Convince me why I should buy an Android phone

[enectrixx#AC]

Hi everyone!

I've used iOS for more than two years now and I'm getting a little bored with it. I've been looking at the HTC Desire HD (only available in Europe and Asia, similar to the Evo 4G) and I can't really decide if I should switch.

My iPhone is jailbroken and as customized as it can be, so except for widgets and maybe more advanced mods, there's not much that I miss. I really love the retina display too, but the resolution on the Desire HD seems almost as good. Actually it seems like most of the stuff that I want to use my phone for (rss feeds, email, browsing, popular games like Angry Birds, theming and modding) I can do with both devices. One of the negative things I've noted though is that Android seems more caotic. Both the Market, the general community and the OS; though I'm not sure if that's only my impression or if it's true.

So, Android folks, convince me why I should buy the Desire HD!

 

[greydarrah]

Why don't you just get one, play with it for a couple of weeks, and take it back if you don't like it.

I moved to android after looking at the general market. BB, Microsoft and Apple are all about, "how much money can we make," (not that there's anything wrong with that) while Google/android is all about, "what do people using our stuff want to have." Google makes it's money from advertising, so it's always creating awesome apps/OS's and giving them to their clients for free. Because of the open nature of it's underlying OS, developers are flocking to it in mass. If you look at the numbers of activations/devices sold ever the past 24 months, it's very clear that android is the future.

As to whether or not you get one, I don't think anyone here is going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you of anything. In all honesty, all of these smart phones are great...I'd just rather align myself with a company that's more interested in my needs than they are in their own.

 

[Johnly]

Because ios is boring.

 

[RHChan84]

Won't convince you to do anything but go play with an Android device and see what you think of it.

One thing I love is the ability to for Flash and full youtube videos. Also the device has an escape button, home button and menu button. Depending on which device your getting, some have all and some are different.

 

[DroidXcon]

if you need convincing, i would just stick to IOS

 

[srkmagnus]

mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make

In all seriousness, Android is a very good platform and its getting better every few months with the release of a new OS. The development community is also very much alive and the possibilities for Android seem endless. It's hard to tell someone why they should get a specific OS because it's all up to personal preference imo. Do what some have already recommended and stop by your local store and play with the device for a few hours. If your carrier has a lax return policy then take purchase an Android device and use that time to determine your liking of Android.

 

[enectrixx#AC]

Thanks for all the answers! I'm both surprised and glad that no one commented on the "you're on the evil side"

Sadly here in Sweden I don't have the option to take it back to the store so even if I don't like it I have to keep it for a year at least. I've tried it in the store though and it seems like a good phone.

A question for the people who have switched to Android from iOS; is there anything in particular that you miss?

 

[Johnly]

iOS is boring, ha ha, don't listen to the haters, come on over and have fun!

 

[Kyle Gibb]

Thanks for all the answers! I'm both surprised and glad that no one commented on the "you're on the evil side"

Sadly here in Sweden I don't have the option to take it back to the store so even if I don't like it I have to keep it for a year at least. I've tried it in the store though and it seems like a good phone.

A question for the people who have switched to Android from iOS; is there anything in particular that you miss?

iOS has a lot more (and more of higher quality) games. On the other hand, Android has emulators for pretty much every console up to the PS1.

Widgets, better multitasking, and better integration with various Google services (Gmail etc) are the advantages Android has over iOS.

 

[kamtsa]

>> glad that no one commented on the "you're on the evil side"

You are not on the evil side, you are on the victim side. ;-)

>> I'd just rather align myself with a company that's more interested in my needs than they are in their own.

You can go all the way and get an open source variants such as Cyanogen.

BTW, I do recommended getting a 4.3".

 

[dtboos]

iOS feels like a Fischer Price toy to me after switching to Android. I was a Blackberry user for years and years, and still admire its functionality, but I wanted more from my phone. So I tried the iPhone 3GS for about 1 month in Summer 2009. I do commend them on the 'polish' and 'smoothness' of their OS, but its such a simplistic child-like design to me. So I went back to my Blackberry until the Nexus One was released in Jan 2010.

Android can be as simple or complex as you want. As ugly or beautiful as you like. As much information on screen or in-app as you desire. The newer OS versions are just as smooth as iOS, most of the major apps you'll use are just as nice and available on both platforms, and the features and customization out of the box on Android is what you jailbreak for.

I suggest giving it a good show. Test Android out for at least a few weeks, then go back if you really don't like it. Just make sure to get a good Android phone as the cheap/low end phones are junk just like with any other tech.

The other great thing about Android is choice. Choice in hardware. There is no one size fits all mentality, and you can get the phone that is just right for YOU. Not to mention no more being shackled to iTunes for even the most mundane things.

 

[Formol]

Helle everybody!

Because I'm an iOS user that want to switch to Android too, I'll post here my question

Is there a way to change the UI of the phone? I mean, I want a HTC phone because their specs look great, but the sens UI doesn't attract me as the normal Android UI do... Maybe it's a bit silly but I've never use an Android before

Thank you!

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Helle everybody!

Because I'm an iOS user that want to switch to Android too, I'll post here my question

Is there a way to change the UI of the phone? I mean, I want a HTC phone because their specs look great, but the sens UI doesn't attract me as the normal Android UI do... Maybe it's a bit silly but I've never use an Android before

Thank you!

It's possible, as long as you're willing to root (essentially Jailbreak), and flash a custom ROM. Then the possibilities are virtually endless.

 

[dtboos]

Helle everybody!

Because I'm an iOS user that want to switch to Android too, I'll post here my question

Is there a way to change the UI of the phone? I mean, I want a HTC phone because their specs look great, but the sens UI doesn't attract me as the normal Android UI do... Maybe it's a bit silly but I've never use an Android before

Thank you!

You can change the "launcher" with something like Launcher pro, or ADW which will get rid of the main "Sense" homescreen (rounded menu buttons on bottom), but Sense is pretty entwined in alot of the functions so you would need full root and loading of a custom ROM to completely remove it / use something else.

That being said, rooting of HTC devices is typically pretty easy as they aren't too hard to hack, so the possibility comes quick after release.

 

[enectrixx#AC]

Thanks for all the answers! Ultimately, I decided to buy a Desire HD and so far I love it! I haven't been able to try, tweak and play around with everything yet of course but it already seems like a good phone for me!

 

[Aspiring Developer]

I'm sure you'll be very happy. IDK if you are a programmer, but for me the freedom to make the phone do what I want (not only what comes in the can) means the world to me.