One thing I’ve noticed when a device such as a Smartphone comes out,is a heavy concentration on reviewing the hardware with little consideration to the software the device runs or is capable of running. It is software that gives your device its capability to do something. When you choose your device and for the purposes of this article we will just consider the Smartphone, you have to ensure that it runs the software that you need it to run. It matters not how powerful or capable your device is if it doesn’t run the software you need it to.
Cross Platform Software
If you have been using an iPhone for a period of time and are wedded to certain apps you would then think iPhone for your future phone. This however, is not necessarily always the case. More software is becoming cross platform all the time due to the demands of the market.
If you run only software that is cross platform, then you can consider other devices be they iPhones or Androids. However, if one or two of the apps you rely on and have used for years only runs in one or the other environment you would have to choose a platform that can run your software.
There is a caveat to this though. Often there is alternate software to what you have used. If you are prepared to switch, then you can change your platform. Switching might not be as difficult as you at first think.
Switching Software to Change Platforms
Let’s say you’re really keen on say the new LG V60 which is an Android device. You use and have used for a while now OmniFocus for your Task Management. To use the V60 and OmniFocus is not possible but using a different task manager is.
If you are an Apple person but your mobile does not matter except you have a preference for a certain mobile device such as the V60 you could easily switch to a cross platform task manager such as:
- Todoist
- Ticktick
- 2do
- Chaos Control
- etc (as there are more)
When I say easily, it is easy to start to run another package but you might not find it as complete as the one you’re used to. At this point, you will have to make a decision. You either bite the bullet and switch or stay with the iPhone.
There are many that have switched but far more would likely prefer to keep the software they’re efficient with. Here though we see clearly the power of software as the true driver of the platform. The hardware maybe the greatest thing since sliced bread but the software will determine what you do.
The Utility of Cross Platform Software
Cross platform software is growing and for a number of very good reasons. It allows you to choose an alternate platform that might be more powerful or more cost effective than one platform software. If you work in an environment in which you become part of a team, everyone on that team will need equal access to the data. People these days come to teams with differing platforms and yet they have to talk to each other. Cross platform can bridge the chasm.
This kind of software also keeps the industry cost competitive. If one manufacturer controlled all the hardware built because the software only ran on that platform, costs would run rampant. Thus competitiveness and cost control is another feature of cross platform software.
For you the user this cost competitiveness can keep platforms within your reach without breaking the bank. Plus, even though say you are an Apple user, if the software is cross platform you’re not cut out of the environment. You are freed to try a different, possibly more cost effective yet powerful platform.
When Analyzing a Phone Don’t Just Look at its Specs
Phones today all tend to be quite competent. Yet, there are some Androids that come out that lead rather than follow.
If you like a certain Android, it is now time to look at what you’re doing; the software you use to do it with and how an integrated Android might actually enhance your performance rather than deter. As long as you remember it is the software that dictates the value of a device and that software runs on the device you want it to run on then it is a simple matter of what it is you like about the potential phone you have in mind that could induce the switch.
Don’t go cross platform if the complexity outweighs the benefits. However, I am an Apple shop that runs Android and sometimes iPhone for my mobile device. This has helped in that my costs are better controlled and I have a phone I prefer the way it works. Finally, such a realization ensures you are not a slave to a company.
The benefits of cross platform just cannot be underestimated. It is essential in business as people need to think multi-platform and the realization it can be done is thoroughly liberating. Moving back to the basics of software allows us to realize that all the spec analysis does not get at either the effectiveness of efficiency that can come by the deployment of software and hardware that meets needs most effectively.
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