Iphone4 vs Droid incredible review. I have both.

[logan78511]

Well, after hearing about the Iphone for so long I had to give it a try. I'm using the Dinc on Verizon and of course the Iphone 4 on AT&T.

At first I was shocked by how little the iphone could do. This is not a biased review. I have came to love both phones. But I guess I expected the Iphone to be able to do everything the Droid can do.

For one on the iphone alerts show up in the middle of the screen, like text mesages, emails, facebooks, even while you're doing something. Such as watching a video on youtube. In which it pauses the video when this happens. So, if you're a busy person with a lot of people contacting you it's almost impossible to watch a video.

The web browser on the iphone 4 doesn't even come to a fraction close to web browser on 2.2 android. Not only does it not have all the flash support it isn't as fast either and doesn't seem to show all the content on some web pages that aren't even flash.

Verizon has unlimited internet, the iphone is limited to 2Gb. The apps are about the same these days. If there is an iphone app you can bet there is an android verison. And most likely the android version is free and most of the iphone apps cost money. Usually cheap but cost.

The pro's of the iphone are the keyboard for one. The keyboard on the iphone is by far the best keyboard I have EVER used on a phone. The map's up with navigation is nowhere near the free google navigation app on the droid.

The display hands down goes to the iphone. It just looks better. When watching a youtube video via wifi it looks amazing. But if you watch a youtube video via 3g on the iphone it will NOT let you watch it in high quality. It forces you to watch in LQ. Only wifi provides high quality unlike verizon's droid.

The battery life on the iphone just completely murders any android battery I have seen unless you have an extended battery. This is with the wifi on all the time too.

The iphone 4 can't be customized so much like the Android can. There isn't all of those widgets you are used to. You basically click an app. Some of them don't work as well as they should.

One advantage is the app store on the iphone you are able to find stuff you want and it has a very good search engine. Unlike google's open market where you have to scroll through a million pointless things to find something good.

I live in a big city and there are a few places I got full bars with AT&T and 3g but in my apartment I only get 2 with 3g. With verizon I get full bars with 3g. When I drove outside of the city, not even 15 minutes outside of it I was on AT&T's Edge network and Verizon was still on 3g with full service. It seems that's the case any place you go with Verizon.

The way the iphone looks and feels in your hand and the way the screen looks puts the droid to shame in my opinion. It feels like an expensive piece of technology.

Although the camera is only 5mp and the Dinc is 8 the camera on the iphone seems to work much better and it's much much faster. The same with the 720pHd video.

The droid incredible of course you can switch out micro sd cards but with the iphone you are stuck with how many GB you buy when you buy the phone. I only have the 16Gb because that seems to be all I need.

Any other questions just ask. I know a LOT of Verizon users who are really really curious about the iphone because all you hear about is the iphone and you always wonder if your android devices are up to par. I'm here to tell you that your android devices can actually do more than the iphone can and the apps work much more efficiently.

One more advantage the iphone has is there is no bloatware lurking in the background. Which explains better battery life probably.It doesn't come with much bloat ware. Not stuff you couldn't use anyway.

And if you doubt tap the button it shows all apps running like the blackberry and you can shut down what you don't want running. And if you're multi tasking you can keep them running and switch from one to another quickly.

AT&T has it where you can try it for free for 30 days if you just have to pay the 200 dollars for the iphone. If you don't like it they refund everything. I will be keeping mine. I really do like the device. But I aslo really like my android device. Especially when it comes to finding where I'm at and the GPS taking me places and the way the apps work with the GPS and the widgets. Not to mention the Verizon service.

If the iphone ever makes it's way to Verizon I will be adding a second line with a Droid and an Iphone. I'm that much of a nerd that I want both. So I now have both.

But I think a lot of I phone users would be amazed at some of the things the android devices can do. You hear talk like the iphone is the be all end all and so much more advanced then the droid but that's not true at all. The droid is truly the more advanced platform in my opinion.

Now if Motorola or HTC or someone would make a Droid with a design as well as the iphone with the battery life the iphone has with cameras on the front and back with facetime it would be killer.

At fist I thought a built in battery was a bad idea because you can't carry a spare battery. But honestly the battery works so well you can get through an entire day or more with it.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

Verizon, doesn't have unlimited internet. If and when you hit 5gigs of data you are charged additional.

 

[brina042]

Verizon, doesn't have unlimited internet. If and when you hit 5gigs of data you are charged additional.

Not with the $29.99 Smartphone Data plan, it's unlimited. If you buy a mobile broadband card, it is limited to 5GB. Wifi tether/hotspot is limited to 2GB.

 

[sonar_chris]

Not with the $29.99 Smartphone Data plan, it's unlimited. If you buy a mobile broadband card, it is limited to 5GB. Wifi tether/hotspot is limited to 2GB.

If you read the fine print, the "unlimited" data plan has a 5gb cap.

 

[zrxoa1]

Been plenty of folks bust the 5GB mark and never get charged. Can you show me where it says there is a cap in the "unlimited" plan?


Logan, thank you for the in depth head-to-head report. It is good to hear such unbiased reports!

 

[S.SubZero#AC]

The 5GB thing is at Verizon's discretion. If you go to 5.01GB one month they aren't likely to care. If you're doing 30GB a month EVERY MONTH they will care. The 5GB cap isn't meant to be a hard limit, but rather a "we will pay a little more attention if we see a pattern" sort of thing.

 

[Lee_Bo]

I'm constantly using between 5-8 GB per month. For one, I stream Sirius/XM almost 24/7 and I've never been charged extra. I'll even use tethering to play Warcraft when Charter is on the fritz (which is often in this area). Then again, I've been with Verizon over 15 years.

 

[BSG75]

The only fine print I have ever seen is with the data cards, not the mobile internet. I go over 5gb/month on my Inc often and don't get charged extra. It's been rumored that Verizon will be adding a mobile cap, too. Who knows what the LTE plans will be.

To the OP, good review. I could not live without my widgets, multiple home screens and navigation, though. I use that stuff constantly.

 

[logan78511]

I've never had a problem. The 5GB that I seen was with tethering and things like that.

Anyway, I'm getting more and more used to the iphone. I've decided to keep both phones. So far I am using the iphone for texting.

I am using the Verizon for calling and web browsing. Amazing how much more 3g Verizon has.

The apps on the android offer a whole lot more free ones too. With the camera I'm using the iphone. With the mp3 play I'm using the droid. Simply because I have an extended battery and it will play any type of music file pretty much where as the iphone requires it to be specific.

I'm really really happy with both though. But again if I had to choose it would be the Android and Verizon. If Android ever builds a keyboard like the iphone and a design like the iphone it will be killer. The front and back camera is so nice too. I did my first face time chat today with my ex girlfriend who has an iphone 4.

It just feels like I have to baby it because I feel like if I scratch the iphone 4 it will devastate me since at&T won't let me get insurance on it. I have to go to an insurance company quick and get it. Battery life is getting more and more amazing as it goes.

Multi tasking works well but it's not true multi tasking like on the android. But that's one of the reason android battery doesn't last as long. You can't close apps. You can on iphone.

Iphone has push like blackberry. I LOVE that. So, I prefer to get email and facebook on the iphone since it alerts me. Also the iphone has visual voice mail for free.

I traveled 2 hours today and for the most part both services kept really good service. But as soon as I got out of Nashville the 3G went away on the AT&T. But it stayed on the Verizon all the way on the 2 hour ride to Verizon.

I found myself needing to look up something on the web. I pulled out my droid naturally because it has full flash in the browser and the browser is much faster and there is 3G everywhere. Although the Iphone from what I've read has allowed flash through apps but not the browser.

The iphone feels a little safer. I don't feel like any app is apying on me as much as I do with the Android.

The iphone isn't crashing at ALL. Like the Android. Not that it's a huge problem with the android but there just isn't many glitches.

In low signal areas like I'm in now I cannot put my finger over the antenna on the iphone or it will drop my service.

Both have annual upgrade so next September I will be getting the next Iphone and in January or maybe a little later I'll be getting another droid.

So, all in all, after using both products they are both pretty amazing. I know there are a TON of people on here wondering which to get and some people feel like they have an Android because they don't have the option to have the iphone because they aren't on AT&T. Trust me. Don't feel bad. The Android can do everything the iphone can pretty much and more.

So, if you have a droid be happy! that's a droid with 2.2 anyway. That has the full flash. And the droids with the 1ghz processor. Although the original moto droid is still pretty snappy.

All android needs to do is make it where we can close apps and we are good.

 

[technomom]

Great articles, thank you.

I have both an Android Incredible and a 2009 vintage iPod Touch. I was thinking I might eventually upgrade to the new Touch coming out. It appears to match the iPhone 4 in most regards (minus the phone) and I see no reason to put money into AT&T's pocket from where I sit.

I think on balance, Apple makes an awesome media player and a so-so phone and pocket computer. Android makes an awesome phone/pocket computer and a so-so media player.

Nice to have the best of both worlds.

Thanks again for your review.

Regards, JoAnn

 

[BSG75]

A few areas of input:
Bars don't matter. What matters is if your calls drop or you get slow data service.

You can get free visual voicemail via Google Voice, which also generates a text transcript that can be emailed or texted to you, as well as being available in the google voice app. You don't have to get a second number to use this feature.

This is controversial, but I'll stick with what Cyanogen and the official Android blog say: Just because an app is shown as "running" doesn't mean that it's using any resources. It could be buggy (some claim it is), but Android is trying to create a system where manually closing apps is pass?. I would say they are on the right track when it comes to multitasking.
You can close apps though Settings, if necessary.

Battery life is pretty questionable in the Inc, but I'm not an engineer and don't really know what the problem is. Personally I don't think it's task management. Maybe it's the AMOLED screen or a buggy charging algorithm (bump charge, anyone?). How big is the iPhone 4 battery, anyway? I did spring for a 2150 battery.

I certainly get super fast push GMail and texts. Facebook alerts are not so good, but that's the app, not the platform, IMO. I think they'll get it right (someday).

The front facing camera is intriguing, but I honestly never talk on the phone anyway. I feels like a gimmick whose use will fade, but I could be proved wrong. That being said, I'll probably look for it on my next phone , but it will be at least a 4" device.

I'm surprised you can't get insurance for the iPhone. I thought they were selling it for $12/month (not kidding)?

As much as I love my Inc, you have to give the iPhone props for what it does well. Most normal people would use either phone and be perfectly happy.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

Every HTC phone I've ever had did not have very good battery life. HTC doesn't seem to use large enough batteries in the phones they make.

 

[logan78511]

Nope can't get insurance. They told me I had to go to an actual insurance company to get insurance.

The battery is built in so I have no idea how big it is. All I know is it last a long time. Even doing a lot of things.

The gmail visual voice mail isn't quite the same as the way it is on the iphone and how easy it is.

 

[oletheos]

i think ipods/iphones get such good batterylife is because they are completely enclosed. that allows them to get specially made batteries that can maximize the space completely unlike most phones that have to fit a certain mold for replaceable ones.

i've had a ipod touch for 2 years and just got an incredible cause i got tired of the iphone Verizon wait and honestly im glad i stopped waiting. I love the openeness of droid over the ipod by a huge margin.

(i've been using macs for 16 years and have 3 ipods and 3 macs in my house so this isn't a anti apple or pro apple. just a statement of enjoying the droid over the ipod)

 

[BSG75]

Fwiw

Just for comparison, these two articles say the iPhone 4 has a 1420 mah battery. Bigger than the 1300 in the Inc, but not dramatically so. The iPhone is defintely getting more out of its battery then the Inc, for whatever reason.

iPhone 4 Teardown - iFixit
Getting a look inside the iPhone 4 | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

 

[dyastrab]

Thanks. That was a fair and well done comparison review.

 

[sniffs]

The 5GB cap is called a "soft cap", you'll still get data, but it's slower than normal.

 

[belogical]

1st of all, great article.

2nd, the battery issue really doesn't hold much water. Does the stock battery suck? yes! Can you get a 17 hour battery for $39? yes!

doesn't change anything about the phone either, still runs with the stock back cover. i started yesterday at 8:30 am and went to bed at 1:00 am, with heavy use, and still had 5% left.

Amazon.com: Seidio Innocell 1750 mAh Battery for HTC Droid Eris to Seidio Innocell 1750 mAh Battery for HTC Droid Eris/Droid Incredible: Cell Phones & Service

 

[theoverdrive]

Yeah, the battery argument is always lame.

The iPhone obviously does less - substantially less. A device that does less is going to tax a battery less. Android phones across the board do more, so they obviously tax the battery more.

Someone should use the same argument against the iPhone one of these days. Put the iPhone up against any random "feature" phone. I had a feature phone battery that went over 5 days before it needed to be charged.

 

[Feldhege]

I will add that I didn't care for the stock keyboard at all. I switched to the DroidX keyboard that they had over at XDA and it is fantastic. Even after Froyo came out, I suffered until the patched that keyboard. It is smooth and works like a champ.