While trying to figure out the best way to develop a cross-platform game, developer Christopher Black created a simple HTML5 benchmark, which he then ran on a Nexus One (N1), iPod Touch 4G, and iPhone 4. For some further variety, he also tested Flash 10.1 on the N1. The test itself was simply a black ball bouncing, and the results were incredibly surprising: the Nexus One ran the animation 67% faster than the iPod Touch, and 81% faster than the iPhone 4.

Even better, the N1 managed to keep rendering the ball (albeit slowly) during zooming - not so for the iOS devices. Not only did they stop rendering entirely, but when rendering resumed, it took a minute to get back up to its still-slow 24 FPS.

The plot thickens, though: Chris was kind enough to benchmark the same animation in Flash 10.1 and found it rendered at 57 FPS, all while consuming half as much power:

Fanboyism aside, it's important to note that this is a single benchmark, and on a single (Android) device. Still, the numbers speak for themselves.

Chris's video of the iPod Touch and N1 benchmarks:

[Source: Chris Black via DailyTech]