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[Merged] General Discussion - Android OS vs. iPhone OS

Did you make a switch?

  • Switched from Android to iPhone

    Votes: 48 17.6%

  • Switched from iPhone to Android

    Votes: 30 11.0%

  • Staying with iPhone

    Votes: 188 68.9%

  • Staying with Android

    Votes: 7 2.6%
  • Total voters
    273
  • Poll closed .
1: Android can Run Multiple Apps at the Same Time
And also run your battery down to the ground. The Galaxy I used for around 2 months needed to be on charge at night and also at my desk at work in order to stay on during the day

2: Android Keeps Information Visible on Your Home Screen
This is true, it is nice to have some kind of at glance view. Although I think that HTC's SenseUI is too cluttered.

3: Android Has a Better App Market
But not really anything better on offer in terms of apps.

4: Android Gives You Better Notifications
Yes, the notifications on Android are much better.

5: Android Lets You Choose Your Hardware
But if you choose the wrong Hardware you are stuck with 1.6, which nobody wants. One of the attractions with Android is OTA updates. Unfortunately if the manufacturer doesn't give a crap about it's end users, you'll be left with a phone which should be able to run the latest and greatest, but you'll be unable to run half of the apps in the market. One example - Google Goggles runs on an HTC Magic but not on a Samsung Galaxy.

6: Android Lets You Choose Your Carrier
Not if the phone is locked to carrier, and there is also no community application to remove these carrier restrictions. Something you can do with the iPhone.

7: Android Lets You Install Custom ROMs
Only if the manufacturer has opened the source of their drivers. Otherwise, yeah you can try, but you'll either brick your device or be unable to use random things like Wireless, or the Radio flat out won't work.

8: Android Lets You Change Your Settings Faster
I found going to settings on iPhoneOS much more intuitive than the settings in Android. Even with the Menu key.

9: Android Does Google and Social Integration
But Maemo does Skype integration really nicely and WebOS does social integration much better.

10: Android Gives You More Options to Fit Your Budget
At the expense of performance or freedom of operator.
 
Small White Car said:
6) Carrier Choices: Another "true but so what?" item. What am I supposed to do with that? Go from one crappy carrier to the other? Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Disagree. Carrier choice is the biggest advantage Android has over the iPhone because, while every carrier has issues, it's very clear that not every carrier has the same issues in the same places. The ability to choose what carrier works best in my area, for my situation, will be the #1 factor in determining what new phone/carrier I choose when my AT&T contract expires on July 12.
 
IgnatiusTheKing said:
Disagree. Carrier choice is the biggest advantage Android has over the iPhone because, while every carrier has issues, it's very clear that not every carrier has the same issues in the same places. The ability to choose what carrier works best in my area, for my situation, will be the #1 factor in determining what new phone/carrier I choose when my AT&T contract expires on July 12.
Click to expand...

But the biggest disappointment about the Nexus One was the fact it is still constrained to the Traditional Voice plans.

If Google said 'screw this. We'll put in a radio that can run on Verizon/Sprint/AT&T/T-Mobile, put in 802.11n, WiMAX and then the user can get a data plan without a contract IF they choose to. Integrate google voice, Skype and any other SIP carriers and give the user a real choice' then I'd agree wholeheartedly. If you move from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint, you can't use your GSM phone. If you go to europe, you can't stick a European SIM into the phone, because there's no slot for it.

As it stands now, there's no freedom or flexibility with going between providers.
 
IgnatiusTheKing said:
Disagree. Carrier choice is the biggest advantage Android has over the iPhone because, while every carrier has issues, it's very clear that not every carrier has the same issues in the same places. The ability to choose what carrier works best in my area, for my situation, will be the #1 factor in determining what new phone/carrier I choose when my AT&T contract expires on July 12.
Click to expand...

I suppose location does matter more than anything. I can certainly see places where AT&T is not a viable option.

But that's on an idividual basis. When looking at a larger picture, it kind of evens out. What about the folks who really want a particualr Verizon-only Android phone in an area where Verizon is not great? They're in the same boat, just on the opposite side.

So while I can agree it is an issue for individuals, I feel that it kind of evens-out on the group level. There are people who want an iPhone but can't reliably run one just as there are people who might want an EVO but won't be able to have it where they live.

So this is a real issue, but not an iPhone-exclusive issue. My point is not that it doesn't exist, but rather that it's not really an advantage for one phone over another phone.
 
steviem said:
But the biggest disappointment about the Nexus One was the fact it is still constrained to the Traditional Voice plans.

If Google said 'screw this. We'll put in a radio that can run on Verizon/Sprint/AT&T/T-Mobile, put in 802.11n, WiMAX and then the user can get a data plan without a contract IF they choose to. Integrate google voice, Skype and any other SIP carriers and give the user a real choice' then I'd agree wholeheartedly. If you move from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint, you can't use your GSM phone. If you go to europe, you can't stick a European SIM into the phone, because there's no slot for it.

As it stands now, there's no freedom or flexibility with going between providers.
Click to expand...

Small White Car said:
I suppose location does matter more than anything. I can certainly see places where AT&T is not a viable option.

But that's on an idividual basis. When looking at a larger picture, it kind of evens out. What about the folks who really want a particualr Verizon-only Android phone in an area where Verizon is not great? They're in the same boat, just on the opposite side.

So while I can agree it is an issue for individuals, I feel that it kind of evens-out on the group level. There are people who want an iPhone but can't reliably run one just as there are people who might want an EVO but won't be able to have it where they live.

So this is a real issue, but not an iPhone-exclusive issue. My point is not that it doesn't exist, but rather that it's not really an advantage for one phone over another phone.
Click to expand...

Good points by both of you, but (I thought) we were talking about the platforms on this thread (Android OS vs iPhone OS). While it's true that you can't get every Android phone on every carrier (and cannot always move carriers with said phone once you've gotten it), you can get the Android OS on every US carrier.
 
Fair enough, however, this would invalidate several of the gizmodo article's as well.

To get the highest level of freedom of choice on android, you must buy HTC. But then you are limited and the highest microsd card you can get is 32gb.
 
thetexan said:
Why is Jack in the Box better than Burger King?
Why is Papa John's better than Domino's?...
Opinion is opinion, and not fact.
Click to expand...

For all of our sakes, I truly hope that the iPhone OS and Android are better than any of those choices. Those are some pretty dismal food options.
 
Yesterday, I witnessed a friend hold the search button down (from the home screen). After a couple seconds, a voice prompt popped up and he said, "Red hawk golf course". It processed for another two seconds, and then BAM...

Google search results popped up with a link directly to google maps. One tap and google maps comes up with turn-by-turn directions.

Androind +1
 
steviem said:
Fair enough, however, this would invalidate several of the gizmodo article's as well.

To get the highest level of freedom of choice on android, you must buy HTC. But then you are limited and the highest microsd card you can get is 32gb.
Click to expand...

yes because 32 GB is such a limiting factor for 90% of iphone users....oh wait....that's a ridiculous statement. 90% of iphone users could live off of 8GB just fine.*

as for the battery issue, you can tweak android to your liking IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. the BIGGEST difference between the two is that apple makes products that are EASY to use. drawbacks from this are lack in customization and lack of freedom (this point cannot be argued, lol). yes you can jailbreak but you're still stuck without widgets and you can't change all of the notification settings (example: android allows recent texts to be displayed via ticker bar at the top or you can have it show on the homescreen as a static message. iphone only allows the text to pop-up in your face requiring you to close it or click reply).

*taken from my own personal survey that i just conducted in my head and have no intention of sharing actual data from.
 
It DEFINITELY doesn't blow Android out of the water! Android updates are coming very quickly.
 
Disappointed the screen turned out to be the same size. There isn't anything amazing that most other OS's have not been doing. All in all I am disappointed.
 
im not that impress with the iphone 4

iMovie and Gyro is crazy though for a phone, however, i dont see myself using this on a daily basis, maybe like once a month at most
 
CocoaPuffs said:
Game, set, match!

Go Apple!
Click to expand...

Umm no

Android still has clear advantages over iOS (like a much cooler name ;) )

The hardware of the iPhone is certainly impressive, but its merely evolutionary the next android device will leap frog it. You'll have to wait another year to see something new from apple.
 
LMAO

The next version of Android (2.2) coming out now has native tethering. Just that craps on anything Jobs announced today let alone the million other things Android can do iPhone cant :)
 
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