I've had two Droid Incredibles since they were fist released. The first went with me in the pool when I jumped in, and the second just stopped working. No clear idea why. Between my last Incredible and my iPhone I had a Motorola Droid 2 Global. I decided to get an iPhone on VZW. I had owned an iPhone 3GS on ATT before, but ATT sucked so bad, I took the early term, and canceled my contract.
Here are my thoughts on the iPhone on Verizon Wireless.
LIKES:
(no particular order)
- The overall feel of the phone is phenomenal. Very industrial. The
- metal, glass, nothing compares. I wish my Android phones had a similar feeling screen.
- Battery life of the iPhone is equally phenomenal. 2 days! I could
- never get 8 hours of either of my Droid Incredibles, 2 days! Android developers and phone manufacturers need to take a cue from Apple and figure battery life out.
- The display on the iPhone is amazing. A very beautiful display. The
- Screen is usable outdoors! I've never used an Android phone that could be viewed outdoors.
- The camera on the iPhone is great, I can snap a photo almost
- instantly. I don't have to worry about myself or an object moving, it snaps a photo very quickly.
- The iPhone has never locked up, never stopped responding, never
- restarted itself. Can't say that for Android.
- Switching between the Rear/Front camera is easier with a button right
- there on the screen, instead of hidden in the context menu of Android/Sense on my Thunderbolt.
- The phone has DAYS of standby time. Android doesn't know what days of
- anything looks like w/o batteries bigger than the phone itself.
DISLIKES:
(no particular order)
- Keyboard. Functionally and aesthetically. Functionally, the keyboard
always displays uppercase letters, even when you're not typing uppercase letters. So I often wonder, am I typing uppercase or ?? Aesthetically, I think it's an ugly keyboard. iOS is so pretty, the hardware is pretty, the keyboard is not.
- I LOVED ADW Launcher on Android, and I know gestures are supposed to
come in the next iOS release, that update can't come soon enough. I would swipe up to view app panel, and swipe down to view tool bar.
- I liked having the 4 buttons on Android instead of the single button
on the iPhone. Personal preference, but I felt like I could get more done with those buttons vs. the single button. I'd often use the "Menu" and "Back" button, and regularly the "Search" button -- It's right there!
App Store: LOTS of gripes about this.
- I want an "other apps by developer" link
- Download an app, takes me to the desktop -- download it in the background and let me continue shopping!
- Enter my password every time I want to purchase something -- remember who I am
- I want a check box like in Android to "Show Password". My passwords
are complex (greater than 8 characters, uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters) which can regularly get fat-fingered on a mobile keyboard. I want to be able to see what I typed.
- SMS Messages -- I get Nagios alerts. Each alert is interpreted as a
txt in a conversation from Nagios, and I understand the behavior, but the whole SMS app seems half-assed, unfinished, pushed out the door. There is no consistency between the messaging app and the e-mail app, though they look the same. The behavior is not the same, though I see no reason why it could not be.
- I get a notification while I'm playing a game, it interrupts the
game, why? You dinged, I know I got a message, no need for a pop up. I know this changes in iOS 5, but I have to wonder what Apple was thinking.
I liked the hapatic feedback on my Droid Incredibles.
- No sound/notification profiles with iOS. It seems like you can have
On/Silent/Vibrate. There's no middle ground. Android is not much better in all fairness. Blackberry did it best. Phone-only, miss it!!
- I thought I heard this would be addressed in iOS 5, but share a
photo, I can e-mail and I can MMS...I can't upload to other services. Maybe you can upload/sync with iPhoto, but I don't sync my phone and/or have a Mac/iPhoto.
- It seems like it takes more effort to get something done in iOS. A
long press/hold/context-menu in Android was fantastic. iOS seems elementary in these regards. Want to delete something? Edit - > Radio button -> Delete, yes I know I can swipe, delete, maybe it's my phone, but swipe -> delete doesn't always work. I feel like I have to do it a couple/few times to actually get it to delete an SMS.
- I like the predictive text while typing on Android. iOS has a pretty
aggressive auto-correct.
- No way to delete more than one SMS at a time. Bulk edit has been
around how long??? Really Apple?!
Conclusion:
The iPhone is a fantastic phone, having had an Android, I feel held back in iOS. I don't care about Jailbreaking it (I shouldn't have to). Hardware wise, nothing else compares. Stability wise, again, nothing else (in my opinion) compares. With that stability I answer "Would I give this phone to my Mom?". Because of it's stability, and because of it's penetration into the accessory market, it makes a lot of sense. But, I tried to give my Mom an iPad, and no Flash. Yes, I was shocked, my Mom said "what good is this, when I can do everything I want/need on my Net Book?", and I agreed with her. My Mom is also not the type of person to pay $200 for a phone, then $50-$100 for a GPS app, and that's why I'd want to get a smart phone for my Mom is GPS. I will say the battery life is probably better than any phone she has had, and better than any Android, so, this is a good thing.
Would I give the phone to my Dad? Yes/No. I'd want my Dad to have turn-by-turn navigation. I think he'd be more forgiving of an occasional reboot with Android. Because the phone is as stable as it is, it wouldn't be a bad thing.
I hated that iOS didn't support flash. It upset me that my $500 10" "ultimate multimedia device" iPad couldn't play a flash video that my Android phone could. BUT, having had Flash on Android (both phones and Tablet), I hate Flash. I now currently block Flash in all my browsers for my daily browsing. I'm >.< close to uninstalling Flash on my Android. Watch a TV show for 40 minutes and see how much battery life you have. So though it may upset me that I can't view flash on iOS, I understand why, and when I get a flash pop up on my Android, I'm more upset, who wants that crap on their PHONE?!
Would I get another iPhone. Yes. It's a great phone. It's more stable than any Android I've had, it has fantastic battery life, and I never have to worry "is this going to die". It's sad that it has come to that.
As I continue to use the phone more and more, I find more things I like and more things I wish were different. I can't wait for iOS 5. iOS 5 seems to have taken all the best from the other platforms and made them a part of iOS, it can't come soon enough!
I am getting another Android phone. My HTC 4G Thunderbolt should be here in two days. Why? I have A LOT of money in Android Apps, apps that surprisingly I can't get on iOS. The Geek in me also likes to play with Android. But I will get a 3rd party warranty, and I do back up my phone regularly.
Just my $.03 cents.
Update: 7/6/11
I caught up with a friend last night that I hadn't spoke to in years. We talked for over 2.5 hours. I don't know what my beginning percentage was, but my end percentage was 29%! FWIW, I often got 1% per minute on my Android phones. 2.5 hours = 150 minutes = 150% = I wouldn't have had that conversation on any of my phones!
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