From iPhone to Android

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heavenlywild

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Topic # 65288 1-Aug-2010 22:13

Hi guys,

Contemplating moving from the iPhone 3GS to an Android device. What concerns me most is the apps. As we all iPhone users know, we are spoilt by the vast number of apps on the Apps Store. How does Android compare?

I would like to hear from those who moved from the iPhone to an Android. What was your experience like?

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Reply # 361234 1-Aug-2010 22:30

Heya. Im pretty much in the same boat. Going to sell my Iphone 3gs within the next week or so and buy an Android Device. Im Sure the Android Market has 70k+ apps, might be near 90-100k apps now im not sure.

One positive of the Android market is that over half (Or is it 40%) of apps are free. Compared to an Iphone you can customise pretty much anything.

As I said I havent got myself an android yet, but looking forward to it and expecting better things from it than the Iphone.

Goodluck :)

drbob

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Reply # 361239 1-Aug-2010 22:37

I don't have an Android device yet, but am interested in this thread as I'm planning to move from iPhone 3G to the HTC Desire.

My understanding is that there is a now a huge selection of apps for Android, as long as you pick a well-supported device (eg the Nexus 1 or HTC Desire). Basically, I think iPhone would be the better platform if games are most important for you. From what I've seen, though, the newer Android devices may be more productive for work purposes (fully customisable home screens, mail/news widgets, plenty of note-taking/document reading & editing apps etc).

Will be interesting to read what others with direct experience of the Android Market have to say...

eXDee

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Reply # 361241 1-Aug-2010 22:41

A friend has an iPhone 3G. Hes been trying out a Nexus One for the past few days, and prefers it to the iPhone by quite a bit, and is quite disappointed he has to give it back.

I got an Android phone because i didnt like the idea of having a device with so much potential which is locked down by Apple. Even when jailbroken, its still nowhere near as customizable as Android is.

First App purchase on the Android market was Tasker - check out this lifehacker article on it. Excellent App.

Overall i haven't loaded many games, moreso useful utilities and programs.

StephenNZ

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Reply # 361246 1-Aug-2010 22:53

Most apps on the app-store have an android market equivalent.. a few nz specifc apps you can't get ie. Mpass for air new zealand and zenbu, but it isn't a major.

heavenlywild

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Reply # 361259 1-Aug-2010 23:21

Interesting comments so far.

How is the apps market sorted on the phone itself? Is it similar to the App Store where you can categorise - eg. Top Free, Most Popular etc?

Giggs

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Reply # 361304 2-Aug-2010 06:40

It has 3 sections, Apps, Games and Downloads. The latter lists what you have on your phone and is useful to get upgrades.

The other 2 have sub menus for types of apps and games and categories for Top Paid, Top Free and Just In,

I have used an ITouch and apart from a few NZ specifc things I haven't noticed a lot of difference.

Cheers

NZtechfreak

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Reply # 361314 2-Aug-2010 07:54

You can also browse the Market on your PC browser at places like Appbrain, which even has an app to push the installation to your phone...

The Market is pretty good, and gaming is beginning to take off now that the hardware is pretty good across quite a few handsets. Not up with the iPhone yet, but certainly taking off. For gaming the Galaxy S will serve you best since it has by far the best GPU.

I've got a Desire and Galaxy S, so if you have questions about either of these let me know.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

Linuxluver

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Reply # 361334 2-Aug-2010 08:40

heavenlywild: Hi guys,

Contemplating moving from the iPhone 3GS to an Android device. What concerns me most is the apps. As we all iPhone users know, we are spoilt by the vast number of apps on the Apps Store. How does Android compare?

I would like to hear from those who moved from the iPhone to an Android. What was your experience like?

I moved from iPod Touch to Android. Skipped the phone part.

Androlib.com puts the Android market at 100,000 apps, with over 18,000 of those being added in July. The actual number will be a bit lower as Google regularly "culls" rubbish apps. There is more churn in the Android Market because it is easier to put an app up....and users rate and flag rubbish apps and Google later removes them.

Anyone can get a no-questions-asked full refund on any paid app if they decide they don't want if they just click the "Uninstall & Refund" button within 24 hours of purchase. After 24 hours, the refund option disappears.

There are many apps you can't get in the Apple Store...and there will likely be a few Apple Store apps you can't get on Android....yet.

It will boil down to whether you like the whole package more. Of course, if you have an iPod Touch you can tether it to the Internet via your Android phone.

Without knowing what apps are *essential* for you, it would be hard to say whether you'd be happy or not. There may be alternative apps on Android that do the same thing....but from different developers.

I have a Nexus One.

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heavenlywild

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Reply # 361643 2-Aug-2010 15:10

Hi Linuxluver and everyone else,

Thanks heaps, I didn't know all Android apps have this "Uninstall & Refund" policy. That's pretty neat and definitely a plus over the Apple App Store!

In terms of purchasing apps, is it an easy process? Also, I read somewhere on Geekzone that app purchases are made in another currency other than the NZ dollar?

Thanks everyone else for posting your comments and thoughts. Please keep them coming!

After thinking of getting another iPhone (as in, the 4th gen), I went over on the weekend to look at one. After playing with it, the only major upgrade is the camera and the screen. Everything else feels and looks just like my iPhone 3GS with iOS4. This was disappointing so I have decided to go after either a Nokia N8 or an HTC Desire.

Linuxluver

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Reply # 361678 2-Aug-2010 15:46

heavenlywild: Hi Linuxluver and everyone else,

Thanks heaps, I didn't know all Android apps have this "Uninstall & Refund" policy. That's pretty neat and definitely a plus over the Apple App Store!

In terms of purchasing apps, is it an easy process? Also, I read somewhere on Geekzone that app purchases are made in another currency other than the NZ dollar?

Thanks everyone else for posting your comments and thoughts. Please keep them coming!

After thinking of getting another iPhone (as in, the 4th gen), I went over on the weekend to look at one. After playing with it, the only major upgrade is the camera and the screen. Everything else feels and looks just like my iPhone 3GS with iOS4. This was disappointing so I have decided to go after either a Nokia N8 or an HTC Desire.

Purchases are made in the currency of the country where the developer resides....usually. So you'll see apps in US$, UK pounds, Euros and Yen. For any app, an NZ$ approximation will be displayed at time of purchace.

Buying stuff is easy. You associate a credit card (or Visa/MC debit) with your Google account. I think you can just do this through the phone first time you buy anything. It's been a while since I set my account up...and once set up, it works on any other Android phone. Gmail and Contacts works the same way. I keep a Group in my Gmail account online called "phone"...and this is the *only* group that syncs wirth my phone. So whatever phone I may use, I have my contacts on it provided I logged in with my own gmail account. This is one of the huge pluses in my my view.....being a longtime Gmail user.

With Android v2.2, if you buy a new Android phone, you just login to the new phone and the Market pushes all the apps you've already installed - free or paid - to your new phone automatically. The cloud sets the phone - Contacts and apps - up for you right after you login for the first time on your existing account. The cloud also - if you allow it to - knows your Wifi access details for any wifi AP defined on your phone. They get set up, too. It also will restore all your browser bookmarks....though it does not know web site usernames and passwords.

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heavenlywild

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Reply # 362099 3-Aug-2010 09:02

Thanks Linuxluver,

You've really given me a good insight into the world of Android. It doesn't sound too bad really.

Question - do you know of any good GPS apps available for NZ such as Tom Tom navigation?

Dingbatt

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Reply # 362105 3-Aug-2010 09:28

heavenlywild: Thanks Linuxluver,

You've really given me a good insight into the world of Android. It doesn't sound too bad really.

Question - do you know of any good GPS apps available for NZ such as Tom Tom navigation?

This is also being discussed here:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=65259

I am only a casual nav user on my phone so cost is a primary driver for me and I trust my ability to read a map.
I don't know if I'd rate as highly as 'good' but I use the hacked Google Maps Navigator (Brut) in NZ and Mapdroyd when in Oz (to avoid data charges). Mapdroyd doesn't provide turn by turn, only present position and current orientation. I believe the in phone nav systems are not fully 'baked' yet.

Areas of Geek interest: Home Theatre, HTPC, Android Tablets & Phones, iProducts.

heavenlywild

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Reply # 362406 3-Aug-2010 14:55

What I need to get my head around is whether the Apple App store on the iPhone is worth more than going with HTC Desire's better hardware and Android.

Handsomedan

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Reply # 362411 3-Aug-2010 15:04

heavenlywild: What I need to get my head around is whether the Apple App store on the iPhone is worth more than going with HTC Desire's better hardware and Android.

What do you normally buy/download from the app store?

I have a vast majority of games as my downloads, due to my iPhone replacing my PSP, but I would struggle to replace all of those apps in the Android Market right now.

I have no doubt that in a few months things will be quite different, but at the end of the day, if you have bought a lot of apps, they ain;t transferrable and you'll likely end up losing all that money you spent on them by jumping ship - plus you'll need to re-spend the money replacing them on your new Android device...assumeing you paid for a few apps, that is.

My situation is unique to me - I deliberately made the choice to dispense with my PSP and go with the iPhone after having an iPod Touch, Nokia 5800 and PSP - now they're all rolled into one device.

If I were starting all over again....I'd likely go android.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.

heavenlywild

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Reply # 362414 3-Aug-2010 15:05

^ Why would you go with Android if you started all over again? Any particular reasons?

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