seems to do just that.

Another area Android needs work on is user interface — the iPhone is renown for its simple and intuitive way of navigating the menus and everything in the phone, while Android at times can seem cluttered (at least compared to the iPhone).

While Android’s app marketplace is growing in both volume and quality, the way of purchasing apps and managing them is cumbersome, and some streamlining is required to make it easier for users to get apps, and generally improve the way the App Marketplace works.

Media. The iPhone has a wonderful iPod and movie application, while Android barely manages with its own, rather tame music player. Sure, you can download apps that manage music for you, but something like a decent media player is expected to available out of the box on any smartphone.

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