Windows RT 8.1 vs WP 8.1 (Vs android)

[Ebuka Allison]

Obviously if we go by apps, RT is a clear loser. So lets go by capability. Take the desktop out of the equation, which OS is better>

Windows Phone or Windows RT?

Compare both to Android if necessary.

 

[xandros9]

Windows RT, but its still an orange-to-apple kind of comparison.

Windows RT is best on the big screen with its design, snap functionality, etc, WP is suited for the smaller ones.
(I'm going to keep the desktop in, its not as important, but still part of it)

Windows Explorer still is a great file manager, the USB (and OTG) support add greatly to functionality.

I'm actually having a bit of trouble trying to compare the two. Its almost like a Mac OS X vs. iOS kind of thing.

 

[zhris]

On a PC or Tablet? WinRT is better.
On a phone? WP is better.
I can't really come up with a scenario where I'd prefer Android over either....

 

[astondg]

I think the comparison is to do with the talk of either WP or WinRT being dropped in favour of the other. If that was to happen then I don't think it would be a straight switch as things stand, I think it would be more about the underlying platform rather the UI side of the OS that we see, though some UI elements & paradigms might carry over. I.e. If WinRT came to phones it might still look similar to what WP does today & the same if WP came to tablets & laptops. I did think that WP8 was already on a subset of the WinRT platform anyway?

In those terms I think WinRT is a little looser in its resource restrictions, so the number of background tasks allowed, etc. which could be both good and bad & may change if it comes to mobile anyway. Having better USB, Bluetooth & networking support would be great, maybe we can even have printer support!

 

[Ebuka Allison]

Here's the thing though. Win RT can run on the Lumia 1520/Icon Hardware, so the OS restrictions can't be linked to hardware.

 

[astondg]

Here's the thing though. Win RT can run on the Lumia 1520/Icon Hardware, so the OS restrictions can't be linked to hardware.

Was that in response to my post? I didn't mean that there are restrictions that would stop either OS from running, just that I think WP has some restrictions built in atm (like number of backgrounds tasks) that I don't think WinRT has so if it came to phones then maybe that would be a nice thing, or maybe MS would just build a similar restriction into WinRT, based on hardware detection, to preserve battery life on phone devices.

EDIT: Maybe your comment was more general, I doubt there is any hardware reason why we don't have WinRT on phones or WP on tablets. Right now I'd say it's purely a decision by MS based on market research, timing, resourcing, strategic plan and a heap of other considerations.