Pitting iOS vs Android vs WebOS vs MeeGo doesn't seem like a fair fight.

It's akin to putting a couple of our TechRadar writers in a boxing ring with the Klitschko brothers. With Apple's iPhone/iPod/iPad OS, Google's Android, plus the Symbian, Microsoft and Blackberry platforms, do we really need any more pretenders to the mobile OS throne?

Yes - because 'competition drives innovation' (or so the saying goes). Android improvements will make iOS better and vice-versa. While lower-league operating systems will have to work harder to stand out, they'll help to ensure that the big two don't get complacent.

And yes again - because beyond the smartphone battleground, the next big tech confrontation is about to be fought on tablet devices.

It's not just a straight iPad vs Android face-off, either. HP is prepping a good-looking 'PalmPad' running WebOS, and Nokia is looking to show off its mobile expertise in a MeeGo-powered tablet.

Let's see how the four mobile platforms compare.

iOS vs Android vs WebOS vs MeeGo: interface

Few would disagree that the iOS is a brilliant smartphone OS. It's cleanly-designed, smooth, fluid, incredibly intuitive and jammed with clever features. What you get with iOS is a consistent look-and-feel, whether you're using an iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod touch or iPad. It's defined by multiple homescreens (with a distinctive grid of application icons) and responsive multi-touch controls.

Android is easily the best alternative to iOS, albeit still a little rough-around-the-edges on smartphones. Version 3.0 (Honeycomb) for tablets gives us a glimpse into the future of the platform: 3D-effect graphics, an onscreen menu bar, improved virtual keyboard, multi-tasking and effortless Google integration. You can watch the preview video here.

FLY-OUT:Note the 3D menus on the Google Nexus S, which runs a pure version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Palm, meanwhile, has a wealth of experience in designing fast and lightweight operating systems. Its WebOS (now on version 2.0) is surprisingly nippy and feels better designed than Android 2.2/2.3. Apps are launched by tapping icons on the pull-out 'Launcher' screen.

They subsequently run in what Palm calls 'cards', separate program windows that you can switch between with a deft flick of your finger.

Then there's MeeGo… Considering the current state of the operating system battle, you might think that MeeGo's survival chances are akin to a pedalo ramming an oil tanker. On tablets, MeeGo looks promising.

The traditional icon-based screens are supplemented by an attractive 'panel' view, which filters what you've seen and done into streams - photos you've taken, videos you've watched, web pages you've visited, social media updates and so on. We're impressed.

iOS vs Android vs WebOS vs MeeGo: customisation

You can customise the wallpaper on an Android phone and rearrange/prioritise the onscreen app icons (including gathering them together in folders).

But it's widgets that are arguably Android's greatest advantage, enabling you to highly customise the look-and-feel of your mobile with at-a-glance micro-apps. Of course, the app icons in Apple's iOS can also be shuffled around and combined into folders. But you still have to launch the weather app to see whether it's going to rain…

ORGANISED: Apple's iOS 4 on the iPhone 4 added small UI tweaks, most notably app-grouping in folders

In WebOS, you can choose what icons appear in the Launcher and swap out the wallpaper, but there are no folders for easy app-grouping. Widgets aren't a native feature of WebOS, although you could argue that its notification system makes them irrelevant.

MeeGo, meanwhile, looks to have similar customisation options, including Android-style widgets.

iOS vs Android vs WebOS vs MeeGo: web browsing/email

Web connectivity is key on any smartphone or tablet and Android, iOS and WebOS all support the WebKit rendering engine within their browsers, delivering a fluid and fast internet experience. Meego's support for WebKit is unconfirmed at this point.

Unlike Android and WebOS, iOS has no support for Adobe Flash. That said, this doesn't always negatively impact your browsing experience - iOS users can still watch YouTube videos and stream shows via the BBC iPlayer. Instead, Apple has put its weight behind HTML5, which is also embraced by Android and WebOS.

In terms of email juggling, both Android and iOS say 'yes' to unified inboxes, threaded email and Microsoft Exchange support (although Android has fewer security features). WebOS had a unified inbox from day one, ditto threaded emails and MS Exchange.

iOS vs Android vs WebOS vs MeeGo: performance and multi-tasking

Palm's WebOS offered multi-tasking from launch. But if you bought the first Palm Pre, the 600MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor inside didn't allow you to make the most of it. Palm rectified that problem with the Pre 2 and its 1GHz CPU. Similarly, any WebOS-powered tablet should zip along.

ON THE CARDS:WebOS offers excellent multi-tasking and app-switching using an innovative 'cards' system

Android is the next best thing (with judicious use of a task-killer), followed by iOS. Apple has been criticised for not offering true multi-tasking. Instead, iOS 4 suspends apps in the background or offers limited functionality. You can run a radio app in the background or stay signed in to Skype. But it's a resource-saving approach compared to WebOS and Android.