Wikipedia defines a mobile operating system as, “the operating system that controls a mobile device” —and is “similar to the operating systems that control your desktop computer or laptop, such as Windows, Mac or Linux”.  Each operating system brings differentiation to the mobile device through preloaded native applications (apps) and app store/world/market that brings a variety of additional business applications to life.

With so many mobile devices on the market that support various operating systems, it’s often tough to know which will be the best tool to support you and your team.  In the first of a series of four posts, here we will speak with Canadian business leaders about how and why they chose not just the device that they did, but the operating system.

Tamara Wilson is the Director of Operations at Sportality, a leading sport marketing agency based in Toronto, Ontario. She chose the HTC Desire HD device, powered by Android 2.3.3 for herself and her team of 10 people.

“It was the best of the best at the time of purchase, and we wanted a device that was good for our day-to-day business usage,” says Wilson, adding that anytime, anywhere connectivity is incredibly important to her professional life. “Connected to e-mail 24/7 is of course a necessity these days, and the large screen and fast connection allows me to review websites and do research while I’m on the go.”

For Wilson, it was important to her to find a mobile device that centered on professional usage – the company didn’t want to arm the team with a phone that was geared towards fun and games.

Android, backed by Google and used by many of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, is the fastest growing mobile operating system for smartphones. Android devices are able to synchronize to corporate e-mail, the user can multi-task with ease, create a portable Wi-Fi hotspot to share data with multiple devices, and Android’s web browser supports Flash –all wonderful tools for the everyday professional.

Android also allows for unified use of Google Mobile Services, meaning tools like YouTube, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps and many more are all accessible from the same Google account.

For Wilson, customization is key: she likes that she and her team can tailor the phone to their needs.  “I would recommend it,” Wilson continues. “The large screen allows you to read everything in your e-mail without straining, and it has all the functionality you want in a smartphone – not to mention a great eight megapixel camera to capture quality photos on the go.”

On October 28, TELUS announced the release of the 4G Samsung Galaxy S II™ X, powered by Android 2.3.  For a full demo, see here.