Android for business?

[olliegrl]

Hello all. I have an iPhone 4 now and i have NO problems with it BUT...i'm looking to start a small business and a friend of mine who is kinda doing the same thing and has an iphone says he can't WAIT to go to android cause the support is just plain better for things like word docs, PDFs, excel sheets, etc...

pls correct me if i'm wrong here...if there is some app i can download to make these things go more smoothly that would be great...but then there's always the issue of not being able to access flash-enabled websites from an iphone. Ugh. and no 4G...

i know that apple keeps thier designs/plans under lock and key until the DAY it comes out, so i'm not trying to jump ship right away here...

but what are your thoughts on android for business vs. iphone?

(pls if you hate apple, that's fine, but i don't need to hear how awful apple is or whatever. i just want facts)

 

[anon(94115)]

Are you looking to stay with Apple? If so I have no idea.

If you are looking to move to android, there are a TON of office suites out there. that handle documents well. I have used smart office and recently polaris. They both have done everything needed.

Apple will never get flash support. That is fact. So Android has that going for them

You will get a bigger screen to actually see your work with android than you will with the iphone. Unless you buy a very low end android, you are looking at a minium of a 4" screen vs 3.5 inches with Apple.

That help?

EDIT: The document you save can be put into and edited from google docs as well for portability

 

[Unobtanium]

I don't have hands-on iPhone experience, so I can't do a side-by-side for you. I can tell you that I had a wildlife removal contractor out to my parent's house several weeks ago, and he is using iPhone and iPad for his business purposes. He goes around and takes pictures of the work that needs doing (with a regular digital camera), then puts them on his iPad to show the customer. He uses the Intuit/Quicken credit card swipe device on his iPhone if a customer is paying with credit card.

All of this stuff is possible with Android devices, too.

As for apps to deal with business docs, you'd need to look into the Apple AppStore to see what's out there. How soon will Apple go to LTE /4G? Who knows?

 

[Scatabrain]

I use both ios and android for biz and fun.
Both work equally well for biz. Email and contacts and Web browsing cover 99% of day to day for biz. Ios built in email works great right out of the box. Add dropbox and you can save attachments and get access to desktop files.

Add k9 and dropbox to android and you get a nearly similar experience to ios mail minus push.

For office replacement IMO? It's not practical on any phone beyond viewing. Docstogo works passable on both.

This brings me to loginmein. To truly be mobile and get you remote access and full desktop /office experience, this is a must have. Works great on both.

Flash? I can't think of 1 time where this caused me an issue for biz. Web browsing on ios is better overall which is more then an even trade off to built in android browser. Dolphin greatly improves this and nearly gets to ios browsing experience.

If you manage servers there are console apps for both.

Choose either with nearly identical results.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Scatabrain]

Just want to add that choosing one over the other will depend on what works better for you personally rather then what apps can or can't do on each. You will be more productive that way.

Ios works really well out of the box for most things. There is a small amount of customization to round it out.

Android takes a little more work but is far more customizable.

Your choice.



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Scatabrain]

One last thing about using for biz: battery life. My iphone 4s doesn't allow me to change the battery but I get twice as much screen time as galaxy Nexus and have never been stuck out of power. I added mophie juice pack bit get fine results without it.

With the galaxy I get less screen time one 1 battery but benefit from a great big screen and can quickly swap batteries.

If they had mophie for Android is would buy it. IMO buying and extra standard battery - doubling battery potential, bears both of the extended battery options in potential and price. I bought a third standard for the same overall price and get 300% battery coverage. I have done lots of tinkering and used only apps that don't hog the battery and along with a little plugging in at work or while driving I mostly get by on 1 battery unless I have a lot of unplugged screen time.

In contrast ios is built in a way that greatly promotes battery life and doesn't require that tinkering.

Again it comes down to your preferences.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Lee_Bo]

Ios works really well out of the box for most things. There is a small amount of customization to round it out. Android takes a little more work but is far more customizable.

And other than two different operating systems, that's about the only other difference. But as others have said, you need to put your hands on both and ask LOTS of questions.

 

[olliegrl]

thanks guys! i ordered a razr maxx from amazon (so it wouldn't mess with my upgrade if i don't like it) and i'm going to try it out. i figured i might as well give both platforms a chance if i'm going to make a choice.

here's the next question then...because i got my phone on amazon, if it breaks, can i still bring it to verizon?

 

[barrycinti]

thanks guys! i ordered a razr maxx from amazon (so it wouldn't mess with my upgrade if i don't like it) and i'm going to try it out. i figured i might as well give both platforms a chance if i'm going to make a choice.

here's the next question then...because i got my phone on amazon, if it breaks, can i still bring it to verizon?

When you get your maxx try using smart actions. I use it and get very long battery life. You can customize it to your liking.

 

[olliegrl]

yeah i've had it a couple days and i love it! SO much more customizable than my iphone! and yeah the battery is amazing. i didn't even charge it all the way yesterday (90%) and i sat on it all night downloading and on facebook and it only fell to 50%. VERY impressive compared to my last android (G2X from tmo). I couldn't do squat on that thing without sucking at least 10% of the battery.

and yes smart actions are awesome! i work 12 hour shifts and am not allowed to use my phone at work, so i have it set to be on airplane mode my entire shift. VERY handy.

i wanna set it to play music when i get to my house like my very own personal soundtrack..but we'll see how that goes