I love my iphone 4, but its really starting to show its age; (well duh its a 2 year old spec phone.) Besides that point, im just getting tired of the bs Im getting from apple. I love their ecosystem, i love my macbook pro and ipad, and i love how my phone works well with all of them, but to me the gs4 just blows my mind. I also want to love ios 7, but it just looks blah. Im not big on customizing so that isnt a big deal with my if i was to switch to android, but other than that what are the benefits? Both software do what they intend to do, it just depends whose ecosystem you want to be in, google's or apples. I have to admit i do use google for my email and calendar, but other than that i use apple. My main complaint if i was to switch would be the loss of iMessage and the ease of using itunes and iphoto on my phone. Im sure others have been in my shoes, and im just wondering what they decided to do, because right now im at the point where if apple does not wow me with the next iphone, im probably jumping ship.
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Seriously considering the move to Android.
- Thread starter gc15
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The benefits of switching to Android are to many to count. From simple things like access to all your files, to customizing how 'you' want your phone to look and act, to easily rooting your phone or tablet to add any content you wish.
Having a larger screened phone is just something you have to have once you have experienced it. Especially with an HD quality 1080p display. I look at my iPod now and wonder how the hell anybody, much less myself, used to operate on such a tiny phone.
As for your programs, other than iMessage, they can all be mirrored, and Android does work with iTunes FYI. iPhoto is crap compared to the ease of use with Dropbox and Dropsync. Your photo's autoload onto Dropbox and can be accessible by anyone, regardless of phone, computer or tablet.
The idea is to get out of the monotheistic world of Jobs and into the real world where hardware and software actually work together. As Morpheus would say to Neo, "I can only show you the door...you have to walk through it."
Use an app called iSyncr and its a very easy way to sync music and playlists from iTunes to your phone... I hate Samsung's Kies software,
You can use iPhoto. Open it up with the phone connected to your computer and it will prompt you to import just like any digital camera
if it doesn't prompt, simply click import to kick start it.
As for iMessage. Sadly no replacement that works with other users on iMessage. You and your contacts would all have to move to a cross-platform messaging solution like hangouts, WhatsApp etc. Sadly convincing your contacts to do so - as they have to then convince their contacts to do so is where the notion in practice tends to fall apart...
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The grass is not aways greener on the other side, and neither is it black or white (or red & blue pill) as you portray.
I have never had a problem with the way my mac & iOS hardware and apple software work together. In fact moving to Android and others BB10, Windows Phone etc, it has proven to me beyond a shadow of doubt that the way Apple's iOS hardware and macintosh Software work together is unrivalled on the MAC.
As for PC I can not comment as I don't use PC.
You can use iPhoto. Open it up with the phone connected to your computer and it will prompt you to import just like any digital camera
if it doesn't prompt, simply click import to kick start it.As for iMessage. Sadly no replacement that works with other users on iMessage. You and your contacts would all have to move to a cross-platform messaging solution like hangouts, WhatsApp etc. Sadly convincing your contacts to do so - as they have to then convince their contacts to do so is where the notion in practice tends to fall apart...
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The grass is not aways greener on the other side, and neither is it black or white (or red & blue pill) as you portray.
I have never had a problem with the way my mac & iOS hardware and apple software work together. In fact moving to Android and others BB10, Windows Phone etc, it has proven to me beyond a shadow of doubt that the way Apple's iOS hardware and macintosh Software work together is unrivalled on the MAC.
As for PC I can not comment as I don't use PC.
My point was not staying within a walled garden to transfer data back and forth. My point is that with Google you can use any piece of hardware and still access your info. Or Dropbox. I am not limited to having to use a Mac and an iphone.
I would say if you really feel you are tempted to switch, just do it. You won't know until you try it.
I didn't need much convincing when I swapped my Samsung S3 for the iPhone 5. I thought, if I don't like it, I can always return. I took the gamble and I haven't looked back. For those going the other way, just do it and see how it goes. If Apple doesn't wow you with the next iPhone, it doesn't wow you, simple as that. I'm sure the amount of users swapping between platforms it makes little difference. Just go with what makes you happy
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A 'walled garden' approach is often portrayed as a negative thing here and someone like yourself obviously feels that. But its not the same for everybody. I am yet to use my iPhone to its full potential and have at no point tried to do a task I could not do. This may not be the same for everybody as we all use our phones for different things. I just hate this sort of inverted snobbery that has developed on the internet where iPhone users are ridiculed for their choice because others are determined to prove why something is better. I don't ridicule Android or WP8 users as its pointless. What is good for one person is not always good for another. I can't stress that point enough.
PS: My iPhone works perfectly well with my two PC laptops, so why would you be limited to a Mac if 'you' owned an iPhone? I'm sorry your last sentence didn't make any sense to me whatsoever
Having just got a Nexus 7 and absolutely loving Android on it I will comment and say that I would not get an Android phone. The iPhone just works so flawlessly all the time, no lag, etc. This is what I need from a phone, the smart features are just a bonus. You can keep everything running well and such with tinkering but personally I would rather leave the tinkering to computers and tablets and just have a phone that work 100% of the time.
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You do know you can access all iCloud documents online on any computer or tablet right? I access mine on my work PC frequently (as well as upload changes to them). You can sync an iPhone with any computer as well so I also do not get what you are saying.
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You do know you can access all iCloud documents online on any computer or tablet right? I access mine on my work PC frequently (as well as upload changes to them). You can sync an iPhone with any computer as well so I also do not get what you are saying.
If you are having a great experience with the nexus 7 tablet, your experience with a nexus 4 phone would be similar. Granted, if you cannot live without LTE I would wait a few months for the new nexus. Pretty much all of the 2013 android phones have come a long way due to jelly bean.
OP - to be perfectly honest, based on your post - I think you'll be a lot like me in that you'll get the Android, find its nice and use it exactly the same way you used the iPhone.
The bigger screen will be nice (though not a necessity like Assault claims - I regularly go back to my iPhone 5 and dare I say, prefer it at times), but you'll fight with muscle memory for certain tasks. Sure its nice to be able to use multiple services, but in reality its only necessary if your other devices dictate such. If you don't have to, its actually a pain. If you use all Apple products and your family or friends are generally on Apple products there is ZERO reason to switch.
You can still use Dropbox, Google Services and share a variety of ways. This sentiment that iPhones only work with other Apple products is preposterous. You already have access to all your files, though perhaps not in the way certain people prefer.
If you are looking to switch because you are bored, then do it. That's fine. But I'd be willing to bet you won't find some existential meaning to life in that Android phone. You'll find a nice smartphone, a nice OS that's new and different and ultimately does the same end tasks you always have done, with a few inconveniences.
At the end of the day, a smartphone is a smartphone. People who claim the iPhone can't do something only claim such because they've never tried to do it or they simply don't like the way it needs to be done. I'm not discouraging you from switching - I switched earlier this year and use an HTC One. That's why I can tell you all of this - because this has been my experience. I switched to try something new. And in the end I came away impressed with Android, but ultimately realizing there's far less difference in the two than people here make there out to be.
In my case, the user dictates the use - not the smartphone. My use case dictates how I use the smartphone. The One and all its Android openness has not changed how I use a smartphone.
Really? Didn't know the iPhone can now plug into a computer and act as USB storage? Or transfer any kind of data back and forth for phone to pc and back, like say an avi or mkv file? Wasn't aware that iOS devices can now access their system files? Must be a special new feature on your phone.
I'm curious - what are the end tasks you hope to accomplish with these features? Generally, when Android users are complaining about not being able to do something on an iPhone, they're really complaining that they don't like the way you have to do something. The task is still able to be done.
So I wonder, what benefit would I gain from being able to access system files on my iPhone? From being able to use my iPhone as a thumb drive (when I have tons of flash drives lying around that are WAY more disposable and offer more storage).
As for the .avi or .mkv - guess what, there's an app for that.
I'd much rather be "limited" to using a Mac, than limited to using a Windows 8 device!
Indirectly, I've been doing that for years now. Requires iTunes on a computer (so it's not plug 'n play like true USB storage), but other than that, I can plug into any computer and transfer any data back and forth. Use it all the time for moving AVI, EXE, MSI, DMG, etc between home and work.
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There is no better time than now to jump ship.
Android 4.2 and on has really found its groove -- you can tell by the minimal updates Google has been putting out. And all of Google's services update independently of the OS number, anyway. For example, the Play Store is getting an independent update today. Google Maps recently got updated. Etc.
OEMs, for the most part, have figured out their skins on the software front, too. Sure, there are still a few drawbacks, but for the most part, people have warmed to TouchWiz and Sense. You also now have options of very light skinned deviced in the Moto X and Xperia devices. And then, of course, you have your full on stock Android experience in the Nexus lines and basically in the Google Edition phones.
The software front is covered with excellent choices.
The hardware front? Ditto.
The S4, the HTC One, Xperia Z (eh?), and now the Moto X all over amazing varieties of strengths with little compromises. It's really up to what suits you best and what's most important to you. Camera and removable batter/expandable storage? Or screen and dual-speakers and design? Or minimalistic design with hands-free voice activation? Water proof? Want even bigger? Current Note series or if you can wait, the upcoming Note III or Xperia/One Max.
Many hardware options, all strong overall.
And in general, most of the major complaints of yesteryear of Android have been more or less addressed, have solutions, or can easily be avoided if you do your research.
Many choices, many opportunities to find the right Android phone for you. There's no better time. And by the end of 2013, you'll be adding the LG G2, Note III, HTC One Max, and the 2013 Nexus smartphone to the list.
Android 4.2 and on has really found its groove -- you can tell by the minimal updates Google has been putting out. And all of Google's services update independently of the OS number, anyway. For example, the Play Store is getting an independent update today. Google Maps recently got updated. Etc.
OEMs, for the most part, have figured out their skins on the software front, too. Sure, there are still a few drawbacks, but for the most part, people have warmed to TouchWiz and Sense. You also now have options of very light skinned deviced in the Moto X and Xperia devices. And then, of course, you have your full on stock Android experience in the Nexus lines and basically in the Google Edition phones.
The software front is covered with excellent choices.
The hardware front? Ditto.
The S4, the HTC One, Xperia Z (eh?), and now the Moto X all over amazing varieties of strengths with little compromises. It's really up to what suits you best and what's most important to you. Camera and removable batter/expandable storage? Or screen and dual-speakers and design? Or minimalistic design with hands-free voice activation? Water proof? Want even bigger? Current Note series or if you can wait, the upcoming Note III or Xperia/One Max.
Many hardware options, all strong overall.
And in general, most of the major complaints of yesteryear of Android have been more or less addressed, have solutions, or can easily be avoided if you do your research.
Many choices, many opportunities to find the right Android phone for you. There's no better time. And by the end of 2013, you'll be adding the LG G2, Note III, HTC One Max, and the 2013 Nexus smartphone to the list.
I've been completely off the iPhone for a number of months now, and I'm really happy with the Nexus 4 (except for the camera, which sucks). As onthecouchagain said, there are many fine options available to you.
That said, there is a real disconnect in how you use the Android phone vs the iPhone. There are things which are just plain easier (or at least more familiar and so seem easier) on the iPhone, and there are things you will not be able to replicate, like iMessage (you can approximate it, but you can't do the same things as easily). You need to plan to spend some time getting up to speed with how the new phone works, and it will take time to wean yourself from iPhone habits.
I still prefer some of the iOS ways; I moved over purely because I couldn't stand the tiny screen any more. I do like a lot of what Android - pure Google Android, in my case - offers, and there is a lot I now find lacking in iOS.
Still, that said, what you gain mostly from a switch off the iPhone is a far wider range of hardware and a fair bit more software flexibility. There will be times when you wonder how you lived without that flexibility, and there will be times you miss the usability of iOS.
Day to day, once you get used to any smartphone, your basic use isn't really all that different, regardless of platform.
That said, there is a real disconnect in how you use the Android phone vs the iPhone. There are things which are just plain easier (or at least more familiar and so seem easier) on the iPhone, and there are things you will not be able to replicate, like iMessage (you can approximate it, but you can't do the same things as easily). You need to plan to spend some time getting up to speed with how the new phone works, and it will take time to wean yourself from iPhone habits.
I still prefer some of the iOS ways; I moved over purely because I couldn't stand the tiny screen any more. I do like a lot of what Android - pure Google Android, in my case - offers, and there is a lot I now find lacking in iOS.
Still, that said, what you gain mostly from a switch off the iPhone is a far wider range of hardware and a fair bit more software flexibility. There will be times when you wonder how you lived without that flexibility, and there will be times you miss the usability of iOS.
Day to day, once you get used to any smartphone, your basic use isn't really all that different, regardless of platform.
You're right, I have to do all of that wirelessly with my iPhone, what a pain in the ass.
Such a pain to have to actually open up my file storage app on the phone and then link it via Wifi and transfer my files that way.I *think* of you jailbreak you can see your system files and such but I like the reliability of my iPhone more than a little extra customize-ability (hence the reason I picked iPhone over anything else)
While I do like the functionality and features of the Nexus, it has serious consistency/reliability issues from the little time I have spent on it (about a week and a half). Hence me saying I like the iPhone because I use it as a phone first and need it to be 100% reliable.
That being said they seem to have fixed the random restart issue in 4.3 already (was quick) but I still get random lag/program exits every now and then which on my tablet are more annoying than anything serious.
Yes and you're gonna have to search for the file in the file manager if you want to drag that file back to PC. For instance, if you drag and drop to WINAMP you gotta find the music folders and drag back over to the computer, is android more powerful? yes, will it find the masses of non-tech savy people who have the TIME to fiddle with their phones? NO
Iphone is limited but makes everything much easier.
Software isn't covered until it can go a full 2 years on contract and still be fully functional and fluid and it's still something that android struggles with. While the s3 is nice let's see how it performs once it gets key lime pie, the s4 is already struggling with lag due to a overbearance of crap on samsung's part.
HTC ONE? Too early to say.
LG G2? Too early to say, first one didn't sell well in America at all.
Note 3 is a hit, but you need to throw the book at android to get places, huge battery, fast processor and etc so margins will be down since materials to make the phones will go up. I would bet all those companies would love to find the apple formula that gets them such high profits....
Key Lime pie on 1 year old hardware will be the key, until then android to me ISN'T proven just yet. The nerd in me wants a S4, the business side of me doesn't want to give up my iphone and end up with a laggy experience, not only that but when I'm trying to sell it the phone is worth 60% of what my iphone is and it's newer than my iphone.
That's the problem.
Android File Transfer opens when I plug in my device. I open the folder I moved things to (typically Downloads or something else readily visible) and copy it back. How is this more complex than opening iTunes and doing basically the same thing but with the massive bulk of iTunes hanging over everything?
Having had a number of 2 year old iPhones (3G, 4, now a nearly two-year-old 4S), you're stretching it to suggest they handle OS upgrades two years later very well. Will my N4 handle Android 6? I don't know. But it won't do any worse than the iPhones did, and something working in the favor of the newer Android devices is that they are, as you've said, overpowered already, so optimizations in Android will be far more easily made than ones in the already optimized iOS, so I suspect that Android phones purchased now will actually fare better than iPhones over the next few years.
Haha dude don't fall back in your old behavior
Ha - try not to read into it too much. Its a legitimate question - the answer to which sheds light on a lot of this nonsensical bickering.
Feel free to answer the question if you want. Like I said, I am seriously asking.
For the most part, I agree, and the same is true the other way around as well.
I completely agree here. Yes, I can use my devices for moving files. Any of my devices. But... why would I? As you said, a flash drive is vastly easier to use, period - as is Dropbox or the like. File transfers from one computer to another are virtually never on my list of "things my phone or tablet should do."
Just joking
. Won't argue against you, therefor my english isn't good enough, as my native languages are german and Italian, AND you are not ALWAYS wrong
I moved the other way, from android to iPhone last November and have been very happy. Samsung's lost their shine after my s2 for me personally, I have tiny hands and they were all too big!
Fragmentation was getting a little on my nerves. Copilot for example just upped and died on me and the authors said it was fine. At least the limited hardware in the apple land appears to work in my favour.
I would try it. I never used to customise my android phones a great deal, but I still really enjoyed the experience. Some of the features android feel way ahead of where ios is.
If you do switch, you'll no doubt start an argument amongst your friends. It's amazing the fervour there is. At the end of the day it's your hard earned cash..!
Fragmentation was getting a little on my nerves. Copilot for example just upped and died on me and the authors said it was fine. At least the limited hardware in the apple land appears to work in my favour.
I would try it. I never used to customise my android phones a great deal, but I still really enjoyed the experience. Some of the features android feel way ahead of where ios is.
If you do switch, you'll no doubt start an argument amongst your friends. It's amazing the fervour there is. At the end of the day it's your hard earned cash..!
Oh dear. A little time spent reading the post you were responding to would have saved a little embarrassment. You can't do the things you stated, nor was that claimed. The explanation was the use of iCloud. Google it.