The typical question: Android or iOS.

[Steven Thelin]

Hey everyone!

First of all, I am new here. I joined with the vision of getting my question answered, but then i fell over some other threads, and found this forum exciting. So i might stick around for awhile.
*Excuse me if i posted this the wrong place*

Brief:

I currently am in the situation where.. Yes, I am sick of my iPhone.

It's a GREAT phone! It's fast, stylish, and durable (atleast so far!).
But i miss the lack of customization.

Untill last december, i've had android phones. However, back then they were slow. The fastest one I've had, was a Galaxy S II. It was fast back then, but when i use my friend's now, it's so laggy and edgy.


I am really considering getting an Android. But there's a few things holding me back..

iPhone

1. + I have an iPhone 5. It's fast.
2. + My iPhone 5 is stylish.
3. + I have 2 MacBook Pro's, an iMac, Apple TV, iPod and an iPad. So i fear the communication between Android and them.
4. + The applications. I personally find Appstore filled with higher-of-quality applications.
5. + iCloud. It stores my contacts and stuff. But Android's got an alternative for that tho.
6. + iMessage. I love being able to chat from my macbook to iPhones, without confuse. And fast iPhone-to-iPhone chat without the recievant have to download specific software.
7. + Reputation. Call me childish, but i just find it "cooler" to have an iPhone..
8. - Screensize. God it's starting to annoy me. I like having a big badass phone.
9. - Features. I personally think that the iPhone 5 lacks features.
10. +/- Jailbreak. Jailbreaking the iPhone gives it alot of awesome features! But having the need to jailbreak it, sucks. Also it makes it impossible to update to the newest immediately. Also yet jailbroken, the system is still very limited. Also it takes a lot of time for it to come out. I haven't had my phone jailbroken for 8 months.

Android

1. ++ CUSTOMIZATION!
2. ++ The freedom to do basically what you want with the phone.
3. + Screensize; I find the iPhone 5 screen a tat too small. I miss a bigger size phone, eg the Galaxy S II.
4. - I fear the speed? Will they be as snappy as i am used to on my iPhone?
5. - Durability. I remember the old Android phones went slow in just a few weeks due to cache's and stuff. How does that seem now?
6. + Features. I think that most Android phones have got some very interesting features. Eg: One Blink Feed, Note 3 S-Pen, S3/4 eye-motion detector.
7. + No-jailbreak. Altho Android have the ability to get rooted, it's not necessary (unless you want flashed ROM's). I find that great for my needs, since i love customizing and changing my homescreen-layout / phone functionality on a day-to-day basis. Also iPhone jailbreaks takes a lot of time to come out.

I am very unsure of what to do. It's very hard!
I really like my iPhone, but i miss the lack of customization.

My heart tells me to keep my iPhone, but my brain and inner-geek tells me to go fetch an android.
If it was up to me, i'd have both. But i don't have the money to get a new Android and keep my iPhone. Then i will have to sell my iPhone first.

Could you guys possible give me some aspects and viewpoints on this? I am open for critiques, since i am not coloured of "what's better or worse". I just want personal views.
Also, have anyone gone from iPhone 5 to Android? And did you regret it? (Which i am afraid that i MAYBE will).

And if you advice me to get an Android: Which one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Paul627g]

Welcome to AC, Steven!

I must say you've been doing your homework and came up with a very objective list of pros and cons for each platform. Very well thought out

Seeing your very into the Apple platform I can see where you might have difficulties making cross platform every day use a headache. But its also obvious that your craving more and like what you see in Android which is also awesome!

As for your past history on the Samsung Galaxy S II, it was a great device for its time but that has sadly passed like any device. Today's Android's running the latest Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or the newest Android 4.4 (KitKat) are very impressive. Android has come a long way since the days of the SII and Gingerbread/Ice Cream Sandwich and early stages of Jellybean. The OEM's have stepped up the game too and made the quality of the hardware and the user end experience so much better than in the past. Now with the direction Google has headed with Android its even making branded devices with custom UI's like Samsung's TouchWiz or HTC's Sense and others skins less distorting. OEM's seem to be heading back to much of the simpler look, getting down to what works, what is fast and efficient but still leaving in all the fun customization that Android offers.

If I was to recommend a device I couldn't just say one.. Here is a few links from Android Central that may help sort out some of those questions...

The best Android phone you can buy | Android Central

http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...as-guide-glimpse-into-ambassador-devices.html

Good luck and hope to see you on Android some day soon!

Paul
Forums Moderator.

 

[Algus]

I use a Samsung Note 3 and a Mac Mini. They work together very well but I do not use Apple for any Media. I mainly use Amazon (esp for mp3) and there are apps on both OS X and Android. I don't get much benefit from iTunes sync though I do use it to rip CDs on my Mac before uploading to Amazon.

Basically if you use third party apps like Amazon or Google, integration is easy. If you're using Apple apps, you'll be in for a bit of a headache to get them working together.

FWIW I use an iPod Touch as well and I find the software experience on iOS to be superior to Android. I stick with Android for customization and because I have a lot of money spent on the Google store for apps. Though until Apple copies the spen, I don't see myself getting away from my Note.

Android has some gorgeous phones that rival Apple devices but even my Note 3 just feels cheap compared to my iPod. Apple really knows what they're doing on build quality and aesthetics, there is just no comparison.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[anon(50597)]

You seem very tied into the Apple ecosystem. If customization is your main "concern", and you seem to be generally happy with your experience, then I would stick with Apple. Customization, while fun and enjoyable, is not a reason to leave if you are happy. It seems like a high risk chance to take. Just my opinion though.

 

[NexusNick123]

it all really comes down to you as a end user I cam from iPhone about a year ago and I jumped right in to Nexus devices they still have the same style as an iPhone. But at the end of the day it comes down to what you want I want to say if you are going to get an Android get a stock Android they just look cleaner.

 

[web99]

OP, from your post you are already strongly tied into the ios ecosystem and seem to enjoy the IPhone 5 device that you already have. So to me there is where your preference lies.

My advise is to visit your local Best Buy and try various Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy 4, the HTC one, the Nexus and Sony Xperia to see whether any one of them suits what you are looking for. Also the talk to the sales rep. In the end the final decision on whether to stay on or ios or to switch to Android is one only you can decide.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Old Stoneface]

iPhone

1. + My iPhone 5 is stylish.
2. + iCloud. It stores my contacts and stuff. But Android's got an alternative for that tho.
3. + Reputation. Call me childish, but i just find it "cooler" to have an iPhone..
4. - Screensize. God it's starting to annoy me. I like having a big badass phone.

1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I don't find iPhones "stylish" in the least. I think they look kind of dated, personally. I'm looking at a 5s, side-by-side with my two-year-old Sensation 4G, in real-life size, over on Phone Arena.
   
   
   
   To me the 5s looks clunky, by comparison.
2. Yes: Contacts, calendar, etc. can all be stored/shared via Google's cloud services. I have two tablets and a handset, and they all see the same stuff. As does my Google web-based interface.
3. "Cooler" to have an iPhone? Really? Most of the people I know that are using iPhones are one of: A. Young people that think it's "cooler" to have an iPhone, B. Older people that think Android devices too "challenging," or C. Apple-heads that were Apple-heads since before iStuff existed and think Google is the devil incarnate for having stolen Steve Jobs' innovations.
4. Yeah, the screen size. My HTC Sensation 4G isn't all that big. I don't even want an mini-tablet, actually. But I don't see how people can deal with those tiny iPhone screens. The 5s are better, but still...

And if you advice me to get an Android: Which one?

My money'd be on a Moto X, unlocked, if I was going to buy a new phone, today.

But, in the end, you have to do what suits you. I've worked with iPhones. (I'm an IT guy, by profession.) Do not like.

 

[mayconvert]

I will try to help with this since I am a switcher that used nothing but iPhones since the day the iPhone 3G came out, all the way up to the iPhone 5S. And, I work at Apple.

As you already know, to switch means compromise. I also have an iMac (with a windows 8 bootcamp partition) and an Apple TV. No iPad or laptops.
I will take each point you had and start there ( this will be a long post... )

1. iPhone 5 is fast: it is. but so are many of the flagship android devices.
2. iPhone stylish: meh, I find the design a little tired, and the 5S looks the same, again. I'm not a fan of ALWAYS 2 years of same design.
3. Communication between devices: switching to android, you will lose 95% of this.

most of that. gone. There are way around some of it.
me/icloud.com accts work on android.
contacts will need to be transferred to gmail contacts
Calendar: you can change your default calendar to gmail in settings but then if you use multiple calendars, you will only see gmail calendar on your android phone. I always liked having several colors on my calendar to separate events at a glance. Calendar works, but it just won't be the same.
Reminders: I never really used this app on iOS, I like any.do instead.
Notes: I miss notes syncing. I had to switch to evernote, which is good, but not as good or easy as Notes.
Safari: If you use Chrome on OSX, bookmarks sync the same way, other than you will give up iCloud keychain, cloud tabs and safari on iOS is faster and better than Chrome on android. Safari is easier to use, and faster than Chrome. Chrome browser "hitches / lags" compared directly to iOS safari.
Keychain: gone completely
Photo: photo stream, shared photo streams, auto sync to your macs, gone. You can let G+ back up photos and simply grab them from there.
iCloud back up: better than anything android offers. Its like having a time machine built into the phone.
4. Applications: I agree, "overall" you get apps faster, or sometimes better quality on iOS because the app only has to work for one OS, not 16 different candy flavors from the past.
5. gmail contacts
6. moto x has a browser plug in called motorola connect which allows you to text from your browser, but If you go Samsung, HTC, etc. this feature is gone.
7. Lots of people buy apple because it has an apple on the back. I think the Moto x, Note 3, S4, HTC One, G2, etc all have great designs even without an apple on the back.
8. I left apple phones because of screen size. 4" with odd ball resolution rather than just supporting 720/1080 etc is just plain annoying. One of the things I hate about apple. 4" screen just suck. Period.
9. agree. sort of. Apple does have some features that android doesn't have built into the OS and requires a separate app to do what iPhone just does without asking.
Example: android still doesn't have a NATIVE Visual Voicemail built INTO THE OS. its an app. Apple also has the best Native email client on any platform. Apples auto correct is WAY better than android. Sometimes I still shake my head at how bad auto correct / word prediction android has. But, swipe makes up for this... I LOOOOOVE swipe.
10. I never jailbreak... don't know anything about it. I also don't root or ROM my android devices.

Android
1. Customization: android has it, Apple... well... you can rearrange your icons... that's it.
2. yep
3. Once you have a 4.7-5.7" device, going back to iPhones tiny *** 4" is impossible....( and 9 of 10 android phones have high PPI than "retina")
4. iOS app store is a little better than androids. I don't like the fact that the play store gets a lot of malware / fake apps. Even google makes their own apps for iOS before android. I had Chrome on my iPhone before android users lol .
5. Flagship android phones with 4.1 or above no longer have a slow down issue.
6. Android features blow away options on iOS. S-Pen is awesome (had the note 3, amazing device), Moto X with active display was the phone that made me no longer miss iOS. I currently own and use the moto x and I love it. G2 knock, knock on is cool, and as you mentioned, there are another 5000 awesome things android has the iOS doesn't.
7. I don't root or rom. I LIKE the manufacturer skins like touchwiz, etc.

It is a hard choice to give up an ecosystem that you are knee deep in. You have to really WANT to change and look for 3rd party solutions to replace iMessage, iCloud etc.
There are plenty of ways to sync pics and iTunes music to android phones.

You have to consider if customization is worth the loss of an ecosystem.
This is what my current moto x looks like: I think it looks cool. But as you know, android can take things WAY further than I did.


I have tried many phones on the android side. I went Back to iPhone a number of times. I love iOS and some of the things I do still miss (iCloud sync etc)
I usually would get homesick and go back to iOS after 2-4 weeks because something would frustrate me on android and I would cave in and go back.
Email was a big one for me. Androids email is so terrible compared to iPhone email. I learned to live with it tho.

The moto x is the first phone ever to make me say out loud, apple and iOS got out-innovated. I do not miss iOS anymore.
I also tried the Note 3 and a friends G2 etc. The note 3 is so awesome, words can't describe it. But, its BIG. really BIG.
moto x has a 4.7" screen with the same PPI and iPhone 5 and for me, hands free is the best thing since sliced cheese was invented.

I think that since you have an iPad, you still get to have iOS whenever you need it. Android is soooooo much better than it was back in the 2.3 era.
you could always by a device, play with it for 14 days and return it if you don't like it.
I did that many times. I have paid $35 restock fee's multiple times, but I am happy that I did. It helped me get a phone I was HAPPY with instead of feeling stuck with.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

PS: one thing you could try, moto x will be $349 cyber monday. You could buy it and sell the iphone to basically get it free.
That won't use your upgrade so you could upgrade to the 5S if you go back .

 

[Old Stoneface]

Calendar: you can change your default calendar to gmail in settings but then if you use multiple calendars, you will only see gmail calendar on your android phone. I always liked having several colors on my calendar to separate events at a glance. Calendar works, but it just won't be the same.
Apples auto correct is WAY better than android.
Email was a big one for me. Androids email is so terrible compared to iPhone email. I learned to live with it tho.

aCalendar and others will allow you to see (and un-see, at will) any number of calendars. I can easily see my Google calendar and all the calendars at work (CalDAV), as well as my Samsung calendar (which I don't use). For the CalDAV server: It's actually much better and easier than iOS' calendar app, because I only have to configure *my* account and the conduit app automatically discovers all the other calendars to which I have visibility. I can color-code them however I like.

I've no experience with iOS' auto-corrupt , but I've found SwiftKey's to be Pretty Good.

Email: As with the calendar thing: I've K9 Mail installed, and it's working well against my work, home and Gmail accounts.

Oh: Forgot to leave your "notes" comment. I was using Simple Notepad with Dropbox sync. Worked like a champ. (I dumped it when the developer showed exceedingly bad judgement by inserting a note into _my_ notes repository spamming an announcement of a new app of his. Too bad. It worked well. But I feel I can no longer trust the dev.)

 

[pgg101]

I find many modern devices play well with each other. Third party cloud providers like Dropbox are good. Gmail and Outlook allow you to sync contacts. Software allows you sync your iTunes on your desktop to your device. NFC allows you to do neat things from purchases to data transfers between Android and BlackBerry devices. Miracast, WiFi Direct, DNLA doesn't force you to buy a little apple box to get it on your TV screen. A lot of good video chat options like Skype, BBM Video, and regular chat programs like Whatsapp, or just plain simple SMS!

Not to bad mouth Apple, but so much more out there if you are inclined to explore your options.

5inch screen is really nice. Felt a little weird from my previous 4.2" device but I got used to it after a few days.

Posted via Android Central App on BlackBerry Z30

 

[Tall Mike 2145]

I've had a Mac since 1986. I've used most versions of Mac OS which have ever existed, and have been a strong Apple (more to the point: Mac platform) proponent up until Steve Jobs started doing some very unethical and underhanded crap in the mid-to-late 2000s.

I have dabbled with GNU/Linux since about 1997, and have had a growing interest since then with the Free and Open Source Software movements. I have also educated myself to a degree in the functional and philosophical benefits of F/OSS, in the sense of having peer-review of software creation, having a commons, and having a means to defend against any kind of external control by outside parties (say, software or hardware manufacturers).

The reason I mention all of this is that I view freedom and liberty in the software realm to be incredibly important. Now, it's true that Apple is a major mover-and-shaker in the tech world, but what if something happened to them tomorrow? How would you go about getting all of your data out of their cloud? Could you? What about their data formats?

I'm not trying to tell you to buy another iPhone or to buy an Android phone with this post, I'd rather you consider the larger issues, make what inquiries you feel you should, and then make an educated decision based on what you learn from that.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[mayconvert]

aCalendar and others will allow you to see (and un-see, at will) any number of calendars. I can easily see my Google calendar and all the calendars at work (CalDAV), as well as my Samsung calendar (which I don't use). For the CalDAV server: It's actually much better and easier than iOS' calendar app, because I only have to configure *my* account and the conduit app automatically discovers all the other calendars to which I have visibility. I can color-code them however I like.

I've no experience with iOS' auto-corrupt , but I've found SwiftKey's to be Pretty Good.

Email: As with the calendar thing: I've K9 Mail installed, and it's working well against my work, home and Gmail accounts.

Oh: Forgot to leave your "notes" comment. I was using Simple Notepad with Dropbox sync. Worked like a champ. (I dumped it when the developer showed exceedingly bad judgement by inserting a note into _my_ notes repository spamming an announcement of a new app of his. Too bad. It worked well. But I feel I can no longer trust the dev.)

As far as calendar goes. I was talking about something as simple and easy as Apple calendar. Drag and drop a schedule or meeting, and it syncs without going thru some major hassle set up using 2-3 programs to do what calendar on Mac and iOS just does natively.

I have tried every keyboard possible on android, including SwiftKey and none of them are equal to or as good as iOS auto correct.

Email: I don't want to use some app from some random developer. How do I know if the developer of the app takes security seriously. I've always wondered that. So some guy/company made a mail app for android... What happens with my emails? does K-9 scan them and sell info? Do they have security as good as Apples servers? Googles Servers? Who knows...
But, What I was talking about isn't "getting" my email and delivering it to my phone. I was referring to just common sense stuff that android seems to want to ignore.
When I check ANY email on my iOS device, the email fit the screen.... argh this drives me mad on android. Some phones have a "setting" the "make email fit screen"
But its very inconsistent from android device to android device. Apples email client resizes Everything in the email, pictures etc to just fit the screen so I can view my email on handed. (not having to pinch in to get it to fit)
My moto x has No such option. you have to pinch in to size it to see it on a screen without having to scroll all over the place to read the entire email .

And notes: I want to use notes for a few passwords to misc sites without worrying about some 3rd party dev that I don't trust. Then since that app can't do it all, now I have to add yet another monkey into the chain and use drop box as the "in between" host. ... some of android is a real mess. These little messes is why No one can claim android is 'better' then iOS. it's not. Hell, with android I don't know which 'dev' I can trust with anything. It could just be a data mining or malware/virus just hanging out in the play store.

I am sick of Apple telling people what they should like. i.e. A tiny *** 4" non standard resolution display.
I can't even arrange my apps on iOS because they think I need an auto arrange to fill in the holes.
Maybe I want my apps in an L shape around a picture background. Can't do that.
Widgets, I want the choice of having them.
Rumors say that apple is going to release a 4.7-6" iPhone 6.. I am not even sure I will go back to apple phones then. I am learning to deal with the things android can't do (safely) I find myself using my phone completely different than an iPhone because of the "trust" issue.
I trust apple, the app store, and the security. I do not trust android and the Play store.
I do without the best ecosystem on the market for a little freedom in others areas.

 

[mrsmumbles]

aCalendar and others will allow you to see (and un-see, at will) any number of calendars. I can easily see my Google calendar and all the calendars at work (CalDAV), as well as my Samsung calendar (which I don't use). For the CalDAV server: It's actually much better and easier than iOS' calendar app, because I only have to configure *my* account and the conduit app automatically discovers all the other calendars to which I have visibility. I can color-code them however I like.

I've no experience with iOS' auto-corrupt , but I've found SwiftKey's to be Pretty Good.

Email: As with the calendar thing: I've K9 Mail installed, and it's working well against my work, home and Gmail accounts.

Oh: Forgot to leave your "notes" comment. I was using Simple Notepad with Dropbox sync. Worked like a champ. (I dumped it when the developer showed exceedingly bad judgement by inserting a note into _my_ notes repository spamming an announcement of a new app of his. Too bad. It worked well. But I feel I can no longer trust the dev.)

I use Simple Notepad too... That's very creepy. Do you think he reads our stuff?

Sent from my LG870 via Tapatalk 2

 

[mrsmumbles]

Maybe those who like features of both platforms but resent the lack of customization in Apple and lack of security in Android may want to consider BlackBerry? I'm only just starting to learn about it. I love Android but certain stuff bothers me too. BB may turn out to combine the best of both worlds.

Sent from my LG870 via Tapatalk 2

 

[stackberry369]

Hey everyone!

First of all, I am new here. I joined with the vision of getting my question answered, but then i fell over some other threads, and found this forum exciting. So i might stick around for awhile.
*Excuse me if i posted this the wrong place*

Brief:

I currently am in the situation where.. Yes, I am sick of my iPhone.

It's a GREAT phone! It's fast, stylish, and durable (atleast so far!).
But i miss the lack of customization.

Untill last december, i've had android phones. However, back then they were slow. The fastest one I've had, was a Galaxy S II. It was fast back then, but when i use my friend's now, it's so laggy and edgy.


I am really considering getting an Android. But there's a few things holding me back..

iPhone

1. + I have an iPhone 5. It's fast.
2. + My iPhone 5 is stylish.
3. + I have 2 MacBook Pro's, an iMac, Apple TV, iPod and an iPad. So i fear the communication between Android and them.
4. + The applications. I personally find Appstore filled with higher-of-quality applications.
5. + iCloud. It stores my contacts and stuff. But Android's got an alternative for that tho.
6. + iMessage. I love being able to chat from my macbook to iPhones, without confuse. And fast iPhone-to-iPhone chat without the recievant have to download specific software.
7. + Reputation. Call me childish, but i just find it "cooler" to have an iPhone..
8. - Screensize. God it's starting to annoy me. I like having a big badass phone.
9. - Features. I personally think that the iPhone 5 lacks features.
10. +/- Jailbreak. Jailbreaking the iPhone gives it alot of awesome features! But having the need to jailbreak it, sucks. Also it makes it impossible to update to the newest immediately. Also yet jailbroken, the system is still very limited. Also it takes a lot of time for it to come out. I haven't had my phone jailbroken for 8 months.

Android

1. ++ CUSTOMIZATION!
2. ++ The freedom to do basically what you want with the phone.
3. + Screensize; I find the iPhone 5 screen a tat too small. I miss a bigger size phone, eg the Galaxy S II.
4. - I fear the speed? Will they be as snappy as i am used to on my iPhone?
5. - Durability. I remember the old Android phones went slow in just a few weeks due to cache's and stuff. How does that seem now?
6. + Features. I think that most Android phones have got some very interesting features. Eg: One Blink Feed, Note 3 S-Pen, S3/4 eye-motion detector.
7. + No-jailbreak. Altho Android have the ability to get rooted, it's not necessary (unless you want flashed ROM's). I find that great for my needs, since i love customizing and changing my homescreen-layout / phone functionality on a day-to-day basis. Also iPhone jailbreaks takes a lot of time to come out.

I am very unsure of what to do. It's very hard!
I really like my iPhone, but i miss the lack of customization.

My heart tells me to keep my iPhone, but my brain and inner-geek tells me to go fetch an android.
If it was up to me, i'd have both. But i don't have the money to get a new Android and keep my iPhone. Then i will have to sell my iPhone first.

Could you guys possible give me some aspects and viewpoints on this? I am open for critiques, since i am not coloured of "what's better or worse". I just want personal views.
Also, have anyone gone from iPhone 5 to Android? And did you regret it? (Which i am afraid that i MAYBE will).

And if you advice me to get an Android: Which one?

Thanks in advance!

One question,how will you deal with the money you have spent in the apple ecosystem?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[zuben el genubi]

Interesting. I've never used an Idevice and have some questions.
How much junk can you get off the screen? I can stick Android apps into folders or not use the icon.
Do you have to automatically update it?
Can you get rid of or disable social features you neither want nor use? I don't do anything personal on the phone, I use a Linux pc for that. I don't do movies so don't care about download speed. I don't play music unless I've loaded my own. I also don't use cloud services, have no need. I don't need the new features in Android phones. I'd probably disable them.
The apps that I do use have Apple counterparts, so apps are no problem.
Does an Ipod use the same apps? It looks like Android might be turning totally into Chrome like a desktop, and I don't like that browser. I don't like it assuming what I want, I don't like not having a menu bar.
I mostly use the phone as a reference library and I buy what is most suited for the apps I want. Mostly speed in loading large databases that have pictures, graphics and sound. Also storage space for same.
How would you get photos to a computer, either PC or Linux? Dropbox? Can you back up the Iphone to a computer?

 

[mrsmumbles]

Interesting. I've never used an Idevice and have some questions.
How much junk can you get off the screen? I can stick Android apps into folders or not use the icon.
Do you have to automatically update it?
Can you get rid of or disable social features you neither want nor use? I don't do anything personal on the phone, I use a Linux pc for that. I don't do movies so don't care about download speed. I don't play music unless I've loaded my own. I also don't use cloud services, have no need. I don't need the new features in Android phones. I'd probably disable them.
The apps that I do use have Apple counterparts, so apps are no problem.
Does an Ipod use the same apps? It looks like Android might be turning totally into Chrome like a desktop, and I don't like that browser. I don't like it assuming what I want, I don't like not having a menu bar.
I mostly use the phone as a reference library and I buy what is most suited for the apps I want. Mostly speed in loading large databases that have pictures, graphics and sound. Also storage space for same.
How would you get photos to a computer, either PC or Linux? Dropbox? Can you back up the Iphone to a computer?

Maybe what you want is a BlackBerry. They still have good security/privacy.

Sent from my LG870 via Tapatalk 2

 

[John Stalzer]

The only problem with android vs IOS is android's lack of photo sync (with anything).

The ability to have photos on your mac and phone (or tablet) arranged in basically the same way is a show stopper for me. You just can't do it. There's no solution that comes remotely close to iphoto on mac and photos on IOS - nothing.

Actually I don't think android and windows photos have that feature either.

I'd love to be corrected on this, as I just got a Nexus 7 and I'd love to be able to use it like an iPad and have the past 8 years of photos and slideshows available when I travel, but I have yet to find a way to do this.

 

[roguetrader]

The only problem with android vs IOS is android's lack of photo sync (with anything).

The ability to have photos on your mac and phone (or tablet) arranged in basically the same way is a show stopper for me. You just can't do it. There's no solution that comes remotely close to iphoto on mac and photos on IOS - nothing.

Actually I don't think android and windows photos have that feature either.

I'd love to be corrected on this, as I just got a Nexus 7 and I'd love to be able to use it like an iPad and have the past 8 years of photos and slideshows available when I travel, but I have yet to find a way to do this.

If you have Google+ installed there's a setting which uploads all photos & videos to your Google+ account automatically from each device you use. It can also auto enhance them too if you want. There is also an editing facility. They are presented in the same way. The photos also remain in your device's gallery.
You can also auto-upload to Dropbox if you like.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[someguy01234]

Okay, here is my take from being someone who only use Android phones, but with everyone else in the family using iPhone and having to do tech support for them:

+ My iPhone 5 is stylish.
+ Reputation. Call me childish, but i just find it "cooler" to have an iPhone..
I think you should just stick with Apple if this is important to you. You may stop reading my reponses at this point.

This is all advertisement and marketing. Being an open source supporter, I read a bit into Steve Jobs deeds and Apple anti-opensource, anti-competition, patent trolling, restrictive policy, and support of implementing proprietary standards. The reason no one talk about this is it's not covered in the big news. Not to mention the whole thing with Foxconn and how much profit Apple made from selling phones considering the "bill of materials" cost of an iPhone. And yes I know many other manufacturers are guilty of this too, but it doesn't make Apple any less innocent. This is also proven by the fact that within the smartphone space, Google have never bring any companies to court due to patent issues, the very opposite can be said about Apple. All of this when taking into consideration by someone with a conscience I think leaves a bad taste in my mouth more than anything.

+ I have an iPhone 5. It's fast.
So are new Android devices running KitKat with the new Android Runtime (ART) enabled. I'm sorry, but Android hardware change very fast and Apple can't even compete in this area. It's true that Apple devices have good battery life, but so does Android if you pick the right device, there are lots of choice here, you don't just have one device (iPhone 5c don't count, it's not affordable and failed), people have a choice to get the device with performance and features they want. I believe with KitKat running ART and as long as you have a current gen device, the entire argument by iOS users saying Android being slow no longer have merits. And I can set the animation speed too, I don't think I can deal with that on iOS.

+ I have 2 MacBook Pro's, an iMac, Apple TV, iPod and an iPad. So i fear the communication between Android and them.
You'll just have to deal with it. Apple is competing against Android so they won't allow perfect interoptability. There are lots of ways to transfer or sync your data from an Apple device to an Android device, while I'm not an expert in this area, people here will be willing to help. This is a problem with Apple, Android is fully open and ready to embrace.

+ The applications. I personally find Appstore filled with higher-of-quality applications.
The opposite can be true as well. I don't think I can agree with this since it's different depending on each person. There is much more freedom with Android that many, many Android apps will never be approved by Apple. It's really up to you. One thing is true is there is a handful of dev tending to support iOS first and release apps and games on it before making an Android version, but its beginning to change with Android becoming more dominance.

+ iCloud. It stores my contacts and stuff. But Android's got an alternative for that tho.
Google allow you to sync many things, apps data, contacts, photo, music (uploading your music library to the cloud), etc. You have much more choices like Dropbox and many other sync services to sync your data to the cloud.

+ iMessage. I love being able to chat from my macbook to iPhones, without confuse. And fast iPhone-to-iPhone chat without the recievant have to download specific software.
Again this Apple proprietary service. You either use it or not. Google have their own chat system via Hangouts, and it's not restricted to iPhones only unlike iMessage.

+/- Jailbreak. Jailbreaking the iPhone gives it alot of awesome features! But having the need to jailbreak it, sucks. Also it makes it impossible to update to the newest immediately. Also yet jailbroken, the system is still very limited. Also it takes a lot of time for it to come out. I haven't had my phone jailbroken for 8 months.
Android without root can do tons of things with third party apps and tricks, you don't have to root to get cool features. And you can get a Nexus device and get the latest updates from Google. With root, the potential is unlimited.

- Durability. I remember the old Android phones went slow in just a few weeks due to cache's and stuff. How does that seem now?
I don't see iPhone being more or less durable, they use Gorilla Glass as well. They all are mass produced device made for maximum profit. The cost to produce an iPhone 5S is not more than other high end phones. The way I see it, if you drop a smartphone with a large touchscreen it will likely break. I personally buy screen protector, you can get a quality one like tempered glass. Again with Android you have a lot of choices and its base on what you pay for. If you get an HTC or Oppo or Motorola Razr with kevlar design, then they are quite durable.

+ No-jailbreak. Altho Android have the ability to get rooted, it's not necessary (unless you want flashed ROMs). I find that great for my needs, since i love customizing and changing my homescreen-layout / phone functionality on a day-to-day basis. Also iPhone jailbreaks takes a lot of time to come out.
Jailbreak have nothing on root. As I said, when you have root in linux, there is no limit in what you can do.