iOS user considering Android.. questions about apps and security.

[mayconvert]

I am a tech user that uses iPhone 5, an iMac (do have windows 8 boot camped) and I have only tried one android phone ever (S3) and found little things that drove me to taking the phone back on week 3 and going back to iphone 5 again.
But, like Many posts I have seen browsing the forums here. As much as I love the iPhone I am just getting bored with it.
Been using iphone since the day iphone 3 was released, then 3gs, then 4, then 4s... you get the picture... at the time, I think the only android phone on the market was the G1 and T-slowble only.

Enough background, this post will already be too long, so forgive me, in advance.

I do many things on my phone. Calendar for work, browse web a lot, get a lot of email thru several diff providers ( yahoo, gmail, outlook.com, live, me.com), I used notes, reminders, banking apps, facebook, twitter, G+, etc. I searched android market place and every app (non apple) I have is available on android.

I have narrowed my choice to HTC One and S4. Note 2 is too big for my taste. Each seem to have pros and cons as with anything in the tech world. Leaning toward HTC (sucker for aluminum)

Here are my concerns in switching:
Security:
I keep reading about android having a LOT of malware to worry about that doesn't seem to be nearly as much of an issue on iPhone.
Yes I have seen a few apps slip into iTunes that apple pulled. I have heard that android has nearly nothing stopping anyone from making malicious apps.
I Never jail broke my iPhones, security is a big deal to me. IF i switch to android, I will not be rooting and rom'ing either. I am assuming those are both similar to jailbreaking.
Anything the removes any security, I won't do it. and of course I don't want to void any warranty I have since I wont have the ease of walking into a store like apple and walking out with a new device should something go wrong.
Do I have to run anti virus on android? Do I need to? If I do, does it slow the phone down like anti virus does windows?
I asked a girl at a cell phone store she said to stay away from apps that don't have 100k downloads and 4+ stars. I found that a ridiculous way "to be safe" since I didn't have to worry about that on the iPhone.

App Killer:
I have heard that the number one app is an app to kill apps that just randomly start up on their own.. and that even if you run the app killer, 10 minutes later all those apps are back running again anyways. really?

I'm sure I will think of more things to ask later. that's my main concerns for now.
I can tell you why I didn't like the S3, and most will find this crazy, but it's those little things that tend to get under peoples skins.
The mail app. It would never auto size the email to FIT THE SCREEN. omg I hated that, I had to scroll up and down and left and right to try and read an email.
That doesn't happen on an iphone. everything FITS the screen unless you Make it not fit the screen.
My brother (an android user) told me to download some other email app. Again, I was concerned about security. Who was I giving access to my email? some 3rd party outfit that could use my email however they wanted?
I didn't like the stock keyboard, so again brother said download this keyboard and I did and when I went to install it, it said it was a keystroke logger in the agreement to install it. so I cancelled install and fought with the stock version. I don't want an app to log my password to my bank account.
And, the thing I HATED most about S3 was the screen color. Samsung doesn't understand WHITE IS WHITE, NOT BLUE. After having color perfection on iphone, the blue hue drove me bat dung crazy. is there a way to fix that? I tried the Note 2 at AT&T today, I couldn't get white to be white no matter what I tried. I was always blue. but, when I watch videos about S4 and HTC, white looks white during the presentation. so I am confused there.

As you can see, im insecure about security

I'm not here to troll guys. I am interested and I am sharing my concerns before I plunge into the unknown android world. I tell people all the time, Just because I have a Mac, doesn't mean I hate Windows. i Like BOTH. I am sure the same will hold true with iPhone and Android. I am sure I can find things i love about both worlds.
Heck I would have a windows phone 8 or a blackberry Z10 if either had any apps at all. but sadly, neither do.
I hate when people spew trash talk about one platform or another. Its like if you like android, you MUST HATE APPLE and vise-versa. To me, I find that ignorant at best.

 

[Aquila]

As far as the best device to get, that's preference and those are both good choices. Personally I wouldn't do anything until May 15th to find out what Google has to say at their I/O that week. For security, the majority of the problems come from 3rd party app stores or side loaded apps. If you are getting your apps through the Google Play Store or Amazon App Store and using common sense, you shouldn't have a problem. The app killer one is one I'd stay away from. Those almost always cause much more trouble than they are worth and Android (at least stock, so I assume Android based devices are similar) comes with a default way of managing running apps, recent apps, etc which makes using another app redundant and makes you wonder what exactly it's doing.

 

[zkSharks]

I have narrowed my choice to HTC One and S4. Note 2 is too big for my taste. Each seem to have pros and cons as with anything in the tech world. Leaning toward HTC (sucker for aluminum)

I think you'd really enjoy the HTC One. I'm not a big fan of the physical build (the plastics in particular) that Samsung uses on its phones and tablets.

I keep reading about android having a LOT of malware to worry about that doesn't seem to be nearly as much of an issue on iPhone.

Yes I have seen a few apps slip into iTunes that apple pulled. I have heard that android has nearly nothing stopping anyone from making malicious apps.

The malware is few and far between. If you're smart about which applications you install (read: ones with reasonable permissions, a reasonable number of installs, and decent ratings) you should be just fine. Installing a mobile security app such as Lookout Security & Anti-Virus can't hurt, though such mobile 'security' apps do have their issues as well.

Google has been stepping up over the past year against malware, but it's a problem that comes with having an 'open' app market. They just recently removed 32 apps from the Play Store over malware concerns.

I Never jail broke my iPhones, security is a big deal to me. IF i switch to android, I will not be rooting and rom'ing either. I am assuming those are both similar to jailbreaking.

More or less, yes. This would be a great read for you, even if you're sure you won't want to root: Rooting - is it for me? Some Q&A.

Do I have to run anti virus on android? Do I need to? If I do, does it slow the phone down like anti virus does windows?

See my answer above in which I mention mobile anti-virus (rather, anti-malware) solutions. Here's the short version: you don't have to, it may slow the phone down, you can't be sure it's completely accurate, but they do a good job of detecting Android malware once said malware has been made known. What I've noticed while trying out these apps is that they do most of their work when you install new apps or update existing ones (meaning not running time-consuming, resource-intensive background scans like the big Windows anti-virus software suites do).

I'm a developer, and I don't use any such software on my phones. I don't extensively examine the permissions each app is granted, but I scan over them and I take a close look at an app's install base, ratings, comments, and overall look/feel (professionalism and such). Looking at an app's permissions can be very informative. If there's a permission you question, read the app's reviews to see if someone else has questioned it; chances are that someone has.

I asked a girl at a cell phone store she said to stay away from apps that don't have 100k downloads and 4+ stars. I found that a ridiculous way "to be safe" since I didn't have to worry about that on the iPhone.

100,000 downloads and 4+ stars is indeed a very high bar. Many people give applications very low ratings and uninstall them simply because of a glitch (whether it's major or minor) that the developer hasn't fixed quickly enough. These ratings often stick around. I can't give you a specific standard to hold apps to (such as 10k downloads and 3+ stars) because I don't feel it's appropriate to compare numbers across different apps. Comparing Facebook's install count to Google+'s install count I can understand, but comparing install counts for unrelated apps seems a bit like the old "apples and oranges" adage.

I have heard that the number one app is an app to kill apps that just randomly start up on their own.. and that even if you run the app killer, 10 minutes later all those apps are back running again anyways. really?

Don't use task managers (a.k.a. task killers) because you think there are too many applications running or that it will speed up your device. Android has rather efficient methods of memory management for multi-tasking, and modern smartphone/tablet hardware can more than get the job done. Read this article by Jerry, even though it's a bit older: RAM: What it is, how it's used, and why you shouldn't care. However, if you install an app that always seems to be 'doing things' in the background and causing noticeable performance decreases, I would either post here for some situation-specific advice or simply uninstall it.

Edit: read what NothingIsTrue said above, then read it again. It's very solid and well-written advice. I avoid third-party app markets/websites entirely, and would advise most other users to do the same. It's not that they're full of malware per se, but rather that I feel more comfortable sticking with the one 'official' Android market and getting to know how it works and what to watch out for. Furthermore, for any app that is available in third-party markets and website but not in Google Play, I'm forced to wonder about the reason why.

The mail app. It would never auto size the email to FIT THE SCREEN. omg I hated that, I had to scroll up and down and left and right to try and read an email.

That would bug me to no end.

My brother (an android user) told me to download some other email app. Again, I was concerned about security. Who was I giving access to my email? some 3rd party outfit that could use my email however they wanted?

There are quite a few third-party apps out there for email and other such services that have built good names and reputations, and are generally trusted. I highly doubt they're doing anything untrustworthy with users' email contents, and if one of them were to do so I imagine it would be noticed rather quickly. If you really have a problem with providing third-party apps with email access, don't do it. They usually offer some functionality you don't find in stock apps, though, so that's really your call.

I didn't like the stock keyboard, so again brother said download this keyboard and I did and when I went to install it, it said it was a keystroke logger in the agreement to install it. so I cancelled install and fought with the stock version. I don't want an app to log my password to my bank account.

I don't mean to sound condescending in any way, but it is a keyboard. If it wanted to remember what you typed, it could. But in no way does that mean it will. The warning you see is precautionary, nothing more. There are many popular keyboards in the Play Store to choose from, and some of them 'learn' from your typing to provide you with amazingly accurate auto-prediction, but they certainly aren't there to steal your passwords or banking information. Just keep this warning in mind if you want to install keyboards that are newly-released or keyboards you can't find much information about.

Any physical keyboard for Windows machines could monitor your keystrokes if the manufacturer built it to do so, yet many people buy keyboards that don't come with their computers. It really is the same situation.

And, the thing I HATED most about S3 was the screen color. Samsung doesn't understand WHITE IS WHITE, NOT BLUE. After having color perfection on iphone, the blue hue drove me bat dung crazy. is there a way to fix that? I tried the Note 2 at AT&T today, I couldn't get white to be white no matter what I tried. I was always blue. but, when I watch videos about S4 and HTC, white looks white during the presentation. so I am confused there.

Without rooting and flashing a custom ROM/kernel, there isn't usually a way to alter the display calibration after a device has left the factory. There's a great thread by Kevin O'Quinn on smartphone screens here: SLCD, SAMOLED, Pentile, RGB Does it matter? Here's an image from that thread, showing macro (close-up) photographs of the screens of popular devices:

The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 have green-tinted screens (which I could easily imagine appearing more blueish depending on the situation), while the screen on the One is a nice cool white color with sharp details and good color. It looks leaps and bounds ahead of the Galaxy S3's screen.

As you can see, im insecure about security

There's nothing wrong with that. It's better than jumping into Android oblivious to the existence of malware. Android is a fantastic, open platform that gives you awesome amounts of control and customization power. It's rather hard to have that without any opportunity for malicious intent by users/developers, so in the end it's all about the trade-offs. I'll happily accept the relatively slight malware risk in order to have Android and its features.

I'm not here to troll guys. I am interested and I am sharing my concerns before I plunge into the unknown android world. I tell people all the time, Just because I have a Mac, doesn't mean I hate Windows. i Like BOTH. I am sure the same will hold true with iPhone and Android. I am sure I can find things i love about both worlds.
Heck I would have a windows phone 8 or a blackberry Z10 if either had any apps at all. but sadly, neither do.

I don't think anyone gets that impression; welcome to Android and Android Central! I use both iOS and Android fairly regularly, and enjoy both.

I hate when people spew trash talk about one platform or another. Its like if you like android, you MUST HATE APPLE and vise-versa. To me, I find that ignorant at best.

As do I.

 

[robsawalker]

Loads of great advice here, I don't have a great deal to add, but I did exactly what you are thinking about last June. Like you, I got really annoyed with the S3 I got (after an iPhone 4) and nearly took it back. I didn't though, and after about 2 months I loved it so much and still do. The S3 is a superb phone, stunning, and the S4 will be even better. BUT I am just waiting for... an HTC One.

My use of my iPhone is almost identical to you - multiple email accounts, use the calendar a lot (as a teacher), banking, social messaging etc. Everything I could do on my iPhone I can do on android. And so much more. It has so many lovely little touches. Using a friends iPhone 5 recently made me laugh, it felt soooo old.

Regarding viruses, I have never had a problem with mine. My S3 is rooted but I generally install apps only from Google Play (and very occasionally from Samsung store - like one). Use clockworkmod to back it up if you root, or if you don't just make sure you sync the photos and docs you care about, after all you can always factory reset and get apps again. Like I say, its very unlikely in my experience anyway.

Persevere with Android and you won't look back! I can't wait to get my HTC One! They look so much nicer than the galaxy IMO, and the feature set suits me more, but you may prefer the S4. try them both out and see, because both will be brilliant.

-R

 

[coggster]

I don't see any point in adding in my opinion as having read through Patrick's response I think it does an excellent job at covering everything. I am currently on iOS and before been on Android and will be back on Android by the end of the week. I too have gained a lot from your thread and Patrick's post so thank you.
I hope you enjoy your Android and Android Central, welcome.

 

[sting7k]

I'll be quick. Check out the HTC One. For email there is now a setting in the app where it will automatically re-size an email to fit the screen; like iOS. On task killers and such; don't use them. They will cause more trouble than they are worth. Android handles multitasking and running apps pretty well. If you feel things are getting bogged down just reboot your phone.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

I'm not going to try to address your concerns one by one, as others have done a very good job of that already. I'll just make two points:

There are at least 100 million Android phones in use today. If they were really such a huge security risk, the news media would be full of stories of nuclear power plants being hacked because the operator used an Android phone. OK, I"m exaggerating, but so are those who are unduly concerned about security on Android. Get over it. Be careful where you download software from and enjoy the phone.

Keyboards: EVERY keyboard has access to what you type, including the built in one. Including the iPhone one. They couldn't work otherwise. The warning message you see is generated automatically by Android for every keyboard. The real key is what the app can do with the data it reads. If the app has no access to the network (which you can easily check), it can't transmit your personal data anywhere.

If you're truly worried about security, you shouldn't be using any mobile device, or accessing the internet at all, from a phone or a desktop computer.


On the general subject of moving from iOS to Android, understand one thing: Every platform works differently. They all have their idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses. If you expect an Android phone to do things the same way Apple does you'll never be happy. If you acknowledge that different isn't always worse, and is sometimes better, and learn to accept Android on it's own terms, you'll probably find there's a lot to like. You might find this thread useful: http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/137252-apple-users-guide-android.html

 

[mayconvert]

Thanks a bunch for info. it helps a lot. I understand now that a lot of malware could be from people side loading apps and or getting them from random places other than the Google Play store.
and I do understand that android will not function or do things exactly the way iOS does them and I'm good with that. I am one of the few the loves windows 8 Because its different.

I am going to get the HTC One. Screen look delicious. I like the simplicity of the device. Don't really want to wait for the May conference. I have learned one thing about android. The next big thing is always within 90 days. If you are always waiting for that phone, you may never buy anything.

 

[zkSharks]

I don't see any point in adding in my opinion

My bad.. but seriously, more voices are almost always good.

Thanks a bunch for info. it helps a lot. I understand now that a lot of malware could be from people side loading apps and or getting them from random places other than the Google Play store.
and I do understand that android will not function or do things exactly the way iOS does them and I'm good with that. I am one of the few the loves windows 8 Because its different.

I am going to get the HTC One. Screen look delicious. I like the simplicity of the device. Don't really want to wait for the May conference. I have learned one thing about android. The next big thing is always within 90 days. If you are always waiting for that phone, you may never buy anything.

You're going to have a very happy day when you get the HTC One. As for the "next big thing" always being around the corner, if you know that now then you're already a step ahead of many existing Android users. I'll give you one final piece of advice: when you get the One, explore it. Open things on the phone, move things around, change settings, install popular apps from the Play Store (everything from Pandora to Google Keep) and do everything you can think of. Exploring it is by far the fastest and most efficient way to get used to the navigation, multitasking, etc. of Android.

 

[AMDZen]

Can you guys help me on my question's in my thread

http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/271639-transition-ios-android-seeking-experts.html

 

[nancybout]

I am not much different than yourself,, I wanted security and I stick with apps I know are safe.
I downloaded lookout, and it has a find my phone option as well as other apps..
I picked the galaxy note 2, I thought it was way too cumbersome until I got used to it... Only took a day lol.
I am positive you will love android. My daughter left her iphone and she's 17yr old just from using my phone.
I find SwiftKey Flow types faster than any other phone or key board. I go to the iphone and it looks so small now. So enough with the size etc but the apps....
The ONLY app that WAS behind much was social cam... But now that's catching up. Many Android apps are perfect and awesome. I love apps myself and I also changed the whole texting interface (at first lol) and the whole texting background and everything was pink iphone design lol. It's called SMS pro.. There's just so so much we can do with android that Apple is not touching.
My husband was not pleased to see there's no speed dial?? He s trying out my last iphone and is making best of it.. He didn't want to use his upgrade yet.

I too am down to those two same phones, however I think I prefer galaxy s4.i need to see the htc in person. I'm sure both are wonderful.
My husband had the captivate s1...fire a long long long time and he's sold with android.
I use the calendar and voice, ever note etc.. I find the phone (note 2) has taken away me using the tablets I own.
I just love the phone... And I still have my upgrade lol
Good luck and you won't be bored.
I am not rooting or even changing launchers.
You won't go wrong with the htc one, it's a beautiful phone

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Android Central Forums

 

[Golfdriver97]

There are at least 100 million Android phones in use today. If they were really such a huge security risk, the news media would be full of stories of nuclear power plants being hacked because the operator used an Android phone. OK, I"m exaggerating, but so are those who are unduly concerned about security on Android. Get over it. Be careful where you download software from and enjoy the phone.

If you're truly worried about security, you shouldn't be using any mobile device, or accessing the internet at all, from a phone or a desktop computer.

On the general subject of moving from iOS to Android, understand one thing: Every platform works differently. They all have their idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses. If you expect an Android phone to do things the same way Apple does you'll never be happy. If you acknowledge that different isn't always worse, and is sometimes better, and learn to accept Android on it's own terms, you'll probably find there's a lot to like. You might find this thread useful: http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/137252-apple-users-guide-android.html

I don't have much to add, and in regards to Meyer's statement, I couldn't agree more. Google does screen their apps constantly, and the only times I have heard of any problem with a virus or anything is when someone either sideloads and app and doesn't scan it to be sure, or going through third party app stores, which is generally foolish anyway.

As for virus protection, it doesn't really affect the phone's performance. I have an anti virus app and often it actually warns me of obtrusive ads in apps (which can be helpful).

As for task killers, I would recommend NOT getting one, however, if you go to Settings>Application Manager>swipe over to all apps, you can browse through all apps, including bloat garbage, and disable most of them. Android 4.0+ allows to disable almost any app that is not system crucial. Say you hate the calculator app, you can disable it. This action by itself, will clear up RAM so that you have more to use for what YOU want. And bear in mind, unlike Windows, unused RAM is not necessarily a good thing. The Android OS will help upkeep any RAM for you.

Your concern for security is well founded, but for the most part, say Yahoo!, will not put out an app that has true malware on it. A virus scan may say it has malware, but that is triggered by advertisements. I typically go with the rule of a reasonably high download count, AND a reasonably high rating given by a large number of users lets me know that 'APP X' is ok to download. ALso anything that is acknowledged by Google as a top developer, or if you have an Editor's Choice on Play, that is also a good indicator of a genuine app. Also, read some of the reviews.

Good luck, and choose a device based on what you want in a phone, not what everyone else wants.

 

[Mr.Willie]

Here is a good read on why Andy Ihnatko switched from iPhone to Android.

Why I switched from iPhone to Android | TechHive

I don't have much to add, and in regards to Meyer's statement, I couldn't agree more. Google does screen their apps constantly, and the only times I have heard of any problem with a virus or anything is when someone either sideloads and app and doesn't scan it to be sure, or going through third party app stores, which is generally foolish anyway.

As for virus protection, it doesn't really affect the phone's performance. I have an anti virus app and often it actually warns me of obtrusive ads in apps (which can be helpful).

As for task killers, I would recommend NOT getting one, however, if you go to Settings>Application Manager>swipe over to all apps, you can browse through all apps, including bloat garbage, and disable most of them. Android 4.0+ allows to disable almost any app that is not system crucial. Say you hate the calculator app, you can disable it. This action by itself, will clear up RAM so that you have more to use for what YOU want. And bear in mind, unlike Windows, unused RAM is not necessarily a good thing. The Android OS will help upkeep any RAM for you.

Your concern for security is well founded, but for the most part, say Yahoo!, will not put out an app that has true malware on it. A virus scan may say it has malware, but that is triggered by advertisements. I typically go with the rule of a reasonably high download count, AND a reasonably high rating given by a large number of users lets me know that 'APP X' is ok to download. ALso anything that is acknowledged by Google as a top developer, or if you have an Editor's Choice on Play, that is also a good indicator of a genuine app. Also, read some of the reviews.

Good luck, and choose a device based on what you want in a phone, not what everyone else wants.

Didn't the apps that Google just removed have several million downloads ? I tend to stay away from stupid apps, no matter what the platform. Do you really need to download a wallpaper app ? Just download a pic manually. I don't install the free cheesy games that were written just to sell adds. I also perfer to pay for apps. (But they better be good.)

 

[Achala Tharangana]

PLEASE HELP ME.
i was going to update my samsing infuse 4g toUCLB3 version( SGH-I997_UCLB3_INFUSE) but when i install it using clockworkmod recovery. its installed and reboot. but it was stck. so i remove the battery and switch it on using the keys up down volume keys with power the button. after that its not switching on. its only showing blank white screen. what should i do to get back to my phone normal. please help me. am so worrying.

 

[sergeantandroid]

App Killers aren't really useful anymore. People that download them are misinformed.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I am a tech user that uses iPhone 5, an iMac (do have windows 8 boot camped) and I have only tried one android phone ever (S3) and found little things that drove me to taking the phone back on week 3 and going back to iphone 5 again.
But, like Many posts I have seen browsing the forums here. As much as I love the iPhone I am just getting bored with it.
Been using iphone since the day iphone 3 was released, then 3gs, then 4, then 4s... you get the picture... at the time, I think the only android phone on the market was the G1 and T-slowble only.

Enough background, this post will already be too long, so forgive me, in advance.

I do many things on my phone. Calendar for work, browse web a lot, get a lot of email thru several diff providers ( yahoo, gmail, outlook.com, live, me.com), I used notes, reminders, banking apps, facebook, twitter, G+, etc. I searched android market place and every app (non apple) I have is available on android.

I have narrowed my choice to HTC One and S4. Note 2 is too big for my taste. Each seem to have pros and cons as with anything in the tech world. Leaning toward HTC (sucker for aluminum)

Here are my concerns in switching:
Security:
I keep reading about android having a LOT of malware to worry about that doesn't seem to be nearly as much of an issue on iPhone.
Yes I have seen a few apps slip into iTunes that apple pulled. I have heard that android has nearly nothing stopping anyone from making malicious apps.
I Never jail broke my iPhones, security is a big deal to me. IF i switch to android, I will not be rooting and rom'ing either. I am assuming those are both similar to jailbreaking.
Anything the removes any security, I won't do it. and of course I don't want to void any warranty I have since I wont have the ease of walking into a store like apple and walking out with a new device should something go wrong.
Do I have to run anti virus on android? Do I need to? If I do, does it slow the phone down like anti virus does windows?
I asked a girl at a cell phone store she said to stay away from apps that don't have 100k downloads and 4+ stars. I found that a ridiculous way "to be safe" since I didn't have to worry about that on the iPhone.

The whole malware issue may be overblown by some tech sites...that just may happen to have an Apple or anti-Android bias. Sure, "bad apps" probably do get through to the Google Play store than Apple's app store, but if you just use a little common sense, you shouldn't have any problems. For example, you said you already looked in the Play Store to confirm that the same apps you used on your iPhone are available...and I'm sure when you found the apps you recognized the developers of the app, noticed the rating, the comments, etc. It really doesn't take much more than a few minutes to do enough investigation to tell whether or not an app it legit.

Regarding anti-virus, instead of typing all of it out, see a previous response to my take on that here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-7-tablet/199408-anti-virus-2.html#post2683892
Basically, I'm not sure you "need" it...but if you're really concerned about it, then running an a/v shouldn't have any negative effects.

In terms of rooting, let me first say I'm NOT familiar with the iDevice jailbreak process, but when an Android phone is rooted, in some ways it is actually *MORE* secure than it was before rooting. Why? Because root is often achieved via a found exploit in code, just as jailbreaking an iPhone, but once that exploit is used and root is achieved, the exploit is essentially patched as a Superuser app is deployed to require root access to the system. In other words, once your phone is rooted, you still have to give permission to every app and/or process that actually attempts to gain root access...it's not a gaping security hole sitting out there for anyone to exploit anymore. Having said that, rooting isn't for everyone, and that should be a decision you make for yourself... especially since an UNrooted Android phone can still do a lot of the things that people root their iPhones to be able to do.

App Killer:
I have heard that the number one app is an app to kill apps that just randomly start up on their own.. and that even if you run the app killer, 10 minutes later all those apps are back running again anyways. really?

No. Back in the days of pre-Froyo and the original Droid, task killers were ABSOLUTELY necessary, but to use one now would be both counter-productive and definitely advised against. They honestly haven't really been necessary since Gingerbread, and definitely not since ICS. There are some apps out there that help to "optimize" your device for better battery life. It's certainly OK to try ones out that promise to do this by monitoring usage habits and limiting data use with app updates and stuff like that, but definitely stay away from task killers and the like. Frankly, I don't think you *need* any of it at all.

I'm sure I will think of more things to ask later. that's my main concerns for now.
I can tell you why I didn't like the S3, and most will find this crazy, but it's those little things that tend to get under peoples skins.
The mail app. It would never auto size the email to FIT THE SCREEN. omg I hated that, I had to scroll up and down and left and right to try and read an email.
That doesn't happen on an iphone. everything FITS the screen unless you Make it not fit the screen.
My brother (an android user) told me to download some other email app. Again, I was concerned about security. Who was I giving access to my email? some 3rd party outfit that could use my email however they wanted?
I didn't like the stock keyboard, so again brother said download this keyboard and I did and when I went to install it, it said it was a keystroke logger in the agreement to install it. so I cancelled install and fought with the stock version. I don't want an app to log my password to my bank account.
And, the thing I HATED most about S3 was the screen color. Samsung doesn't understand WHITE IS WHITE, NOT BLUE. After having color perfection on iphone, the blue hue drove me bat dung crazy. is there a way to fix that? I tried the Note 2 at AT&T today, I couldn't get white to be white no matter what I tried. I was always blue. but, when I watch videos about S4 and HTC, white looks white during the presentation. so I am confused there.

As you can see, im insecure about security

I'm not here to troll guys. I am interested and I am sharing my concerns before I plunge into the unknown android world. I tell people all the time, Just because I have a Mac, doesn't mean I hate Windows. i Like BOTH. I am sure the same will hold true with iPhone and Android. I am sure I can find things i love about both worlds.
Heck I would have a windows phone 8 or a blackberry Z10 if either had any apps at all. but sadly, neither do.
I hate when people spew trash talk about one platform or another. Its like if you like android, you MUST HATE APPLE and vise-versa. To me, I find that ignorant at best.

Won't hit on every point you raisie through the end here, but...

1. There are quite a few email apps out there, though pretty much every phone will come with a "stock" app. Each OEM has their own stock email app, so HTC's won't necessarily work the same way as Samsung's, etc. The beauty is though, if you don't like the stock email app, you have other choices. Just as an example, Touchdown (a paid app), is an app that most folks I know with Exchange accounts swear by. For gmail accounts, I highly recommend using the builtin Gmail app. I know some will disagree with me (because there's never a consensus), but honestly, if you truly want a "fully synced" experience, you really can't beat using the builtin Google applications.

2. What keyboard was that??? Just do yourself a favor and try out Swiftkey...you'll probably never want to switch keyboards again (paid app, but they have a 1-month free trial as well).