Woz: Apps Are Mostly Better On The iPhone

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak isn't as impressed by Android as an interview in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf makes it seem.

Wozniak reportedly said that Android would become the dominant smartphone platform rather than, as one would expect, Apple's iOS, according to De Telegraaf.

Google's translation of De Telegraaf's article says: "The operating system of Google seems to win the race. Like Windows dominated the PC world, so is the Android platform for phones that offer the same possibilities as computers."

But never mind the awkward machine translation. Woz says he didn't say anything of the sort.

Contacted by Engadget, Woz said he was misquoted and defended the iPhone, having clearly touched a nerve back at Apple through the misattributed remarks. "Almost every app that I have is better on the iPhone," he said in a recorded phone conversation posted by Engadget.

"I'm not trying to put Android down," he continued. "But I'm certainly not saying that Android is better than iOS by any stretch of the imagination."

Better or not, Android continues to gain ground against iOS in various metrics. Mobile advertising company Millennial Media on Thursday reported that this month marks the first time that "Android has tied iOS as the largest Smartphone OS, with an 8% increase month-over-month and 37% impression share."

In related statistics that demonstrate the strength of Android, Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker's presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit earlier this week showed that Android's share of global smartphone units shipped in the third quarter of 2010 reached 25%, compared to 17% for iOS.

Woz may have never said that Android will become the dominant smartphone platform, but that doesn't mean the erroneously attributed prediction will turn out to be false.