Honest Android vs Iphone discussion?

[jaytek13]

Is it possible? I know I'm not the only one out there to have owned both an iPhone and Android based phone at one point, but fanboi-ism seems to take over all of these discussions no matter what side you're on. I'm not an Apple fanboi by any means... I use Windows, Linux, and OSX for my home computer needs and the phone is no different for me. It's about what provides me with the most usefulness for my particular needs and wants, and the same goes for the phone. And so the same points need to be made... What serves my purposes most for a smart phone.... And having owned 2 android phones and 2 iphones at this point, I find myself leaning towards the iphone, and here's why:

1) The iPhone apps are more well developed. Whether we're talking about facebook or pandora, the iPhone apps are just more reliable, less buggy, and more feature filled than their android counterparts.

2) # of apps doesn't matter. Quality of apps does. Every article I see comparing iphone to android apps talks just about the number of apps... sure, the android market is catching up, but with what? Apps that are essentially advertisements leading to a web page. Apps that crash your phone, apps that hog memory, and apps that are generally inferior to their iPhone versions. There are one or two apps it seems that are on par with iPhone quality apps, but I would say Google's "openness" has created a market for them that just ponders to nothing but a bunch of apps that shouldn't be considered anything more than spam

3) "Openness"... this is a dirty word in the Apple world. Apple only lets certain apps join the rankings in the apps store. We all know that, right? But Google also operates by their own ToS, and have themselves rejected this or that app, or left it up to the carrier providers to deny access to certain applications. Can we really think of Google as more "open" when they themselves deny access to certain applications... the only advantage to their openness at this point seems to be to allow spam applications on the market

4) GPS; I never had a problem with GPS on my iPhone. In a building, underground, outside, no matter where I was it always knew my exact location. I posted about this recently, and the response to me was "GPS is inherently inaccurate you can't expect reliable GPS if there is cloud cover"... I had to laugh a little bit because this was obviously a fanboi who never used the iPhone and doesn't know what it means to have reliable GPS, which isn't surprising if you've only ever used an android phone. No matter how many "fixes" they come out with, no matter how many apps there are that are supposed to fix it, and no matter of times can I wave my phone around in circles will android ever come close to the reliability of iPhone GPS.

5) Music: Oh gosh, this was my first complaint when getting an android. The music quality was horrible, and the volume was too low. There was another post recently about this (I'm sure there are many), and the response was "wow you expect good music quality from a phone?". I had to laugh at this. Yes, I do expect good music quality from my smart phone which is supposed to double as a music player, and the iPhone delivered. The android? Any of you who have never experienced music on the iPhone are missing out. I downloaded the volume boost app for my Thunderbold recently... it only sounded louder and distorted.

I will say I switched to android recently because of the Thunderbolt. Due to my having left my 3G behind for the sake of the original Droid I lost my grandfather clause when they switched to a 2GB limit, and I kept going over it. so when the Thunderbolt came out with the unlimited 4g data plan I thought I'd give Android another try... but aside from the Verizon provided data plan, I am yet to find a single reason why Android is better than iPhone, and if the iPhone 5? comes out with 4g on verizon I will quickly switch (though I've heard we shouldn't expect this on Verizon's network anyways).

Anyways this is my experience, having tried my assortment of both iPhone and Android phones. I realize this came off as one-sided, since I am at this point preferring iPhone, but if you could perhaps list valid reasons in a non apple vs google manner than... I would be pleasantly surprised.

 

[admob]

mmm, so you're not a fanboy, but after having experience of only 2 droid phones, you can make the assumption that no droid phone will ever have the realibility of iphone GPS, please!!!!

 

[substring]

... but aside from the Verizon provided data plan, I am yet to find a single reason why Android is better than iPhone...

Here is your single reason: if you need more storage on your iPhone, what do you have to do? You have to big a new phone with more memory. To me it is absurd not to support SD Card.

And another good reason: the Super AMOLED screen on my Galaxy S phone beats any iPhone screen hands-down. And yes, I did compare them side-by-side with my friends with iPhone 3 and iPhone 4.

All the other things you have stated are not valid. I don't have any GPS problem or sound quality problem with my Galaxy S.

 

[TheBrit]

1. You pays your money...you take your choice.

2. I agree that number of apps doesn't matter but can't agree with the rest of the post. My experience of apps does not reflect your experience. I read app reviews before installing and if a reviews say that the app has the problems you describe I stay well clear. The review system is there for a reason.

3. Android could do with better quality control but I don't want to see the control freakery going on at the Apple AppStore.

4. GPS? Are you kidding? the GPS in the iPhone 3G was so bad that TomTom felt the need to build another one into their windscreen mount for the iPhone! Hopefully Apple made improvements for the 3GS and 4. The GPS on my Hero was just fine. It's just fine on my Desire HD. I don't know what other manufacturers are like except for the well publicised Galaxy S issues.

5. Music wasn't brilliant on the Hero but my Desire HD has SRS and Dolby Mobile which improves things a lot.

My main reason for using Android over iPhone...widgets. Maybe iPhone 5 will "do widgets right".

There are 2 things I prefer on the iPhone, the design of the UI for task switching (only the UI mind you as it's still not true multi-tasking) and the way folders are implemented. Apple was very late to the party with these features and were able to improve on what others had done before.

 

[takeshi]

Is it possible? I know I'm not the only one out there to have owned both an iPhone and Android based phone at one point, but fanboi-ism seems to take over all of these discussions no matter what side you're on.

Sure it is. Whether or not it is possible to have a thread without fanboys piping up is another question entirely though. Even without fanboys, it seems very difficult for most forum users to separate subjective assessments versus objective assessments. Perhaps that's what you're referring to. You own post isn't free of subjectiveness so I really don't even see the point in starting yet another discussion of this sort. You make broad, sweeping generalizations to support your arguments based on your preference and I'm not sure what your agenda is. If you're happy with your choice then why are you evangelizing?

 

[takeshi]

The iPhone apps are more well developed. Whether we're talking about facebook or pandora, the iPhone apps are just more reliable, less buggy, and more feature filled than their android counterparts.

Both camps have good apps and both camps have bad apps. iOS apps may have a bit more consistency in appearance and a bit more polish in general but it's oversimplication to say "iOS apps good, Android apps bad". I guess if you look at the world in such black and white terms then it might be simpler to just pick iOS instead of Android.

Every option -- and I'm not talking about just smartphones but in general -- has pros and cons. Whether the balance of pros and cons for one option suits you better than the balance of pros and cons of another option is something you need to sort out for yourself. Don't make the common forum user mistake of assuming that your particular preferences are those of everyone else out there. If we all had the same identical preferences we'd all use the same device. That's obviously not the case if you bother to look around at all. The market is divided up by iOS, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, WP7, etc for good reason.

You can't complain about fanboys and then argue that your preferences are why one option is the best. That's part of what makes a fanboy. It's not just blind loyalty to a brand but also blindness to the possibility that someone else may have various reasons for selecting another option than you whether you understand why or not. To a fanboy, one product/brand is the best and it's the best for everyone.

GPS; I never had a problem with GPS on my iPhone.

Many others do. Don't assume that your anecdotal evidence is proof of any trend. I've certainly had more problems with my IP4 getting a GPS fix outdoors with no obstructions. From time to time, my Droid has an aGPS issue that requires clearing aGPS data but it has never lost GPS fix that way the IP4 does.

I am yet to find a single reason why Android is better than iPhone

Better is always highly subjective. No one can tell you why one option is better than another for you. This thread is already pointless as it's well on its way down the same path that you said you were attempting to avoid. If you want an objective discussion then start it with an objective post.

 

[mikedt]

2) # of apps doesn't matter. Quality of apps does.

Really? So how come I see 5 or 6 pages full of useless 'flashlight' and 'gun simulator' apps in the iTunes App Store?

4) GPS; I never had a problem with GPS on my iPhone. In a building, underground,

I'd be very surprised if any GPS worked underground.

5) Music: Oh gosh, this was my first complaint when getting an android. The music quality was horrible, and the volume was too low.

That is exactly what I found about the SQ from every iDevice I've ever heard.

 

[PSkeptic]

Is it possible? I know I'm not the only one out there to have owned both an iPhone and Android based phone at one point, but fanboi-ism seems to take over all of these discussions no matter what side you're on. I'm not an Apple fanboi by any means... I use Windows, Linux, and OSX for my home computer needs and the phone is no different for me. It's about what provides me with the most usefulness for my particular needs and wants, and the same goes for the phone. And so the same points need to be made... What serves my purposes most for a smart phone.... And having owned 2 android phones and 2 iphones at this point, I find myself leaning towards the iphone, and here's why:

1) The iPhone apps are more well developed. Whether we're talking about facebook or pandora, the iPhone apps are just more reliable, less buggy, and more feature filled than their android counterparts.

Facebook, Pandora, Google Mail, YouTube, AngryBirds, Tweetdeck, et al. All of these apps seem to me to be on par with each other, irrespective of which platform they run on.

2) # of apps doesn't matter. Quality of apps does. Every article I see comparing iphone to android apps talks just about the number of apps... sure, the android market is catching up, but with what? Apps that are essentially advertisements leading to a web page. Apps that crash your phone, apps that hog memory, and apps that are generally inferior to their iPhone versions. There are one or two apps it seems that are on par with iPhone quality apps, but I would say Google's "openness" has created a market for them that just ponders to nothing but a bunch of apps that shouldn't be considered anything more than spam

Ah, so the argument is no longer "Well, iPhone has more apps" to "The iPhone's apps are better"...

I see now...

3) "Openness"... this is a dirty word in the Apple world. Apple only lets certain apps join the rankings in the apps store. We all know that, right? But Google also operates by their own ToS, and have themselves rejected this or that app, or left it up to the carrier providers to deny access to certain applications. Can we really think of Google as more "open" when they themselves deny access to certain applications... the only advantage to their openness at this point seems to be to allow spam applications on the market

You do know there are several app markets now, right? Don't like the Android App Market? Try Amazon's. Or, AppLib.

Now, try using another market on an iPhone...

4) GPS; I never had a problem with GPS on my iPhone. In a building, underground, outside, no matter where I was it always knew my exact location. I posted about this recently, and the response to me was "GPS is inherently inaccurate you can't expect reliable GPS if there is cloud cover"... I had to laugh a little bit because this was obviously a fanboi who never used the iPhone and doesn't know what it means to have reliable GPS, which isn't surprising if you've only ever used an android phone. No matter how many "fixes" they come out with, no matter how many apps there are that are supposed to fix it, and no matter of times can I wave my phone around in circles will android ever come close to the reliability of iPhone GPS.

I've had GPS issues inside of a building with a PLGR (Military GPS unit)... There's aGPS, and GPS.

With my LG Ally, with aGPS, I've not had any issues inside of a building, or in tunnels. My Samsung Fascinate has not had an issue either.

5) Music: Oh gosh, this was my first complaint when getting an android. The music quality was horrible, and the volume was too low. There was another post recently about this (I'm sure there are many), and the response was "wow you expect good music quality from a phone?". I had to laugh at this. Yes, I do expect good music quality from my smart phone which is supposed to double as a music player, and the iPhone delivered. The android? Any of you who have never experienced music on the iPhone are missing out. I downloaded the volume boost app for my Thunderbold recently... it only sounded louder and distorted.

If you expect quality music coming from ANYTHING with a 1/8" stereo plug, I have a bridge in Alaska to sell you...

But, expecting a Phone, to deliver high-quality audio, out of a 1/8" stereo jack is laughable at best.

The iPhone probably does deliver decent audio. You wanna know why? Because the iPhone was made to be a Personal Media Player, that happens to be able to make phone calls. Android was made to be a good phone OS, that happens to be able to play music.

I will say I switched to android recently because of the Thunderbolt. Due to my having left my 3G behind for the sake of the original Droid I lost my grandfather clause when they switched to a 2GB limit, and I kept going over it. so when the Thunderbolt came out with the unlimited 4g data plan I thought I'd give Android another try... but aside from the Verizon provided data plan, I am yet to find a single reason why Android is better than iPhone, and if the iPhone 5? comes out with 4g on verizon I will quickly switch (though I've heard we shouldn't expect this on Verizon's network anyways).

Anyways this is my experience, having tried my assortment of both iPhone and Android phones. I realize this came off as one-sided, since I am at this point preferring iPhone, but if you could perhaps list valid reasons in a non apple vs google manner than... I would be pleasantly surprised.

How big is the screen on your TB vs your iPhone?
If you need more memory on your TB, how would you do that? Now, how would you do that on your iPhone?
If your battery dies on your TB, can you replace it? How about your iPhone?
When is the iPhone getting 4G?

If you can't find a single reason a TB beats an iPhone, you are certainly a phanboy.

 

[lunatic59]

Honestly, it doesn't sound like you are looking for a discussion, but seeking confirmation that you are correct based on personal experience, personal preference and anecdotal information.

I have no doubt that for you each of your points is accurate and valid. My experiences are different than yours as are my preferences and needs in a device. I am not sure how my satisfaction with an android device on AT&T is really very relevant to an iPhone on Verizon.

...but if you could perhaps list valid reasons in a non apple vs google manner than... I would be pleasantly surprised.

If you are serious, then I can give you the main reasons I don't have an iPhone.

First is the rigid UI on the iPhone. I find it suffocatingly restrictive and don't feel the need to jailbreak just to horseshoe my preferences onto a device that clearly doesn't want me to. A grid of icons is tedious and now that I have a year, more or less, with Android, I don't know what I'd do without the widgets.

Second is the horrendous notifications in iOS ... or perhaps the brilliance of Android's. Either way, using iOS notifications after Android is like being stuck in an AMC Gremlin (remember those?) after driving an Alpha Romeo Giulietta.

Finally, the iTunes umbilical cord. I use my phone pretty much everywhere I go and often times the need presents itself that I have to copy a file to or from the device. I don't want to be saddled with the need to have *MY* copy of iTunes readily available just for a simple task.

The areas where iOS/iPhones excel do not FOR ME outweigh the benefits Android provides. I can put up with a less fluid scroll or smaller selection of games for a more functional device.

 

[tlbj6142]

I'm honestly on the fence right now. I haven't owned either type of phone. Though I know more folks with Androids than iPhones. For me the two primary reasons for not getting an iPhone are 1) the iPhone 5 will be out "soon" (late summer/early fall) and 2) iTunes. My little experience with iTunes has been horrible and I certainly don't want to deal with it on a daily basis. I recently read that OTA updates might be a feature in iOS5. If that happens, I might look more closely at iPhone this fall when the iPhone5 is released (assuming I can wait that long).

Edit: After reading the above post, I never thought about accessing the phone's storage would require iTunes. Is that true? Ugh! I guess you could Dropbox/Evernote a file to your phone?

 

[cds0699]

Both camps have good apps and both camps have bad apps. iOS apps may have a bit more consistency in appearance and a bit more polish in general but it's oversimplication to say "iOS apps good, Android apps bad". I guess if you look at the world in such black and white terms then it might be simpler to just pick iOS instead of Android.

Every option -- and I'm not talking about just smartphones but in general -- has pros and cons. Whether the balance of pros and cons for one option suits you better than the balance of pros and cons of another option is something you need to sort out for yourself. Don't make the common forum user mistake of assuming that your particular preferences are those of everyone else out there. If we all had the same identical preferences we'd all use the same device. That's obviously not the case if you bother to look around at all. The market is divided up by iOS, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, WP7, etc for good reason.

You can't complain about fanboys and then argue that your preferences are why one option is the best. That's part of what makes a fanboy. It's not just blind loyalty to a brand but also blindness to the possibility that someone else may have various reasons for selecting another option than you whether you understand why or not. To a fanboy, one product/brand is the best and it's the best for everyone.


Many others do. Don't assume that your anecdotal evidence is proof of any trend. I've certainly had more problems with my IP4 getting a GPS fix outdoors with no obstructions. From time to time, my Droid has an aGPS issue that requires clearing aGPS data but it has never lost GPS fix that way the IP4 does.


Better is always highly subjective. No one can tell you why one option is better than another for you. This thread is already pointless as it's well on its way down the same path that you said you were attempting to avoid. If you want an objective discussion then start it with an objective post.

This post is spot on, imo.

 

[EarlyMon]

^I agree with this.

I do not agree with this:

if you could perhaps list valid reasons in a non apple vs google manner than... I would be pleasantly surprised.