What are the pros and cons of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) as compared to Windows phone 8?  Which would you choose, and why?

Of the two, Android has the larger app store (Play Store) and best integration of google apps such as gmail, gtalk, google+, and voice. Jelly Bean introduces Google Now which will help you get over the loss of Siri. As far as customization, Android wins here too, being an open source OS and having the larger development community around it gives it a clear edge for creating a more customized user experience. As far as battery life neither platform's hardware choices provides a better battery life than the iPhone, but the latest Android phones have been much improved in this area recently. If you prefer the WIndows Phone UI than you may want to check the Windows marketplace first http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/marketplace and see if they have the apps you'll require on the platform. If they do, then the deciding factor might as well be how comfortable you are with the look, feel, and navigation. The "superior" platform should the one that lets you be most productive and is the easiest/most enjoyable to use.

You may not like the iPhone's battery life but among smartphones, you won't find much better ones. The only option you have here is to either get a mobile charger or buy a (increasingly rare) phone with exchangeable battery. If you can wait till late October/November, then Windows Phone 8 might be worth considering, but we don't know much about its consumer-facing features and, obviously, devices yet. Also, its app ecosystem is still the weakest, especially if you're used to iOS apps, so that may be something to keep in mind. If you must get your new phone in September, I'd suggest getting the new iPhone, which may come with a bigger screen, or the Galaxy Nexus. I don't know about the carrier situation, but as an Android device, it's definitely the best choice as it gets updates directly from Google, i.e. Jelly Bean is already available for it, which greatly improves smoothness to iOS-like levels (I recently updated mine from ICS to JB).

Regarding the platform superiority, I guess that all depends on the user now. iPhone and WP7 are superior in smoothness than android( pre 4.1). Android is superior for customisation. Wp7 is superior in user interface. The Lumias will have the best cameras pretty soon. You should check your priorities and then decide. I guess you should wait till September to decide. The reason is the new iPhone is launching probably on Sept 12. And it's going to be a larger one than before hopefully. Plus it would have better battery and screen resolution, but that's also in category of hopefully. Your second option of windows phone 8 device can also materialize in September itself. Nokia is launching new phones and so is HTC launching windows phones with one of them rumoured to be quad core. I was android lover till nexus one but now a faithful windows phone user. Still hanging on to my HTC mozart(1st gen). I am holding on for nokia lumia with pureview. Will buy it the day it launches in India. For android I guess your option are s3 and about to be launches HTC one x+.

I recently created a small presentation comparing features of the two OS for http://www.techaheadcorp.com. You can check it here: Slideshare link -> http://www.slideshare.net/techahead/windows-phone-8-vs-android-jelly-bean

I would definitely recommend trying the Lumia 920. The WP OS is very new and innovative and im sure you will enjoy it. The new lumia 920 has some awesome features : Awesome camera with OIS (currently the best phone camera there is) Super Responsive display Nokia City Lens (one of the best mapping applications) Xbox Music (better than Spotify and Rdio put together) NFC Windows Phone 8 ( more beautiful and functional than other OSes: Live Tiles, glance & go) A smooth and fluid OS, no lags, no crashes Virus free (unlike Android) $150 Good battery life Regarding the issue of Apps, yeah the app store of WP is definitely nowhere as big as Android and iOS. Especially if you are used to some of the power/productivity apps from the Android stable. Having said that, here's why I think the Windows app store will improve significantly this year: More apps will come. I was checking the top free games on Android vs the top free games on WP 7.5 store. Most of the good ones were there. I would say around 80%. Which is a good number. WP8 shares a common kernel with Windows 8. The hope is that this should incentivise developers of Windows apps (of which there are many many developers) to port their W8 apps to WP8 which is supposedly an easy process. New MSFT tools allow devs to port their existing Android and iOS games easily to WP. Phones like the Lumia 920 and HTC 8X are getting a level of buzz and traction that none of the WP7.5 phones ever got. People are increasingly convinced about Nokia's value offering and it seems like Nokia will be able to sell a good number of phones, enough for devs to sit up and take notice. Apps come and apps go. There are no "one set of apps" that a user needs to have. This keeps changing. Draw Something was all the rage a few months back with many people pointing out how WP does not have it. Nobody uses Draw Something today and Zynga is getting hammered for acquiring it. Path was very hip when it first released, its more tepid now. So, the past is past. There is no point if the Windows Marketplace has apps like Draw Something now. What matters is that in future any good app must get developed for WP too. Thus, the size of the marketplace matters less right now than the fact that future apps must be built for the platform at the same time it is built for iOS and Android Yes, the app store will not satisfy all your needs like the iOS store or Google Play. But that's a trade-off of being an early adopter.

Thank you for asking. At the moment Microsoft is holding its Windows 8 press conference. You may see many inspiring new features in it. Of course now the three main steam OS have its own speciality. WP and iOS are both closed systems while Android is open source. Compared to the former two, I think Android fits those who often "play" mobile services better. After all, if you want to use your iOS or WP better, you have to crack it sometimes. Maybe my opinion is a little personal, but I believe for most people, it's true. And for WP8, here are the main new features: 1. Nokia Map. You have to admit that Nokia is excellent in maps. After all they have been working on it since Symbian. At least much better than Apple. (No offense) 2. More excellent games and softwares. WP8 has used the same core as Windows 8(ARM),which means softwares operating on your Windows services(RT,different from PC) can be easily transferred into WP8. And based on DirectX, games can be brought into play furthest. 3. Support more types of screen and processor standard. Em…No advantages than Android and iOS. 4. NFC support. Em…I don't know whether it's useful or not. At least I don't need it at present. 5. Security of business. Less virus and more safety. Besides, Office and some other business functions will be strengthened. 6. Micro SD support. You know, save a large amount of money and much more convenient. No advantage than Android. As for Apple, I don't think it will consider SD cards. 7. New IE. Em…I have no good impression on IE since PC. Faster and more powerful. 8. New Live Tiles. To be honest, I like it very much because I feel like it's simple and cool. Different people, different views. If you don't, then it's no need to consider WP8. Also I am curious about the backstage management. Here are now two reliable views: one is said it's the same as WP7,"Pseudo Background".(Like iOS, messages are received by "Pushing") And another is said there will be REAL backstage in WP8, but the limitation of softwares is 7. I guess the former because it's better battery saved. In a word, there is no doubt WP8 has a clear future and it's good to see the three kingdoms' "war" in consumer market. For our consumer, the better products are, the more benefits we will have. Speaking from heart, WP8 is really worth tasting, if you don't mind trying new things. Hope I can help you find your choice.

Android 4.1 Is the craze of the moment e.g Samsung Galaxy S3 , Nexus 7 Huge variety of free Android applications available to install Wide and active user community Frequent and regular releases of new OS Large spectrum of devices will end up having Jelly Bean by end of this year / start of next year Google competing directly with Apple so neck to neck on top of the charts Windows Phone 8 Windows Phones are bit old fashion Microsoft is trying to apply the metro style across , personally don't like this GUI except on my XBOX360 There is no as much buy in for the WP8 phones as the Android ones by the manufacturers Less of the cool factor , ask yourself what WP8 phone can outbeat the SG3 at the moment (taken that SG3 has ICS at the moment but will soon be upgraded to Jelly Bean) If I had to make a choice I would go for Android 4.1 , I had an HTC running Windows Mobile 6 for a long time and have not appreciated the lack of updates from Micrsoft nor the uncool / unninovative UI . Android phones are like swiss knives you will always get an app that will help you out in most situations.