Hello there.
So, I went from a 3G to a 3GS to a DroidX and now to a VZW iPhone. You probably picked up on this from the thread title. There are some things I miss and some things I don't.
I picked up the DroidX last July because I was getting tired of the less than stellar ATT service and because I had played with a coworker's Android phone and kind of liked it. In my opinion, all of these devices basically do the same stuff, there's just some differences in how things are done and to the extent that certain features go down a given path.
Now that I'm back on the iPhone bandwagon, here's what I think...
What the DroidX was missing:
1. A really fast and efficient browser. I was really shocked that the core internet application on a device with a Google OS was this slow and clunky
2. A good camera. The specs seemed good but in reality, it was not that great. I think the camera in my old 3GS was much better and the speed at which it would process each image was better on the iphone.
3. Stability. The phone and certain apps (core ones) would crash, sometimes to the point that I had to pull the battery. Sometimes the mail app would stop receiving messages for no apparent reason and I wouldn't realize that there was a problem until i went back to my regular computer and a bunch of new messages would be sitting there.
4. WiFi. It had a problem switching from cell to wlan automatically. I eventually just shut off the wlan and kept it on cellular only. The iphone switches back and forth seamlessly.
What the DroidX had going for it:
1. Battery life. With the slightly larger extended battery, I could make it through two days of constant mail sync of 4 accounts and various other usage.
2. Modular core apps. Google would release a bunch of incremental updates, some with new functionality for apps like the mail and maps. You could also do stuff like replace the calendar app with a better 3rd party one (the built in one sucked).
3. Buttons. I got really used to using the back and menu buttons.
4. Notifications. This is a big one for me. When any new stuff happened, like a new email, a calendar event, new RSS articles, etc, icons would appear on the task bar on the top of the screen. You could then swipe down on it and a detailed list of what the various events would be displayed. You cold then just tap directly on the list item and be take directly to that item in the appropriate app. You could do it very quickly and it was nice to see at a glance if there was email waiting on my work account or one of my personal ones.
5. Mail notifications. You could set a different sound (including no sound) for incoming mail on each account. I set it so that I'd get nothing from the account that buy stuff with, a sound for my Exchange account, and a different sound and vibration for the account that I only use for personal correspondence. I know there's an app for the iphone, but you have to forward all your mail through the developer. No thanks.
6. Standard port. Nice having a standardized micro-USB port. Makes possible a lot of charger sharing with other devices.
7. Flexibility. It was like it came Jailbroken out of the box because there's much more freedom to change various things in terms of interface and functionality.
Stuff the iphone is missing:
1. See above list of stuff the DroidX does well.
Stuff the iphone wins at:
1. Most of the stuff that the DroidX loses at
2. AWESOME browser. I forgot how fast and efficient the iphone browser was. With the better VZW service, it's just amazing.
3. Apps. While there is a growing number of apps that span the two platforms, there are still some holes in the offering.
4. Stability. It's very stable. Very.
5. Performance. It has an overall feeling of better responsiveness. Very nimble.
In conclusion, I'm happy that I made the switch back. Just the browser itself made it worthwhile. I did do this in the middle of my contract term and I had to pay retail price for the phone. It was funny... I guess that doesn't happen often because it took them a half hour in the store to figure out how to sell a phone at full price not under contract.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far!
John
So, I went from a 3G to a 3GS to a DroidX and now to a VZW iPhone. You probably picked up on this from the thread title. There are some things I miss and some things I don't.
I picked up the DroidX last July because I was getting tired of the less than stellar ATT service and because I had played with a coworker's Android phone and kind of liked it. In my opinion, all of these devices basically do the same stuff, there's just some differences in how things are done and to the extent that certain features go down a given path.
Now that I'm back on the iPhone bandwagon, here's what I think...
What the DroidX was missing:
1. A really fast and efficient browser. I was really shocked that the core internet application on a device with a Google OS was this slow and clunky
2. A good camera. The specs seemed good but in reality, it was not that great. I think the camera in my old 3GS was much better and the speed at which it would process each image was better on the iphone.
3. Stability. The phone and certain apps (core ones) would crash, sometimes to the point that I had to pull the battery. Sometimes the mail app would stop receiving messages for no apparent reason and I wouldn't realize that there was a problem until i went back to my regular computer and a bunch of new messages would be sitting there.
4. WiFi. It had a problem switching from cell to wlan automatically. I eventually just shut off the wlan and kept it on cellular only. The iphone switches back and forth seamlessly.
What the DroidX had going for it:
1. Battery life. With the slightly larger extended battery, I could make it through two days of constant mail sync of 4 accounts and various other usage.
2. Modular core apps. Google would release a bunch of incremental updates, some with new functionality for apps like the mail and maps. You could also do stuff like replace the calendar app with a better 3rd party one (the built in one sucked).
3. Buttons. I got really used to using the back and menu buttons.
4. Notifications. This is a big one for me. When any new stuff happened, like a new email, a calendar event, new RSS articles, etc, icons would appear on the task bar on the top of the screen. You could then swipe down on it and a detailed list of what the various events would be displayed. You cold then just tap directly on the list item and be take directly to that item in the appropriate app. You could do it very quickly and it was nice to see at a glance if there was email waiting on my work account or one of my personal ones.
5. Mail notifications. You could set a different sound (including no sound) for incoming mail on each account. I set it so that I'd get nothing from the account that buy stuff with, a sound for my Exchange account, and a different sound and vibration for the account that I only use for personal correspondence. I know there's an app for the iphone, but you have to forward all your mail through the developer. No thanks.
6. Standard port. Nice having a standardized micro-USB port. Makes possible a lot of charger sharing with other devices.
7. Flexibility. It was like it came Jailbroken out of the box because there's much more freedom to change various things in terms of interface and functionality.
Stuff the iphone is missing:
1. See above list of stuff the DroidX does well.
Stuff the iphone wins at:
1. Most of the stuff that the DroidX loses at
2. AWESOME browser. I forgot how fast and efficient the iphone browser was. With the better VZW service, it's just amazing.
3. Apps. While there is a growing number of apps that span the two platforms, there are still some holes in the offering.
4. Stability. It's very stable. Very.
5. Performance. It has an overall feeling of better responsiveness. Very nimble.
In conclusion, I'm happy that I made the switch back. Just the browser itself made it worthwhile. I did do this in the middle of my contract term and I had to pay retail price for the phone. It was funny... I guess that doesn't happen often because it took them a half hour in the store to figure out how to sell a phone at full price not under contract.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far!
John