iPhone vs Android

[Raiden]

While it's clear that iPhone is still far and away the leader of mobile phones in the marketplace, it's also clear that Google is not standing idly by and is mounting a challenge against Apple & AT&T's iPhone dominance. Time will tell if they will ever succeed (probably not), but here's one blogger who is fed up by Apple and is switching to an Android phone:

Sayonara, iPhone: Why I'm Switching to Android

As an Android phone user (HTC Hero), I like my phone but I do think that iPhone is a far superior phone than mine. However, with Sprint's HTC EVO 4G and Verizon's HTC Incredible, and introduction of Froyo, I think Android is definitely making up some lost grounds to iPhone. I'm just glad to see that Android (unlike other competitors like Palm and Nokia) is willing to do something about iPhone's iron grip on the mobile phone market share.

 

[y2jversion1]

iPhone = proprietary s/w on single proprietary device (ie. hardware limitations)

Android = open source s/w on devices spanning across all brands (no hardware limitations, ie. if someone wants full touch phone or a phone w/ physical keyboard, a slider, flip, candybar style phone etc - there are options)

Apple revolutionized the presentation of smartphones, but IMO open-sourced & different brands & styles of phones that Android offers will be more appealing in the long run.

 

[dnno1]

I don't know how much of a difference that proprietary vs. open source that makes to the end user, although it might be something that application developers might like. The bottom line though is that even with the exclusive AT&T contract, the iphone is still a more popular device. If it wasn't for the exclusive contract with AT&T, who knows how many more devices Apple would have sold?

 

[KALEL114]

Open source is very big for Android users. There are several custom roms developed by the Android user base and you can't get that kind of customization with the iPhone. IPhone is more popular now, but Android is catching up. Apple needs to sell it through other carriers to keep it's edge. If Sprint had it from the beginning, I know I would have bought one for sure, but they didn't and I am a very happy Android user because of it.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i have the motorola droid and love it. more and more i hear iphone users complain about the phone. i've yet to hear any major droid complaints.

 

[runawayboulder]

I love the droid. The only thing that I don't like is the smooth keypad. It needs to be more defined. I would have definitely got an iphone but AT&T sucks ass. Glad I didn't..

 

[Crook]

Open source is very big for Android users. There are several custom roms developed by the Android user base and you can't get that kind of customization with the iPhone.

Bullcrap. Anyone that knows their way around the OS can get equal access and customization on both platforms.

What matters most to the user would be the ease of use and maybe the tech specs. This is really only something an individual can see for themselves however.

 

[KALEL114]

Let me expand on what I
meant. Google doesn't care if you use custom roms (with one exception) therefore it is easier to access them, that's why it is open source. Apple has fought against it from the start and it has limited the amount custom roms available. That's fact. Go to any android forum and you will find tons of custom stuff. Not so with iPhone.

 

[Crook]

Whether or not the company supports it is besides the fact that both communities are quite large and it's relatively easy to do it yourself. You are quite clearly out of the iPhone-jailbreaking loop if you honestly think there isn't a tons load of customization you can do to the phone. I've tweaked my phone over the years to the point where people ask me if it's a new model.

Here's just some examples of what the iPhone can look like:

[YT]ar63mtxnqcc[/YT]
[YT]kt8_BgaJ--0[/YT]
[YT]2BGeshdfvDs[/YT]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonny-wood/sets/72157623492414798/
http://www.freemobilecontents.com/free-iphone-themes/new-iphone-theme-collections.html

And that's just the surface skin. The likes of Cydia have offered users, features that haven't even been released by Apple themselves. Full multitasking, video conferencing, internet tethering, wifi syncing, adblock, etc. Heck, just a few weeks ago the entire Android OS was ported to the iPhone:



Arguing over who can do more with what software is beyond ridiculous. As long as the platform has its community to back them up, you can accomplish anything another competitor has. You just have to know where to look.

 

[Raiden]

I wish I can port my iTunes to my Android phone, but I doubt even a team of hackers and programmers can make that happen.

 

[SuperFerret]

Can I vote neither? Because I'm really dreading the day when all cell phones are like these two and I'll be forced to deal with having one.

 

[KALEL114]

Whether or not the company supports it is besides the fact that both communities are quite large and it's relatively easy to do it yourself. You are quite clearly out of the iPhone-jailbreaking loop if you honestly think there isn't a tons load of customization you can do to the phone. I've tweaked my phone over the years to the point where people ask me if it's a new model.

Here's just some examples of what the iPhone can look like:

[YT]ar63mtxnqcc[/YT]
[YT]kt8_BgaJ--0[/YT]
[YT]2BGeshdfvDs[/YT]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonny-wood/sets/72157623492414798/
http://www.freemobilecontents.com/free-iphone-themes/new-iphone-theme-collections.html

And that's just the surface skin. The likes of Cydia have offered users, features that haven't even been released by Apple themselves. Full multitasking, video conferencing, internet tethering, wifi syncing, adblock, etc. Heck, just a few weeks ago the entire Android OS was ported to the iPhone:



Arguing over who can do more with what software is beyond ridiculous. As long as the platform has its community to back them up, you can accomplish anything another competitor has. You just have to know where to look.

I'm not going to turn this into a pissing match. I could post several custom things for Android as well, but what would be the point? I know about jailbreaking. I also know that Apple is so against it that they took it to court to make it illegal. The ruling will come down sometime this year. Android users will never have to worry about that and that's a big deal to a lot of people. No matter how you slice it, open source is better than not having open source. Not sure how else to say it.

Apple needs to stop being so closed minded when it comes this kind of stuff and take the same approach Google has. Sell the phone through other carriers and don't sweat the modding community. If Apple would do that, the momentum Google/Android is gaining would come full stop.

 

[Raiden]

Can I vote neither? Because I'm really dreading the day when all cell phones are like these two and I'll be forced to deal with having one.

I guess you can get a Blackberry instead.

 

[SuperFerret]

Does a Blackberry have buttons? I loathe touch-screens with a passion.

 

[Crook]

I'm not going to turn this into a pissing match. I could post several custom things for Android as well, but what would be the point? I know about jailbreaking. I also know that Apple is so against it that they took it to court to make it illegal. The ruling will come down sometime this year. Android users will never have to worry about that and that's a big deal to a lot of people. No matter how you slice it, open source is better than not having open source. Not sure how else to say it.

These cases will never go anywhere, everyone knows that. The MPAA has tried several times to prohibit buyers from ripping/burning their own purchased content, and that has yet to manifest into any sizeable impact within the tech community. Fact of the matter is, you can do whatever the hell you want to your own goods. So as long as you're not stealing from them in some way, they can't touch you.

Whether the platforms are "officially" open-sourced or not has no immediate effect on the common user. Most won't even know what you're talking about or even begin to start in taking advantage of it. I've owned both the Nexus and iPhone. If you want to customize them thoroughly, you will need to seek out the tools and have the technical know-how to accomplish it. At this point we're far beyond the capabilities of your average consumer. Either of the two take no more considerable effort to customize over the other.

Mainstream doesn't give a s**t about open-source or not, primarily because they have no use for it. For the people it does matter to, well in this case, being officially touted as open-source doesn't matter because there is a way to bypass it and enjoy the same exact capabilities. It's great that Android is open, but simultaneously there isn't anything on their OS that I can't replicate with Apple's.

Apple needs to stop being so closed minded when it comes this kind of stuff and take the same approach Google has. Sell the phone through other carriers and don't sweat the modding community. If Apple would do that, the momentum Google/Android is gaining would come full stop.

What, so you don't want competition? That's a lose/lose for the consumer. Having the big companies fight it out can only be good for the market as it's incentive for innovation. Apple's staple is their unified UI and product integration. Having a closed system maximizes their efficiency in that territory. The cons are obvious, but the pro is that you can be sure their hardware/software are finely tuned precisely for one another. That's simply not a luxury you are awarded if you have to account for several devices with their own specs and differing manufacturing schedules at any given time. There's two sides to every argument there, but the important thing is the user has a choice between the two.

 

[Raiden]

Does a Blackberry have buttons? I loathe touch-screens with a passion.

Yeah, Blackberry does have physical keyboard.

 

[SuperFerret]

Then I hope that they'll last after actual phones are phased out to make way for what some people think are "better".

 

[xisaacx]

Iphone

 

[[rono]]

Apple make better devices, but the company is so hell bent on controlling whatever you do, that I can't see myself using the iPhone no matter what. I think Android is the future of the iPhone.

The closer Google gets, the more paranoid Steve Jobs gets.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

My cousin is in town for the week and she brought with her, her Android. I fell in love with it, and as soon as I get a job, I'll be getting one.

 

[Nightmare]

i have the motorola droid and love it. more and more i hear iphone users complain about the phone. i've yet to hear any major droid complaints.

Just got the droid not too long ago, I love it. Its my first smart phone and fell in love with it. Im anxiously awaiting any details about the shadow or Droid 2.

 

[[rono]]

I've read about the upcoming Windows Phone 7.
It looks impressive and beats both the iPhone and Android by a large mile.
But knowing Microsoft track record of "innovation" I have doubts they will make something really compelling out of it AND keep it up so that they can regain the market share they stupidly lost to the iPhone.

 

[Raiden]

I've read about the upcoming Windows Phone 7.
It looks impressive and beats both the iPhone and Android by a large mile.
But knowing Microsoft track record of "innovation" I have doubts they will make something really compelling out of it AND keep it up so that they can regain the market share they stupidly lost to the iPhone.

I'm surprised that Microsoft has yet to produce a Windows Mobile phone that can be competitive to iPhone or even Android, and no one I know has a cell phone that runs on Windows Mobile. Microsoft just don't have Apple's excellence nor Google's ambition to seize a good portion of the cell phone market.

 

[BatMatt]

I don't think I'll ever use anything but Android again, I mean the free apps, customization, multitasking, ect is fantastic. Not to mention there are some amazing Android devices

 

[BatMatt]

I wish I can port my iTunes to my Android phone, but I doubt even a team of hackers and programmers can make that happen.

the program DoubleTwist will mimic itunes, it will automatically import all your itunes library and playlists, you plug in your Android device (it will be recognized) then just drag over the files and you're good