I think my issue with the iPhone is more the iOS than the phone itself. I might buy an iPhone5 if this can be done, or maybe requires a jailbreak ?
If you want a jailbroken device, I suggest the 4S. It could take weeks or months for a totally new processor like that in the iPhone 5 to be jailbroken. I know I had to wait 9 months or something for my iPad's processor, and it wasn't even selling out in stores after a week or two... the iPhone may, and if the right hacker guys can't get ahold of iPhone 5s, it'll take even longer.
- When I try to swipe to the left screen, a keyboard pops ups ? There is no left screen from the center/home screen ? Whats up with that keyboard coming up, can that be disabled ?
That's because when you swipe to the left from the first screen, it goes to the search screen, and when you search, you type. Whereas Android's screens are centered and have other screens flanking it, iOS screens go from left to right and expand to the right.
- That center home button is extremely annoying to me, after using the typical 3 buttons at the bottom. Always pressing that thumb button to exit apps, or anything is very difficult to get used to. I think Apple should ditch that big round bottom button altogether.
But it does everything you need. Click once to exit an app. Click again to go to the 1st home screen. Double-click (in an app or in any home screen) to open or switch between other recent apps, and swipe them to the right to control audio and other quick settings. Hold for Siri. Etc. And you can change all of these triggers with add-ons in Cydia when you jailbreak.
- Where is the app drawer ? Or are all apps on screen only ? There is no app drawer ?
There is no app drawer. The home screens are the app drawer, but basically you can organize them, whereas the Android app drawer you can't do anything with. It's like the best of both worlds.
- Can the iPhone be used as a portable hard drive ? I like to throw files onto my phone, and then bring to the office. Very easy to drag and drop, can the iPhone do that ?
Yes. With apps you can use it as a usb drive, and also to an extent iCloud, depending on the apps you're using. Though generally it'd be smarter to use a cheap USB thumb drive on a keychain, or else just get a dropbox.
- Widgets are big for me, with jailbreaking, can the iPhone have widgets on the homescreen ?
Widgets are big for you because apps in Android suck, as well as battery management. There are no need for copious widgets for fussing with settings constantly. You want to go into apps for things like calendar-editing, and just use the built-in notifications (they're pretty configurable) which pop up on the lock screen and in the notification drawer to notify you. The notification drawer also has weather, stocks, alerts from your apps. It ends up being the best of all worlds. Just click on a weather app for a much more immersive, quality experience in figuring out the weather... and apply the same logic to any other widget you think you'll miss from Android. Also, Siri is great for quick information if you don't even have the ability to tap on an app, like when you're driving.
- LED notification light comes in very handy, if phone is just sitting on my desk, and I walk away for a bit, I can come back to see a missed text in white flashing color, or missed call in blue, or missed e-mail in green. I really like that feature, it's simple, but nice to have, without having to pick up the phone and turn the screen on to see if I have missed something.
It's kinda nice that there are two buttons on an iPhone that do trigger the screen to wake up. But if that isn't convenient enough for you or you don't want to turn the screen on, there is a feature which makes the camera (backside) LED flash when you get a notification in the accessibility settings. Other than that, don't you usually turn on your screen to check if you see the LED flashing? I don't get what that accomplishes other than being able to ignore it if it's just an email and you don't care about emails... but the same is true for iPhone, you can just ignore your phone the same way, lol.
- Google Maps GPS is huge for me, I use it every day. With Google Now, I can speak into the phone the name of a restaurant, and it will pop up immediately, and then it will open up navigation right away, and start speaking the directions to me. Can the iPhone do that ? I honestly do not know.
GPS currently isn't exactly turn-by-turn like Google Nav, but there is maps routing. iOS 6 will bring full navigation. And Google Now is sort of like an overcomplicated Siri/notifications. Between Siri taking care of your impromptu thoughts, maps/navigation, apps like OpenTable, and the Notifications app/service having geolocation proximity reminders, I think you'll find scenarios like wanting to dine out will be well-handled by your smartphone.
