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What makes people get an iphone despite better specs on other devices

Interface, design, ios...

Ive played around with android demo units and friends android phones, iPhone wins hands down...
 
Before iOS5 I dumped my iPhone after having owned every single model that came out for Android. HTC Thunderbolt. Battery life was horrendous but I liked how it handled notifications and I liked the custumization. But the apps are lacking in the polish and are typically an afterthought for developers. Those that are ported to Android from iOS lack the spit and polish of the iphone counterpart. Or, they appear on Android months later and lack the updates you see on iphone. Look at the Facebook app on Android for instance.

iOS5 has pulled back back in. I miss the customization features of Android and how some services are tightly integrated such as Dropbox and Google Voice. But all those high end specs of Android don't make much difference when you factor in the issues with the apps.
 
IMO the 4S has better specs than all the other phones out there.

I had the GSII for a little while before returning it to get the 4S.

The 4S is just too amazing. Website render faster, camera is better, GPU is a lot better, etc.

Only downside is the lack of ram, but with iOS5 I haven't had a problem with it. Even with a lot of tabs open in safari.
 
It could be the fact that there's not a better spec'd phone with the OS immediately when you buy it. if you buy an iPhone, you know that you have the best phone Apple has for at least 12 months. Sometimes more. With Android phones, you have the best phone for about 2-3 weeks. While most people I know who buy iPhones have them for a year or two then trade up...I know several who use Android, who get a new phone every 2 months or so, because it's bigger, better, and faster.

I had an iPhone 3G, 3GS, then switched to the Evo since it was "THE ultimate phone". By release day, the next big thing was announced and my brand new "ultimate phone" was garbage, comparatively.
 
Well, I didn't get the iPhone 4s, I got the Galaxy S2.

Apple has a better mobile OS, better design and build, (but way more fragile) and the silky smooth integration with iTunes and other Apple products is nice to have, but that is it.

I have found apps that integrate perfectly with itunes and OSX. And while Android isn't quite as smooth as the Apple OS, its quite nice and once rooted you can customize to your hearts content.

One big one is accessories. EVERYONE makes iPhone accessories. Not so much for Android phones...
 
jmpnop said:
Hardware is useless without good software to utilize it. iPhone is complete in every sense - design, hardware and software, that's the reason why most people buy.
Click to expand...

agreed .... actually my favorite phone os is windows phone 7, it's actually fun to use and looks really nice (ok, not counting the home screen) but the lack of apps, price of apps and the not so great software on the 5mp camera, keep me from using it full time ... so i'm using my iphone 4s for now .. the apps that are cross platform are generally more refined, nicer looking, etc. on ios .. AND even though the specs are better or close on some android phones, i found that my iphone almost ALWAYS streamed live video better than my android phones .. mlb, watching live sporting events, etc .. my androids would buffer, play back pixelated but the iphone was pretty much smooth all the time.
 
Try using a Galaxy S2 for an hour.

You'll know why. While it may have all the fancy processor specs, and all that fancy stuff, it still doesn't have quite the experience I'm looking for.
 
vitzr said:
Just like switching from a PC to a Mac takes a bit of time, patience, and willingness to learn the differences in keyboard keys, modifier keys, Finder vs Explorer etc. Android requires the same willingness to learn.

Frankly (although they claim otherwise) most iPhone users refuse to take time to learn Android. They expect this completely different OS to be like an iPhone.

Even though it's easy and doesn't take long to learn, if you don't go into it opened minded you won't get it.

It's as simple as that.

Me?

I use both, enjoy both immensely & celebrate the differences.

No phone is perfect, yet Android and iOS are both very excellent phones. Having two AT&T lines I can enjoy both an iPhone and Android concurrently.

It allows me to stay current with both and works very well for me.
Click to expand...

I expect technology to be as easy to use as picking up a pencil or pen. If someone gave me a writing implement, and said I had to take time to learn to use it before I could write a note, I would throw it in the trash.

And mere specs don't mean anything independent of usability.

The iPhone and Android phones largely do the same things, with minor differences. But for me, iOS devices are easier to use right out of the box. If an Android device came along with several features that were clearly superior to what was available on an iOS device, I would consider switching.
 
TheLegend said:
Try using a Galaxy S2 for an hour.

You'll know why. While it may have all the fancy processor specs, and all that fancy stuff, it still doesn't have quite the experience I'm looking for.
Click to expand...

Right, if your looking for completely controlled environment, get the iPhone. Every app is vetted, and your customization is limited to minor tweaks.

Honestly Android and iOS is not that much different at all.....'cause Google stole all the good stuff from Apple.
 
1) Apps. Even with all of Android's success, there's nothing that compares to Keynote or Pages for example.

2) Easy integration with my Mac. iTunes, Keynote, iCloud/MobileMe for contacts, bookmarks, tasks, etc.

3) The iPod ecosystem. The iPhone works with almost everything the iPods do.

4) iTunes store. Very easy to purchase content - movies, TV shows, music. While there's the Amazon Music Store, there's no good place to get TV shows or movies - especially those that will also work with, say, your Mac, AppleTV, iPad, etc.
 
I just switched for a few reasons:

1. Form factor -- all of the Android phones with the key specs I wanted (nice screen, camera, enough memory) were all ginormous or had horrid battery life (half a day)

2. Consistency of user experience -- I had a midrange android phone, it didn't have email search on the native mail app. As I started looking for a new one, I found that quite a few phones did not bundle the search into the default client. Some did, some didn't. In the end that was too much guesswork for me.

3. Polished apps -- there are lots of apps for android, but most of the time the iphone one is nicer. The apps generally work more consistently as well

4. Limited backup options -- I had to reset my phone far too many times. Each time, the phone would restore my contacts (all in gmail or work exchange) and then introduce duplication. My address book was always a mess. And each hard reset meant I need to reinstall al of my apps and customizations. This was a big time waster.

Having the absolutely best specs makes no difference at all.
 
Because it's made by Apple and Apple make better phones / computers / music players than any other company.
 
jade said:
4. Limited backup options -- I had to reset my phone far too many times. Each time, the phone would restore my contacts (all in gmail or work exchange) and then introduce duplication. My address book was always a mess. And each hard reset meant I need to reinstall al of my apps and customizations. This was a big time waster.

Having the absolutely best specs makes no difference at all.
Click to expand...

I never had any issues with contacts getting duplicated (I stored them all in Google and the phone just downloaded them), but I did always dread having to restore everything because it meant I had to find and download all my apps again and put all my settings back to the way they were.

I definitely agree on the polish of apps; there was always something off about using some apps in android.
 
Design, iOS, Apple ecosystem, consistent hardware. Had a PC, android phone before and the whole system was just fragmented. iPhone just feels like a quality product.
 
At the time when I chose the iPhone 4 , it was the best phone for media/web usage that I was aware of. I really enjoy the phone, but the lack of a folder file hierarchy is stupid and everything that the jailbroken hones get to do show the stupidly of apple.
 
Actually the battery isn't better with the iPhone 4S.



The Samsung Galaxy S2 features a Li-Ion 1650 mAh battery offering talk time up to 540 minutes and standby up to 576 hours on 3G networks, while the iPhone 4S has a Li-Po 1,420 mAh battery, with 8 hours of talk time on 3G and up to 14 hours on 2G networks (GSM).

540 minutes is longer than 480 minutes of talk time. And 576 hours of standby is way longer than 14 hours. Sorry about that :(

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/232...-2-3-gingerbread-os-iphone-4-siri-epic-4g.htm
 
The android will die faster due to running processes. I speak from experience and even used some of the best ROMs out. Day to day use the iPhone will last longer.
 
I read a lot of spec sheets comparing the latest Android
phones against the iPhone iterations. These to me are just two guys in a room arguing over cars or their preference of a PC or Mac.  Everyone has their preference so the
arguments and comments on these articles are usually very passionate and
fueled, but they don’t answer the questions raised:

Which phone is better?

To really answer that question, is not as simple as fastest
processor, largest screen, and newest operating system.



“Comparing individual specs
between smartphones is like opening up the hood of a Ford Mustang and the hood
of a BMW M3 and pointing out why one is better than the other based on its
innards.“

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal-tech/smart-phones/231900086



So here is the most popular comparison, the Galaxy SII
running Android OS and the iPhone 4S running iOS5. People want to point out
here that the Galaxy SII is the clear winner due to the larger screen, however,
what people don’t seem to see is that the larger screen has two downfalls:

A: it has a
resolution of 800 X 480 while the iPhone while smaller has a resolution of 960
X 640. If you don’t understand what that means, it means you can see more on
the iPhone's “smaller” screen at one time than you can the Galaxy SII.

B: Lets talk
about LARGER phones for a second. Yes the screen looks awesome at first glance,
but this is still a phone and lets talk about the ease of use with one hand
while say… DRIVING??!!… lol. Below is the arc of the thumb when holding a phone.



“Hardware will never trump anything if the software
running on it doesn’t use it to its fullest potential. “

That can also mean holding
back power to reserve battery or
make transitions smoother. A faster processor doesn’t mean a phone will run
faster if there are bottlenecks in the operating system or applications. And
one things Apple does is keep their OS unified long enough for developers to
really optimize those specs. (Update: One very distinct feature people all around the web can agree upon is the capacitive touch screens, Android users often feel stuttering or lag when scrolling pinch to zoom etc, while the experience on an iPhone is much smoother, which is software, not hardware. I.E. Older iPod touches vs newer Android phones.)

So OK fine, you are still unconvinced that the iPhone 4S is
a contender, even after the record breaking presales and  you continue to be a die hard Android OS user.
 That is fine, in the end it really is
about personal preference. Statistically, Blackberry users are hardcore email
users and their phones work great for that, Windows 7 phone users want to be on
the edge of their seats hoping their new jump will take off and they can be
early adopters, Android users usually tend to want full control over all
aspects of their phone, and iPhone users tend to want something they can turn
on and just use.

But screw personal preference, as we are here to say which
phone is better.

So here is what I
will tell you from personal experience; I have owned two android devices
the HTC Incredible and  Droid Eris. Both
of these phones felt great to me, they ran fast and without hiccup, but within a month of owning both devices I
looked on the web and realized there was a “faster/better”
phone already out, so I started to get disheartened, I couldn’t keep up
with the tech. I had to use a family members upgrades to keep up to date or
shell out full price and hope my “old” device would sell on craigslist. That
sucked. Then I would find out that my
operating system was old and my phone wouldn’t
get updated. So even though my phone was better the OS held it back and
made it feel clunky. Well that is disappointing.

The fragmentation between phones is too great to keep them
all up to date, a downfall Google is finally addressing, hopefully, in their
next OS.

Android is selling more devices right now because there are more devices. What I haven’t seen
yet is an article with Android users exclaiming their fear that for once,
iPhone lovers can get a damn good device, the iPhone 4, for 99 dollars with
contract. That is a HUGE step.

Apple may not have shock and awed the world with a redesign
of the device but they opened up their phone to almost all the carriers and
made it affordable, just like android with their lower level competitors.

Let’s talk Droid AD campaign for a second as well,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-K71MpwCko


These ADs really don’t scream, “Mother of two children, a
dog, and picket fence, I should be your next phone!” It is kinda a mix between
a bad B movie with girls in scantily clad bikinis fighting zombies with that
new movie “Real Steel!!!!” where Wolverine fights boxing matches with robots..
WHAT!?! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei5l3r1dV4I)

So we are not really selling to the females of the world,
and then I have had a strange observation: any girl I have known that owned or owns a “Droid” has either broken it over
3 times and eventually gets an iPhone or just doesn’t dig deep enough into
their Android phone’s settings and features to get the full potential of their
phone to work. It sucks that the operating system needs apps and widgets to
really make its full potential shine. Those features are cool, but you can
download ****** features, without even being aware, that drain your battery
within seconds.



Which brings me to the Battery. Whether your Android phone
has a 1750 MHZ or a 900000 MHZ battery, without application mitigation from the
operating system, the battery will still drain faster than it should. iOS may
not have widgets but what they do have mitigates the battery to A, last longer,
and B, charge faster. Those are TWO very important features.



The real elephant in the room here is the APPs, people like
to say Android is now catching up with the APP game, but from my recent
purchase of an iPad 2, it would seem, that is not as true as you may think.
When I saw the amount of apps there were that would aid me in my daily life I
almost **** a brick, then being an Android user I almost **** my pants again
because OMG “I HAVE TO PAY FOR THESE!?!?!?”



That is the mentality of an Android user, their OS is free, and
therefore the apps should be too. This is a huge deciding factor for companies
making some of the most successful apps on iOS to NOT port them over to Android
devices. They can’t make money, because iPhone
users are more likely to pay for an APP than Android users.



Accessories: Because
with the iPhone there is just ONE design every two years, it has the most
amazing offerings of cases, chargers, and accessories. Developers have more
time to create and polish them, making the choice the users decision, not
decided by which phone you have. By the time cool accessories come out for your
Android phone it has been replaced and the companies move on to the phone that
is dubbed “cooler” so they can make more sales.



So the iPhone 4S, has been dubbed a disappointment, but the
sales are clear so far: it is a success. And that has a lot to do with the fact
that they didn’t just upgrade the internals, they REALLY updated them, they already have one of the best cameras
regardless of “megapixels” and they just updated the hell out of it with some
seriously impressive features. These days who doesn’t use their phone as a main
camera now for everyday stuff?



“The best camera is the one you have with you” Chase
Jarvis



iOS 5 a HUGE
overhaul. Did it copy ideas from Android? Damn straight! But before you get
your panties in a bunch didn’t Android have to copy ideas from iOS to begin?
And I give both companies props for continuing the forward momentum. Siri while
may be fun to bag on, if it is what they say it is, is a HUGE advancement in
Voice operation. I actually hope the two companies continue to push each other
feature wise, so the user gets the rewards in the end.



I have a PC a Macbook Pro, and Ipad 2 and an Android phone,
but this time around I pre-ordered the iPhone 4S because I decided I was tired
of screaming at my OS when it would just do stupid ****, like drain my battery
in less than 5 minutes after a full charge, or lag in apps especially when
texting, and I realized the widgets, such as the google search bar, while cool just took up space on the screen
and drained battery life.



I like knowing I will always have the most up to date OS, my
phone will retain value, and I can upgrade every year instead of every month to
keep up. 



Which brings me to my final statement



“Standing in line” aka Brand Loyalty



For the release of the “small update” iPhone 4S, there is
already 2 people standing in line at the 5th avenue Apple Store in
NYC for 13 days, they began camping out 2 weeks before the launch of the phone
to secure their spot as FIRST to get their new device!



Disney capitalized on this well, they know they have good
rides, so they setup lines that people don’t want to stand in, but will to go on
a crazy adventure that lets them forget about the line in the first place.



I took a trip down there to see if they were crazy, but to
my surprise they were normal every day people with jobs, who just wanted to
experience the phenomenon of an Apple Launch event as first.



This desire to stand in line and be first
is something that is important to the iPhone’s reputation; they feel having the
phone first is tangible rather than fleeting. And in a world of txts and emails
and lack of social interaction, yet filled with it, feeling a connection with
your device, as strange as it sounds is important. You will use it every day,
so you better like it.



Check out their ongoing wait adventure here: http://iphonewhatever.com/





The brand name association with Android is diminishing even
more with each phone released as the companies who make them are having a power
struggle to have the best phone. With Android you have Motorola who came into
the picture as the front runner with the original Droid, but quietly from the
darkness emerged a little company called HTC who overlaid their own UI on the
Android device and quickly overtook Motorola, now it seems Samsung is going for
their own attack as a prominent Android manufacturer, but when I, the consumer,
go to the store, I am doing the opposite of what I should when shopping for a
new Android phone; I am looking at specs of the all the different “brands” of
Droid. Checking their specs and listening to the reps telling me which has
1080p or not, when in the end it is about the user experience,
if the 1080p looks like **** with 9827 megapixels then why did I choose it over
the other brand? I like choice, but I don’t want the choice to be a sacrifice,
1080p for lack of an awesome UI by HTC, etc.



Conclusion:





Word of mouth is the best AD campaign anyone can ask for.
With the iPhone you know what to tell your friends, with Android, you are still
not quite sure what it is or which phone to suggest to them, because your phone
is a month old and the newest Android might be coming out next week, and trying
to explain to someone that if they wait a month they might get the latest software upgrade, is like telling a 3 year old
he might be able to watch TV if he
eats his vegetables.



So I feel with the offering of an affordable iPhone 4 with
pretty good specs still today, due to a polished OS with iOS5, and the much
faster iPhone 4S, Apple is the winner. Not because I am a fanboy but because it
just makes more sense to get the device that doesn’t give me buyers remorse a
month later and with new features like BBM type services and uniformed apps
over the platform I will want my friends to have it too. It has a community
feel and congruency therefore I am more likely to suggest it to my friends so I
can interact with them on the device.

****** HTML to BBCODE converter full article in the link in my sig. Article is called First in Line First In Line - iPhone 4S VS Android
 
vitzr said:
Just like switching from a PC to a Mac takes a bit of time, patience, and willingness to learn the differences in keyboard keys, modifier keys, Finder vs Explorer etc. Android requires the same willingness to learn.

Frankly (although they claim otherwise) most iPhone users refuse to take time to learn Android. They expect this completely different OS to be like an iPhone.

Even though it's easy and doesn't take long to learn, if you don't go into it opened minded you won't get it.

It's as simple as that.
Click to expand...
I learned to use Android. I know how to use a PC as well.
I'm a mac user. And an iPhone user.
Unlike some, I didn't START my smart phone experience on an iPhone. So, no, I don't expect an Android to be like an iPhone...except in the ways it is.
 
xraydoc said:
1) Apps. Even with all of Android's success, there's nothing that compares to Keynote or Pages for example.

2) Easy integration with my Mac. iTunes, Keynote, iCloud/MobileMe for contacts, bookmarks, tasks, etc.

3) The iPod ecosystem. The iPhone works with almost everything the iPods do.

4) iTunes store. Very easy to purchase content - movies, TV shows, music. While there's the Amazon Music Store, there's no good place to get TV shows or movies - especially those that will also work with, say, your Mac, AppleTV, iPad, etc.
Click to expand...

Keynote, Pages, TV shows are very low on the priority list for most phone users. Mobile phone is just not the right device for these applications. Getting digital music these days is easy on any platform. As far as digital content is concerned, the only "special" thing about iTunes is higher prices.
 
It never ceases to amaze me that so many people fail to consider anything outside the physical device to be a specification. The inclusion of a device in the Apple ecosystem is the one of the biggest specs (not to mention impossible to match by other companies). The Apple store, the Genius bar, iTunes, the App Store, iCloud, etc. are all as important to the iPhone as its chip and screen, if not more so. And yet, people fail to see the lack of an equivalent ecosystem in other platforms as a red X on the spec checklist. This I do not understand.

And how is it that screen size is considered a spec, but scrolling smoothness is not? What about the multi touch spec? Even a 1st gen iPhone scrolls smoother than some of these also ran Android phones.

And whatever happened to ignoring processor "speed" comparisons when comparing 2 different devices running 2 different chips on 2 different platforms? Back in the 90s, computer salesmen always went out of their way to dissuade customers from comparing a PC processor with an Apple one. Now with phones, that's ok?
 
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