Why nobody can touch the iPhone

[thesweeps]

I agree. I played with every top android phone verizon had and I wasn't impressed with any of them. They were better than my droid, but none of them were quite as smooth as an iphone. Android has tons of apps, but it seems that every app that is available on both platforms is nicer on the iphone.

yeah exactly, im just amazed everyday on how clean the entire OS is, im happy i made the switch at least

 

[scott craft]

I switched to windows phone 7 but I feel the same way about it as you do your iPhone. It's very smooth, fast and it works every time.

Sent from my Windows 7 phone using Board Express

 

[boss.king]

Android is about choice, and yet some vendors lock down their bootloaders so you can't install custom rom's? Is it really about choice? Really?

Yes it is. Hardware and software choice. Even with a locked bootloader you get way more choice on Android handsets than you do in iOS, and in terms of hardware you have far, far more choice.

 

[No More Windows]

Yes it is. Hardware and software choice. Even with a locked bootloader you get way more choice on Android handsets than you do in iOS, and in terms of hardware you have far, far more choice.

Absolutely you get more choice with Android... I don't think anybody is disputing that fact. I've worked in IT for years, and there have always been the Mac guys vs the PC guys... and more recently the Linux guys kind of popped up as a kind of rebellious group of teenagers who don't want to be told what to do and don't want to be either a Mac or a PC guy. That's where I kind of view the Android guys in the phone market... as that same sort of rebellious teenager types who rebell and refuse to conform, and that's fine!!

I think Apple has a massive advantage in the fact that they are so rigid when it comes to controlling the hardware and the software. The end result is that the quality control over at Cupertino is second to none, and their customer service is exemplary. I've had a lot of cell phones in my lifetime, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the iPhone is the best piece of consumer hardware I have ever used bar none. I started with Nokia then went to Samsung and was very pleased with all of them, but there is a build quality and a user experience in the iPhone that just doesn't exist in anything else on the market at the moment. It just feels like quality and it just works all the time. (At least mine does anyway!!)

Android still has a long way to go, but they are definitely moving in the right direction. I'm impressed by the Galaxy II S, my wife has one, and I've had a while to explore it. Great screen, feels a lot better than the original Galaxy S, but it's nowhere near the iPhone 4 IMO when it comes to battery life, ease of use and media support ie. (iTunes, & the App Store) Despite the specs, it just feels sluggish and weighty in the OS.

Tablets are very much the same story to me. Just when the copy-cats look to be getting closer, Apple go and raise the bar again, and that's about to happen all over again with the upcoming release of IP5 and iPad 3. If anybody builds anything better than the Apple stuff then I'll be the first to line u and buy it, but so far nobody has, so I'm entirely happy to use devices that "Just work"

If anybody wants to claim that their gear is better then go and use it. The market tends to prove over time which products are really good and which are not. Good luck to them all, competition is a wonderful thing and we, the consumers are the real beneficiaries in this war of the device manufacturers.

 

[kas23]

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As we all know, the iPhone is one of the single most popular handsets available on the market, even over a year after its initial release. In fact, it seems to be defying the laws of basic economics with its supply/demand curve. The number of iPhone's sold seems to be an ever-increasing quantity with each passing quarterly figure announcement, and the price is the same as at launch. And this is very unlikely to change.

Apple effectively has no real competition, either in the tablet or smartphone markets. Let's talk smartphones first.

The iPhone is an incredible combination of hardware and software. You can do pretty much anything on the iPhone that you could on a full desktop or laptop computer. There are obviously some limitations but the usability is endless. Other smartphones are very feature-rich as well, and with the Android market, blackberry app world, and other app platforms there is a fair bit of usability in this respect for other handsets as well. But Apple seems to REALLY hit the hammer on the head when it comes to required features.

I have personally used several of the latest smartphone offerings from other vendors like RIM's Bold 9900, Samsung's Galaxy SII, HTC's Sensation, and while many of these have some very cool aspects to them, they always seem to have tradeoffs. The Galaxy S II is rampant with battery issues - I know 3 people with this phone, and all of them have the dreaded WiFi Sharing issue (google it). Another friend of mine let me borrow her Bold 9900 and it froze at least once a day; the old blackberry's had fantastic battery life, but it seems that now RIM has designed a phone with a touch screen, high res display with a fast processor, the battery life is abysmal. The HTC Sensation's screen is washed out. As far as touchscreen smartphones, I can't think of a single phone that has battery life that competes with iPhone. What's the point of having a blazing 1.2 or 1.5 GHz dual core processor if it only lasts for half a day under normal use?

In the tablet world, the iPad is currently the only real tablet I'd ever consider getting. The others from HP (RIP), RIM, Samsung, Sony, and Motorola are clearly copycats, and people know this! They appear as knockoffs of the real thing, and yet most of the vendors release them with bugs (or no email client) at the same price or just barely under (or in some cases - more!). Apple comes back in a keynote and compares the number of apps for its competitors' tablet platforms to its own and it is almost painful to watch!

It seems like the most basic things are missed by every other smartphone or tablet manufacturer. Just my $0.02. It would be nice to see some actual competition from other platforms/vendors in these spaces.

tl;dr

Someone really needs to switch the vibrate mode to the off position and get a life.

 

[yeah]

It is funny how android loses all the time. All you "android fans" can boss the iPhone around but the news clearly states that the iPhone is the #1 phone in the WORLD! Even the iPhone 3GS beats a GS2 . So if android has 300,000 apps and counting (99% of the apps are fake), iOS has over 650,000 REAL apps. My sister has a GS2 and says it is laggy! So if an iPhone 4 has an A4, Dual-Core "android" phones STILL are very laggy and the battery is HORRIBLE. I like Google because they have some cool "web" features, but come on, they really think that android can be #1 (NEVER ).

 

[Darthdingo]

Drink the koolaid much

I ditched my buggy and lock up prone iPhone3G a few years ago, have had the Nexus-One and now Nexus-S, and don't see going back to an iPhone, unless they offer a larger screen at least 4", Widgets, and a few other things. Android was pretty poor and crappy at first but they have come a long way the last couple of years. The Samsung Galaxy S II is a superb device, and the rumors for the next Nexus-Prime sound to be a Super-smartphone.

My Brother was also a [H]ardcore Apple fan, he had the iPhone3G too, and would lock up and freeze, he ditched it last year for the EVO 4G, and he says he's very happy with Android now, can just do more with it, and doesn't plan on going back to an iPhone nay time soon.

Android 4.0 "Ice Cream" will finally put an end to all the lag/choppy feel of Android phones, it will be the first build of Android to finally have GPU acceleration, like the iPhone has had from day one. I think the new phones shipping with "Ice Cream" will mark a major move forward for Android.

 

[vitzr]

I welcome the competition, but this thread smells of Fear of Android....

 

[zachlegomaniac]

The iPhone just has a super no-brainer OS that my grandfather (97) can learn. That said the android devices are getting better, but I'm super biased because I have an ATV2, 2 Macs, and an iPhone. Once you "subscribe" to Apple completely (as I have) all of that intuitive OS stuff makes it too easy to stray to another company's hardware IMO.

 

[No More Windows]

You know the thing find hillarious about all of the Android trolls in here is that they openly spam these threads with Android propaganda, and then have the front to complain that there are too many Apple fanboys in here when people point out some obvious and tested problems with their chosen devices. (Apple has it's problems too, and only a fool would deny that!!) But imagine finding fanboys on an forum... not too quick on the uptake guys!! You see the same behavior from the Apple trolls over in the Droid forums too... that's just how it is and has always been.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Samsung GS2 is a great leap forward for Android, and really, when you look at some of the previous Android offerings the only way is up!! Overall the best thing to come out of Android getting better is that Apple will also get better. That's what competition does, it forces EVERYONE to try harder. The open market will decide who is the eventual winner. At the moment Apple is quite a way out in front and with new products just around the corner I certainly know who's shares I'd be buying.

 

[Stealthipad]

The number of Android users are only increasing because of cheaper and low end phones running the OS. Tell me, have you seen someone use an Android phone for a little over 2 years? I know I haven't. Have you seen someone still use the iPhone 3G?..Exactly. The iPhone is just a superb device, aesthetically and technologically.

The SG2 is far from cheaper right now. It is a high end Android phone and can not be compared to it cheaper brethren

I see iPhone users USE their phones. I see Android users TWEAK their weather widgets and UI.

At least we CAN TWEAK, and do not even have to jail break our devices. What I like best about the SG2 is how open it is and not tied to something like iTunes

I can touch my iPhone!

I work in a Glentel retail store that sells Rogers, Virgin, and Bell products and services. I sell a lot more high-end Android based devices now than I do the iPhone. Android is gaining in popularity! I will always stick with my iPhone though.

What is great is we all can choose our own Koolaid!

Also people are still using the original iPhone like me I also see loads of people buy android phones that are the low end and only know one person with the SG2. At the end of the day though it's what people like to use.

Because you only know of one SG2 you say it is not what people like to use. Stop drinking the Koolaid and take a deep breath! The SG2 is not even out yet and the one who have them paid more for it than what a dated iPhone 4 would cost.

Were you bored? This is sort of a useless thread.

The thread is useless but is no worst than most the other threads here. We are all bored in our wait for the iP5.

You must not go out that often then, since I know TONS of people that own android phones. A couple of them even got fed up with ios, and moved to high end android phones.

Android is about choice, and the iphone isn't. Let's be frank here, when you buy an iPhone you're getting an interface that is distinctly made of (and only of) apple's design choices. Android is totally customizable, and can be adapted to suit you, although out of the box you're getting a clean slate most of the time. I know a lot of people that chose android because they don't want anyone telling them what they can and cant do on their phone, and how their interface should look. I really can't say that I know anyone that bought an android phone because there's low end and dirt-cheap options.


Android sells because you can do whatever you want. iPhone sells because you're getting a well thought out interface, design, and excellent customer service and reliability. That's not to say that there's not android phones with all of the same qualities.

WOW. Your incite in this forum is refreshing. Truthful!

I have a couple of things to say about this:

The reason the iPhone is so fluid and a great experience to use is because Apple makes both the hardware and software. This is something Android can never have (unless Google decides to actually use the benefits of their Motorola purchase). Palm/HP could've had this if they put more effort into their hardware. They just crapped out on that and hoped a great OS would sell their phones. Obviously they were wrong. As for RIM, they also make great software, but as of recent their hardware has been lacking which again is ruining the user experience and causing less BB sales. They were hoping their former glory would give them sales, but it obviously didn't.

Because Apple is so strict with their hardware/software requirements, it creates a better user experience. This is why I'm glad Microsoft is starting to take this approach with Windows Phone. By having some control/restrictions about the hardware, it is easier for them to optimise the OS accordingly. Windows Phone is currently the only other OS I've seen/used that provides a fluidity and great user experience like Apple does. This is why I am hoping Windows Phone catches on. By finally having a real rival in the smartphone market, Apple will have to pick up its pace, thus causing Microsoft (and hopefully the other companies) to also pick up the innovation pace.

Although I will be switching to an iPhone, I will still pick up a Windows Phone device to show my support to Microsoft in the hopes that they can succeed and make Apple realise they aren't gonna continue to be king of the hill by following their current pace.

(and yes, this all can apply to the tablet market too with the intro of Windows 8)

Sorry I find the "apple package" to be a little too restricting as do MANY others here who choose to jail break their phone for more FREEDOM!

iOS is so simple compared to android. I think that's the main factor. Most of people on this forum (or any forum for that matter) are leaps and bounds ahead of the average consumer when it comes to technology.

I can only kaugh at this . Simple or stupid?

I have been using Mango on my HD2 for a few weeks now and I believe Microsoft is going in the right direction with Windows Phone. In addition to the three smartphones you listed, I would love for RIM to make a comeback with QNX (since they also make their hardware, they should be able to make it great if they actually try). And I also want WebOS to be bought by HTC so they can have the same level of control Apple does. Having these five companies succeeding would be the most ideal situation for us as consumers. Whether or not this pans out, only time will tell.

I look forward to Mango. It is what MS should have introduced in the first place. The first WIN phone OS was a huge black eye to MS, It would not even sync with Outlook. How can you have a Windows phone that would not sync with Outlook?

As far as RIM and QNX . . . . I have used RIM for 15 years and I am afraid they are on their last gasp with QNX. The Playbook flopped and is pulling RIM down the drain with it.

I agree. I played with every top android phone verizon had and I wasn't impressed with any of them. They were better than my droid, but none of them were quite as smooth as an iphone. Android has tons of apps, but it seems that every app that is available on both platforms is nicer on the iphone.

That means you did not try the SG2. Go back when Verizon has the SG2.

 

[Tsuchiya]

iPhones are popular because:

a) Apple market it as a lifestyle product. It isn't just a number, each iteration is introduced as the next big thing, Apple hype the heck out of it (and everyone hypes themselves up about it) and people buy into the Apple image. They want an iPhone because it's an iPhone.

b) They really nailed the touch-screen smartphone from the get go. The first generation was miles ahead of the competition and blew people away, and with the iPhone 4 introduction, Apple managed to keep ahead of the competition.

Just my 2 cents anyway.

 

[Savor]

Usually, I rarely post in these fanboy-ish threads. But I just want to give iPhone 4 its props as a music player and amazing battery life for it. I was at the library for 10 hours straight a couple weeks ago with it on airplane mode on and shuffle mode. From a 100% full charge, it only went down to 89%. Most other phones would be dead by that point. But only 11% drain? Just got back home right now, and just two hours ago my phone was at 6% left. I was hoping it wouldn't drain before I got home. Two hours later, it was at 2% and is now recharging. So even under 10%, I can get a few hours of music out of it.

I know none of its competitors can touch it as an iPod. I have been a music junkie as of late with a goal of maybe 2000-3000 songs for my phone. Just added another 300+ songs and I am picky with choosing, but can enjoy all genres. Only have 1,400 songs so far. Pandora has now become my used app along with the free mp3 download app. My only hope that my next iPhone will be a minimum of 64 GB or more. With each song averaging about 3.5-4 MB (128 kbps), my ultimate goal is to have 10,000 songs. The iPhone is the ultimate iPod. If you are a music lover, the way iPhone organizes your music and the great music apps for it make it the best choice.