android vs. iPhone

[reedman]

Alright my tech-savvy friends in the reef hobby...tell me your thoughts. I really like the iPhone but hate that it is on a less than stellar carrier. Like T-mobile, but they have no iphone. Android is the closest competitor for me since my wife hates (and I mean it) microsoft.

So, give me some pros/cons and experiences. App availability and usability (I looked at the android marketplace and it has no search function that I can find ). Haven't really looked at the apple store, but I suspect it is strikingly similar to iTunes.

Help me out all. Especially if you have apps that you like on one or the other OS's.

THanks!!!!

 

[BCT182]

Iphone all the way. Once you jailbreak, the possibilities are endless. There is no risk of "bricking" the phone now. There was on the original phone but now the 3GS is recoverable. The ads that verizon runs for the android only matter if you DONT jailbreak your iphone. With a jailbreak the iphone does everything the android does, and it feels better doing it. The only thing I am unsure of is if the droid has flash. If it does, thats one thing the iphone does not yet have, and I hope it will eventually.

 

[BCT182]

I guess I could put it this way. I have owned PC's for the last 10 years, and just bought my first mac last weekend. Because I love the OS of the mac's, and the iphone OS is very similar and they sync everything together.

 

[reedman]

I guess I could put it this way. I have owned PC's for the last 10 years, and just bought my first mac last weekend. Because I love the OS of the mac's, and the iphone OS is very similar and they sync everything together.

This is exactly where I am at right now. I love my mac at home and played with the iphone and loved it as well. Just concerned about the coverage. How's your coverage been? Dropped calls?

 

[125g]

I am on my droid now and is how I access the site most of the time the internet is super fast and crisp and as far as apps they haven't not had one I've wanted

 

[reedman]

I am on my droid now and is how I access the site most of the time the internet is super fast and crisp and as far as apps they haven't not had one I've wanted

how are you finding the apps you want with the droid? are you using the phone to find them? is there a search?

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it!

 

[edwing206]

I got the HTC G1 when if first came out. At first I loved it but what you can do is very limited. I sold it and bought a used iPhone 3G from CL. I jailbroke it my self and also unlocked it. Like Brett said, once it's jailbroken you can pretty much do anything with it. I run it on T-Mobile and have no issues with it. If you decide to buy an iPhone and need it unlocked I can do it for free, quick and easy.
PS, Apple FTW!

 

[125g]

Ya there's a search and if I don't know what I want in particular they are separated into categories to browse by either date or most popular

 

[sandswhitson]

I-PHONE ALL THE WAY!! I haven't had a problem with coverage over on this side of the state. (Clarkston area) There isn't alot of people in this area compared to the west side so less cell towers and still haven't had any more dropped calls than with Verizon. I personally haven't used the Droid but have used alot of other Motorla phones and haven't been impressed yet. Apple is way ahead of the times. The screen is extremely accurate and very responsive.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Go with the iphone. I dont think that I have had a drop call other than when Im in the back woods of Ft. Lewis (and no cell phones work out there) in almost a year.

 

[gotfish]

I don't have a droid, but I've never had a single problem with my iphone. I was talking with someone I know who has the droid and he said as far as internet goes, it's great, but for making calls, he hates it. You can't browse like you can with the iphone while talking which doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but I do it all the time. Iphone for sure.

 

[reedman]

for those running the android based phones.....how do you feel about the mandatory backup of data to google? Any concerns about security there?

I'm down to just the iPhone or the mytouch as my phones of choice. Both have similar features and the apps I can see myself using are available on both (at least for now).

Thanks again all! Nothing like first hand experience (through your friends here on RF) to make a decision.

 

[edwing206]

I would stay away from the Mytouch. My younger brother has one and it's pretty cheap feeling. And it's too expensive for what it can do, IMO. If you were to get an Android based phone I'd look into a higher end model, such as the Hero.

 

[reedman]

well, all indications are we are going with the iPhone. I hope it turns out well, but we get 30 days to figure that out so there is always an out.

Thanks for all the insight everyone....really appreciate it.

 

[nsamouroux]

I have the new Nexus One android phone. My friend has an Iphone 3GS. Neither one of us has found a single thing that the Iphone does that the Nexus One can't do, often better. I like the Iphone and would have bought one had the N1 not been released when it was, but I hate the closed format of the Iphone operating system and that it has to be jailbroken to do anything that I would want it for. I haven't had to do anything with my Android phone to be able to fully customize anything I feel like tinkering with.

 

[nsamouroux]

Android market has no search function you say? Did you not notice the little magnifying glass at the top of the app window? Or push the "search" soft key found on any Android device?

 

[reedman]

I have the new Nexus One android phone. My friend has an Iphone 3GS. Neither one of us has found a single thing that the Iphone does that the Nexus One can't do, often better. I like the Iphone and would have bought one had the N1 not been released when it was, but I hate the closed format of the Iphone operating system and that it has to be jailbroken to do anything that I would want it for. I haven't had to do anything with my Android phone to be able to fully customize anything I feel like tinkering with.

I get what you are saying. My days of playing at the OS level are pretty well past. I do wish Apple would open things up a little, but knowing apple it will never happen. I understand this. It leaves a lot of opportunity for Android. I think it will be a massive movement in the near future as people migrate over to the android platform to get that flexibilty, but time will tell. For me having a product I can take out of the box and have work with my mac without being forced to have my data up on the web is a big benefit. If the android system would allow me to simply sync with my computer only without the google interface I would love it. I tried several android-based phones and liked them, but the requirement to sync data to the web bothers me. Perhaps it shouldn't, but at this point it does. maybe in 2 years when my contract is up

 

[nsamouroux]

You can disable the sync settings, but really the only thing that gets sent to Google is the contacts list which merges with your contacts in Gmail. If you have and use a Gmail account then it's not really anything that is not already on their servers The calendar can be replaced with a third party app if you don't like having that on their servers either. You can also turn off the google website's (and any website in general) access to your GPS for location-based services (such as when you run a search on their site for local stores or something).

Still, just to be safe I keep my hat lined with a double layer of Kirkland brand aluminum foil The only real downside to the Iphone for me is the need to jailbreak it and the frequent hassle that entails. If you don't need the jailbreak functionality (multitasking *cough*) and are happy with the interface right out of the box then it's tough to argue with the popularity of their phones. Android is still a niche market, although with phones like the Nexus One and Droid and new ones coming out I'm sure things will expand pretty quickly. By the 23rd of March the CDMA version of the Nexus One should be released on the Verizon network (it just cleared FCC approval a few days ago), which should be pretty huge in terms of market share jump. AT&T is also releasing an android-based phone by Motorola soon, although it looks like it may be a lower-end device. The friend of mine with the 3GS is waiting for the expected summer release of the new Iphone before he makes the switch to Android, but he's fed up with the closed format / nanny policies and is just waiting for a good device on the AT&T network.

 

[reedman]

I completely agree. The calendar doesn't bother me at all and I already use the google calendar anyway. The contacts really bothered my wife and that was the kicker.

I like the concept of the nexus 1. The idea of a phone that is not tied to a carrier is great and I hope it catches on. I am really sick of the carrier based phone lineup.

Thanks for all the insight. Good to hear this from people that actually understand it.

 

[OurReef]

Wow, sounds like the iphone is the way to go to me. Have a BB storm now (husband hates it) and we have been debating for some time switching to iphone. He is going to Afghanistan soon anyone know how well it might work over there?