OT: iPhone vs Droid

[Dogbreath2U]

I was about to add this to the other thread, then decided to not hijack it. I have been putting off upgrading to a smartphone for a long time, but may make the plunge this Christmas.

I have an ipod Touch and so am familiar with how it operates, but have no idea how the Droid phones compare to the current iPhone. I heard something that sounded like the Droid phones have flash animation and can have more powerful processors. What are the key differences? Is the iPhone more intuitive and how much of an asset is having your music stay organized on itunes?

Are they all 4G now? Is this a big deal now....is 4G service widely available?


Thanks for your help.

 

[speedoo]

I have no idea how they compare except in one regard: cost.

I recently bought a refurbed, unblocked 3G android phone from T-mobile for $100 and I am now using it on wireless with my former prepaid plan very inexpensively. There is no shortage of android apps and the phone is fantastic.

I doubt that anyone can use an iphone as inexpensively as I am using my android. I don't think anyone with an iphone can come close on cost.

 

[Chris]

Well, you can figure most of this out by going to their website but...Since your familiar with the iPod Touch, I would go with the new Apple iPhone 4S (or 4). Your transition would be seamless since the touch and the 4s are both operating on iOS. Plus it seems like you might have a lot of questions and Apple has great customer support

 

[SJ]

iphone. no comparison. my son has an android and it's great, but still, it's nothing like the osx platform. he wants to change. always user friendly, warns you of updates automatically, and now does everything wirelessly! if u use verizon, you will pay the same regardless of what phone you have...you pay by the MB use, get a plan for a certain amount. if you have an old unlimited plan ($30), even better. just don't let them talk you out of your old plan!

 

[uconnfan68]

iphone. no comparison. my son has an android and it's great, but still, it's nothing like the osx platform. he wants to change. always user friendly, warns you of updates automatically, and now does everything wirelessly! if u use verizon, you will pay the same regardless of what phone you have...you pay by the MB use, get a plan for a certain amount. if you have an old unlimited plan ($30), even better. just don't let them talk you out of your old plan!

Meanwhile, my son just switched from an iphone to an android. My stepson has an android, and my daughter and son-in-law both just got iphones (they are big mac enthusiasts).

I've read reviews and comparisons for both, and the truth is it's personal preference and needs. I am past due for an upgrade to my work pda, and it's between iphone4 and samsung captivate (or blackberry). Based on my email needs, I'm leaning to the captivate. Others at work have iphones and like them, and others have androids and like them.

 

[IMind]

Androids are nice iPhone clones...

Seriously though having had an HTC Eris and my wife's iPhone 4. The HTC Eris died an untimely death... and well the iPhone didn't. Using them? A iPhone vs. a quality android phone? Virtually identical... right don't to the same apps.

My personal preference is the iPhone simply because it's a well built piece of hardware... and the iOS is a bit less buggy than the Android... I suspect that's simply because the iPhone apps are screened better than the Android apps.

 

[RS9999X]

iPhone 4S is the more mature product.

Have you bought into the whole Apple eco-system with iTunes and would use iCloud as your repository?
Will you use the 4S Camera and HD video?
Siri is cute. Will you use voice on the product when driving to work for example?
Touch does much of what iPhone does.

For my uses I'd keep the Touch and wait until Apple 4G is released as the iPhone 5 to make a decision. Also Windows 8 phones will hit big next year at this time. For my uses that makes more sense.

I see pricing becoming
Low End Devices: Android knock offs like Amazon. Free Verizon smart phones, etc.
Middle Tier: Windows 8. Windows 8 on Phone and Tablet will run regular Windows app and we'
ll see a flood of developers on board that platform.
High End: Apple.

Streaming video will require 4G Gen II to be really impressive but 4G does work. 3G is a suckers game.

 

[Drumguy]

I have a droid, my wife has an iphone 4 as does one daughter, my son and other daughter have droids. you can't go wrong with EITHER despite what either group of advocates say. I'm a real mac person and went with a droid at the time verizon didn't have the iphone yet. If you use gmail and other google apps, then droid makes more sense. I have an iPad2 and a macbookpro but still like the droid better. Most apps are available for both platforms.

The biggest problem with an iphone is that it is somewhat outdated, despite all the hype, when it's issued - it's a problem with only issuing a phone once a year. Droid phones come out every week.

I'd wait and see the new ice cream sandwich phones coming out next week or so, according to my son who is a computer engineer, they are going to be amazing.

But either way you can't go wrong.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20117451-251/ice-cream-sandwich-leaks-indicate-a-real-treat/

 

[UConn3432]

just got the iphone 4s and i love it. briefly used droid but didn't like how disorganized it got. plus you can find hookers with siri.

 

[UConn5]

Totally a matter of personal preference. I find that most people who like tinkering with their devices prefer android, but plenty who own Apple products are willing to risk their warranties by jailbreaking their apple products. Google actually encourages people to root their phones because it helps them find new innovative uses.

 

[jleves]

I've been doing a ton of reading on phones recently. I just got the new Samsung Galaxy SII. I bought before the announcement that the iPhone would be available on Sprint. I wanted to stay with Sprint because I wanted the unlimitted data plan they have. I am loving my droid based phone, but I've never owned an iPhone. Used one a couple of times.

Anyhow, a lot of stuff has already been said, but I'll try to put it all together.

As stated previously, Apple tends to build great products and back them up well. In both the Mac and phone world, you have to pay more for that quality and attention to detail. That's not to say you can't get a quality droid. Someone mentioned that the processors are faster on the droids on the top end. Wait, that was you. That's only partially true. You can get Droids with higher clocked processors, but that doesn't mean they are faster. A lot goes into CPU architecture. A great example is the current intel X86 chips are clocked way lower than some previous version but are way faster per core. The Apple 4s is probably faster than any current droid. The GPU (the thing that processes graphics) is way faster on the iphone. You have to wonder why some droid makers don't switch to what Apple is putting in the iPhone. The iPhone cannot do flash. If you think you are going to be viewing a lot of flash content, that pretty much eliminates the iphone. The camera on the iphone basically kicks every droids butt. They basically brought it to really good point and shoot level or even low end DSLR on this rev. Siri on the new iphone is interesting and makes the phone far more friendly. Droid has had a lot of the same functionality built in for a while. Siri just jumped them in overall useability, but you can still do things on the droid like hit one button and say "How deep is the Grand Canyon" and it will automatically do a google search and give you a list of hits. Or you can say "Text wife I'm running late period can you pick up the kids question mark?" and it will set up a text correctly and you just have to touch send. The screens available on the droids are significantly bigger if that's what you want. However, the display on the iphone is better than almost any current droid. One final consideration is that I believe this week, Android will be releasing their next OS (Ice cream sunday or something like that) and the Nexus Prime or Prime or some such phone will be announced which will leap frog all current droids (even my very well received Galaxy S II).

You mentioned 4g. The iphone does not support 4g (basically, they are waiting for the 4g radio to be built into the chip and that won't happen for 6 or 8 months). 4g uses a ton of battery in the current off chip radio. However, it's really freakin fast and if you think you are going to be doing a lot of streaming or downloading, it's basically the difference between DSL and dial up. I leave my 4g off 95% of the time, but if I need to download an app, it's at least 5 times faster to turn on 4g, wait for the connection and then download. If you intead to download a lot where you don't have access to wifi, this could be another deal breaker for the iphone.

I upgraded to my first smart phone a month ago, but my wife needs to upgrade and we'll certainly look at the iphone as well as some droids and see what she likes best.

Don't get too caught up in all the fan boy stuff. You really can't go wrong with a top of the line Droid or the new iPhone. Play with them a bit and get what is most comfortable and intuitive for you. You'll be happy either way.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Thanks for the excellent information and perspective, everyone, much appreciated. I started reading articles after posting this and The Boneyard provided better information that I found on recently written articles. jleves, awesome response.....what you wrote is much clearer and more to the point than any of the articles I read. I am surprised to hear that the iPhone would be faster and have the best display.

 

[jleves]

Thanks for the excellent information and perspective, everyone, much appreciated. I started reading articles after posting this and The Boneyard provided better information that I found on recently written articles. jleves, awesome response.....what you wrote is much clearer and more to the point than any of the articles I read. I am surprised to hear that the iPhone would be faster and have the best display.

I think these two articles will be helpful for you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4951/...rks-800mhz-a5-slightly-slower-gpu-than-ipad-2
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/1

One thing I forgot to mention - the battery life on the iphone will be much better than most droids, but you have to give up 4g to get that. When I know I'm going to be sitting at my desk for an hour or more, I always plug my phone into the USB port to give it a little extra juice. Angry Birds will wreck your battery life.

 

[speedoo]

Thanks for the excellent information and perspective, everyone, much appreciated. I started reading articles after posting this and The Boneyard provided better information that I found on recently written articles. jleves, awesome response.....what you wrote is much clearer and more to the point than any of the articles I read. I am surprised to hear that the iPhone would be faster and have the best display.

If you want a very inexpensive android smartphone, I don't think you can beat this:

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/Phones...Optimus-T-Google-Titanium-Prepaid-Refurbished

Use it with a prepaid plan from T-mobile (about .10 a minute) like I do, as described in this blog:

http://optimustprepaid.wordpress.com/

It's my first real smartphone and I could not be more pleased. I was able to get mine for $100 vs. the current $120, but it's still a bargain at $120.

 

[mihusky]

just got the 4S..love it...Siri is quite useful for surfing, setting alarms, texting. She is also a hoot. The funny sh$t she says to questions is quite entertaining.....

http://www.todaysiphone.com/2011/10/ask-siri-anything-liveblog/#.Tptmji9eMvk.facebook

 

[gibhunter]

There are a few things on Android that I would miss greatly if I got an iphone.

1) Super AMOLED screen (galaxy S and S2 phones). The resolution may be lower but the contrast, angle viewing and black levels clarity in dark room are far superior. Not even close. No LCD compares to it.

2) Swype keyboard. It's magic. After using it I'm never going back to something that does not support it. I can type on it almost as fast as on a full size desktop keyboard and don't even have to be super accurate on the keys as close enough still gives me accurate words.

3) Google integration of contacts, gmail, calendar, documents and photos is unparalleled. I can go into phone pic gallery and see all pics I uploaded to picasa online from my pc. It's as if I loaded them to the phone as well. I can set up appointment in google calendar on my PC and it appears on the phone as well. Gmail color coding shows up in the phone app as well.

Going forward on a new phone and getting an LTE phone is not wise at all. Why get an outdated tech. LTE is 11 mbps real world vs 1.5 tops on 3G. Also there is alot of free apps on android where they cost money on iphone, angry birds for one.

 

[Drumguy]

I think these two articles will be helpful for you:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4951/...rks-800mhz-a5-slightly-slower-gpu-than-ipad-2
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/1

One thing I forgot to mention - the battery life on the iphone will be much better than most droids, but you have to give up 4g to get that. When I know I'm going to be sitting at my desk for an hour or more, I always plug my phone into the USB port to give it a little extra juice. Angry Birds will wreck your battery life.

As I referred to above and jleves (great post) referred to, I'd wait to see ice cream sandwich and the new android phones coming out. btw, most of the Siri functionality has been available on the droid for a long time. imho Apple really shot itself in the foot as most people were expecting the iphone 5 originally and it won't be available until next summer most likely. I heard this morning it's Jobs last stand, his last big project.

 

[Scot-e]

Most people switch to an iphone after getting used to a smart phone if they did not start with one to begin with. In the end - the iphone is just better. It does not mean that as a newbie you will not be perfectly happy with a droid- you most likely will- but you will be switching it out in a year or two. Bet ya.

 

[benjordan]

Most people switch to an iphone after getting used to a smart phone if they did not start with one to begin with. In the end - the iphone is just better. It does not mean that as a newbie you will not be perfectly happy with a droid- you most likely will- but you will be switching it out in a year or two. Bet ya.

I would say the opposite is more likely to be true.. for a "newb" I would steer them towards the iPhone to start it's a little simpler and more intuitive. For a "power user" the Droid's may be more up their alley. Also, the iPhone isn't "just better" there are plenty of the things Droids can do iPhone's can't and vice versa it's all personal preference.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Background: I'm an IT guy who works with smartphones as part of my job. I am regularly have to work with both platforms with our corporate infrastructure and have no brand loyalty whatsoever. I personally use a Droid 2 Global, but I think the iPhone is also a terrific device. Here is my list of Pros and Cons:

iPhone Pros:

• Ease of use. Nothing is as intuitive and easy to use as an iPhone. There's a reason even non-tech-savvy people love the thing.
• High standard of applications. Unlike the Android marketplace, iPhone apps have generally undergone some pretty rigorous standards/testing and you will see a lot less crashing/wonkiness/performance issues.
• Performance: It really is the gold standard. The phone is smooth as heck and I'm not sure there's a Droid out there which quite matches the quality of the iPhone.
• Biggest app store. There are a ton of applications out there.
• You know what you're getting. The iPhone is a standard. There are no ghetto iPhones made by weird manufacturers (or rather, there shouldn't be).

iPhone Cons:

• Expensive. You can get it for a reasonable price with a two-year contract, but that's a long time to be stuck, and if you wanna upgrade, it'll cost you.
• Stuck with OS. You can't easily install new custom ROMs or do any of that crazy tinkering stuff.
• No access to battery. Generally speaking, I haven't heard of a lot of issues regarding battery, but if you start having problems, you're going to have to go to Apple, rather than just buy a new battery yourself.
• No Adobe Flash. You can argue that smartphones probably don't have the juice to run Flash very effectively anyway, but there are plenty of sites which use it, so it's not a terrible feature to have. May be less of an issue if the web really does go more HTML5-based, but that's a lot of tech speculation.
• They treat developers badly: They take a pretty huge cut of profits for app developers and tend to have a reputation for not treating them well, if you care.

Droid Pros:

• Lots of choices. You can go Motorola or Samsung or HTC. There are a ton of different phones with a ton of different price points and features.
• Affordable. They aren't all cheap, but in general, they are cheaper than iPhones.
• Custom ROMs: For most Droid platforms, you can actually install a custom Operating System on there and tinker with all kinds of cool settings and features.
• Flash. It works. Not always well, but it works.
• Battery compartment openable. It's nice not to have to send in a phone for a repair just cause your battery went bad, though I don't think this is a super common issue with iPhones.
• Open platform: People are allowed to develop what they want for Android and Google doesn't really take a huge cut of the profits, because most of their money comes from advertising anyway.

Droid Cons:

• Lacks performance. Despite sometimes more powerful processors, many Droid phones are plagued with weird performance issues. Android just isn't quite as stable of a platform as iOS, in my experience.
• Battery life. May not be across the board, but many, many Droids have issues with battery life. I have to charge mine every night.
• Crashing apps: Anybody can release an app, often without great testing, so sometimes you end up with a lot of programs that tend to crash.
• Inconsistency. You don't necessarily know that the device you get will be a great buy and you have to do more research into specific models. Furthermore, older models sometimes get left behind and won't get the latest and greatest Android builds.
• Locked: Some manufacturers have locked bootloaders so you can't really install custom software like you want to.

My Recommendation:
Essentially, it comes down to ease of use and pure performance vs. tinkerability and open platforms. If you just want a phone that is easy to use, works well, performs well and consistently, you get the iPhone. If you want to geek out a little and start rooting your phone and installing crazy software to set CPU speeds and custom ROMs, you want an Android.
Good luck!

 

[Deepster]

Background: I'm an IT guy who works with smartphones as part of my job. I am regularly have to work with both platforms with our corporate infrastructure and have no brand loyalty whatsoever. I personally use a Droid 2 Global, but I think the iPhone is also a terrific device. Here is my list of Pros and Cons:

iPhone Pros:

• Ease of use. Nothing is as intuitive and easy to use as an iPhone. There's a reason even non-tech-savvy people love the thing.
• High standard of applications. Unlike the Android marketplace, iPhone apps have generally undergone some pretty rigorous standards/testing and you will see a lot less crashing/wonkiness/performance issues.
• Performance: It really is the gold standard. The phone is smooth as heck and I'm not sure there's a Droid out there which quite matches the quality of the iPhone.
• Biggest app store. There are a ton of applications out there.
• You know what you're getting. The iPhone is a standard. There are no ghetto iPhones made by weird manufacturers (or rather, there shouldn't be).

iPhone Cons:

• Expensive. You can get it for a reasonable price with a two-year contract, but that's a long time to be stuck, and if you wanna upgrade, it'll cost you.
• Stuck with OS. You can't easily install new custom ROMs or do any of that crazy tinkering stuff.
• No access to battery. Generally speaking, I haven't heard of a lot of issues regarding battery, but if you start having problems, you're going to have to go to Apple, rather than just buy a new battery yourself.
• No Adobe Flash. You can argue that smartphones probably don't have the juice to run Flash very effectively anyway, but there are plenty of sites which use it, so it's not a terrible feature to have. May be less of an issue if the web really does go more HTML5-based, but that's a lot of tech speculation.
• They treat developers badly: They take a pretty huge cut of profits for app developers and tend to have a reputation for not treating them well, if you care.

Droid Pros:

• Lots of choices. You can go Motorola or Samsung or HTC. There are a ton of different phones with a ton of different price points and features.
• Affordable. They aren't all cheap, but in general, they are cheaper than iPhones.
• Custom ROMs: For most Droid platforms, you can actually install a custom Operating System on there and tinker with all kinds of cool settings and features.
• Flash. It works. Not always well, but it works.
• Battery compartment openable. It's nice not to have to send in a phone for a repair just cause your battery went bad, though I don't think this is a super common issue with iPhones.
• Open platform: People are allowed to develop what they want for Android and Google doesn't really take a huge cut of the profits, because most of their money comes from advertising anyway.

Droid Cons:

• Lacks performance. Despite sometimes more powerful processors, many Droid phones are plagued with weird performance issues. Android just isn't quite as stable of a platform as iOS, in my experience.
• Battery life. May not be across the board, but many, many Droids have issues with battery life. I have to charge mine every night.
• Crashing apps: Anybody can release an app, often without great testing, so sometimes you end up with a lot of programs that tend to crash.
• Inconsistency. You don't necessarily know that the device you get will be a great buy and you have to do more research into specific models. Furthermore, older models sometimes get left behind and won't get the latest and greatest Android builds.
• Locked: Some manufacturers have locked bootloaders so you can't really install custom software like you want to.

My Recommendation:

Essentially, it comes down to ease of use and pure performance vs. tinkerability and open platforms. If you just want a phone that is easy to use, works well, performs well and consistently, you get the iPhone. If you want to geek out a little and start rooting your phone and installing crazy software to set CPU speeds and custom ROMs, you want an Android.
Good luck!

Great post here. I owned a Motorola Droid for about 2 years. Just switched to the iPhone 3 a few months back. My untechnical view?

1) Went through 1 Droid battery, had to buy another.

2) First Droid flipped out. Started flashing in and out of programs, locking up. They sent me a refurb. Within 3-4 months, the same problem happened and I went out and got the iPhone.

3) I find the iPhone to be a lot smoother. Video is smooth. Ease of use is just slicker. Got my iPhone for 200.00. No complaints yet.

 

[cordeodato]

I have an iphone 4 and really like it, save
for the virtual keyboard--I am not great with it and I
consider the battery life to be so-so.
Having never had an Android I can't compare.
Have a question for the tech savy.
Going forward I presume that the hackers and malware folks
will be making more concerted attacks on mobile devices.
If so am I better of with Apple or Android?
Or will there not be any difference?
Thanks

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

After 2 years of using iPod Touch + Palm TX + sturdy LG flip phone, I transferred Palm calendar/contacts to Google and got a Droid Bionic. 3 black rectangles rolled into one: 4G, email, calendar. contacts, telephone, camera and >300 apps which I'll organize and winnow down as I learn & discern more.Quite happy so far.

The iPod was upgraded to iOs 5 and Windows XP computer to iTunes 10.5. That has been less smooth. The iPod shows huge multiples of the same contact and won't sync more than the 11 most recent CDs I imported, usually freezing when I try re-syncing. Also new, I'm backed up on iCloud and able to sync (however imperfectly) via wi-fi as well as USB cable. If anyone can help with the duplicate/triplicate/quintuplicate contacts and music import, I'd be most appreciative.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you are a normal consumer user, either will work well, and the pros and cons are pretty well stated.
If you connect to corporate MS Exchange, neither one is great. I went from Blackberry to iPhone 4 and while the toys on the iPhone are nice, it's nowhere near as good as a pure productivity device for work.
I'm actually planning to switch to Windows Phone 7. The new Mango release looks great and the hardware is similar to what you get with Android. But you get a real OS that isn't open-source, and which ties in to MS applications much better. If you use Gmail and Google calendar, then the Droid would be the choice.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Easy answer...pick the one you like. Your welcome.