Android or iPhone?

[charliehustle]

But Sergey and Larry can read your emails, know who your contacts are and know your browsing history

ya but knowing the US government can listen to every phone call without a warrant is pretty much the same..

the days of "privacy" are over, no matter how you look at it.

How I see it is that the iPhone is perfect because you can jailbreak it, and have all the features (almost) that android has.

But I guess some people don't want to void their warranty, but it's almost impossible to do that unless you have some horrible hardware failure.

Without jailbreak though, I would pick an Android phone.

 

[sciwizam]

but the memory cards for androids have restrictions, i'm forever hearing people moaning about not being able to copy apps to the memory card....

Not anymore after Froyo.

 

[adztaylor]

Not anymore after Froyo.

No, there is still an issue with that. All developers have to update their apps to enable it and quite a few you still can't move to SD card.

 

[shandyman]

Then you're hearing wrong. Buy SD card, put SD card in phone. Even if there were restrictions (which there aren't), it would still be an ability that android has over itunes. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

there was a restriction about copying apps to the memory card, even a google search brought up many links abut it, maybe this has been amended in an update recently, but i know it was an issue for a long time, just shows that android isn't perfect like you make it sound.

Maybe you missed the part where I said that I don't need any software or a proprietary cable to sync to my phone. Wireless or not, you are screwed without iTunes. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

like i said, with contacts, sync'd over the air. iTunes is a fine app, as i said, i get all my music from it, like alot of people. so with an android, i'd be screwed, you still need to copy music across to your phone no matter what phone you have, its just nice and easy with the iPhone. the cables are around and you can pick one up for £3 if you lose one. so not really that much of an issue.

Yes, they test so thoroughly that flashlight apps which are actually tethering apps would have no way of sneaking through the approval process

I'm not saying it's perfect, just that most the time we know the apps are fine, rather than the android market place where apps don't get checked.

Hate to break it to you, but a web-app isn't an iphone app. I can make calls/texts from my GV number without having to load a webpage and log in first. There is also no shortage of apps rejected from the app store for political reasons. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

a webapp saved to the homepage works just as well as a normal app pretty much, and it stays logged in, so really, you're talking out of your rear there. its not apple's fault if google chooses not to make apps like navigation for the iPhone, would we like it? yea, but you have to bear in mind that sometimes its not always apple's fault why some apps do not get made for the iPhone.

Too bad for him. Turnabout is fair play

i feel sorry for your mate, as you just come across as quite arrogant, condescending and obnoxious...

 

[JNGold]

Then you're hearing wrong. Buy SD card, put SD card in phone. Even if there were restrictions (which there aren't), it would still be an ability that android has over itunes. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

Yes, there are limitations, especially if you want to install app on a storage card. With Froyo, application developers have to specifically code their applications to be installed on a card (and if they don't, then you can't do it). Sounds like a limitation to me.

Maybe you missed the part where I said that I don't need any software or a proprietary cable to sync to my phone. Wireless or not, you are screwed without iTunes. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

Um, that's a misconception. Technically you don't have to sync anything to your PC or iTunes unless you want your media transferred back and forth (where Android devices loses), backup, and to do an OS upgrade. You can buy apps and download media straight from your iPhone even download Podcasts using Podcaster. With cloud sync services like Exchange, MobileMe, Dropbox, etc information is less dependant on PC syncing.

Hate to break it to you, but a web-app isn't an iphone app. I can make calls/texts from my GV number without having to load a webpage and log in first. There is also no shortage of apps rejected from the app store for political reasons. iPhone loses on this category, just accept it and move on.

You are obviously mis-informed. An HTML 5 "webapp" can run locally and without a connection. However, Google Voice (even on Android) needs a data connection to dial out, so even though I agree with you that a native app is usually best in terms of integration, the HTML 5 solution is not that far off.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=78d60052084a63ba&hl=en

 

[Tarzanman]

there was a restriction about copying apps to the memory card, even a google search brought up many links abut it, maybe this has been amended in an update recently, but i know it was an issue for a long time, just shows that android isn't perfect like you make it sound.

If you mean RUNNING apps off of the SD card, then it was an issue with 1.6 era phones that ran out of internal memory. No longer an issue. You complaining about that is like me complaining that the iphone doesn't have copy&paste. Been resolved already. iPhone loss, accept it.

like i said, with contacts, sync'd over the air. iTunes is a fine app, as i said, i get all my music from it, like alot of people. so with an android, i'd be screwed, you still need to copy music across to your phone no matter what phone you have, its just nice and easy with the iPhone. the cables are around and you can pick one up for £3 if you lose one. so not really that much of an issue.

Already addressed these issues. Good luck without your itunes, bud. Uncle Steve has you by the short&hairies

I'm not saying it's perfect, just that most the time we know the apps are fine, rather than the android market place where apps don't get checked.

Market apps get checked. They just don't get removed unless someone influential has a serious issue with it. Even then, the app can still be downloaded outside the market. iPhone loses, accept it.

a webapp saved to the homepage works just as well as a normal app pretty much, and it stays logged in, so really, you're talking out of your rear there. its not apple's fault if google chooses not to make apps like navigation for the iPhone, would we like it? yea, but you have to bear in mind that sometimes its not always apple's fault why some apps do not get made for the iPhone.

I'm not talking out of my rear. My phone has a native app while you have to connect to a web page because uncle steve doesn't want the program on the phone you paid for. Pretty simple.

i feel sorry for your mate, as you just come across as quite arrogant, condescending and obnoxious...

Don't get at the messenger, bud. If you dont' like it, switch platforms.

 

[shandyman]

If you mean RUNNING apps off of the SD card, then it was an issue with 1.6 era phones that ran out of internal memory. No longer an issue. You complaining about that is like me complaining that the iphone doesn't have copy&paste. Been resolved already. iPhone loss, accept it.

actually according to others who posted in this thread after me, it hasn't, stating that apps have to be specifically coded for it. so it's still not universal.

Already addressed these issues. Good luck without your itunes, bud. Uncle Steve has you by the short&hairies

you miss the point, many people have iTunes and have bought songs thru it, like for their iPod, they then get an android phone, they can't use them, thats Android fail right there.

Market apps get checked. They just don't get removed unless someone influential has a serious issue with it. Even then, the app can still be downloaded outside the market. iPhone loses, accept it.

so you download an app outside the market place, you have no idea where it comes from and it could be a malicious app taking all your details or just breaking your phone, yea thats a good thing lol. apps still get removed from the android market place? thats just like the app store then

I'm not talking out of my rear. My phone has a native app while you have to connect to a web page because uncle steve doesn't want the program on the phone you paid for. Pretty simple.

you are, as people on here have stated, various webapps on the iphone can run without a data connection. really should have researched that one before shooting it down. also as someone else has said, google voice on the android needs a data connection anyway, so no difference there to the iphone's webapp...

Don't get at the messenger, bud. If you dont' like it, switch platforms.

who said i don't like the iPhone? lol. i don't like your arrogant attitude saying "android wins" at everything, especially when others have pointed out holes in what you've stated....

 

[MorganHiller]

I had an iphone when they first came out, but couldn't use it in my house,
it would drop every other call, and just terrible reception when they didn't drop. I live a block from an AT&T store in SoCal.
I use my phone for work, and can't afford any dropped calls.

After two weeks of use, and one store exchange - finally returned it.
I thought it was a great "phone" , and if the reception was good, I would probably have a 4 right now.

Sometime after that, I tried a HTC Hero and it was great - reception in my house was perfect. I now use a Evo and am very happy with that.

I think the iphone 4 looks fantastic - amazing in hand.

Was talking with a customer all this week, and he just got his 4 - and every time I talk to him, the reception is horrible. I'm on a land line, he's on his iphone.
His voice is dropping in and out, echo's, etc. None of the calls dropped,
but just very hard to have a normal conversation.

I know every carrier has problem spots, but AT&T seems to have many.
Even though I love my Evo, if sprint had the iphone with good reception, I would be tempted, just on looks alone ... but in the end, the Evo does everything I want and more .. phone, maps, NAV, basic apps, email.

I do have several friends with iphones, also with not great reception at home or work - but they keep them, but they don't use them for work,
and they don't get many calls ... so if they have a drop call or bad reception - they claim they are ok with that ...

I just know for me, if I'm spending $70-125 a month for a mobile, the reception is going to be fantastic.
I don't care how great it looks, it better sound great.

 

[shandyman]

I had an iphone when they first came out, but couldn't use it in my house,
it would drop every other call, and just terrible reception when they didn't drop. I live a block from an AT&T store in SoCal.
I use my phone for work, and can't afford any dropped calls.

After two weeks of use, and one store exchange - finally returned it.
I thought it was a great "phone" , and if the reception was good, I would probably have a 4 right now.

Sometime after that, I tried a HTC Hero and it was great - reception in my house was perfect. I now use a Evo and am very happy with that.

I think the iphone 4 looks fantastic - amazing in hand.

Was talking with a customer all this week, and he just got his 4 - and every time I talk to him, the reception is horrible. I'm on a land line, he's on his iphone.
His voice is dropping in and out, echo's, etc. None of the calls dropped,
but just very hard to have a normal conversation.

I know every carrier has problem spots, but AT&T seems to have many.
Even though I love my Evo, if sprint had the iphone with good reception, I would be tempted, just on looks alone ... but in the end, the Evo does everything I want and more .. phone, maps, NAV, basic apps, email.

I do have several friends with iphones, also with not great reception at home or work - but they keep them, but they don't use them for work,
and they don't get many calls ... so if they have a drop call or bad reception - they claim they are ok with that ...

I just know for me, if I'm spending $70-125 a month for a mobile, the reception is going to be fantastic.
I don't care how great it looks, it better sound great.

that sounds mostly like a carrier issue rather than the phone, which sucks for you americans where its still limited to the one carrier, i've had the iPhone since it came out and reception has improved each build, with the iPhone 4, its the best i've had, loving the noise cancelling mic too, my friends agree. luckily in the UK most our carriers do the iPhone so its good to pick one that has better coverage.

 

[MorganHiller]

Yes, I agree.
The service is the problem.

 

[Vegastouch]

Once you jailbreak the iPhone, it's world's above android. It's really ironic for a platform that is supposed to be catered more so to the power user, the iPhone has way more and better quality apps.

Well i wouldnt agree with this. Ive never had an iPhone that WASNT Jailbroken and though it added a lot to make the phone better for me, it still didnt make it as customizable as Android is. Customizations is a great thing about Android. And you can root Android too which is just like jailbreaking it to make it even better.

Agree on the Apps but there are some very good Apps on Android and getting more all the time. And they have many of the same Apps that Apple does.

One thing about the App Market that Android has that Apple does not is 24 hours to try out an App. If you dont like it, you can get a refund. You are screwed by Apples App store in that regard.

Both good phones. Took me a while to get used to Android and once i learned some things, i think it is great. Love my Samsung Vibrant and will even more when i get the Froyo update within weeks. Oh and i have never dropped a call.

 

[shandyman]

One thing about the App Market that Android has that Apple does not is 24 hours to try out an App. If you dont like it, you can get a refund. You are screwed by Apples App store in that regard.

well it seems that that is being countered as more and more apps have been given lite versions, there is a section in the app store called “Try Before You Buy” cos apple are trying to promote these. they are encouraging trial versions of apps.

 

[tsqrd]

Trying to argue that the web app version of Google Voice is comparable to the built-in Android integration is laughable. As a primary user of GV, this was a major decision on selecting my EVO over an iPhone 4. There are certain things that the web app just cannot do.

For example, I keep my device in my pocket while driving. I make a hands-free call using my vehicle and the phone dials using Google Voice. To accomplish the same task on an iPhone would require me to pull the phone out, launch the web app, and then make the call.

To the OP: You won't be disappointed with either device. I'd recommend trying them both first hand if possible, as it will be the little things that ultimately help you make up your mind.

 

[bevo]

I owned a iphone 3g, currently own a iphone 4. Used a HTC incredible on verizon for a week.

In the end, not gonna go wrong with either phone.

Things I missed the most with the android phone were the applications. So many more of them are available for the iOS. Easy ability to sync my music and videos with my phone. Keyboard I liked better. I never used Swype, so can't comment on that. Battery life is much better on the iphone 4.

The HTC sense UI is nice and do miss aspects of it. Google voice and gmail integration is fabulous. Google android apps are great, I just felt like things were lacking outside of that.
Battery life was horrible and was ultimatly the deciding factor for me. I didn't want to have to spend another $100+ on a new battery, case, etc to get a phone that lasted the day. I feel that I should get a phone that lasts the whole day when I walk out of the front door.

I'm a moderate user of my phone. I get home with about 50-60% of battery life at the end of the day now. I returned my Incredible after light usage one day and the phone died on me in 3 hours. Unacceptable.

I'm willing to try it again. But issues remain about fragmentation. I'd prefer a stock android install sometimes over most of these brand created UIs. Feel that the UIs should be able to be installed/unistalled on each phone. But in many cases that can't be done unless you install a new rom (from my understanding).

Plus you're at an apple website, you're looking for biased reviews

 

[shandyman]

Trying to argue that the web app version of Google Voice is comparable to the built-in Android integration is laughable. As a primary user of GV, this was a major decision on selecting my EVO over an iPhone 4. There are certain things that the web app just cannot do.

For example, I keep my device in my pocket while driving. I make a hands-free call using my vehicle and the phone dials using Google Voice. To accomplish the same task on an iPhone would require me to pull the phone out, launch the web app, and then make the call.

To the OP: You won't be disappointed with either device. I'd recommend trying them both first hand if possible, as it will be the little things that ultimately help you make up your mind.

i wasn't saying it was the same as the android one, i was just saying it was better than the other poster was making out. it's very useable. it's a shame that we haven't got a full proper version for the iPhone tho.

 

[duffyanneal]

I'll pipe in with a couple responses.

actually according to others who posted in this thread after me, it hasn't, stating that apps have to be specifically coded for it. so it's still not universal.

This is no different than having to recode an app to take advantage of Apple supplied multitasking APIs. So while iOS4 will do pseudo multitasking you can't take advantage of it until the app is rewritten and falls under the APIs Apple supports. One solution to the problem is that the newer Android devices have more built-in storage. My Droid X has 8 GBs internal storage out of the box plus additional storage in the form of a 16 GB uSD. I put my music and pics on the SD card and leave the 8GB internal storage for apps, etc.

you miss the point, many people have iTunes and have bought songs thru it, like for their iPod, they then get an android phone, they can't use them, thats Android fail right there.

That isn't correct. I transferred all my iTunes purchased music to my Droid X. The only music that won't play are the protected AAC (old stuff) which I took care of with a third party app. I still buy most of my music from iTunes. Every few days or after buying a new song I run iSyncr which wirelessly syncs the music on my DX with iTunes. It also syncs up the play count/playlists on both devices.

so you download an app outside the market place, you have no idea where it comes from and it could be a malicious app taking all your details or just breaking your phone, yea thats a good thing lol. apps still get removed from the android market place? thats just like the app store then

True, but how is this different than how you deal with apps on your personal computer? I'm not quite ready for spoon feeding and I don't require hand holding for life's basic tasks. Common sense and a little caution goes a long ways.

Battery life was horrible and was ultimatly the deciding factor for me. ....... I feel that I should get a phone that lasts the whole day when I walk out of the front door. I'm a moderate user of my phone. I get home with about 50-60% of battery life at the end of the day now. I returned my Incredible after light usage one day and the phone died on me in 3 hours. Unacceptable.

What good is it to have a phone that you have to keep attached to a charger? I completely understand. The Incredible has horrible battery life. If you check out the Incredible forums you'll see that is a very common topic. Supposedly, Froyo helps with battery life, but a lot of Dinc owners have resorted to third party batteries. It doesn't help that HTC supplied the Dinc with a small battery out of the box. I have a Droid X and after a days typical use I have 70% left which is about the same or a little more than what I was getting out of my iPhone 4.

I'm willing to try it again. But issues remain about fragmentation. I'd prefer a stock android install sometimes over most of these brand created UIs. Feel that the UIs should be able to be installed/unistalled on each phone. But in many cases that can't be done unless you install a new rom (from my understanding).

Sense is a decent UI...much better than Motoblur, but I would prefer plain vanilla Android. Supposedly, Gingerbread (next rev of Android) will have a complete UI rewrite and there are rumors that Sense and Motoblur may go bye, bye. Let's hope... You can replace the stock UI with an aftermarket launcher. I'm currently using LauncherPro which is a hybrid of Motoblur and Sense. It doesn't require a new ROM or rooting for that matter.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

ya but knowing the US government can listen to every phone call without a warrant is pretty much the same..

the days of "privacy" are over, no matter how you look at it.

Which is no different then the way it was before. The govt could always listen on you if they wanted, without a warrant that is, it's just inadmissible in court.

And if the govt wanted to do something to you, outside the court that is, well that's still the same as ever.

 

[Vegastouch]

Another thing or two ill mention. I dont know if (the OP) is even interested in rooting his phone but it is a lot easier now than it was.

Now you can get it from the Market,(its called "one click lag fix") download it, click install which roots the phone, fixes any kind of lag your version of Android may have, has a space checker in it, and some added tools.

Swype is also a great thing. Once you get an Android, you really need to spend some time figuring out how it works to appreciate i. There are things you will learn about it weeks down the road ....or in a forum if you go right away.
They have different launchers that are better than TouchWiz. Better SMS apps to use that the original, and the original isnt bad ( im talking on the Vibrant here) but Handcent does more and just makes texting better. And there are a few different browsers to choose from as well and one more, Fennec which is made by Monzilla who makes Firefox is coming out with one as well. It is in Alpha right now.

I dont mean to just talk up Android but you already know what your iPhone can do.

 

[shandyman]

I'll pipe in with a couple responses.
This is no different than having to recode an app to take advantage of Apple supplied multitasking APIs. So while iOS4 will do pseudo multitasking you can't take advantage of it until the app is rewritten and falls under the APIs Apple supports. One solution to the problem is that the newer Android devices have more built-in storage. My Droid X has 8 GBs internal storage out of the box plus additional storage in the form of a 16 GB uSD. I put my music and pics on the SD card and leave the 8GB internal storage for apps, etc.

yes, but my point was that there are still some restrictions, the other poster said that i was flat out wrong, it's not fully universal. that was all.

That isn't correct. I transferred all my iTunes purchased music to my Droid X. The only music that won't play are the protected AAC (old stuff) which I took care of with a third party app. I still buy most of my music from iTunes. Every few days or after buying a new song I run iSyncr which wirelessly syncs the music on my DX with iTunes. It also syncs up the play count/playlists on both devices.

again, the other poster was saying that androids do not need a computer to sync and then started on how bad iTunes was, and without it iPhone people would be screwed. again as you have mentioned, you cannot import all songs into iTunes, as i was saying alot of people have had iTunes for a long time, having iPods and that, so would still have the protected AAC ones. so you cannot use all of it, and you still need to sync it. also we have the advantage of getting songs through itunes right on the device and can either copy it back via syncing or just by checking for available downloads can't do that on an android.

True, but how is this different than how you deal with apps on your personal computer? I'm not quite ready for spoon feeding and I don't require hand holding for life's basic tasks. Common sense and a little caution goes a long ways.

i'm cautious as to what i put on my machine, i don't download stuff if i don't know where it came from. i still have a wide choice of apps i can download in the app store with the comfort of knowing it's not going to do anything malicious, considering the majority get the green light, and the fact the app store has more apps than the android market, we have big variation.

 

[sciwizam]

To enable app storage on the sd card, all you have to change in your code is add 1 line.

http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/install-location.html

android:installLocation="preferExternal"

Set it either "auto" or "preferExternal". That's it, it's not a monumental rewrite.

How is this any different than updating an iOS app to make us of new APIs or updating to a hi-res icon for the higher resolution on the new phone?

 

[UCLAKoolman]

i feel sorry for your mate, as you just come across as quite arrogant, condescending and obnoxious...

+1

So interesting how apple/iphone haters waste their time here.

I have yet to use an android device that runs as smoothly or looks as polished as my iPhone 4.

Where's android's awesome Netflix app?

 

[shandyman]

To enable app storage on the sd card, all you have to change in your code is add 1 line.

http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/install-location.html

android:installLocation="preferExternal"

Set it either "auto" or "preferExternal". That's it, it's not a monumental rewrite.

How is this any different than updating an iOS app to make us of new APIs or updating to a hi-res icon for the higher resolution on the new phone?

kinda missing the point, the whole point was the fact that he was saying there was no such problem, as people have said, there is a fix, but it's not universally done yet. that was all. had nothing to do with how hard it is or anything.

anyway, with the iPhone, i have 32Gb, more than enough room and no need to faff about with having stuff on internal memory and stuff on memory cards

 

[shandyman]

+1

So interesting how apple/iphone haters waste their time here

yea, i've noticed it a bit over the last few days, certain names pop up alot in the iphone section that slate the iPhone and sing the android praise claiming it's like the second coming. if it's really that good, why come on here all the time? they either need to get more of a life or get past their insecurities lol.

 

[Vegastouch]

No, there is still an issue with that. All developers have to update their apps to enable it and quite a few you still can't move to SD card.

I dont care about that. My Vibrant has 16 GB built in and 2 GB of that is dedicated just for Apps. I also have a 16GB class 4 Micro card in it which is what my Music is on among other things.

 

[adztaylor]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A400 Safari/6531.22.7)

No, there is still an issue with that. All developers have to update their apps to enable it and quite a few you still can't move to SD card.

I dont care about that. My Vibrant has 16 GB built in and 2 GB of that is dedicated just for Apps. I also have a 16GB class 4 Micro card in it which is what my Music is on among other things.

I'm not saying you should care I was just informing the person I quoted.