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MattMJB0188

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
2,032
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I picked up a new Galaxy S II because I'm bored with my 4s. Was wondering if anyone swaps between the iPhone and Galaxy S II or any Android for that matter? I have had the 4s since 10/14 and as much as I love it, I am bored with it and iOS. Of course not being able to turn 3G off is a major let down with the 4s due to the antenna.
 
I have both an iPhone 4S & a Samsung S II, each on their own line.

I've owned every model of iPhone and several top of the line Androids since the day Android was released via T-Mobile.

They are both excellent in their own ways. I'm currently using my SGS II as my primary smartphone for several reasons.

First is it's huge gorgeous display. Traveling for work & pleasure I end up doing a lot of my web work via the phone. The larger display is so much nicer, makes typing easier, and less scrolling makes a big difference.

I use Gmail, Google Docs, Maps, Tasks, and for that reason alone an Android phone is terrific. It's a real time saver. All the Apps I use are available for both platforms. In fact now that Android is so popular they have some great apps that still aren't available for iPhone.

It's all a matter of personal preference, for me I'd really like to see Apple catch up since I have several Macs as my platform of choice.
 
I am switching between an iPhone 4 and an HTC Inspire 4G on AT&T.

Since the Android phone takes a regular size SIM card, I have a little micro sim to regular sim adapter that I use for when I switch back and forth. I like some aspects of Android a lot (the google apps are great). However, iOS has a level of polish that Android lacks. My Inspire lags often and sometimes the launcher will go missing, the color of the bar signal switches to clear as opposed to the green it is supposed to be... I have also rooted it and installed Cyanogenmod 7 running. It helps but some things are wacky. For instance, bluetooth commands in my Ford Fusion are terrible on Android but work great on iOS. On android, it never works right. When I turn off the car, it continues to play on the phone. On iOS when I turn the car off it pauses the song and doesn't continue playing it.. just like I want it to do. Little things like that that are very annoying.

I really want to switch to Android fully (the Galaxy SII) and sell my iPhone/Inspire. I feel like I will be disappointed though.

Like you said matt, I just want a different change of pace. iOS feels stale.

vitzr, that is my main reasoning to switch to Android. I am a heavy google apps user (gmail/calendar/docs/rss/music).
 
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Had atrix, now have titan and iPhone 4s. Work + personal line (due to new work personal use rules).

I use the Titan as my daily driver, though iOS is still more... Thought out for actual use, IMO. I think ms has tried very hard, however, I can still get most of my work (excepting email) done faster on the iPhone.
 
The Galaxy SII is a very nice phone but I decided it wasn't for me.

I got the AT&T model on launch day because my iPhone 4 took an unfortunate fall that cracked the screen. I enjoyed it at first but after a few days went by I realized how much I missed the feel and app ecosystem of iOS. I had been using it for 4+ years. Needless to say, I returned my SII and reactivated my cracked iPhone 4 so I'd be upgrade eligible for whatever Apple announced. You shoulda seen the look on the Best Buy employee's faces, most of which were Android fans.

Unlike some others, I was completely satisfied with the upgrades the 4S offered and have been using it since, happier than ever.

If I had the opportunity to switch between an Android device while still using iOS, I'd definitely choose the GSII.
 
Yes, the very small 3.5" display is really starting to annoy me.

It's not like it's a iPod nano screen. Android phones do have large displays, which are nice to some, but it really makes the phones too wide and tablet looking. If I were a 75 year old with glaucoma, I suppose the iPhone screen would give me troubles.
 
It's not like it's a iPod nano screen. Android phones do have large displays, which are nice to some, but it really makes the phones too wide and tablet looking. If I were a 75 year old with glaucoma, I suppose the iPhone screen would give me troubles.

It's not so much viewing content on the screen, its scrolling, pinch to zoom, and most importantly typing. I am a 24 y/o guy with very big fingers, I need a large display.
 
It's not so much viewing content on the screen, its scrolling, pinch to zoom, and most importantly typing. I am a 24 y/o guy with very big fingers, I need a large display.

I know, thats why I'm saying a lot of people like Android displays because they tend to be bigger...but it sucks that the big screen causes the phone in certain cases to seem bulky and wide/odd looking. I'd rather have a more uniform and proportioned looking device.

But like you said, I suppose it all depends on what you use your phone for. I love the retina display, and it doesn't bother me that it's 3.5". My last LG phone that I had for 3 years had close to a 1.5" screen.
 
Do you need two phones though?

Even before the iPhone was invented, I've used two phones. I'm a big mobile phone enthusiast.

I have a friend who owns a large distribution point for mobiles in Hong Kong. He can sell me any GSM phone made, unlocked & ready for me to use with my AT&T account. As long as the frequency is compatible it's good to go.

I find what I want on www.gsmarena.com and in a week it's in my hands. Lots of fun and great for international travel as well.
 
I have a galaxy s2 and the reason I use an android phone over an iPhone is mainly widgets. Even though iPhones are super easy to use, androids can be easier for chosen tasks because you can add widgets right to the home screen.

To create a new calendar entry I press the "+" button that's on my default homescreen's calendar widget and boom, I'm creating a new event.

I also have a shortcut to the wifi settings in my dock so that I can quickly get into the wifi options and switch between the 2.4/5ghz bands of my router.

Android is highly customisable and while it's harder to set up than an iPhone, it's actually more intuitive and easier to use once you've set it up to your specifications.

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I know, thats why I'm saying a lot of people like Android displays because they tend to be bigger...but it sucks that the big screen causes the phone in certain cases to seem bulky and wide/odd looking. I'd rather have a more uniform and proportioned looking device.

But like you said, I suppose it all depends on what you use your phone for. I love the retina display, and it doesn't bother me that it's 3.5". My last LG phone that I had for 3 years had close to a 1.5" screen.

The galaxy s2 fits in the hand perfectly, it seems huge at first but you soon get used to it. I went from a 3.7" screen (htc desire) to 4.3" and I love it.
 
I picked up a new Galaxy S II because I'm bored with my 4s. Was wondering if anyone swaps between the iPhone and Galaxy S II or any Android for that matter? I have had the 4s since 10/14 and as much as I love it, I am bored with it and iOS. Of course not being able to turn 3G off is a major let down with the 4s due to the antenna.

Lets face it the 4S was no giant leap for man kind. i have been going back and forth between the SG2 and 4S for months but now the 4S sits in the drawer. The small screen is unacceptable in today use of graphics.

Do you need two phones though?

It is not a matter of NEEDING two phones, but having choices is nice. Guess if you have drank enough iOS Koolaid you no longer want to experience what is new, you sure did not with the introduction of the 4S!

Yes, the very small 3.5" display is really starting to annoy me.

No doubt. This is Apple Achilles heal. They have so many people convinced how superior it is and now they are faced with making it bigger or losing users and yet if they do they piss off the current users.

It's not like it's a iPod nano screen. Android phones do have large displays, which are nice to some, but it really makes the phones too wide and tablet looking. If I were a 75 year old with glaucoma, I suppose the iPhone screen would give me troubles.

LOL! That is not even worth commenting on.

It's not so much viewing content on the screen, its scrolling, pinch to zoom, and most importantly typing. I am a 24 y/o guy with very big fingers, I need a large display.

Larger screens just go hand in hand with what users are looking for on their handheld device. I have to admit that pinching the 4S screen is not funny after using a GS2.

Doing the Internet on the 4S screen is greatly lacking after you use a larger screen with additional landscape.

I know you Apple people will say it is not required and that their screen is better but just wait till the 5 or 6 comes out with a larger screen. It WILL have a larger screen so take care what you say about what you got now.

I know, thats why I'm saying a lot of people like Android displays because they tend to be bigger...but it sucks that the big screen causes the phone in certain cases to seem bulky and wide/odd looking. I'd rather have a more uniform and proportioned looking device.

But like you said, I suppose it all depends on what you use your phone for. I love the retina display, and it doesn't bother me that it's 3.5". My last LG phone that I had for 3 years had close to a 1.5" screen.

Well coming from a 1.5" screen, your 4S must seem HUGE!

I have a galaxy s2 and the reason I use an android phone over an iPhone is mainly widgets. Even though iPhones are super easy to use, androids can be easier for chosen tasks because you can add widgets right to the home screen.

To create a new calendar entry I press the "+" button that's on my default homescreen's calendar widget and boom, I'm creating a new event.

I also have a shortcut to the wifi settings in my dock so that I can quickly get into the wifi options and switch between the 2.4/5ghz bands of my router.

Android is highly customisable and while it's harder to set up than an iPhone, it's actually more intuitive and easier to use once you've set it up to your specifications.

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The galaxy S2 fits in the hand perfectly, it seems huge at first but you soon get used to it. I went from a 3.7" screen (htc desire) to 4.3" and I love it.

Having Widget and the ease of use of Android phone in general is unfair to bring into the comparison as Apple will never allow this kind of freedom, even if jailbroken!
 
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I had both last week but returned the SGS2. It was good but I just felt iOS and the iPhone suited my needs more.
 
Having Widget and the ease of use of Android phone in general is unfair to bring into the comparison as Apple will never allow this kind of freedom, even if jailbroken!

How is it unfair? That's like saying its unfair to bring the iOS app stores popularity into the comparison for some arbitrary reason too..widgets are a feature of android so you can of course use them to compare.
 
I have both an iPhone 4S & a Samsung S II, each on their own line.

I've owned every model of iPhone and several top of the line Androids since the day Android was released via T-Mobile.

They are both excellent in their own ways. I'm currently using my SGS II as my primary smartphone for several reasons.

First is it's huge gorgeous display. Traveling for work & pleasure I end up doing a lot of my web work via the phone. The larger display is so much nicer, makes typing easier, and less scrolling makes a big difference.

I use Gmail, Google Docs, Maps, Tasks, and for that reason alone an Android phone is terrific. It's a real time saver. All the Apps I use are available for both platforms. In fact now that Android is so popular they have some great apps that still aren't available for iPhone.

It's all a matter of personal preference, for me I'd really like to see Apple catch up since I have several Macs as my platform of choice.

I own both the 4S and a Galaxy S2 SkyRocket. Love both of them. Agree with everything you stated. Macs are also my platform of choice.
 
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