Android vs iPhone - please weigh in.

[jnorman]

hi guys - i need to upgrade my current iphone 3g, and am completely confused about whether to go with one of the android phones or wait until the iphone 5 comes out in september. one of my primary considerations is the quality of the cameras and video.

so, while i like the iphone interface, the much larger screen on most of the androids looks very appealing. also, the androids offer an 8mp cam and good HD video. iphone 5 may duplicate these features, or it may stick to a 5mp cam.

i dont care much about tons of apps, though a clever audio app or two would be good.

i do care about being able to view web pages, where a larger screen is defintely an advantage. my iphone 3g pretty well sucks for the web - screen too little and no flash.

anyway, please weigh in with your experiences, preferences, and advice.
thanks.

[rainmaker]

Yeah, I'll weigh in... This is Gearslutz! Not Phoneslutz!

Wow!

[Drumsound]

Phones are gear. He's asking about cameras on the phone. Many are using their phones to take recall pics...

[crille_mannen]

I recently bought a samsung galaxy sII. Really awesome screen, great camera. The best phone out there right now.

[appleburger]

if its iphone 5 vs. android that you're asking about nobody can help you. all specs of iphone 5 are purely speculation at this point.

[John Willett]

I'm waiting for the iPhone 5 - due next month.

[etrella]

love my Evo 3D...ANDROID FOR THE WIIINNN!!!!!!

[dasnub]

Nobody I've ever known with an iPhone switched to android. I cannot say the same for the opposite. In fact, most I know literally hate their droids and blackberrys.

[dabigfrog]

the droid audio sux in loud live band situations... my friend was webcasting his tour from both an iphone and a droid...iphone audio was excellent....droid audio turned to rubbish as soon as you are in a loud situation.

i'm waiting for iphone 5

[Slik dA Relic]

the Iphone, is ONE phone made by Apple... the Android is the OS in a series of different phones not made by Apple... there isnt a comparison... in order to compare, u hafta put the "top of the line" android phone against the iphone itself... i personally like the HTC EVO, but if u dont know what the best 'droid fone is, this is meaningless.

da relic

[hockeyfreak2129]

I've never owned an Iphone, but I can say this. I just recently purchased a Samsung Charge through Verizon and it absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! Fastest phone I've ever owned, Battery life is amazing, Awesome Cam/Video Cam, etc. Plus, Android has the most free apps available!!

[DoctorBonkers]

I have the iPhone and regret it. The battery life blows and you can't carry a spare battery & switch out because it will void your warranty.

If I had it to do over again, Droid FTW!

[LFO]

I waited for what seemed forever for the iPhone at Verizon. I was the 512th person to order one. A week later I turned it in for a Droid Fascinate. I really disliked the iPhone and I love my Droid. Of course this has no bearing on what you would prefer, I just thought I would post my experience. I will also say there are a few apps on iPhone that I wish were on Droid.
LFO

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Gearslutz.com App

[tha]-[acksaw]

Im an Android man myself. I went this route cause i believe the Android platform has more room to grow due to the fact that it's a bit more open then iPhone. I have a Droid 2 Global and i kinda feel like the camera and sound are not the best. They are good, and more then usable, but my friends with iPhones get stellar pics, video and audio.

On the other hand my sister has a Samsung Galaxy and the video, pics and audio is stellar. Much better then my Droid 2, and on par with the iPhone. I also have friends with various other Android phones who get stellar pics, video and audio.

At first the Android phones were a little behind the iPhone, and my current older Droid shows that off clearly. But i believe Android has finally caught up in most regards, the camera and sound being a big improvement.

I'd hit up a store and test a few phones out. And don't forget u have 30 return on most phones if there is something you don't like.

IMHO, you are better off figuring out which direction you wanna go, with the intent of staying there. Now that i have a Droid, and any other Android phone will sync my current phones contents and setting so i can switch to new phones with 0 issues. I've done it twice already and its been effortless. If i had to go to iPhone i would have quite a larger issue I'm sure. But it seems like my friends on iPhone also can switch to a new iPhone will little or no issues. So decide where you wanna stay, and do it.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Gearslutz.com App

[Grinny]

Which is more important to you, simplicity or power?

[afterjohn]

HTC Incredible powered by Android.

Best f'n phone ever! (to me)

I'm an Apple fanboy, don't get me wrong, but my phone is bad ass!

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by afterjohn

HTC Incredible powered by Android.

Best f'n phone ever! (to me)

Agreed. I have the same setup.

Cheers,
--
Don

[hmurchison]

I have an iPhone 3GS and i'm eagerly awaiting the iPhone 5.

Not only am I expecting to get a great 8MP camera but I'm also
looking forward to perhaps a slightly larger screen (3.8" would be ideal)
and dual-core processing.

What's really going to make things better is iOS 5.0. The iPhone 4 has pretty solid video and audio support but that's getting even better with the iPhone 5.

Also I like that in addition to Wifi Sync (which Android has) I'm going to back up my phone to iCloud so that if it takes a drink into the Pacific I know my data is backed up at all times and iCloud will make syncing just about any content effortless.

I'm sure that there are plenty of people that have traded their iPhones for Android but there seems to be a bit of frustration I'm seeing with the varied interfaces on Android phones. If you're someone who loves tweaking and adding widgets and other stuff then Android is your platform. If you're someone that wants simplicity that comes with a unified interface then iPhones are appealing and the next OS just makes it even that much more polished.

Oh crap I just noticed you have a 3G and not a 3GS. An iPhone 5 will be a huge jump forward. Our screens are decent but the iPhone 4's Retina Display makes every look so much better. Once your eyes get used to it ..going back to your average screen makes the text seem really blurry.

Think about it you'd be going from a 450Mhz ARM processor to likely a dual core 800Mhz ARM processor that's three generations ahead. That's a huge jump forward.

[beau_mckee]

You would be silly to buy now. Wait for iPhone 5 which is due very soon, then you can make an educated decision.

Rumors are bigger screen for iPhone 5 + dual core. My two cents on android phones, customizability is excellent, battery life, phone designs and streamlined programming fall second to iPhone. Forget blackberry storms and all that junk. Worst smartphones I've ever used

[Sonichead]

I have a Motorola Droid and it has it's good points and bad points. I really like how it functions with all of the native Google apps (gmail, contacts, calendar, etc...), but it hesitates a lot, email (other than gmail) has issues pushing through a lot of the time, and is sometimes, the phone is just problematic.

My wife has an iPhone(v4), and it functions great....only problem with it, is the battery life SUCKS!!!

I won't be eligible for an upgrade until Feb 2012, so I have some time to see what Apple will do w/ the iPhone. I've been an Apple guy since the early 90's, so I really want an iPhone, but the battery life does concern me, as I use my smartphone a lot for work during the day.

[hmurchison]

Originally Posted by Sonichead

I have a Motorola Droid and it has it's good points and bad points. I really like how it functions with all of the native Google apps (gmail, contacts, calendar, etc...), but it hesitates a lot, email (other than gmail) has issues pushing through a lot of the time, and is sometimes, the phone is just problematic.

My wife has an iPhone(v4), and it functions great....only problem with it, is the battery life SUCKS!!!

I won't be eligible for an upgrade until Feb 2012, so I have some time to see what Apple will do w/ the iPhone. I've been an Apple guy since the early 90's, so I really want an iPhone, but the battery life does concern me, as I use my smartphone a lot for work during the day.

Sonic

I had a buddy the has the iPhone 4 and he noticed his battery was not lasting that long. He also noticed that it would get a bit warm with just basic use (i.e no gaming). He took it the Genius Bar at the local Apple store and they found that there was a background process that was stuck and chewing through his battery. They had him back up his data...reset the iPhone as a new device and reinstalled his apps and the problem went away. Check to see if your wife's iPhone 4 gets warm ..it could be a signal that something is also stuck and constantly running when it should stop. Cheers

[deuc647]

My biggest question is will the iPhone 5 be 4G? If not, I'll stick to my iPhone 4

[majoraxis]

Hi,

My wife and I purchased two Droids when they first came out. At first they seemed to work well, but after owning them under two years, both have software or hardware glitches. One had been replaced in warranty and the replacement, now out of warranty has issues. The other one has a show stopper bug/issue where after your make or receive a call the touch screen input is no longer is active, so you have to restart it make it useful again.

I replaced my wife's Droid with an iPhone 4 and she loves it, especially the sound quality. I'm hoping my Droid makes it for another month before it completes its slow death so I can get an iPhone 5. I want a phone that does not hang or glitch and the Droid is not that phone, at least not for me.

[andsonic]

My family now has 6 htc evo 4g's. I like it very much. There are so many little things that make my life easier. The dropbox app for one. The camera is decent. 3 issues however:
1) battery life isn't stunning
2) sprint has dead spots in my area
&
3) gearslutz app thinks I have a different phone.
OTOH...
1) Sprint is the only US carrier that still has unlimited plans
2) I got a tremendous deal on the plan & the phones.
3) it pays to research. I got a discount because of my credit union membership.


Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com App

[DITN]

Originally Posted by crille_mannen

I recently bought a samsung galaxy sII. Really awesome screen, great camera. The best phone out there right now.

This. Amazing phone.

[whereisbkp]

i agree..wait until iphone 5 comes and then make decision based on more facts. i personally wouldnt opt for an iphone 4 now. i have an iphone 3, and i will say i'm tempted by android but i'm waiting until iphone 5 comes to decide.

[soundvandal]

I agreeI have owned them all, by far the best phone I have ever used.

Originally Posted by crille_mannen

I recently bought a samsung galaxy sII. Really awesome screen, great camera. The best phone out there right now.

[zephonic]

Apple innovates. Everybody else follows.

But Android is nice enough. And iTunes sucks as a intermediary.

[Grinny]

Apple *appear* to innovate, but that is where it ends. In reality they are very good at taking existing technologies and simplifying them enough so that the average user is not intimidated, then passing the idea off as their own with clever design and marketing. They do this primarily by limiting the power that is available to users.

Apple is one of the most conservative technology companies around. It took them more than 25 years to finally release a decent mouse for example. This was not because they couldn't design one, rather it was because it took them that long to finally admit that most people can learn how to handle two buttons and that their original design was flawed.

Can you name a single technology that was created by Apple?

Just trolling on, sorry could not resist.

[Oop]

iOS fanboys vs Android fanboys What fun!

After 3 years of using the iPhone, getting sick of the monotonous home screen, I switched over to an HTC Desire HD running Android. Here are my views,

- Apple's software integration (iOS) with the hardware is awesome. Despite having lesser power than the newer Android devices, the output and touch fluidity is amazing.

- There are a ton of Android features which are more user-friendly and seem logical. iOS is slowly getting there.

- A jailbroken iPhone with it's customisation should shut any Android fanboy up. Apple steals jailbreak dev ideas and implements it in the next OS. So they are one generation behind, but catching up. Jailbreaking gives you all the Android features you need, in fact even better customisation.

- Android market is nowhere near where the AppStore is currently, especially for music apps. First thing I missed after the switch were all my pro-audio apps.

- Maybe I was unaware, but syncing all my contacts, info on the HTC seemed like a nightmare.


And with such reasons, I successfully lost my phone last Saturday night. I'm guessing the alcohol influenced me to do something terrible to the phone. (Battery life on the Desire HD sucks rat meat balls). I can't even trace the phone now.

Not being a fanboy, but having used both devices, for music I'm sticking to iOS for now. Android will definitely catch up.