The mobile phone landscape has changed dramatically over the last several years.

The majority of phones sold used to be feature phones, with smartphones being the exception. The smartphones of five years ago were cumbersome and typically focused on business, without much focus on the user interface. Everything changed with Apple’s release of the original iPhone running iOS in 2007. Only a couple of years removed from the original iPhone’s release, the first Android phones started to make an impact on the phone scene. Most notably, the Motorola Droid helped to establish Android as a major player in the smartphone arena. More recently, Windows Phone 7 has started to make its way onto some really fantastic devices.

That brings us to today. The majority of phones being sold are smartphones; they are both extraordinarily powerful and beautifully designed. But when users compare mobile phone deals, it’s important to ask which mobile operating system is the best.

User Experience

In terms of polish and user interaction, Apple’s iOS has always been the clear winner. The operating system has been around long enough that the little kinks have been worked out, and the experience using iOS on an iPhone or iPad is seamless. Meanwhile, Google is still trying to figure out how to combine the phone and tablet versions of Android, which offer very different experiences. However, strides have been made to the point that Apple’s throne in this area is no longer as secure. Thanks to its use of live tiles, Windows Phone 7 offers a much unified interface that is easy to navigate. Information can be gleamed at a glance from the live tiles in Windows Phone 7.

Additionally, Google is soon expected to announce the release of the latest iteration of Android, code named Ice Cream Sandwich. This new release is expected to unify the Android experience on smartphones and tablets, as well as simplify navigation of the user interface. So while this might change in the near future, iOS is easily the most refined mobile operating system available. There are still too many bugs in Android, not to mention the inconsistent experience that Android offers thanks to manufacturers’ skins.

Applications

The user experience, while an important one, is not the only characteristic defining mobile operating systems. Possibly the most frequently discussed topic when customers compare mobile phone deals is what apps are available. Indeed, ever since Apple first introduced the iPhone and the abilities of its many thousands of apps, smartphone apps have been at the forefront of the public conscious. The size of a phone’s app library has been a major selling point in the smartphone race. Both iOS and Android offer hundreds of thousands of apps, and the library for Windows Phone 7 is growing by the day. However, a shortage of apps is the same Achilles’s heel that crippled Palm’s WebOS, so it cannot be overlooked.

Android and iOS clearly have the advantage in terms of app libraries. Between Android and iOS, though, Android sticks out as the winner for one major reason: Free apps. While Android and iOS both sport massive libraries, the majority of apps in the iTunes store cost money, usually ranging between $0.99-$5.00. This seems negligible at first, until one realizes that they quickly add up. A customer might spend $100 extra a year on apps for iOS! This seems almost inexcusable when one considers that many of the apps that cost money for iOS are available for free on Android.

All-In-All

Truthfully, there’s really not a “wrong” mobile OS for someone to avoid when they compare mobile phone deals. All three of the major players have their own benefits and drawbacks. Someone who wants a smartphone offering a lot of customization might opt for Android, while someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time flipping between screens on their phone might opt for Windows Phone 7. Still, someone valuing design and cohesiveness in their smartphone experience might opt for iOS. Overall, though, it seems clear that Android is winning the smartphone race. New iterations of Android are made available at a rapid pace. Over 550,000 Android devices are now activated daily, and recent Nielsen data shows that new smartphones users are choosing Android over iOS at a 2 to 1 ratio. Windows Phone 7 sales have been sluggish since the devices first launched. The growing customer base and the evolving nature of Android both seem to suggest the same thing: Android is taking control of the mobile OS race.

Blake Sanders is a tech writer at broadband comparison site Broadband Expert where he specializes in industry news and information on how to compare mobile phone deals.