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Former iPhone users.. are you pleased?

1. You'll never see the accessory list match that of iphone. There are more andrid phones introduced in one year then there are iphones from gen one. Impossible for any company to try and match that level of accessories for each phone. But with more bluetooth devices like speaker systems and just bt adapters in general you can get functionality in many devices. Other things you just have to look at a 2yr headstat with a whopping 4r phones and 3 design changes as opposed to two years and over 20 different phones with non matching cases.

2. Again...2yr headstart. Developers are just beginning to realize the potential for gaming on android and the new hardware is just beginning to realize it's potential for gaming.

3. It isn't as polished in any form or skin. Hopefully gingerbread changes that with it's gui revamp. It's one reason why it's a shame Palm has struggled so. webOS has the polish and finess to compete with iOS but not the hardware or support.

4. There are quite a few backup programs in the market. Titanium is great and wonderful if you're rooted, but there are other options and they'll ge more functional in time.

There is a tradeoff for jumping away from a single phoned, single company ecosystem that has had a decent head start. You just have to see if the current benefits outweigh the negatives and have faith the improvements will come in time; hopefully sooner than later. Would be nice to see gingerbread on the current crop of premium phones (evo, epic, incredible and x)

dafuser said:
Negatives:
- Android apps are generally not nearly as polished, or full featured overall
- Games are not as good as iPhone's (e.g. Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz)
- Android OS -- even with Sense -- doesn't feel as polished as iPhone OS
- Lack of good backup/restore options without rooting (I don't really want to root my phone just for backup and I've already paid for tethering anyway)

- Nowhere near the number of accessories as the iPhone

- Battery life -- I should of said lack of battery life. Not very good for me so far

Positives:
- The screen -- Gotta love it, makes the iPhone look like a toy

- 4G Speed -- The EVO on 4G is amazing. I don't have 4G at home, but I do have it at work.

- Widgets -- I really like them

- Multi-tasking - The way it should work

Now if I could find headphones with inline music controls that allow me to change volume, switch tracks.

There are a few apps I have on my iPhone that I have not installed on the EVO just yet, mainly because they're expensive (Slingbox App) and I am not sure if I'll keep the EVO yet.

I did find the Angry Birds app (still in beta), and bought the regular version of Bejeweled. The Android version is not as smooth to play, there seems to be some lag when moving jewels.

Overall I'm very impressed with the EVO, more than I was with the other Android phones I've evaluated. That 4G speed can make the negatives seem not that important. Now I just need to get the headphone/earbud ith inline music controls thing figured out. :D
Click to expand...
 
1. You'll never see the accessory list match that of iphone. There are more andrid phones introduced in one year then there are iphones from gen one. Impossible for any company to try and match that level of accessories for each phone. But with more bluetooth devices like speaker systems and just bt adapters in general you can get functionality in many devices. Other things you just have to look at a 2yr headstat with a whopping 4r phones and 3 design changes as opposed to two years and over 20 different phones with non matching cases.

2. Again...2yr headstart. Developers are just beginning to realize the potential for gaming on android and the new hardware is just beginning to realize it's potential for gaming.

3. It isn't as polished in any form or skin. Hopefully gingerbread changes that with it's gui revamp. It's one reason why it's a shame Palm has struggled so. webOS has the polish and finess to compete with iOS but not the hardware or support.

4. There are quite a few backup programs in the market. Titanium is great and wonderful if you're rooted, but there are other options and they'll ge more functional in time.

There is a tradeoff for jumping away from a single phoned, single company ecosystem that has had a decent head start. You just have to see if the current benefits outweigh the negatives and have faith the improvements will come in time; hopefully sooner than later. Would be nice to see gingerbread on the current crop of premium phones (evo, epic, incredible and x)

dafuser said:
Negatives:
- Android apps are generally not nearly as polished, or full featured overall
- Games are not as good as iPhone's (e.g. Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz)
- Android OS -- even with Sense -- doesn't feel as polished as iPhone OS
- Lack of good backup/restore options without rooting (I don't really want to root my phone just for backup and I've already paid for tethering anyway)

- Nowhere near the number of accessories as the iPhone

- Battery life -- I should of said lack of battery life. Not very good for me so far

Positives:
- The screen -- Gotta love it, makes the iPhone look like a toy

- 4G Speed -- The EVO on 4G is amazing. I don't have 4G at home, but I do have it at work.

- Widgets -- I really like them

- Multi-tasking - The way it should work

Now if I could find headphones with inline music controls that allow me to change volume, switch tracks.

There are a few apps I have on my iPhone that I have not installed on the EVO just yet, mainly because they're expensive (Slingbox App) and I am not sure if I'll keep the EVO yet.

I did find the Angry Birds app (still in beta), and bought the regular version of Bejeweled. The Android version is not as smooth to play, there seems to be some lag when moving jewels.

Overall I'm very impressed with the EVO, more than I was with the other Android phones I've evaluated. That 4G speed can make the negatives seem not that important. Now I just need to get the headphone/earbud ith inline music controls thing figured out. :D
Click to expand...
 
dbpaddler said:
1. You'll never see the accessory list match that of iphone. There are more andrid phones introduced in one year then there are iphones from gen one. Impossible for any company to try and match that level of accessories for each phone. But with more bluetooth devices like speaker systems and just bt adapters in general you can get functionality in many devices. Other things you just have to look at a 2yr headstat with a whopping 4r phones and 3 design changes as opposed to two years and over 20 different phones with non matching cases.

That's a problem with the Android phones, precisely because of all the different platforms from various manufacturers. There is no standard for anything, all of them have different screens sizes, types, resolutions, etc. Google should of put down some sort of ground rules. Why does each manufacturer feel the need to put their own UI on the Android phones they sell? The phones are already locked to their own networks, and I doubt people base their decision to buy a particular phone based on the carriers UI.

2. Again...2yr headstart. Developers are just beginning to realize the potential for gaming on android and the new hardware is just beginning to realize it's potential for gaming.

You're right about development, no matter if we're talking about games or any other apps. I think as Android matures, it will get better games and more apps


3. It isn't as polished in any form or skin. Hopefully gingerbread changes that with it's gui revamp. It's one reason why it's a shame Palm has struggled so. webOS has the polish and finess to compete with iOS but not the hardware or support.

Again, as Android matures, it will get better and more polished.

4. There are quite a few backup programs in the market. Titanium is great and wonderful if you're rooted, but there are other options and they'll ge more functional in time.

I don't want to have to root the phone to do backups. There may be some other options that I have not found out about, I just need to add that to my learning curve. There also needs to be a easy way to restore the phone back to way it was when I took it out of the box.

I have not seen anything from the Sprint website on where to download the original software image for the EVO so I can revert back to the original factory setup. I'm not talking about just wiping the phone of data, but reverting back to the software version the phone was at when I opened the box. The iPhone lets you do a restore and will revert the phone back to it's original state when you first bought the phone with one click of the mouse.

There is a tradeoff for jumping away from a single phoned, single company ecosystem that has had a decent head start. You just have to see if the current benefits outweigh the negatives and have faith the improvements will come in time; hopefully sooner than later. Would be nice to see gingerbread on the current crop of premium phones (evo, epic, incredible and x)
Click to expand...
Yep, there are pro's and con's to both the closed and open systems. I'm not sure which one has the advantage yet, I'm leaning toward the more open Android system, but the Apple closed system also has some good things working for it.
 
Why is it a problem? Even if I liked Apple products, I would never buy an iphone. I just don't like the form factor plain and simple. I want a real keyboard, and at this point a 4" screen is a minimum. So you lose out on choice and options when buying into their ecosystem. You're also locked into proprietary. I don't like itunes. Don't need it. I'm a drag and drop guy for all my file needs. Don't want extra crap on my computer because I have to go through some company's ecosystem. The Apple way is very idiot proof (not saying all Apple users are idiots), and if you are content with what they provide, it's a very seamless system. But many need more, want options, and don't need to be spoon fed one way to do things. If Android were all about a nexus 1, they'd be in the same boat. Different form factors, different skins, different functionality. If it weren't for manufacturer skins, many wouldn't find android palatable especially if they aren't on board with doing a little homework to customize. For a company that never had a mobile OS, they've done fairly well in the grand scheme. I'm banking on Gingerbread to bring some polish (maybe thanks to a certain former Palm employee). I think Sense brings comfort to many first time Android users even though it still lacks functionality found older smartphone platforms as well as webOS (to throw in a newer one).

And the iphone is locked into AT&T in the US unless you jailbreak so you are tied to a specific carrier. You're also tied into a proprietary connector (which is the basis for all those accessories) and proprietary desktop software . In the grand scheme it's just another way for them to bind you to their ecosystem. Every choice they make is solely done to tie the customer in to the ecosystem and inhibit them from wanting to explore outside it. Definitely not a bad thing from the company perspective, but it is interesting to see many former iphone users relish in the freedom to choose and customize when they buy into android.

Granted, some standards in design would be nice. Like the home/back/menu/find buttons. Can we agree on an order and stick with it already?
dafuser said:
That's a problem with the Android phones, precisely because of all the different platforms from various manufacturers. There is no standard for anything, all of them have different screens sizes, types, resolutions, etc. Google should of put down some sort of ground rules. Why does each manufacturer feel the need to put their own UI on the Android phones they sell? The phones are already locked to their own networks, and I doubt people base their decision to buy a particular phone based on the carriers UI.
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And the big explosion of phones across all the networks is just a boon for developers. They see the dollar signs. You charge $5 for a good app and sell 50,000 copies. That's $250k in revenue and $175k in the developers pocket. That's not shabby at all.
dafuser said:
You're right about development, no matter if we're talking about games or any other apps. I think as Android matures, it will get better games and more apps
Click to expand...

Looking forward to seeing the big revamp in gingerbread. Seeing iOS, webOS and glimpses of WP7, I want crisp and polish beyond what Sense has done.
dafuser said:
Again, as Android matures, it will get better and more polished.
Click to expand...

Titanium is the only option that requires root and is a pretty sweet app though I haven't rooted my Epic so I'm not using it for now. There are other options. Sprite does backup for everything but apps, but they have a separate app backup app. OnTheFly Backup and App Backup & Reinstall can backup apps. MyBackup Pro can pretty much do it all. All are in the market.
dafuser said:
I don't want to have to root the phone to do backups. There may be some other options that I have not found out about, I just need to add that to my learning curve. There also needs to be a easy way to restore the phone back to way it was when I took it out of the box.
Click to expand...



The factory reset under Privacy does restore the phone back to how it was out of the box. Well, it'll be on whatever firmware was the last loaded. I think you have to look to HTC to get factory roms if you want to flash back to something previous though (say 2.1 from 2.2). Sprint will generally just have a link to the latest and greatest update, not previous ones. I previous think the stores have the ability to roll back to previous versions.
dafuser said:
I have not seen anything from the Sprint website on where to download the original software image for the EVO so I can revert back to the original factory setup. I'm not talking about just wiping the phone of data, but reverting back to the software version the phone was at when I opened the box. The iPhone lets you do a restore and will revert the phone back to it's original state when you first bought the phone with one click of the mouse.
Click to expand...
 
I just wanted to know what are some of the things that EVO owners are envious of Iphone owners about.....

I'd have to say that the industrial design is the only thing I find myself jealous of. I'm a really big design fan and I just love the feel of the Iphone 4. It feels rock solid in hand, and every surface you touch is either aluminum or glass. I'm in no way dogging the EVO, out of all the android phone manufacturers, HTC is the best with design and finishes, and the EVO is one of the better looking, and built android devices. One of the first things I did after purchasing the EVO was buy a case for it, I don't know if I would have done so (barring the death grip issues) if I had an Iphone, I think it would almost be a shame to cover that thing up.

I think one of the only Android devices that comes close is the HTC Aria on At&t, it's really well built from a design standpoint, but is too small and on the wrong carrier for me.

So what are the things that you envy (if anything) about the Iphone 4?
 
Personally, for me, the iPhone 4s strongest point is it's beautiful design. My friend has got one, it just feels rock solid in the hand, as you said. But there are some 'sharp' edges on it, which makes it hard or even painful to hold on some occasions.
 
I don't like the design of the iPhone 4 at all. Aside from my own personal taste, the design is plain idiotic. A handheld device made mostly of glass with an antenna that comes into direct contact with the user when held? No thank you. I wasn't surprised when the design flaws started hitting the news.

The only things I would like to see Android adopt are an integrated first-party video calling framework, a few more transition effects (like the screen rotation animation), and some iOS-like (or better yet, Windows Phone 7-like) API organization on the dev end.

I don't mind bloatware as long as I can uninstall it. I'd love to see Google require OEMs and carriers to give users that option out of the box.

I also want some kind of OS upgrade guarantee for all Android devices. Either update my device for 2 years or give me a discount on a new device. The crap that certain OEMs (Samsung) are pulling with Android OS updates is absolutely insane. The iPhone's update situation doesn't seem THAT much better (1 year old devices get almost all of the new software features while 2 year old devices get a select few and these updates almost always bring performance issues to older iPhones).

I know that the video calling framework is coming. The other things are up in the air.
 
Draiko, I totally agree with you about the inherent flaws of the antenna design, I was speaking on more of an aesthetic design and how the phone looks and feels to the touch, it's not plasticky and feels as if it was meant to last a while.

Android really did drop the ball when depending on 3rd party devs to come up with the video calling apps. It's not a function that I use personally, but then again if it was easier and better thought out I may...

I do also like the transition effects of IOS, they really make the OS a little more polished. Root is your friend when it comes to adding different transitions to an android rom, some custom roms have them baked in as well. Gingerbread has some unique touches that set it apart from previous versions of android, but I think google has purposely tried to not mimic IOS in that regard.

Root is our friend once again when it comes to the bloatware, I know not everyone wants to have to tinker with their phone just to get rid of sprint nascar or tv, but the beauty of android is that we can.

I don't see an end to the "fragmentation" since it seems that the goal of google is to get as many android devices into people's hands regardless of carrier or manufacturer. There are so many low-end devices that will not ever be able to receive an upgrade because of hardware specs. I would hope that maybe in the future there will be more .5 or "lite" updates that will be able to be utilized by the lower end devices. Apple does a decent job in making the software do more of the work than the hardware, so that the hardware doesn't become obsolete in a small time frame, maybe google can do the same.
 
Nothing. But thats just me.

BTW Launcher Pro has four transitions to choose from and all are smooth as glass.

I guess I just like being an individual. I've several friends with Evo's and no two look remotely alike screenwise. Root and claim your phone!
 
There is only ONE thing i like more w/ the iphone...and that is the camera's speed. It takes pics so fast you could sit there and keep tapping the take pic button and it immediately responds
 
The main reason I switched from iPhone to EVO is due to my monthly bill.
I paid $95/month for their cheapest package: 450 minutes, 500 texts, 2MB data, 3G only network. With the Sprint, I get unlimited everything (400 minutes landline). And in Las Vegas, I actually get the 4G service + 25% off = $59.99 + tax/fees = $65/month. There is no comparison in pricing.

Oh - I like the EVO much better than my iPhone also....ha ha
 
Beermuny said:
I just wanted to know what are some of the things that EVO owners are envious of Iphone owners about.....

I'd have to say that the industrial design is the only thing I find myself jealous of. I'm a really big design fan and I just love the feel of the Iphone 4. It feels rock solid in hand, and every surface you touch is either aluminum or glass. I'm in no way dogging the EVO, out of all the android phone manufacturers, HTC is the best with design and finishes, and the EVO is one of the better looking, and built android devices. One of the first things I did after purchasing the EVO was buy a case for it, I don't know if I would have done so (barring the death grip issues) if I had an Iphone, I think it would almost be a shame to cover that thing up.

I think one of the only Android devices that comes close is the HTC Aria on At&t, it's really well built from a design standpoint, but is too small and on the wrong carrier for me.

So what are the things that you envy (if anything) about the Iphone 4?
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Apple is a hardware company - no doubt about it in my mind, they do produce very good, and very appealing hardware. In their history, sometimes their hardware is par excellence, sometimes it's just flashy and not functional enough.

They make one phone and they make it very well. For reasons I'll never be able to articulate - just something about overall feel - my favorite of the series has been the iP3GS. When I first picked up and studied the iP4, I was quite impressed. From a design standpoint, especially something about the buttons, I was somehow immediately reminded of the older Leica cameras - solid.

But for something I carry in a pocket - too solid, with glass on both sides.

My Evo is armored with that cheap silicon case you get in the Sprint store and it has a ugly, thick (but still seemingly responsive enough) screen protector. If I take a spill, that phone may crush but the pieces ought stay packed together and not packed into me.

And I live in the desert, where we have sand - the active ingredient in sandpaper. I don't care what anyone says about how tough glass can be - sand is glass, it can do a number on things like you wouldn't believe unless you've lived through it.

I'm not a dressy guy. I wear no jewelry beyond a wedding ring - and I sometimes take that off, for safety - because I tend to work around electrical industrial equipment. A phone is something that stays in my pocket with a mono headphone bud coming out and tucked away for fast access. In my downtime when I surf on my phone, I'm tired and that cheap ugly silicon case seems to grip my fingers right back at me.

Bang & Olufsen, perennial world-wide award winners in design and makers of the most aesthetically beautiful home audio gear, always said that they didn't make things to be beautiful - they made things where form followed function and in that, beauty resulted.

While I would vote the IP4 as the superior design from an industrial arts perspective, I would vote the Evo as I need it as the superior design in form following function.

Now, here's a silly vid poking fun at the iP4. It is NOT intended as Apple hate, it is NOT intended as Android lording, it IS intended as a laugh break on such a srsly biznus topic as iPhone vs. Evo.

It is not safe for work, it is not safe for children, and should not be viewed by anyone who may be offended by foul language. Hitting the Show button and viewing it is something you do at your own discretion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6IHZBXmixY

The iPhone and Evo are both great products. Record sales and ardent fans for each are proof of that.

I find the Evo superior - for me.

I do not find it superior in all categories - I believe the iPhone's camera is superior in some ways that count, for example. I envy that.

But - for my primary uses, I don't envy it overall. I far prefer Android - not enough to take an inferior product from the iPhone, so - I didn't.

Hope the movie made you laugh. :)
 
I never got into the whole iphone hype. I think all the iphones look like everything else thats out in the market. To me the iphone 4 is a step back,i don't like how the glass set around the chrome,a lot of time you see chrome around a phone folks make it see like its something special. If we put that same chrome on the EVO then you start hearing it's an iphone wanna be. I think the EVO is just as good of a design as the iphone,except for the camera lens sticking out. I carry my EVO in my pocket without any case,no screen protector and pretty careful with the way i handle it. Like you said,they are both good products but I like Android and my EVO a little more.
 
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