Android Impressions

[AppleMrHan]

So, after using iPhone 4 for 3 years, I decided to give Galaxy Note 3 a try. I was taken by the large screen and, at the time, calendar of new iOS7 had no preview feature (thankfully they fixed it in 7.1), all of which made me want to switch.

After a month of Android, I could not stand it. Yes, its a wonderful phone, but, the ability to customize Android appearance is next to useless, as I found I do not care for it as much as I thought. The extra hardware, which, on paper, trumps that of Apple, produces next to 0 difference in real life. I actually found Android to have more lag than iPhone. It was also loaded with so much extra, non-essential software.

The battery, while I thought it was good, was draining extremely fast ever thought I turned off like 3/4 of features on the phone. The extra features that they show in the ads are useless, like Air Gestures, which I found never to use. No wonder Apple never adopted that, its really useless and drains battery even faster. The full HD screen had the same sharpness as Retina of the 4" iPhone. Also, 5.5" is really big, makes your pocket stretch like crazy. I think the phone is for girls mostly, as they carry a handbag, but for a guy, its like a brick.

I got an offer to trade Note 3 for iPhone 5s with $200, which I took and after a month of use, I have zero regrets, best decision I made.

P.S. Also had Gear, which, once you get past the initial "new thing" excitement, is a piece of useless junk.. Its just my impression.

 

[T5BRICK]

After a month of Android, I could not stand it. Yes, its a wonderful phone, but, the ability to customize Android appearance is next to useless, as I found I do not care for it as much as I thought. The extra hardware, which, on paper, trumps that of Apple, produces next to 0 difference in real life. I actually found Android to have more lag than iPhone. It was also loaded with so much extra, non-essential software.

Basically every one of those issues is because Samsung loads their phones up with useless junk. And TouchWiz..oh how I hate TouchWiz.

The full HD screen had the same sharpness as Retina of the 4" iPhone.

I had a HTC One for about 6 months and it had the absolute best screen I'd ever seen on a phone. 468 PPI was just gorgeous. Unfortunately, the phone didn't have a decent camera to back up the great screen and speakers.

Anyway, my point being that too many people base their Android experience on hardware running the Samsung TouchWiz skin. There are plenty better(in my opinion) options out there. I may pick up a Nexus 5 or Moto X sometime in the near future just to have an Android phone to play with. I miss the extra flexibility that iOS just doesn't provide.

 

[wordoflife]

Well whatever works for you.

 

[ougum]

I went with the HTC One for about 10 months. I missed visual voice mail so much that I came back to iPhone. I won't be leaving again. I've learned my lesson. I've also got an iPad Air and a Apple TV. They along with my 5s work so well together.

 

[T5BRICK]

I went with the HTC One for about 10 months. I missed visual voice mail so much that I came back to iPhone.

Strange. I had a HTC One on AT&T and visual voicemail worked fine. Although I did have to use a 3rd party app because android doesn't have the function built in.

 

[Max(IT)]

So, after using iPhone 4 for 3 years, I decided to give Galaxy Note 3 a try. I was taken by the large screen and, at the time, calendar of new iOS7 had no preview feature (thankfully they fixed it in 7.1), all of which made me want to switch.

After a month of Android, I could not stand it. Yes, its a wonderful phone, but, the ability to customize Android appearance is next to useless, as I found I do not care for it as much as I thought. The extra hardware, which, on paper, trumps that of Apple, produces next to 0 difference in real life. I actually found Android to have more lag than iPhone. It was also loaded with so much extra, non-essential software.

The battery, while I thought it was good, was draining extremely fast ever thought I turned off like 3/4 of features on the phone. The extra features that they show in the ads are useless, like Air Gestures, which I found never to use. No wonder Apple never adopted that, its really useless and drains battery even faster. The full HD screen had the same sharpness as Retina of the 4" iPhone. Also, 5.5" is really big, makes your pocket stretch like crazy. I think the phone is for girls mostly, as they carry a handbag, but for a guy, its like a brick.

I got an offer to trade Note 3 for iPhone 5s with $200, which I took and after a month of use, I have zero regrets, best decision I made.

P.S. Also had Gear, which, once you get past the initial "new thing" excitement, is a piece of useless junk.. Its just my impression.

Another post I'd like to use as my signature ...

The funny thing is that I have to have a second smartphone with me, as my company's phone, and I returned the Note 3 they gave me because I can't stand it.
I bought a Lumia 620 and now a Lumia 925 instead ... I like WP8 much much more than Android, and like iOS it doesn't require an eight core, 3 Ghz, 8 Gb of ram just to run the operative system
My Lumia 925 has the specs of a mid range droid but is snappier than my previous Note 3 .... Very similar to my iPhone 5S

 

[T5BRICK]

I like WP8 much much more than Android, and like iOS it doesn't require an eight core, 3 Ghz, 8 Gb of ram just to run the operative system

Seriously? You ought to check out the Moto X. It runs something very close to stick Android. It's got a dual core processor, a motion co-processor and a voice co-processor. It has awesome battery life and a nice sized screen. All in a body that is only slightly bigger than the iPhone 5/5c/5s.

Most of the time folks complain about Android being a resource hog, they're not using stock Android. Samsungs TouchWiz is likely the culprit in your scenario.

 

[bmac4]

I went with the HTC One for about 10 months. I missed visual voice mail so much that I came back to iPhone. I won't be leaving again. I've learned my lesson. I've also got an iPad Air and a Apple TV. They along with my 5s work so well together.

I have never gotten this argument about visual voicemail. Maybe I don't get voicemails that much, but who really cares if you have a visual screen for voicemails, or you press 1 and hold and it has a menu. Seems like a very small difference that really has not clear advantage to it.

I love my iPhone 5s, but visual voicemail does not carry any weight in me liking it. Just something different really.

 

[Max(IT)]

Seriously? You ought to check out the Moto X. It runs something very close to stick Android. It's got a dual core processor, a motion co-processor and a voice co-processor. It has awesome battery life and a nice sized screen. All in a body that is only slightly bigger than the iPhone 5/5c/5s.

Most of the time folks complain about Android being a resource hog, they're not using stock Android. Samsungs TouchWiz is likely the culprit in your scenario.

I like the Moto x very much, it's maybe the best phone out there regarding form factor ... But it's still android.
I tried a nexus 5, stock android KitKat .... better than my wife's galaxy s3 and my son's S4 for sure, but still Android ...

 

[mjschabow]

The Nexus 5 is probably the best Android out there. Samsung just bloats their devices too much. The only thing I wish you could do on iPhones is download torrents.

 

[Septembersrain]

I can't wait to sell my Note 3 and pick up an Oppo Find 7. No Knox, bloat, etc. http://m.cnet.com/reviews/oppo-find-7/35873276

 

[PDFierro]

I very nearly bought an Android, but the iOS app store is so superior it doesn't even come close. That and FaceTime/iMessage.

 

[I7guy]

I like the Moto x very much, it's maybe the best phone out there regarding form factor ... But it's still android.
I tried a nexus 5, stock android KitKat .... better than my wife's galaxy s3 and my son's S4 for sure, but still Android ...

I agree. Don't like android, just my $.02. The only other phones I'd give a go a windows based phones. To each their own. I like gadgets, but I view phones as commodities, albeit in the scheme of things, expensive commodities and do not see the need to switch platforms excessively.

 

[ougum]

Strange. I had a HTC One on AT&T and visual voicemail worked fine. Although I did have to use a 3rd party app because android doesn't have the function built in.

Didn't know anything about that 3rd party app. Hated dialing into my voicemail to see who was there. Like the idea of not having to use an app for visual voicemail. HTC One was a pretty decent phone. I'd never go back to android though. Guess I'm just too used to IOS.

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I have never gotten this argument about visual voicemail. Maybe I don't get voicemails that much, but who really cares if you have a visual screen for voicemails, or you press 1 and hold and it has a menu. Seems like a very small difference that really has not clear advantage to it.

I love my iPhone 5s, but visual voicemail does not carry any weight in me liking it. Just something different really.

I just don't like dialing in to see who left me voicemail. That's just me. With visual voicemail, the names of people who left me messages are right there in front of me. I can choose to listen or delete. There have been people who left me voicemail who I don't even want to hear one word come out of their mouth. Just a personal preference.

 

[bmac4]

Didn't know anything about that 3rd party app. Hated dialing into my voicemail to see who was there. Like the idea of not having to use an app for visual voicemail. HTC One was a pretty decent phone. I'd never go back to android though. Guess I'm just too used to IOS.

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I just don't like dialing in to see who left me voicemail. That's just me. With visual voicemail, the names of people who left me messages are right there in front of me. I can choose to listen or delete. There have been people who left me voicemail who I don't even want to hear one word come out of their mouth. Just a personal preference.

Oh ok. I just see people trying to argue how much better the iPhone is than any android because of VV. Just did not get it. I understand what you are saying.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

My experience is the same as the OP. If you like to tinker and look for work arounds, use Android. If you want everything without trying hard, use IOS. Now, if they had IOS on an HTC one......hmmm.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

Same experience. I bought a Note 2 and immediately missed being able to use my phone one handed. Never knew that was so important to me until I got the Note.

Apps are clearly inferior on Android, even the same app on both platforms. There's just something about the appearance, from the fonts used to the scrolling, that isn't nearly as polished. Lots of bells and whistles, but not as refined of an experience. It's something that's not always easy to articulate but very noticeable during daily use.

 

[Robster3]

I have Apple everything, had last 4 iPhones. Short story needed 2nd phone for a/h use. Got a used note 3 (first android, nightmare to set up) was too big and overkill for what i wanted, sold it after 3 days made $10. Got a Moto G and and have my $100 contract sim and a prepaid sim in it. so easy to swap between them. Wifi is good. Only 3G but LTE in Australia is not everywhere and 5s had weaker reception on LTE so had it off anyway. Have a LTE iPad anyway. For $200 what a phone, great size screen, better call quality/reception than the 5s and the note 3 for sure. The screen is great hard to tell the difference and only a second slower than the 5s.
Haven't tested but the camera is the weak point from reviews. I have learnt one thing you don't have to spend a fortune to get a great smart phone.
Now i have a space grey 64gb 5s on my desk i need to decide what to do with

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Same experience. I bought a Note 2 and immediately missed being able to use my phone one handed. Never knew that was so important to me until I got the Note.

Apps are clearly inferior on Android, even the same app on both platforms. There's just something about the appearance, from the fonts used to the scrolling, that isn't nearly as polished. Lots of bells and whistles, but not as refined of an experience. It's something that's not always easy to articulate but very noticeable during daily use.

I am not having problem with apps but the note 3 was laggy/buggy, for a Samsung flagship smart phone for $700-$850 you would expect better.
My $200 Moto G is smoother.