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can't decide - verizon iPhone or 4G android (LTE)

twoodcc

twoodcc

macrumors P6
Original poster
Feb 3, 2005
15,307
26
Right side of wrong
so in my area, at&t is horrible and i'm never going back. the question is, should i get an iPhone 4S on verizon, or a 4G LTE android phone - like the razr or galaxy nexus?

my wife has an iPhone 4 (that was mine), and next year, when her contract is up with at&t, she will switch to verizon also. and we'll get the next iPhone then.

any suggestions? i'm in the Huntsville, Al area, and there is verizon 4G here, but i'm not sure if i'd get it at my house or not
 
4G technology isn't where it needs to be yet. I had a Thunderbolt and killed a full charge in 4 hours with 4G LTE turned on. I had to use the phone with 4G toggled off to make it through the day. I switched back to an iPhone because there was no point in owning a 4G phone if I couldn't use the 4G.
 
That's a question only you can decide...

Do you like the ease of use, polish and eco-system of Apple?

Or do you like a faster phone with a bigger screen that can be customized?

Honestly, the newer Androids have gotten a lot better and while they are still not as polished, they are now quite good.
 
The iPhone 4S and Nexus Prime are two different classes of phones. It all depends on what you want. I like a 3.5" screen. I carry my phone everywhere, and the Nexus Prime is just way too big at 4.65". They're both "retina" (almost the same DPI, the iPhone being a little higher), but one is just way too big for me.

Try going to a store and using them. This is a personal decision more than something anyone online can tell you (especially because of the bias in a Mac forum)
 
well i would like a bigger screen. but i do have a lot of apps, iBooks, etc in the apple eco-system.

i'm just not sure about an android phone for the long haul - about 2 years.
 
richpjr said:
That's a question only you can decide...

Do you like the ease of use, polish and eco-system of Apple?

Or do you like a faster phone with a bigger screen that can be customized?

Honestly, the newer Androids have gotten a lot better and while they are still not as polished, they are now quite good.
Click to expand...


^^^^ About the perfect answer. Except that I'd factor in Siri vs Googles voice input (not quite as polished). However, if you do a lot of streaming to your phone you'll really appreciate 4G.
 
Im thinking about getting that small 4G mifi from Samsung and taping it to my 4s. I am kinda kidding, but it would solve my problem.
 
ACTUALLY, my wife just went through this dilemma. She loathes Apple for whatever reason and decided to go with the droid bionic. Big mistake. Ya the larger screen was awesome and the 4g was fast, but man does 4g have problems. When the phone would lose 4g and drop to 3g it would take as many as 15 seconds to switch between the two, and when you're using the phone for things like nav or using data is just got ANNOYING. Not to mention when that annoyed us too much I turned the radio to use only 3g and the phone would drop 3g all together, no data, nothing. You would have to reboot the phone to get the data back up. Oh, and battery life was horrid. She kept that phone for 4 days, then we went to verizon and she let me use her upgrade to get a 4s and she took my 4. Hasn't had a problem since.
 
twoodcc said:
well i would like a bigger screen. but i do have a lot of apps, iBooks, etc in the apple eco-system.

i'm just not sure about an android phone for the long haul - about 2 years.
Click to expand...

Try out Android for a few weeks. I'm sure you can return it if you don't like it.
 
i'm in the same boat. I'm thinking about the galaxy nexus unlocked and then run it on T-Mobile or AT&T. AT&T sucks but I want a phone that works internationally with local sim cards.

I'm also tempted to just try something else than an iPhone and the current iPhone s not new enough. I also want to stick it to AT&T (and a tiny bit to Apple) because of their lousy service (in Apples case just the way they lock down the system).

However I would plan to return to the iPhone next year because most likely I won't like Android that much that I stay with Android for the long run. The question is just if it's worth the $749 for the Android experience.
 
I've been trying to decide between the iPhone 4S and the Droid RAZR and I've decided to get the RAZR, but not until January, for the following reasons:

1. The form factor and build quality is unparalleled. 7.1mm, kevlar coating and gorilla glass?!? Yes please.
2. LED notifications. After having the OG Droid, I have no idea how I could live without them.
3. The ability to download non-Market apps without rooting.
4. By January, if history is any indicator, the price will have dropped and Wirefly/Amazon Wireless/etc. will have it marked down drastically.
5. The RAZR will get the Android 4.0 update in Q1 2011, and by January there will be a vast selection of cases/accessories/etc.

This decision isn't set in stone, and it's certainly not an easy one (I can easily list 5 areas in which the iPhone beats the RAZR) but these are the differences that are most important to me, and ended up putting the RAZR on top.
 
If you already had an iPhone 4, I say go for something different. But if you feel already comfortable with iOS and already invested into the iTunes ecosystem, then stick to another iPhone.

That Galaxy Nexus looks really, really tempting.

http://www.google.com/nexus/

ics.png


gsmarena_001.jpg


Disappointed to hear it will have a PenTile screen and no microSD slot. But if that screen looks astounding to me the first time I see it, I might just have to hope AT&T gets it because I am not paying $800 for a phone unlocked. Verizon customers get all the best phones this season. The only other phones on AT&T other than another iPhone that looks interesting is the LG Thrill 4G (solid build quality) and the Samsung Galaxy S II that came out six months ago internationally. Verizon gets the best "Galaxy" of them all next month. A Nexus one at that. The Google phone with the PURE GOOGLE experience mixed with the best-selling Android line that has already sold over 30M so far in less than 18 months.
 
Savor said:
If you already had an iPhone 4, I say go for something different. But if you feel already comfortable with iOS and already invested into the iTunes ecosystem, then stick to another iPhone.

That Galaxy Nexus looks really, really tempting.

http://www.google.com/nexus/

Image

Image

Disappointed to hear it will have a PenTile screen and no microSD slot. But if that screen looks astounding to me the first time I see it, I might just have to hope AT&T gets it because I am not paying $800 for a phone unlocked. Verizon customers get all the best phones this season. The only other phones on AT&T other than another iPhone that looks interesting is the LG Thrill 4G (solid build quality) and the Samsung Galaxy S II that came out six months ago internationally. Verizon gets the best "Galaxy" of them all next month. A Nexus one at that. The Google phone with the PURE GOOGLE experience mixed with the best-selling Android line that has already sold over 30M so far in less than 18 months.
Click to expand...

Good news. AT&T might be a carrier. :D
galaxynexusregister.jpg
 
SGMD1 said:
I've been trying to decide between the iPhone 4S and the Droid RAZR and I've decided to get the RAZR, but not until January, for the following reasons:

1. The form factor and build quality is unparalleled. 7.1mm, kevlar coating and gorilla glass?!? Yes please.
2. LED notifications. After having the OG Droid, I have no idea how I could live without them.
3. The ability to download non-Market apps without rooting.
4. By January, if history is any indicator, the price will have dropped and Wirefly/Amazon Wireless/etc. will have it marked down drastically.
5. The RAZR will get the Android 4.0 update in Q1 2011, and by January there will be a vast selection of cases/accessories/etc.

This decision isn't set in stone, and it's certainly not an easy one (I can easily list 5 areas in which the iPhone beats the RAZR) but these are the differences that are most important to me, and ended up putting the RAZR on top.
Click to expand...

I try not to look much at hardware but rather which OS I prefer.

At this point I much prefer iOS and Windows Phone 7 -- android feels like someone's garage project to this day.
 
thenerdal said:
How about ICS?
Click to expand...

If you mean Ice Cream Sandwich, hasn't impressed me as such a big deal as promised, but I haven't played with it yet and who knows when it will be really available on a wide variety of devices -- and what manufactures actually provide upgrades on their non-new models!
 
Though iPhone has numerous features that do things better than Android, I have yet to find any major feature that it does that Android doesn't do. It may not always do it as well, but it can do all the things the iPhone can do. However, the opposite most certainly is not true. There are so many things that Android does that iPhone can't: Thumbnail multi-tasking; widgets (the home screen is not simply an app launcher but something more functional); Folders without app limits and that can have the same app duplicated in multiple folders and categories; an alphabetical app tray; several excellent keyboards to choose from including Swype; better customization and device control; consumer choice of hardware, design, price, features; live wallpaper; wider more beautiful screens; integration of all social media app sharing within any app (for example, I can share an article inside Read It Later to rival app Instapaper or any social media app without being redirected out of the app; and total Google integration to name a few. In a world of iCan't Android does!
 
thenerdal said:
Though iPhone has numerous features that do things better than Android, I have yet to find any major feature that it does that Android doesn't do. It may not always do it as well, but it can do all the things the iPhone can do. However, the opposite most certainly is not true. There are so many things that Android does that iPhone can't: Thumbnail multi-tasking; widgets (the home screen is not simply an app launcher but something more functional); Folders without app limits and that can have the same app duplicated in multiple folders and categories; an alphabetical app tray; several excellent keyboards to choose from including Swype; better customization and device control; consumer choice of hardware, design, price, features; live wallpaper; wider more beautiful screens; integration of all social media app sharing within any app (for example, I can share an article inside Read It Later to rival app Instapaper or any social media app without being redirected out of the app; and total Google integration to name a few. In a world of iCan't Android does!
Click to expand...

Sounds like you should get an android phone.

For me, it was all the unpolished parts of android -- the little annoyances and inefficiencies.
 
SGMD1 said:
I've been trying to decide between the iPhone 4S and the Droid RAZR and I've decided to get the RAZR, but not until January, for the following reasons:

1. The form factor and build quality is unparalleled. 7.1mm, kevlar coating and gorilla glass?!? Yes please.
2. LED notifications. After having the OG Droid, I have no idea how I could live without them.
3. The ability to download non-Market apps without rooting.
4. By January, if history is any indicator, the price will have dropped and Wirefly/Amazon Wireless/etc. will have it marked down drastically.
5. The RAZR will get the Android 4.0 update in Q1 2011, and by January there will be a vast selection of cases/accessories/etc.

This decision isn't set in stone, and it's certainly not an easy one (I can easily list 5 areas in which the iPhone beats the RAZR) but these are the differences that are most important to me, and ended up putting the RAZR on top.
Click to expand...

I forgot to add the most important advantage of Android for me...free Google Navigation.

I use it SO much...it probably accounts for 40%+ of my data usage every month. I've seen YouTube videos of Navigon/Waze/MotionX and they pale in comparison...not to mention with 13GB of space to use, I don't want 1GB+ being taken up with maps.
 
Last edited:
thanks for the replies everyone. i'm still undecided though. i mean, i would be happy with an iPhone 4S - i've already got iBooks, apps, and such there. and i think the camera is probably the best.

but i might also be happy with a 4G LTE android phone. i'm actually trying out an android phone right now on virgin mobile (Motorola triumph) and i must say, the iPhone is much better. but this isn't a top of the line phone (1 ghz single core processor). so maybe a faster android phone would give me a better experience?

i think i'm leaning towards the iPhone right now though.
 
I would stick to the iphone. I gave android a try with the droid x. It was cool once I got the hang of it. Then it started getting really buggy. Apps would randomly restart and freeze the phone. Also, its so fragmented. Apps will work on one phone but not on another? Like others say, if you like to tinker and change up things, go for android. You will always be safe with ios. The galaxy nexus looks like an awesome phone and I want it. The only thing holding me back in android and my experience with it.
 
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