I'm an Android user and although I don't mind the iPhone, prefer the Android as it caters to my penchant for customising.
In saying that, I still have a Nokia for a backup. They've always been reliable and keen to check out the Windows Phone 7 now with Nokia on board. Been a windows mobile phone user for years before Android but been watching the WP7 development pretty closely. The last OS update to Mango was very good for WP7.
So.. go and check out the Nokia WP7s as well!
- Telstra HTC Touch Pro2 - Energy ROM WM6.5.5 20 Oct/Cyanogen Mod Froyo 2.2 - R.I.P - AT&T Galaxy S Captivate 16GB on XT (now with brother) - Samsung Galaxy S2 on XT- Runs ICS 4.0.3 Resurrection Remix 9.2 - Business Hours - Work In The Electricity Industry, After Hours - DJ/Turntablist - Will Scratch Vinyl For Free' - What's next??? S3?
The biggest bonus I see with the iPhone approach is the infamous dock connector on the bottom. It will allow you to get a speaker dock to listen to music through / charge, whereas the lack of a unified dock for Androd devices makes docking a no-go area. The other thing I like about Apple hardware is the ability to pick up numerous (and I mean numerous) earphones that feature volume controls + microphones built into the earphone cable. You can hunt down some that will work for certain Android phones, but no where the number that will work with Apple.
As others have said, each phone has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the at several good choices.
The iPhone is a go-to device for many people. It works well and has a huge number of apps available. The biggest issues with it are the high price, the Apple lock-in factor, and the fragility of the screen. (I know a few iPhone owners with cracked screens, but my Android-owning friend have never had this problem.)
Android is a flexible OS, and is available on a large number of phones from several manufacturers. However, not allare created equal. The cheaper phones tend to perform poorly, but the more expensive dual-core phones tend to work well. There are almost as many Android apps as iPhone apps and many are identical on both platforms. (If you do go Android, I highly recommend the Samsung Galaxy S II. It's almost a year old, but is still a fantastic device.)
Windows Phone is a hot new contender (unlike the old Windows Mobile). It gets rave reviews for its user interface, which is quite different from its competitors. However, it only holds a very small market share, so there aren't as many apps available for it. The OS is also very fussy what hardware out runs on, and the current phones are a hardware generation behind the competition.
If you find a phone you think you like the look of, do some Google homework on it before you buy to find out if it has any major issues. There are many good choices, but also a few lemons.
Dunnersfella: The biggest bonus I see with the iPhone approach is the infamous dock connector on the bottom. It will allow you to get a speaker dock to listen to music through / charge, whereas the lack of a unified dock for Androd devices makes docking a no-go area. The other thing I like about Apple hardware is the ability to pick up numerous (and I mean numerous) earphones that feature volume controls + microphones built into the earphone cable. You can hunt down some that will work for certain Android phones, but no where the number that will work with Apple.
Interesting point of view! I mostly see the proprietary connector in the same light that I see all proprietary connectors: detrimental. In fact universal Android docking speakers are already available overseas, can't be far away from here either. iPhone has tended to get a lot of great peripherals, but they're all coming around to Android now - it's market share is too big for companies to really ignore now.
Pop into your local Harvey Norman they all have live display iPhones, androids (HTC sensation, SGS II, and Note) plus Telecom new luminas just sitting there to fiddle with.
Had a play with the Samsung note today I just about wet my self its so pretty!
I prefer android mainly cos of the sync options. No PC or Mac needed all cloud for contacts, calendar, wifi passwords, photos, email, music - all one password cable free across unlimited devices for free.
Here are the bits of How I See It that (I hope) are not a repetition of previous posts.
iPhone
Good
The UI rocks, not doubt about it. Intuitive, smooth, pretty; all that and a bag of chips.
Quality build, good.
Integration. You can work across from other Apple products and iCloud is totally cool.
Accessories, you name it they have built it.
Software updates (iOS) are supported on your phone and will be in future.
Bad
Price, spec for spec it is too expensive compared to a similar Android.
You can't replace the battery. That means if it dies; it's recharge, power monkey or have another phone.
iTunes is the only way to get music on or off. But you might really like iTunes
You can't expend the memory with a bigger micro SD.
Android
Good
For the money you can get a higher spec phone, for less money you can get a similar spec phone.
Apps will allow easy ways to get media on or off the phone.
Google Docs, calendar and email integration is really easy. This is really useful if you want to update calendar stuff or similar on a work PC, as you can do it all in Chrome.
Bad
It isn't one phone. There isn't an "It works on Android". It might work on the phone you have, it might not.
The 'new' Android update make take ages to get to your phone, if it does get there.
Just because it is an Android phone doesn't mean it will do x, y or z. You need to check the spec yourself.
Personally, I wouldn't consider WinPho until Windows 8 is out and they are talking up how to integrate your phone with your PC. I am expecting to be completely blown away by this but as Win 8 hasn't been released yet we will have to see.
On paper I completely agree that Win software and Nokia hardware should totally rock. But I have a Windows PC I want to know how my Windows Phone would work with that before I put hand in pocket for hard earned.
I found this to be a very usefull summary of all the relevant pros and cons. Helped me decide tha I was an Android person, got me a Galaxy S and have been very happy with my decision.
I found this to be a very usefull summary of all the relevant pros and cons. Helped me decide tha I was an Android person, got me a Galaxy S and have been very happy with my decision.
See! all you haters didnt like my info lol ;) good man!
Follow me on Twitter ! Get help with Android from a XDA Recognized Developer - Google+
Android or iPhone, each has its compromises. Plenty of good points made so far, I especially liked nzgeek's summary.
One other thing I think important, although perhaps contentious: IMHO iPhone's are higher social status (for non-geeks) -- a sign you got cash or your job got status. You single? Ask chicks which they prefer...
The things that pissed me off with my Galaxy S were: a) no OS updates (unless flash ROM yourself) b) far too many great iOS apps and games have crappy/delayed ports to the Android (and too many good games/apps only released on iOS).
Main pissoffs for me with iPhone are price, screens crack, and Apple lockin (although there are good advantages to that too).
Another important difference currently is browser compatibility. Most websites will design for Mobile Safari. So many really interesting sites designed for mobile are often broken on Android (standard browser regularly crashes on Google Nexus). However you get plenty of choice of browser on Android, and the 'Request desktop site' feature is massively useful to avoid crappy mobile websites when browsing :-)
robocat: Another important difference currently is browser compatibility. Most websites will design for Mobile Safari. So many really interesting sites designed for mobile are often broken on Android (standard browser regularly crashes on Google Nexus). However you get plenty of choice of browser on Android, and the 'Request desktop site' feature is massively useful to avoid crappy mobile websites when browsing :-)
Browser compatibility is almost a non-issue these days. I never had any issues with the stock browser crashing, but maybe that's because I always run the latest Android version? :) Anyways, websites designed for Mobile Safari in most cases will work well on stock android browser because those websites would have to be designed using proper HTML5 standards. If for some reason a mobile site that works well in the iPhone doesn't look the same in Android, it's probably because the site is using user-agent sniffing to figure out what browser you're using - in which case, you can spoof the user agent to fool websites into thinking you're running the mobile safari. ;)
robocat: Another important difference currently is browser compatibility. Most websites will design for Mobile Safari. So many really interesting sites designed for mobile are often broken on Android (standard browser regularly crashes on Google Nexus). However you get plenty of choice of browser on Android, and the 'Request desktop site' feature is massively useful to avoid crappy mobile websites when browsing :-)
d3Xt3r: Browser compatibility is almost a non-issue these days. I never had any issues with the stock browser crashing, but maybe that's because I always run the latest Android version? :)
Anecdote: I get crashes and various other problems with the browser regularly on ICS 4.0.2 - That is more up to date than 99% of Android users :) :) :).
d3Xt3r: Anyways, websites designed for Mobile Safari in most cases will work well on stock android browser because those websites would have to be designed using proper HTML5 standards. If for some reason a mobile site that works well in the iPhone doesn't look the same in Android, it's probably because the site is using user-agent sniffing to figure out what browser you're using - in which case, you can spoof the user agent to fool websites into thinking you're running the mobile safari. ;)
I see mobile websites designed *specifically* for Mobile Safari, and they often don't give a toss about making it work on other browsers (although Android does a good job of keeping up). I see problems regularly comparing Android against iOS (running iOS on iPad - we are delivering an app for iPad for work - I don't have an iPhone anymore because I like the geekiness of a Nexus). Although Safari and Android share the same Webkit engine, there are a variety of differences (I work programming Javascript for the browser, so perhaps I notice the differences more than others).
I am not particularly biased for or against Android or iPhone ... I just want to see that both sides are fairly represented. Have fun :)
robocat: Anecdote: I get crashes and various other problems with the browser regularly on ICS 4.0.2 - That is more up to date than 99% of Android users :) :) :).
Actually, keeping in mind that 4.x is a new and different branch - 4.0.2 is practically ancient and buggy and hardly anyone use it these days. You would also probably agree with me that the first couple of builds of any new branch tends to be big buggy. Also, majority of the ICS ROMs out now are based on 4.0.3.
Anyways, 4.0.4 has been out for a while, and 4.0.5 will be out in the next couple of weeks. :)
robocat: Anecdote: I get crashes and various other problems with the browser regularly on ICS 4.0.2 - That is more up to date than 99% of Android users :) :) :).
Actually, keeping in mind that 4.x is a new and different branch - 4.0.2 is?practically?ancient and buggy and hardly anyone use it these days. You would also probably agree with me that the first couple of builds of any new branch tends to big buggy. Also, majority of the ICS ROMs out now are based on 4.0.3.
Anyways, 4.0.4 has been out for a while, and 4.0.5 will be out in the next couple of weeks. :)
Get a grip. I import the Google Nexus and I like it ( AFAIK Nexus is not going to be imported into NZ). It gets official ROMs released for it months before any other phone. It is on 4.0.2 see http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=3df3f33592c0bfde&hl=en
You are arguing that if you want a reliable Android browser then I *should* use Cyanogenmod or equivalent... You are just giving anothrr reason to get an iPhone if one wants their phone to just work out-of-the-box and is happy to pay $ for that priviledge.
Always an emotive subject, as several of the replies have shown already, but one thing I wanted to bring up is the idea Andriod is only for geeks who want to 'fiddle'.
I havent touched my Nexus One other than to install apps etc and its been faultless. When the stock music app wouldnt play a particular kind of lossless audio I just installed another one and away it went. I use the phone extensively and its been fantastic, there hasnt been a single app I have on my ipod touch I havent been able to install.
I havent used an iphone on a daily basis but I used an ipod touch for years before buying this and hands down its so much easier to do day to day stuff.
itunes was my biggest bugbear. I dont want to be forced into a single application for everything and with the Nexus I can drag and drop music from my network at home onto the phone in half the time it takes for itunes to even start up.
I bought a couple of inexpensive docks from dealextreme to charge when Im out and about, I have one in my car to push the audio direct to my stereo via RCA and have a genuine desktop dock at home.
I wouldnt swap it for the world, well perhaps a Nexus Galaxy ;) but certainly not an iphone.
I have enjoyed using Android since I have had my phone and especially the fact I can customise the look and feel to suit me. Saying that I also have a number of friends who love their android phones as they are, straight out of the box and you can pick up some some pretty impressive phones for a lot less than an Iphone.
My only bugbear is the fragmented nature of Android updates from manufacturers since they generally all seem to want to add their own features to any new Android version before they roll it out, whereas with Apple one size fits all.
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