iPhone vs. Android

[filkertom]

Or, how and why to jump from one to the other.

Comments

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

For me, it's "when." Once my iPhone contract expires next year, I'll be going to an Android phone. Not sure which one yet--it'll depend on what the market looks like--but one of them.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

For me there's really not much to say; iPhone's closed ecosystem is everything I don't want to even get involved with. I don't want Big Brother telling me what I can do with my equipment.

I'm personally waiting for a nice 7" Android tablet, because I don't really have any use for a smartphone but I'd like to have a tablet in that form factor to replace my ereader with something that could also do a ton more stuff. Looks like there are several nice tablets due out q3. The ones out now are cheap Chinese junk with slow CPUs and bad touchscreens.

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

I read the article, and it made me curious about Android phones, which I'd been completely ignoring. I was supposed to be getting a new iPhone this month, and now I don't know what I want. (And there are too darned many types of Android phones. Yikes!)

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Go with Android. The variety you're seeing is called choice, and it's a nice thing. :)
On a more practical note, decide what the features are that you want, and look for phones that have them. Go to a phone store and play with the various models.

[annathepiper]

This article doesn't tell HOW to switch. It just says what to expect in case you do. Which is nice info to have, but the article title is misleading! And, like one of the commenters on the thread, I'd kind of like to know myself how well an Android-based phone will sync with my Mac.

(solarbird and I have been consistently happy with our iPhones, but when our current phones' lifespans run out, we'll be considering Droids just because the AT&T data cap pricing is highly annoying. But it'll be a while before we switch. I just got my iPhone last summer and it's still perfectly functional. :) )

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

When I was shopping for a new phone last year I was coming off of a less than stellar period of using Winmo. Granted, the experience was actually greatly improved by going from 6 to whatever that next version was, but I really don't want my phone to crash (htc 5800, called a mogul on the Sprint network, it had a slide-out keyboard that worked very well). I did love the touch screen, though! That screen was also still set for a stylus, originally, so using my nails was quick AND precise.

The dearth at the time of any new phones including features I consider non-negotiable (biggest of those being a physical keyboard) led me to get a Blackberry curve, which has been doing very well for me. I am quite ok with trading off a bigger screen for a candy bar form factor, which has always been my favorite. The transition from touch screen back to trackball took a couple weeks, but navigation really is set up well on the berry. It shows that Rimm pays attention to what people want, and how to get it taken care of.

If I were getting a phone now I would likely want a droid, or a mytouch slide phone. Only problem being that the droid is currently only on Verizon, and the mytouch slide only on T-Mobile. Our mobile market really is screwed.

If T-Mobile amps (heh) up their network anytime soon I might consider switching to them, if only because they offer a very reasonable non-contract option on the phones that can actually save you a good bit of cash over a contract. Verizon really has no hope of getting my business back anytime soon due to their ridiculous pricing structure for their plans. Every plan I look at it at least 1/3 more expensive than Sprint, and they use the same network.

On a sidebar, I am really happy that Motorola has come up with a very nice phone again with the droid.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

We've gotten pretty good coverage with T-Mobile (including the in-laws' in Backobeyond PA); YMMV depending on location.

Currently we have a WinMo model (TouchPro 2), but might switch to Android when the contract runs out next year, depending on what specific options are out there -- the one recurring annoyance I have with the TP2 is lack of a dedicated earphone jack (there's an adapter that plugs into the mini-USB port, but it's rather clunky and creates an extra point for the connection to go loose), limiting what would otherwise be a decent ability to use it as a portable audio/video player.

[wrenn.livejournal.com]

"If T-Mobile amps (heh) up their network anytime soon "

They are. I know because my older brother is working for them as a line engineer. 2-3 years ago he was working for AT&T doing the same thing, when they were amping up their hardware and towers. ( need to note... a year and a half ago, AT&T laid off a lot of the people who worked on building up their network.)

I waited for the 'driod, and I'm happy. I have to check where Keith is in his contract because I want to get him off of the IPhone (he's gone through two in the past year, and the one he now has the 'off button' on the top doesn't work most of the time. And at others, it 'forgets' there's a sim card in it. Yeah. it's dying.)

[mimiheart.livejournal.com]

The iPhone is the only option if you are blind. The android does talk, but only for the very basics. It's not even worth getting smartphone for what the text-to-speech does.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

It amazes me how much people rip on the iPhone, either for real problems (AT&T data cap) or entirely imaginary ones (they won't let you install a different processor chip by yourself, horrors!) but what about the many faults of androids? I've heard just as many complaints about Verizon (where I live, Verizon is much worse than AT&T) and many of those bargain basement data plans you hear about are only offered in specific locations or with a lot of restrictions.

I say this because I have two friends who swallowed the anti-iphone hype without doing research, now one is paying over $50 more a month for less service (and far fewer apps), and the other can only use his "superior" phone when the stars align properly and the weather gods are favorable. And so far, neither of them have had a burning compulsion (or knowledge) to hack into the phones hardware or write a porn app.

They are two different phones, they both have pluses and minuses, and they are different enough that a person should really do research to find which phone is for them. But getting an android just because it's not an iphone is rather stupid, as can be deduced from the juvenile rants of anti-iPhone commenters on tech sites.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

This is my feeling, too. I love my iPhone, and it does everything I could ever want or need...but then, I also am a longtime Mac person (since 1988), so maybe there's a bias. I just don't see the need for all the things that PC users seem to want.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

Interesting read. Currently I'm running out the clock on my Sprint contract with a Palm Pre. It's a nice phone which does pretty much everything I really need to do, but it's turned into an also-ran that will be orphaned. When my contract expires I'm probably going to switch to Verizon. If the rumored iPhone on Verizon appears then I'll have to make a decision. If it doesn't then the only choice will be "What Android phone?"

As for which one to get (iPhone or Android), I don't get why so many people care what someone else uses. It's like any other personal choice - if you're happy with yours and I'm happy with mine, why worry about it?

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Interesting read, even for someone who has no plans on getting any cell phone (and if I do it would be a cheap "pay as you go" model). My main complaint about the iPhone, iPad, and iWhatever is its reliance on iTunes, a program I consider a virus. Even if I never get a porn app, I want the freedom to get one if I so choose. The way Apple will remove apps it doesn't like sounds too much like censorship to me.

[antinomic.livejournal.com]

Yep, the App store is censored. But you can download anything you might want on your Mac or PC, and use ITunes to put it on the Ipad. I can't comment on the Iphone, they look pretty, but I'm happy with my my $10/month phone. And my Ipad for $30/unlimited data.

But their data plans are OK, I have used less than 2 gigs since I got the IPad on day 1 of the 3G model. Nothing I do at home counts in that total, as that is wifi.

[dan-ad-nauseam.livejournal.com]

The ad I want to see:

Obi-Wan stands next to a pile of technological debris, takes out his [whichever one runs the ad], pokes at a button or two, then looks up.

"You don't need to look at their apps. These aren't the Droids you're looking for."

Cut to shot of [whichever one runs the ad].

Voice over: "Move along."