Wozniak predicts a win for Android

Steve Wozniak might be the co-founder of Apple, but he's putting his money on Android rather than the iPhone for long-term success.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Wozniak claimed that although 'when it comes to quality, the iPhone is leading,' the increasingly powerful feature set of Google's open source Android platform would make it a winner in the long term.

During the interview, Wozniak suggested that the iPhone 'has very few weaknesses - there are no real complaints or problems. Apple has set the direction for the entire world.'

Despite this glowing summary of Apple's wonderphone, Wozniak believes that the requirement to use the company's iTunes software to unlock many of the features of the handset is a major drawback compared to devices based around Google's Android operating system, which he describes as 'for everyone.'

Another surprising revelation during the interview was the news that Apple had a working iPhone product as far back as 2004, but that it held back on releasing it as 'Apple was satisfied with the quality but wanted something that could surprise the world. If Apple releases a new product, it must be a real breakthrough,' Wozniak claimed - something that the unreleased device was not.

Despite Wozniak's kind words for both iOS and Android, his outlook on the future of Finnish mobile giant Nokia was less rosy. Describing the brand as 'the mark of a previous generation,' Woz urged the company to rebrand itself to better appeal to a young audience.

Are you surprised to see Wozniak taking Google's side in the battle of the smartphone, or do you agree with his comments? Share your thoughts over in the forums.