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iPhone: Share your "I defected but I'm back" stories
- Thread starter Mikhailov
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Surprising I saw this thread as I just switched back to an iPhone 5S after having an HTC Droid DNA for 8 months. It was a nice phone but it didn't take great pictures and it had started to get laggy and glitchy at times. Took advantage of Best Buy promotion today and only paid $40 for my new iPhone. Already enjoying it more than the HTC.
Except Windows 8. No merits there, all drawbacks. Seriously, there is not one single thing I like about that OS. I feel like I'm constantly wrestling the OS to get a simple task done and by the time I'm done begging it to do what I want I forget what it is I need to do. It truly is an abortion of an OS. Worst of a desktop and a tablet OS combined in a big ball of yuck...
Download Start8 and never have to see the metro desktop again and works exactly like windows 7
If only the start menu was the only problem. I hate the entire interface and the way it's laid out, if you click control panel in the "start menu" it still takes you to Windows 8's horrible control panel. Everything about it is just a disaster. The OS just makes zero sense and has no flow. I'm shocked at it actually.
I switched from an Iphone 4S to a Galaxy S4 because I wanted a larger screen. The S4 is a very good phone. I liked the extra space with the removable micro sd card and the ability to remove the battery. I went back to the Iphone 5S, even though the screen was smaller. It is hard to put into words just how smooth IOS is. I am also in the Apple EcoSystem with my other products, so it just fit. As for the removable battery feature, when I am going to have an extra heavy day, I just use my Mophie Juice Pak Air battery. I am not close to being tempted by the Galaxy S5, but I will be in line early for the Iphone 6. We need a bigger screen.
I had a Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket that I got on contract two years ago. It only cost me $25 refurbished from AT&T, and was a very good deal as it was the only phone with LTE at the time and we had just got it here in the Dallas area.
Six months later, my hands still couldn't get used to the bigger 4.5" screen. Putting it in a case had made it worse, so I stuck with using it case-less. I was dropping it pretty much everyday. It was at that sixth month that I opened up my camera and saw a huge dent firmly in the center of my lens.
So then I ordered the part to fix it myself, only to realize that the screws on the back had been stripped. ALL of them. So I had no choice but to stop using it. No camera = deal breaker.
So then I got a cheap 3.5" Android GoPhone that I thought would last me until yesterday. I was really enjoying it, and got to flash the latest version of Jelly Bean at the time.
Well, Google released this Play Store/services update that wrecked a lot of phones (including mine). It was so bad that I was unable to unlock the thing just to make a phone call.
So I switched to a Nokia Lumia 520 in August. It was awesome (4" is a very nice screen size for me), and I found some really nice app replacements that were very, very nice.
But the platform is growing, and I would have taken a big risk signing a contract for any of those phones. But I have my 520 still and will check out the 8.1 developer preview and keep an eye on things.
So yesterday, I finally came back to the iPhone.
Although, I tried buying an iPhone 5C, but they didn't have them in 32GB at the AT&T store (lame!). So I walked out with a gold 64GB 5S instead.
I've been using the iPod Touch though, so it feels like a brick, haha. I also miss the old home button. The fingerprint one feels so cheap and springy when I press it.
Six months later, my hands still couldn't get used to the bigger 4.5" screen. Putting it in a case had made it worse, so I stuck with using it case-less. I was dropping it pretty much everyday. It was at that sixth month that I opened up my camera and saw a huge dent firmly in the center of my lens.
So then I ordered the part to fix it myself, only to realize that the screws on the back had been stripped. ALL of them. So I had no choice but to stop using it. No camera = deal breaker.
So then I got a cheap 3.5" Android GoPhone that I thought would last me until yesterday. I was really enjoying it, and got to flash the latest version of Jelly Bean at the time.
Well, Google released this Play Store/services update that wrecked a lot of phones (including mine). It was so bad that I was unable to unlock the thing just to make a phone call.
So I switched to a Nokia Lumia 520 in August. It was awesome (4" is a very nice screen size for me), and I found some really nice app replacements that were very, very nice.
But the platform is growing, and I would have taken a big risk signing a contract for any of those phones. But I have my 520 still and will check out the 8.1 developer preview and keep an eye on things.
So yesterday, I finally came back to the iPhone.
Although, I tried buying an iPhone 5C, but they didn't have them in 32GB at the AT&T store (lame!). So I walked out with a gold 64GB 5S instead.
I've been using the iPod Touch though, so it feels like a brick, haha. I also miss the old home button. The fingerprint one feels so cheap and springy when I press it.
I had left iPhone for like 15-18 months primarily for Android Galaxy S3 & S4.
While away, I swore that Android was superior and that the iPhone lacked creativity and imagination. Matter of fact, I said the iPhone was the Fisher Price of smartphones.
Fast forward to about the end of October/Beginning of November and all the little flaws of Android began to add up. Inferior app design, glitchy un-optimized hardware/software. Slow updates, etc...
But I wasn't quite ready to return yet, so in December I gave WP a chance. Although, it had some positives going for it: fast text, great keyboard, simplistic, etc... I just couldn't get offer the poor 3rd party support for the platform.
So after all that here I am back on old faithful iPhone, 5S to be specific. With the exception of the 5 I've had every iPhone.
iPhone simply cannot be beat. Best app selection, best designed apps, best 3rd party support, best design, best software optimization, etc...
I don't foresee leaving again after my long hiatus. Love iOS 7 & the new home button!!!
While away, I swore that Android was superior and that the iPhone lacked creativity and imagination. Matter of fact, I said the iPhone was the Fisher Price of smartphones.
Fast forward to about the end of October/Beginning of November and all the little flaws of Android began to add up. Inferior app design, glitchy un-optimized hardware/software. Slow updates, etc...
But I wasn't quite ready to return yet, so in December I gave WP a chance. Although, it had some positives going for it: fast text, great keyboard, simplistic, etc... I just couldn't get offer the poor 3rd party support for the platform.
So after all that here I am back on old faithful iPhone, 5S to be specific. With the exception of the 5 I've had every iPhone.
iPhone simply cannot be beat. Best app selection, best designed apps, best 3rd party support, best design, best software optimization, etc...
I don't foresee leaving again after my long hiatus. Love iOS 7 & the new home button!!!
Well I had more Android phones than I did iPhones. My sig is just a PREVIEW of the different phones I've encountered. I'm going to give a quick summary of each and what the flaw with each was that made me come back.
Nexus S - It was nice and smooth thanks to the heavily customized software I ran on it, but stock it didn't exactly qualify for the performance olympics. What killed the experience in the end was terrible, tragic battery life. I'm talking about 2 hours of screen on time, at around 50% brightness. Unacceptable. I played every trick in the book to maximize battery life; beyond obviously turning off antennas when not in use and lowering brightness, I had a custom slim ROM, a custom kernel (matr1x), custom governor, custom scheduler, deep sleep mod, under clocking, and undervolting. Won me half an hour more. Unacceptable. Got sick of screwing around with settings day and night to squeeze out battery life and ran back to...
iPhone 4 - This is the only iPhone to make it to the list for being fundamentally broken; the antenna on this phone was a tragic oversight and definitely killed the experience. Having to worry about how I hold my phone while on a call is not what I want in a phone.
LG Optimus G - one of my favourites based on nice design and build quality. Not durable though; it fell off a 3 feet high desk and totally shattered. The speaker was also pretty crappy, and the battery life wasn't the greatest. Signal was mediocre. It was a deeply flawed phone but the performance and screen made it a really nice PMP-type device.
Galaxy S4 - one of the worst phones on this list by a mile. Total utter plastic, hardware on steroids that still couldn't handle the sheer amount of bloat that Samsung threw in. Total stutterfest and feels less solid than a disposable party plate.
HTC One - one of the best phones on this list. Battery was meh. Only real issues with it were the dumb power button placement and how unclickable it was. I used ViperOne ROM to allow me to turn it on by tapping the screen. Ultimately the huge bezel and the crap power button got to me and I had to get rid of it.
Lumia 920 - I hate Windows Phone and its lack of apps, and this thing weighed 4,351kg for no reason that I could see. Squeaked when squeezed, so the build quality wasn't the greatest. Probably THE worst phone I've ever had due to the craptastic nature of its apps.
Moto X - THE best Android phone I've ever had. It's a perfect phone for iPhone converts. Battery life is magnificent, signals are excellent, and it has unique features and a very nice 3-CPU platform that makes it far snappier than higher-specced competitors. Why did I get rid of it? I have no idea. I guess I just wanted a bigger screen and went to a Note 3. It's the least flawed Android phone I've ever had the privilege to try. Why not go back? Well I can't justify trading an iPhone 5S for a Moto X. It's just a lesser phone and a generation older. I'd be throwing money away. I'll definitely be looking at the X2 or whatever they call the successor to the X. This phone is a gem and is vastly underrated for how great it is.
Note 2 and 3 - the 2 was slow and the hardware was pretty bad. So I upgraded to the Note 3 and...alright it was a pretty fast phone, but I still couldn't stand the excessive cheap plastic everywhere. Having 3GB is cool and all, but when 2.5GB of those are actually usable and the OS takes up 1.2GB IDLING...then you know there's a pretty serious issue with bloat. Otherwise it was a nice phone. Why did I leave? The web browser. This issue now translates to pretty much any other Android phone: the web browsers are garbage. Sure you get nice tabs and features that iPhone doesn't get, but there is not a single web browser on Play store (and believe me, I've tried them all) that can best Safari in terms of sheer performance and fluidity. I don't know why this is, but I suspect JIT has something to do with it.
Current phone: iPhone 5S. Probably the best phone I've ever owned. The Moto X is a close second.
Nexus S - It was nice and smooth thanks to the heavily customized software I ran on it, but stock it didn't exactly qualify for the performance olympics. What killed the experience in the end was terrible, tragic battery life. I'm talking about 2 hours of screen on time, at around 50% brightness. Unacceptable. I played every trick in the book to maximize battery life; beyond obviously turning off antennas when not in use and lowering brightness, I had a custom slim ROM, a custom kernel (matr1x), custom governor, custom scheduler, deep sleep mod, under clocking, and undervolting. Won me half an hour more. Unacceptable. Got sick of screwing around with settings day and night to squeeze out battery life and ran back to...
iPhone 4 - This is the only iPhone to make it to the list for being fundamentally broken; the antenna on this phone was a tragic oversight and definitely killed the experience. Having to worry about how I hold my phone while on a call is not what I want in a phone.
LG Optimus G - one of my favourites based on nice design and build quality. Not durable though; it fell off a 3 feet high desk and totally shattered. The speaker was also pretty crappy, and the battery life wasn't the greatest. Signal was mediocre. It was a deeply flawed phone but the performance and screen made it a really nice PMP-type device.
Galaxy S4 - one of the worst phones on this list by a mile. Total utter plastic, hardware on steroids that still couldn't handle the sheer amount of bloat that Samsung threw in. Total stutterfest and feels less solid than a disposable party plate.
HTC One - one of the best phones on this list. Battery was meh. Only real issues with it were the dumb power button placement and how unclickable it was. I used ViperOne ROM to allow me to turn it on by tapping the screen. Ultimately the huge bezel and the crap power button got to me and I had to get rid of it.
Lumia 920 - I hate Windows Phone and its lack of apps, and this thing weighed 4,351kg for no reason that I could see. Squeaked when squeezed, so the build quality wasn't the greatest. Probably THE worst phone I've ever had due to the craptastic nature of its apps.
Moto X - THE best Android phone I've ever had. It's a perfect phone for iPhone converts. Battery life is magnificent, signals are excellent, and it has unique features and a very nice 3-CPU platform that makes it far snappier than higher-specced competitors. Why did I get rid of it? I have no idea. I guess I just wanted a bigger screen and went to a Note 3. It's the least flawed Android phone I've ever had the privilege to try. Why not go back? Well I can't justify trading an iPhone 5S for a Moto X. It's just a lesser phone and a generation older. I'd be throwing money away. I'll definitely be looking at the X2 or whatever they call the successor to the X. This phone is a gem and is vastly underrated for how great it is.
Note 2 and 3 - the 2 was slow and the hardware was pretty bad. So I upgraded to the Note 3 and...alright it was a pretty fast phone, but I still couldn't stand the excessive cheap plastic everywhere. Having 3GB is cool and all, but when 2.5GB of those are actually usable and the OS takes up 1.2GB IDLING...then you know there's a pretty serious issue with bloat. Otherwise it was a nice phone. Why did I leave? The web browser. This issue now translates to pretty much any other Android phone: the web browsers are garbage. Sure you get nice tabs and features that iPhone doesn't get, but there is not a single web browser on Play store (and believe me, I've tried them all) that can best Safari in terms of sheer performance and fluidity. I don't know why this is, but I suspect JIT has something to do with it.
Current phone: iPhone 5S. Probably the best phone I've ever owned. The Moto X is a close second.