I personally dislike iPhone but...

[Stuntman]

My company's return of several bad iPhone 4 models would argue that anything mass-produced is about the same as anything else mass produced.

As far as feel - yeah, I support your right to your opinion, but that's not a universally held opinion.

The two people in my family has had some problems with the iPhone. My father-in-law had to exchange his once. My brother-in-law is on his fourth iPhone (all iPhone 4's.) after his Nexus One died. This is a small sample size and not representative of the entire population. Perhaps my family is just unlucky. In any case, these incidents don't make me believe that iPhones are really that much better than other smartphones.

 

[Bob Maxey]

The two people in my family has had some problems with the iPhone. My father-in-law had to exchange his once. My brother-in-law is on his fourth iPhone (all iPhone 4's.) after his Nexus One died. This is a small sample size and not representative of the entire population. Perhaps my family is just unlucky. In any case, these incidents don't make me believe that iPhones are really that much better than other smartphones.

What is the return rate for Android phones? It has been estimated at 30-40%, but those are not necessarily true facts, they are Internet facts. A Phandroid spokesman says some handsets have a 50% return rate but also says it likely does not represent the whole.

If we knew the most returned android phone, we could say "Android phones have a 50% return rate..." and mislead the public that simply sees Android...50% return rate...where is the Apple store?

Lots of iPhone users--millions of them, in fact--like the iPhone enough to buy the next version, so I am not so sure they are bad in the minds of the buying public because the numbers are fairly solid. And there is only one iPhone at a time, not 500+models like Android.

I think if Apple licensed their iOS or started offering more than one phone every year or so, it would cut into Android's market share. Just a guess. It will not likely happen, however.

I love the iPhone's overall quality, but many Androids are getting there. Not so sure they are better than Android just very high in quality. They might break, but we need to know what the user was doing when it broke.

 

[Covart]

Apple will never let anyone else use their OS as long as Steve Jobs is alive and even after, it's doubtful. Steve has felt betrayed a couple of times when he has let people peek behind the looking glass.

Apple likes a tight ecosystem to ensure Apple software and hardware work well together. You know, that whole mantra, "It just works." only way to ensure this is to control everything in production. Lease out the OS to another OEM and Apple can't guarantee the same level of customer satisfaction.

Apple is ranked #1 in customer satisfaction year in and year out. They must be doing something right.

 

[lordofthereef]

I see people throwing around the $200 price tag. If you are willing to do the work yourself, that is, install it yourself (and from teardown vids it looks quite easier if you are the slightest bit technologically inclined), you can buy a kit for $80 or less. If all you are doing is changing the back color, $40 will do you. Not bad, considering the prices of some designer cases...

 

[Stuntman]

I think if Apple licensed their iOS or started offering more than one phone every year or so, it would cut into Android's market share. Just a guess. It will not likely happen, however.

If Apple made a larger variety of phones and some of those had a physical, slide-out keyboard, they would have an opportunity to have me as a customer. The physical keyboard requirement made me look elsewhere. My friend wanted a phone with a large screen. He got a Thunderbolt with a 4.3" screen. If Apple had a larger screen phone, he might have gotten it instead of the Thunderbolt. I do think that a wider variety of phones would enable Apple to capture a much larger market share.

Apple seems to be doing really well with only a single, current model of phone. If they do expand their line-up of phones, it will be done slowly. There are certain advantages to keeping the variety small to non-existent. I think they do not see having a wide variety of models as enough of an advantage right now compared to the issues of supporting a wider selection of models at this point in time.

I happen to be a bit picky about the features/form factor of the last few devices I bought. With the variety of Android devices out there, I happened to find one that fit my needs just a bit better than an equivalent Apple product. If I hadn't been so picky, I might have gotten the iPhone and iPad as they are well known and popular products out there today.

 

[onpointG35]

I don't understand how a phone could be sexy. Looks toy-ish to me. It's all personal preference, I think the 3gs iphone is a better design than the iphone 4.

Feel the same way I had an iPhone in the past and they all look the same, the 3gs looks better than the 4th

 

[chanchan05]

Ive held almost all android phones in my hand and none of them have as a premium or high quality feel that even comes close to the iPhone. Apple slays all in terms of build quality and hardware.

I've held iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S/SL, Xperia Arc, HTCs.....

I find the Nokia E7 gives me a better feel of premium.. Cold metal, slick glass, large and gorgeous CB-AMOLED screen...But then again what's inside counts too. So sad they got Elop from MS. Nokia on either Android or MeeGo would have been great, but hey, I like the look of Metro UI though.

 

[Stuntman]

I find the Nokia E7 gives me a better feel of premium.. Cold metal, slick glass, large and gorgeous CB-AMOLED screen...But then again what's inside counts too. So sad they got Elop from MS. Nokia on either Android or MeeGo would have been great, but hey, I like the look of Metro UI though.

I was really attracted to the E7 when it was first announced. I had the N97 before. Although it isn't a very good phone as a whole, there are some features I really like about it. The feel of the keyboard is very nice. The E7 keyboard appears to be similar to the N97 in feel. I decided against getting an E7 because of some concerns I had with the N8 browser.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I see people throwing around the $200 price tag. If you are willing to do the work yourself, that is, install it yourself (and from teardown vids it looks quite easier if you are the slightest bit technologically inclined), you can buy a kit for $80 or less. If all you are doing is changing the back color, $40 will do you. Not bad, considering the prices of some designer cases...

I would like to see how an iPhone is constructed before I decide to take one apart. Do you remember the Palm V? The covers were glued to a plastic frame and once taken apart (by the dabbler) getting it back together is a real PITA. We used a 25 foot tall behemoth that applied heat and pressure then moved the PDA to the cold side for a quick cool down.

Can you post a tear down link? Bob is curious.

I would never pay 200 bucks for a spot of color.

 

[onpointG35]

[FONT=&quot]I’m glad that after surfing the web for much a long time I have found out this information. I’m really lucky.[/FONT]

What did you find out

 

[lordofthereef]

I would like to see how an iPhone is constructed before I decide to take one apart. Do you remember the Palm V? The covers were glued to a plastic frame and once taken apart (by the dabbler) getting it back together is a real PITA. We used a 25 foot tall behemoth that applied heat and pressure then moved the PDA to the cold side for a quick cool down.

Can you post a tear down link? Bob is curious.

I would never pay 200 bucks for a spot of color.

Apple, iPhone and iPad Forums at ModMyi - HOW TO: Take Apart an iPhone 4 (GSM)

The back, any kid could do it. The front takes a little more work.