User Experience - Desktop OS vs. Embedded OS
By Chris De Herrera, Editor
Posted 01/09/11

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After attending CES 2011 this year, I really noticed that hardware manufacturers and users are really flocking to the latest tablet computers that use embedded operating systems.  This article compares the featuers and functuons of desktop and embedded operating systems so users can understand the differences between the two different operating systems..

What is a Desktop Operating System?

For the purposes of this article, i am defining a desktop operating system as being Windows or Mac OS.  These two oses make up the majority of desktop and laptop operating systems that are in use today.  Desktop Operating Systems are much larger and more feature rich than their Embedded OS counterparts.

What is an Embedded Operating System?

An Embedded Operating System is designed to run on a smaller device and requires a smaller footprint for storage, cpu, and ram than a Desktop Operating System.  Examples of embeded operating systems include Apple's IOS, Google's Android, Palm's WebOS and RIM's OS.

Comparing Features

Feature	Desktop OS	Embedded OS
Boot Time	Boots slower	Boots Faster
Sleep - Resume	Takes longer to resume	Instant On
Web Browsing Performance	Takes longer to load websites	Takes shorter to load websites
Run applications	Takes longer to run applications	Takes shorter to run applications
Types of Storage	Most use a hard disk however some use flash	Most use flash
Cost of Applications	Most applications are more expensive	Most applications are cheaper
Cost of device	Generally more expensive	Generally less expensive
Application Features	More application features	Less application features
Ease of Use	Harder to use	Easier to use
Battery Life	Generally shorter	Generally longer
Size	Generally larger	Generally smaller
Storage	More storage	Less storage
Display Size	Generally larger	Generally smaller

 

Why Users Want Embedded OS based Devices

The prinmary reason that users want Embedded OS devices is that they have instant on and faster performance than Desktop OS based devices.  Clearly this is another example of where users want things to be faster than ever. This is especially true once a user experiences instant on and is able to take advantage of it by completing a task before they would be able to do it with a Desktop OS.  Also, the Embedded OS allows users to have a smaller, more portable package which is also faster and easier to use wth longer battery life.   So when a user needs to perform a more complex task, they will switch to using a Desktop OS to complete it.

Conclusion

Whith the key advantage of being able to complete tasks more efficiently, users are focusing on tablet computers that use the Embedded OS.   While I still see the need to use desktop OS devices, I see these being used when more complex features and functions are required.  So I expect that we will see more and more uses for devices with an Embedded OS while still leaning on Desktop OS devices.

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