Should I get iphone or Droid?

[hambone]

ALLRIGHTY NOW !!!!!

This thread is almost a year old. This thread is one of the reasons I choose a Motorola Razor Max --- Android smart phone.

The following is a post I just put onto another thread.

"I checked your profile and it didn't say what kind of phone you have

So I was wondering if it was a dumdroid. I don't have an I-phone yet either, but we will. I have absolutely had it with my Motorola Razzor Max(imum stupid) phone. Every time they do a (forced) update it screws up everything I have learned for the last 2 months and makes my phone (or me) a complete idiot. Last update took 1700 photos in 12 albums and scrambled them into one bucket, messed up my text messaging, alarm clock, the weather apps that I liked, and have cost me about 6 hours at the phone (Verizon) store again.

We need to make some adjustments. I-phone here we come. Razor, how do you like swimming"

This is a result of months of frustration with Android Updates. Initially, it took some time to figure the new "smart" phone out, and about the time I was getting comfortable with it SOMEONE SOMEWHERE decided it would be a good time to do an update. I was 2 hours late to work that morning. The update came at 11:03PM and sounded like a text message so, after being asleep for a couple of hours, I just clicked "yes" and have regretted that since. Again, a month or so ago, another update and this was the straw that broke the camels back.

My smart phone may be smarter than I am, but if it is unusable for what I want it, except of course to make phone calls, which the new update has made even more exasperating by adding about 3 more button pushes to answer a call, increased the battery use but not the practical functionality for a general user and generally decreased the usefulness aand teh life of the phone.

Enough rant. Sorry. Pat --- I should have taken your advise much more seriously, way long back..

Curious to know how others are dealing with the Android updates.

Harvey,
SleepyC:moon

Had an Android for several years. My son talked me in to a IPhone. I thought the android couldn't be beat but I was wrong. Wouldn't give up my IPhone for anything

 

[Socrateur]

Why limit yourself to these two antiquated operating systems? I'm giving serious consideration to the Windows 8 phones made by Nokia. These are the wave of the future, and don't fall prey to the tired, old "not as many apps" argument you're going to get.

 

[Discovery]

Another iPhone fan here and buying an iPhone 5 for Dixie.

 

[jerry97230]

My Galaxy ties into my computer system very easily. The battery is replaceable on my phone, not on wife's Iphone.
Her phone feels clunky after using my droid.
Both are good but I prefer the Galaxy Droid.

Jerry C Nile

 

[rogerbum]

I have a Droid Razr for myself and I bought my wife an iPhone.
Pluses for the iPhone:
*Better control of the apps via Apple's policies leads to a lower chance of viruses/malware.
*Apple products integrate more smoothly with each other than other other platform. Period. This is especially true for those who are not particularly computer savvy (hence the iPhone for my wife).
*Apple products are simple to use, more intuitive and more consistent in their user interface.
*Updates are less frequent and better thought out. Of course it's easier to do updates on the apple platform since they control both the hardware and the software and there are not so many models of hardware they must address.
*Better technical support is available both on the phone and in person at an Apple store.

Pluses for the Android:
*Voice recognition the the Android is far superior to that on the iPhone. I've tried both many, many times and it's not even close.
*SWYPE is built-in on the Android. SWYPE makes text entry MUCH faster than other methods. Once you use it, you don't want to go back.
*3rd party software that allows one to do things on the android that aren't possible or cost money on the iPhone. Prime examples are pdaNet and FoxFi which let you tether (pdaNet) or turn your phone into a wireless hotspot (FoxFi) for free. With the iPhone, you pay and extra $30-40/month to your carrier to allow this as it's locked down by agreement between them and Apple.

Both the iPhone (iOS operating system) and the android operating systems are great products and the gap between them is not as large now as it used to be. Google has ripped off nearly all the good features of iOS and has added some new ones (yes ripped off is an editorial comment). For those who are less computer savvy and/or those who want easy and seamless integration of their phone with other aspects of an apple ecosystem, the iPhone is the best option. For those who are a bit more computer savvy and/or more price sensitive and/or are not tied into an apple ecosystem, the Android is better. Hence we have one of each.

 

[thataway]

I have been using i phones since they were available, and the I pod touch before that. About that same time I went to using the Apple computers about 90%. I still have an i pod 1.

One thing that I like, is that I buy an app for the i phone, and in most cases there is a parallel app for the i pad. (Or visa versa)., I have an original 9"--10" Kindle in black and white for reading, plus just recently got a Kindle Fire HD (7"). (Since I am at bed rest most of the time currently, I am getting a lot of time to "play" with it. I read the news papers on the large B & W Kindle, some books I have on both Kindles and I pads. Any book with color the Kindle HD seems better than the 1 st generation i pad (even considering the screen size).

Even though any of the phone size screens are easier to carry, and can be useful for any types of navigation--I often will go to the I pad for the screen size.

I have no experience with the Android system, but will stick with Apple for now.

 

[beermanPDX]

Well said Roger. We are in the same boat here for the same reasons....my wife has an iPhone 5, I have a Samsung Galaxy S3.

As Roger stated, the iPhone is very tightly controlled by Apple. The operating system, iOS, is made specifically for this phone and the iPad. Because of this, you get a very stable rock solid phone / tablet with few issues. You are also limited in what you can change / add / remove as far as functionality.

Android is a different story. Android is an open-source operating system, not made for or tied to any one device. "Open-source" means that the Android code base (software) is freely distributable to any device manufacturer that wants to use, implement, or modify it. The device manufacturer then needs to tailor the Android software to its hardware and add or remove features as they see fit.

Some device manufacturers do an excellent job of implementing Android. Others don't have the resources or desire to do such a thorough job and you're left with a buggy user-unfriendly device.

My opinion is that the iPhone should be compared to a particular Android-based phone, not Android in general.

I've had 3 different iPhones (3G, 4, 4S) and then switched to the Samsung Galaxy S3. It's the superior device for my use.

Neither iOS / Android are antiquated. Both were initially released in the 2007/8 time frame. They are both in their prime with very active development with much more upside. Windows phones like the Nokia Lumia (which is a very nice phone) are based on the Windows Phone 8 os, not Windows 8. Windows Phone 8 is based on the Windows NT kernel which has been around since 1993.

 

[hardee]

Thank for the really good feedback here. This place is Great.

Before I got my phone, (Motorola Razor Max), I did quite a bit of research, and made the decision based on these factors:
1. Better Verizon coverage in my primary area of operation.
2. 4G service was faster and available in most places I would be using the phone.
3. The camera was superior to most other phone cams available. (This had to do with user input control.
4. The on-board photo storage was easy to use, organize, and manipulate.
5. The time between battery charges was higher than anything else available at the time.

Thanks to the forced updates, # 3,4, & 5 are all gone. #2 is available in more areas now, and other services.

I am wondering if I-phone updates are as noticeable to the user as the Motorola Android? What about use times between charges? It seems that everyone with an I-phone at work has them plugged into a charger. I want to be able to charge no more that one time a day. (I sure liked my old Nokia, with a once a week charge.)

I like that several of you have both so have listed some really good comparisons, however I am only going to have one phone, so if you had to have just one, which one would it be?

Thanks all, for your help in this.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

 

[westward]

I've had both, and it's a very easy answer: Get the IPhone.

 

[westward]

I should add, I'm not a huge fan of Apple's business practices for reasons stated above, but our family just took delivery of our 7th IPhone yesterday. The Droid I had wasn't even close in terms of functionality.

 

[beermanPDX]

I am wondering if I-phone updates are as noticeable to the user as the Motorola Android? What about use times between charges? It seems that everyone with an I-phone at work has them plugged into a charger. I want to be able to charge no more that one time a day. (I sure liked my old Nokia, with a once a week charge.)

The updates can be as noticeable, but you're probably safe with the iPhone 5 for quite a while. The iOS updates have a lot of features / changes specifically to take advantage of the newest hardware. The issues can come in to play when you are not on the most recent phone. Case in point, toward the end of my time with the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 4 had been out for quite a while. When iPhone 3G users upgraded to the latest iOS, things screeched to a halt. My phone became so ridiculously slow that I had to go back to the previous version until Apple addressed the problem. The iPhone 3G had less computing power and just couldn't handle that particular update. It's always safest to never be on the bleeding edge for software updates.

As far as wanting a smartphone that you can charge no more than once a day.....it really depends on use and the cell service where you live as much as the phone. If you plan to use Navionics or watch a movie on Netflix while squinting, you definitely won't last a day. The screens on these new phones use so much battery power. If you live in an area with a very weak LTE signal, the phone may still try to lock on to that instead of switching to regular 4G or 3G. When this happens, you could almost watch the battery drain.

The good news is that you can make it much better on either the iPhone or an Android. When my wife first got her iPhone 5 and installed all of her apps, she was needing to charge the phone twice a day if not more. I installed a battery usage monitor app so I could see where all battery drain was. She had so many active apps all using location services or push notifications. By turning those off, adjusting screen brightness, and disabling LTE when there's a weak signal (like our home), her battery will last a day and a half. I had a similar experience with my Samsung android phone.

 

[thataway]

If you need more "battery power"--this is for the Apple products--I use a Hyperjuice auxillary battery pack. I have one which is about the same size as the i phone and will back it for well over a day of full use. I have a larger Hyperjuice which will recharge my Mac Book Air 3 x, the I pod a number of times and any USB device. This also recharges from 12 volts and will run the Mac Books on 12 volts. There is also the option of running the device on a 12 volt cord, as I do on the boat, RV and Cars.