After 1 week, I might go back to iPhone. Here's why...

[mattkruse]

I've been an iPhone user for years, but I despise Apple and especially iTunes. I'm a software engineer, and the promise of an open phone OS with endless possibilities lured me to Android. I got the S4 a week ago, and the transition has been anything but painless. I'm really considering switching back to the iPhone5, and here's why:

1. The S4 is just too big. It doesn't fit in my pocket nicely, and it's not comfortable to hold with one hand. It's awkward, and I often feel like I might drop it.

2. Notifications suck. I love the way iPhone did it - when I get new text messages, the screen lit up and I could see the message right there. If I received multiple messages, I could see them all. If I got Facebook comments, they were there too. All stacked up and scannable without unlocking or going to different apps. This is VERY important to me, because I receive a lot of updates about a lot of things, and I don't want to constantly fiddle with my phone to see them. I have it on my desk and I want to quickly glance to see what came in, then move on. I've tried a few lock screen notification apps, but none seem to work perfectly.

3. Hardware mute. I really miss this on the S4. I like having a hardware toggle switch to mute my phone if it's going off in a meeting or something. I like being able to mute it in my pocket without having to touch the screen at all. IMO, this should be a REQUIRED feature on all phone hardware.

4. Endless tinkering. I've already spent many hours trying apps, reading about Android, messing with widgets, etc. My hope was that I could get it setup exactly how I want, then never have to tinker again, but that doesn't seem like how it will go. I'm still trying to make the user interface something that I think is usable! It just seems so clunky to me, compared to the smooth and efficient interface of the iPhone.

5. App count badges (minor). I loved the little red indicator on each app, telling me how many games I have to play in WWF or how many notifications I have in another app. I miss this easy indicator in Android.

Listen... I love the potential of Android. I get it. It seems like I should be in love with it, but when it comes down to it, I just want a phone that is really usable out of the box. I don't want to have to find 10 different apps to replace the default functionality. I don't want to spend hours messing with the layout of widgets, home screens, and lock screens.

When I REALLY want is either:
- An Android UI that is well designed and consistent across the whole system, removing all the little productivity annoyances
or
- An iPhone that is not so locked down and controlled by Apple.

I have not (yet) rooted my S4, but that sounds like just one more thing to consume my time in the quest for a usable phone.
I've also never jailbroken my iPhones in the past, but I'm wondering if a jailbroken iPhone5 really is nirvana.

Any thoughts? What am I missing that might make me want to stay with the S4+Android?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[effreyj]

I've been an iPhone user for years, but I despise Apple and especially iTunes. I'm a software engineer, and the promise of an open phone OS with endless possibilities lured me to Android. I got the S4 a week ago, and the transition has been anything but painless. I'm really considering switching back to the iPhone5, and here's why:

1. The S4 is just too big. It doesn't fit in my pocket nicely, and it's not comfortable to hold with one hand. It's awkward, and I often feel like I might drop it.

2. Notifications suck. I love the way iPhone did it - when I get new text messages, the screen lit up and I could see the message right there. If I received multiple messages, I could see them all. If I got Facebook comments, they were there too. All stacked up and scannable without unlocking or going to different apps. This is VERY important to me, because I receive a lot of updates about a lot of things, and I don't want to constantly fiddle with my phone to see them. I have it on my desk and I want to quickly glance to see what came in, then move on. I've tried a few lock screen notification apps, but none seem to work perfectly.

3. Hardware mute. I really miss this on the S4. I like having a hardware toggle switch to mute my phone if it's going off in a meeting or something. I like being able to mute it in my pocket without having to touch the screen at all. IMO, this should be a REQUIRED feature on all phone hardware.

4. Endless tinkering. I've already spent many hours trying apps, reading about Android, messing with widgets, etc. My hope was that I could get it setup exactly how I want, then never have to tinker again, but that doesn't seem like how it will go. I'm still trying to make the user interface something that I think is usable! It just seems so clunky to me, compared to the smooth and efficient interface of the iPhone.

5. App count badges (minor). I loved the little red indicator on each app, telling me how many games I have to play in WWF or how many notifications I have in another app. I miss this easy indicator in Android.

Listen... I love the potential of Android. I get it. It seems like I should be in love with it, but when it comes down to it, I just want a phone that is really usable out of the box. I don't want to have to find 10 different apps to replace the default functionality. I don't want to spend hours messing with the layout of widgets, home screens, and lock screens.

When I REALLY want is either:
- An Android UI that is well designed and consistent across the whole system, removing all the little productivity annoyances
or
- An iPhone that is not so locked down and controlled by Apple.

I have not (yet) rooted my S4, but that sounds like just one more thing to consume my time in the quest for a usable phone.
I've also never jailbroken my iPhones in the past, but I'm wondering if a jailbroken iPhone5 really is nirvana.

Any thoughts? What am I missing that might make me want to stay with the S4+Android?

Thanks,

Matt

As for your #1, if the phone is too big for you, then that's your personal preference. I personally find the iPhone to be too small to get anything done on the screen.

I disagree with you about #2. You can quickly see notifications from dragging down from the top and you can even do this from the lockscreen. Also, if you use a 3rd party texting app like Handcent, you can configure it to turn on the screen with a popup.

As for #4, what I like about Android is being able to tinker with everything and having control over every detail. The phone works without tinkering, but you can get it to be just how you like it, unlike Apple where you just have to use it exactly how they tell you...

 

[SpookDroid]

To each his own, but it seems your concerns are all about personal preference.

1) Are your hands too small?! I can hold the S4 just fine, fit it in my pocket without issues (there's even a CNet Road test on the S4 and there's one guy who SPECIFICALLY praised how easy the phone was to hold and pocket and how light it was).

2) You do know Apple copied the notification bar from Android, right? And I'm sure Android got it from somewhere else, too...but the point is the notifications are there, and if they removed the pop-up option is because to the vast majority of us, it's something we DON'T like having. I don't like my phone lighting up the screen and displaying the received message for everyone to see... But if that's your thing, there are a bunch of apps that do just that.

3)No hardware mute, but a neat gesture setting where you can flip over your phone and mute it. And again, it's all in the preferences, but I wouldn't go as far as the hardware button should be a required feature FOR ME.

4)Endless tinkering. Yeah, the whole point of Android. iOS is not, IMHO, efficient, it's just dumbed down. Yes, it's smooth, and I do praise iDevices for that, but they are far from efficient. They're just so simpled-out that it's just easier, not exactly more efficient.

5) App count badges, again, you can do with an app or plugin. But, it goes back to number 4, you have to tinker with it.

 

[majorpayne]

you're a *** , just accept no device will ever be perfect , one has what the other doesn't , oh well that's life man , suck it up

Actually no he is not, He has valid concerns and doesn't know how to use the device to it's fullest potential. you on the other hand with your post that has no helpful information is the one being a pain in the buttocks. If you have nothing to contribute to the conversation that is helping him then Don't go away mad.. just go away ... gotta love trolls


How to help the original OP, What effreyj has said for point 1,2,4 are very acurate. Android is not iOS you can't just pick it up and run with it... Heck iOS isn't iOS anymore. The reasons you are having a tough time with Android might be because you are so used to the apple enviroment. This doesn't mean that you can't learn how to get what you want. Or Heck your a software engineer you might even be able to create what you want and make a few bucks on the side. with Android the options are almost limitless

 

[mattkruse]

To each his own, but it seems your concerns are all about personal preference.

Well of course it is. What else would it be about? I'm not saying no one would ever like the S4, or that iPhone is objectively better. I'm voicing my own thoughts on it.

1) Are your hands too small?! I can hold the S4 just fine, fit it in my pocket without issues (there's even a CNet Road test on the S4 and there's one guy who SPECIFICALLY praised how easy the phone was to hold and pocket and how light it was).

Holding it in one hand, my thumb cannot reach the other side of the screen. And when it's in my pocket, when I bend down I feel like it's going to crack my phone in half.

2) You do know Apple copied the notification bar from Android, right? And I'm sure Android got it from somewhere else, too...but the point is the notifications are there, and if they removed the pop-up option is because to the vast majority of us, it's something we DON'T like having. I don't like my phone lighting up the screen and displaying the received message for everyone to see... But if that's your thing, there are a bunch of apps that do just that.

Most of my Android-using friends say the same thing, that they wouldn't want it popping up. That's fine, if you have things you want to keep private. I don't really care about that, and the convenience of seeing all the notifications without having to do anything is more important than the privacy to me. Though since posting this I did find the option in Messages to show the preview in notifications, which is much better. I've looked at a number of apps for the lock screen, but none have shown the message preview I think because this feature was off in Messaging. I am now trying Executive Assistant and I kind of like it, so I may stick with that for a while.

3)No hardware mute, but a neat gesture setting where you can flip over your phone and mute it. And again, it's all in the preferences, but I wouldn't go as far as the hardware button should be a required feature FOR ME.

Right, flipping it over is fine, but that doesn't work in my pocket. Also, I like to keep the phone face-up during meetings so I can see if something comes in that needs my attention.

4)Endless tinkering. Yeah, the whole point of Android. iOS is not, IMHO, efficient, it's just dumbed down. Yes, it's smooth, and I do praise iDevices for that, but they are far from efficient. They're just so simpled-out that it's just easier, not exactly more efficient.

I wouldn't say it's dumbed-down. I would say it's opinionated. Android gives you a thousand ways to do things, but doesn't tell you what is best. iPhone gives you only a few options that it thinks are best. I don't like being restricted, but I do like it being opinionated and choosing the experience that it thinks is best. So at least out of the box, you get an interface that works well and is consistent, even if it's not exactly what you want.

The question is... are the limitations of that choice enough to make you want to spend lots of time looking into alternatives? I thought they were, but now I'm not so sure. I thought the Android interface would be more usable out-of-the-box than I found it to actually be.

 

[racedog]

I switched from an iphone to Android about four years ago. I can empathize with you because it was a rough transition and a few times I thought I had made a mistake. Today, I would not go back to an iphone for a number of reasons. It takes time to learn the new OS and can be frustrating. I was used to the way the iphone worked and Android required setup and learning. Once I became comfortable with Android those frustrations went away. Now I know what apps I want/need and can get a new phone setup in a short time and it works the way I want it to. The size issue is personal, I found the iphone screen restricting and hard to use, I love the larger size, but I will say that the S4 is about as big as I am willing to go.

Sorry that you had to read that post from the one post bozo, you find those types in all forums and they offer no help and no solutions. There are plenty of people, however, willing to give help when requested. Only you can know what works for you but if you still have time, try to work a little more with the S4, but it's always your choice.

 

[fishepa]

Totally agree on no. 2. I'm still having a hard time getting used to it as well.

 

[thegrants82]

I guess that I am just lucky because everytime I miss my iphone 5 I grab my wifes and play with it for a few minutes and then I am reminded. The little tiny screen was the deal breaker for me. I will always use my macbook pro but my iphone just looked and felt like it was 1-2 years behind the android curve. Not to mention that I would burn through 30% of my battery every morning before work reading emails and looking at the news. I rely heavily on my google accounts and my droid syncs everything up perfectly. I was initially concerned about the battery in my gs4 but after a tweak or two I am getting twice the screen time as my old iphone 5 if not more. I was a huge ios fan for many years until I took the plunge and doubt that I will ever go back.

 

[MikeLip]

Well, you have a lot of good points. But because I likie to type;

1) Yeah, the S4 is good sized. You should try a Note 2! The i5 is a nice, compact phone. You can't argue that Apple doesn't make a nice, elegant product.
2) I like the notifications on Android better than iPhone. I find them a lot more useful. YMMV obviously, and it does here.
3) Yeah. That's awesome. Motorola has a widget on their lock screen that lets you mute from there. Why doesn't EVERYONE have that??????? Not as convenient as the Apple solution, but still better than having to unlock the phone.
4) Android is a great fiddle toy. You will never make it exactly right, since there is always one more thing you can change. Thats why I like it but if you don't want to fiddle, then iPhone is your phone.. I'm thinking about getting one for my wife for that reason.
5) I hated counts and turned them off.

Here is an idea - try a Windows phone. You get some customization, but you NEVER break the basic look of WP8 - which I suspect is more your problem than the ability to fiddle. It's fast, easy, elegant, has more flexibility than iOS, but less than Android. It's just really classy and works really, really well, and it doesn't need a mega-grunt processor to run so it's awesome on battery. It's become my favorite phone OS. I just wish it had the apps that Android or iOS does. But there are lots of new ones coming every day. And hey, it's Microsoft. MS is keeping a tight rein on it. Not as much as Apple, but far, far more so than Google.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I've been an iPhone user for years, but I despise Apple and especially iTunes. I'm a software engineer, and the promise of an open phone OS with endless possibilities lured me to Android. I got the S4 a week ago, and the transition has been anything but painless. I'm really considering switching back to the iPhone5, and here's why:

1. The S4 is just too big. It doesn't fit in my pocket nicely, and it's not comfortable to hold with one hand. It's awkward, and I often feel like I might drop it.

2. Notifications suck. I love the way iPhone did it - when I get new text messages, the screen lit up and I could see the message right there. If I received multiple messages, I could see them all. If I got Facebook comments, they were there too. All stacked up and scannable without unlocking or going to different apps. This is VERY important to me, because I receive a lot of updates about a lot of things, and I don't want to constantly fiddle with my phone to see them. I have it on my desk and I want to quickly glance to see what came in, then move on. I've tried a few lock screen notification apps, but none seem to work perfectly.

3. Hardware mute. I really miss this on the S4. I like having a hardware toggle switch to mute my phone if it's going off in a meeting or something. I like being able to mute it in my pocket without having to touch the screen at all. IMO, this should be a REQUIRED feature on all phone hardware.

4. Endless tinkering. I've already spent many hours trying apps, reading about Android, messing with widgets, etc. My hope was that I could get it setup exactly how I want, then never have to tinker again, but that doesn't seem like how it will go. I'm still trying to make the user interface something that I think is usable! It just seems so clunky to me, compared to the smooth and efficient interface of the iPhone.

5. App count badges (minor). I loved the little red indicator on each app, telling me how many games I have to play in WWF or how many notifications I have in another app. I miss this easy indicator in Android.

Listen... I love the potential of Android. I get it. It seems like I should be in love with it, but when it comes down to it, I just want a phone that is really usable out of the box. I don't want to have to find 10 different apps to replace the default functionality. I don't want to spend hours messing with the layout of widgets, home screens, and lock screens.

When I REALLY want is either:
- An Android UI that is well designed and consistent across the whole system, removing all the little productivity annoyances
or
- An iPhone that is not so locked down and controlled by Apple.

I have not (yet) rooted my S4, but that sounds like just one more thing to consume my time in the quest for a usable phone.
I've also never jailbroken my iPhones in the past, but I'm wondering if a jailbroken iPhone5 really is nirvana.

Any thoughts? What am I missing that might make me want to stay with the S4+Android?

Thanks,

Matt

Hey, to each his own...I never understand the reason to get all defense if someone else doesn't like the same phone I do...it's not like you're trying to make any of us switch! Having said that...

1. I kind of agree, but once you get used to the larger screen, it's hard to go back. It would be nice to have a smaller form factor some times when I'm limited in pocket space.

2. Many have mentioned that there are apps that can accomplish this...and the builtin Messaging app even has settings to show pop-ups on the lock screen. Personally, I don't want people sitting around me reading snipits of the message I have come in...so I wouldn't use this feature anyway.

3. It's strange...most other android phones I've owned, you could actually do this by pressing the VOL- key repeatedly until the device vibrated (indicating that it was in vibrate only mode). On this phone, however, that does not seem to work, and you have to unlock the phone to turn the volume down. My guess is too many people complained that they were inadvertantly changing the volume settings while the phone was in their pocket? Not sure about that one.

4. The first "tinkering" you should do is find a custom launcher to meet your needs. I run NOVA launcher on mine, which is a pretty simple launcher, but there others like APEX that have different configurable options.

5. See above...with some launchers, you get those unread badges back. I have gmail unread badges installed through Nova launcher.

I do get what you're saying, and if you're used to one platform, often it's hard to break old habits and instead of finding the best way to configure your new phone, you go mad trying to make it like your old one. Maybe that's not your problem...maybe it is. Maybe it's not a "problem" at all. I personally feel that Android, at this point at version 4.2.2, *IS* really usable out of the box...and you probably wouldn't spend so much time trying to customize it if you weren't able to do so (wouldn't that be a shame!).

 

[easyrun99]

Well, you have a lot of good points. But because I likie to type;

1) Yeah, the S4 is good sized. You should try a Note 2! The i5 is a nice, compact phone. You can't argue that Apple doesn't make a nice, elegant product.
2) I like the notifications on Android better than iPhone. I find them a lot more useful. YMMV obviously, and it does here.
3) Yeah. That's awesome. Motorola has a widget on their lock screen that lets you mute from there. Why doesn't EVERYONE have that??????? Not as convenient as the Apple solution, but still better than having to unlock the phone.
4) Android is a great fiddle toy. You will never make it exactly right, since there is always one more thing you can change. Thats why I like it but if you don't want to fiddle, then iPhone is your phone.. I'm thinking about getting one for my wife for that reason.
5) I hated counts and turned them off.

Here is an idea - try a Windows phone. You get some customization, but you NEVER break the basic look of WP8 - which I suspect is more your problem than the ability to fiddle. It's fast, easy, elegant, has more flexibility than iOS, but less than Android. It's just really classy and works really, really well, and it doesn't need a mega-grunt processor to run so it's awesome on battery. It's become my favorite phone OS. I just wish it had the apps that Android or iOS does. But there are lots of new ones coming every day. And hey, it's Microsoft. MS is keeping a tight rein on it. Not as much as Apple, but far, far more so than Google.

Yeah, but if #2 is a significant issue and he prefers iOS to Android for this feature, he'll be very unhappy with Windows. Their notification system is rudimentary. The OS is stable and unique in a lot of ways, but notifications are weak.

 

[mattkruse]

Re: Notifications...

I've installed apps like NiLS, and they work. But when I get text messages, TouchWiz still wants to switch me over to their lock screen that shows the new messages widget. Does anyone know how to stop that? It seems like NiLS gets close to what I want (as did Executive Assistant) but these little annoyances continue. It's like Android is the wild west, and apps compete with each other and the OS to do what they want. It's not a cohesive experience at all. Very disconnected...

 

[garublador]

Right, flipping it over is fine, but that doesn't work in my pocket. Also, I like to keep the phone face-up during meetings so I can see if something comes in that needs my attention.

You may be thinking about this problem the wrong way. Rather than trying to get your phone to work the same as an iPhone, try thinking of a better way for it to work. Why not have it automatically get silent when you're either at work or in a meeting? With Tasker and NFC chips you can get into and out of "Meeting" mode by clicking an icon, scanning an NFC chip or even watching your calendar. If you have the phone out you can mute it with the proximity sensor (wave your hand over it), by flipping it over or by shaking it. It's funny that I can't find a way to do it by pressing a button on the S4, but there are lots of other that don't require you to unlock your phone when the call is coming. As someone who attends meetings, I'd suggest some sort of preemptive solution to stop it from ever making noise when you're in a meeting rather than silencing it after the fact.

I wouldn't say it's dumbed-down. I would say it's opinionated. Android gives you a thousand ways to do things, but doesn't tell you what is best. iPhone gives you only a few options that it thinks are best. I don't like being restricted, but I do like it being opinionated and choosing the experience that it thinks is best. So at least out of the box, you get an interface that works well and is consistent, even if it's not exactly what you want.


The question is... are the limitations of that choice enough to make you want to spend lots of time looking into alternatives? I thought they were, but now I'm not so sure. I thought the Android interface would be more usable out-of-the-box than I found it to actually be.

My experience is that many people moving from iOS or Blackberry to Android who don't like the "out-of-the-box" experience don't like it becasue it's not iOS or Blackberry. It's not that it's worse, it's that it's different and they've based how they use their phone around how their old OS did things. It's like the way everyone throws a giant hissy fit every time they change anything on Facebook (or Gmail, or Hotmail, or any other commonly used UI). Whether it's better or worse doesn't matter as much as it being different. So if you really want a lot of the iOS UI elements to be there you can probably tweak your phone to be most of the way there. What might be a better solution is to figure out what's actually better about Android, change how you use your phone based around that and then fix any little issues you have left over. If you aren't willing to do that you're probably better off going back to iOS.

Of your list, 1 and maybe 3 are the only two that can't easily be fixed. 1 should have been taken care of before you even bought the phone. With 4 the interface is only as "clunky" as you make it. If you want all your apps to be short cuts on your home screens then that's plenty easy to do.

 

[majorpayne]

Re: Notifications...

I've installed apps like NiLS, and they work. But when I get text messages, TouchWiz still wants to switch me over to their lock screen that shows the new messages widget. Does anyone know how to stop that? It seems like NiLS gets close to what I want (as did Executive Assistant) but these little annoyances continue. It's like Android is the wild west, and apps compete with each other and the OS to do what they want. It's not a cohesive experience at all. Very disconnected...

It'sa actually not the OS that competing. it's the UI's basically Samsungs Touchwiz wants to do one thing and your app also wants to do those things

 

[Coffeeman]

Fix for #3 is easy: Silent Toggle Widget. I've always hated the mute switch on the iPhone...seemed really inelegant compared to a widget.

 

[phantomog]

When I REALLY want is either:
- An Android UI that is well designed and consistent across the whole system, removing all the little productivity annoyances
or
- An iPhone that is not so locked down and controlled by Apple.

In my opinion it seems like what you *really* want is the second option. IOS and Android experiences are completely different.

Apple users pay a premium to have other people make choices for them (Tim Cook's own words: link). Android users pay less and have a ton more flexibility and freedom. Coming from an IOS device to android, your expectations are of course to have all of those choices still made for you, but added flexibility/freedom. This is, as you have found, not the case. Most of those IOS choices are NOT made which means you have to do a non-trivial amount of work to get the device setup to the way you are used to from IOS.

Hardware issues obviously cannot be easily resolved. Everything else, I'm almost 100% certain you could find a satisfactory solution to if you are willing to invest the time and energy needed to find them, use them (and get used to them). Beyond that, I encourage you to "think outside the box". Just because you are used to certain things working a certain way from IOS, doesn't necessarily mean that it truly is the best way to do something.

 

[risefromruins6]

How is it that buying an iPhone at $199 is any more of a "premium" price than buying an S4 at $199?

 

[tr-1]

1. To each his own but I just gotta ask why you bought it in the first place if it's too big? That's why you try it out first. To me it's perfect.
2. To each his own again. I will take an LED notification over no-LED any day. I mean, how the heck do you even know you missed a message w/out wakinng your phone. Also, there's a DashClock widget for lock screen that does display text (maybe there's a setting to turn on the screen... I don't know).
3. I guess it would be nice to have but certainly not a deal breaker.
4. This is because you got used to iPhone and want to turn Android into the way you are used to have it. I personally don't know how iPhone can be efficient if all it is is just an app launcher. I've tried using my mom's iPhone and wasn't impressed at all. I've used nothing but Android (mostly Nexus) and love it.
5. All notifications are in the notification bar. If your app is not on the main screen, how do you see those little red dots???? You gotta scroll left/right to see them all. Android is much more efficient at that.

Sounds like you need a Nexus (since it's very consistent) or Google ROM if you are on Verizon.

 

[mayconvert]

I'd day do what feels right for you. ignore the trolls and be happy with your device choice.
I switched to android about 3 weeks ago from having every iphone ever made.
Yes, there are plenty of things I love about iOS. and there are things I have a great love / hate relationship with on Both OS'
If Apple would release a 5" screen. I would switch back. The only thing I hated about Apple was 2 years of the Same phone, and that tiny 4" screen.
I am IN LOVE with the 5" screen on the S4. I won't be going back til Apple wakes up and gives me the phone I WANT not the phone they think I need.
and the swype keyboard on the S4. love it!

 

[Citizen Coyote]

In my opinion it seems like what you *really* want is the second option. IOS and Android experiences are completely different.

Apple users pay a premium to have other people make choices for them (Tim Cook's own words: link). Android users pay less and have a ton more flexibility and freedom. Coming from an IOS device to android, your expectations are of course to have all of those choices still made for you, but added flexibility/freedom. This is, as you have found, not the case. Most of those IOS choices are NOT made which means you have to do a non-trivial amount of work to get the device setup to the way you are used to from IOS.

Hardware issues obviously cannot be easily resolved. Everything else, I'm almost 100% certain you could find a satisfactory solution to if you are willing to invest the time and energy needed to find them, use them (and get used to them). Beyond that, I encourage you to "think outside the box". Just because you are used to certain things working a certain way from IOS, doesn't necessarily mean that it truly is the best way to do something.

I think this really nails it. As a Nexus 4 user, I've seen my share of Apple converts complaining about some of the same things as this thread's OP (except for the volume thing, that one's new to me). They want a phone where the tough decisions on how it works have already been made, but they also want the freedom to change those decisions if they want. That phone is not an iPhone or an Android. Maybe it's Windows Phone, maybe it's BB; I don't know, I haven't used either one. But here's what I do know: most of the iPhone converts I've met stick with Android, because the pros outweigh the cons. If iOS bothered them enough to switch in the first place (no mean feat and generally not for the squeamish, no matter what techies or the media say), they figure out work-arounds for some problems and just accept others that they can't change (like phone size). I never hear about those who do go back to iOS, except once. That person is happier with iOS having tasted the other side of the fence but he sometimes misses the freedom Android offered.

Maybe that's what you need, OP. If you're not happy, and things like the phone size and the volume thing are deal breakers for you, switch back. No reason to stick with a phone that annoys you or makes you feel unproductive, especially if you're in your return period. But think hard about why you switched over in the first place, and what you'll be giving up. In that light, maybe those problems you listed really aren't a big deal after all.