iPhone user to Android User, my thoughts after a week

[poofyhairguy]

I hear all this talk of "polish" but no concrete examples to back it up.

iPhones are way more polished. The apps look more polished and work better (like comparing the Direct Ticket App between iOS and Android yesterday), the settings all make sense even if they are simplified (why a ringtone volume and media volume? why not just "volume?"), and the experience is very smooth.

With that said iOS is EXTREMELY boring, and even when you jailbreak there is nothing as fun as rom flashing.

 

[gorcorps]

I hear all this talk of "polish" but no concrete examples to back it up.

 

[MrX8503]

Polish is sorta the iPhones forte'. I don't think you'll get that with an android device, especially if it's not a 2011 Android device.

However, you get flexibility with android. If that's not what you want, you may have to wait for iP5

 

[NikolaeVarius]

iPhones are way more polished. The apps look more polished and work better (like comparing the Direct Ticket App between iOS and Android yesterday), the settings all make sense even if they are simplified (why a ringtone volume and media volume? why not just "volume?"), and the experience is very smooth.

With that said iOS is EXTREMELY boring, and even when you jailbreak there is nothing as fun as rom flashing.

How is having different volume sliders not freaking amazing.

I love having control over all my volume sliders separately. If i'm on my phone and watching media but want to keep it silenced, I can up my media volume separately from the alarm,ringtone,notifications volume.

 

[Krynj]

How is having different volume sliders not freaking amazing.

I love having control over all my volume sliders separately. If i'm on my phone and watching media but want to keep it silenced, I can up my media volume separately from the alarm,ringtone,notifications volume.

One ring to rule them all.

 

[Fire&Blood]

I remember your lake thread. I told you then that you would waste money on anything you may buy. You should have bought a cheap dumb phone to hold you over til the iphone5 is out.

It's pointless to try to make the captivate any better with the iphone 5 coming so soon. Return or sell that phone to recoup some of the money, buy a flip phone and wait.

 

[cheezy321]

How is having different volume sliders not freaking amazing.

I love having control over all my volume sliders separately. If i'm on my phone and watching media but want to keep it silenced, I can up my media volume separately from the alarm,ringtone,notifications volume.

Your media control on iOS is right on the screen during the video you are playing. You can turn it up and down to your hearts content while you keep the rest of your rings & notifications silent.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Your media control on iOS is right on the screen during the video you are playing. You can turn it up and down to your hearts content while you keep the rest of your rings & notifications silent.

Which....also happens on Android.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

In all honesty, pretty much every Android phone made before 2011 isn't that great. This year is when Android phones finally came out with enough RAM and 2.3 which made things even better. Even the Galaxy S phones weren't that good. I went from a first gen Android phone which was horrible to a Nexus S and it's such a huge difference. Even the Galaxy S phones feel slow compared to the Nexus S. I can totally understand why many people who had iPhones and tried an older Android phone would not like it because they're not that great.

Why do SGS phones feel slow compared to the Nexus S? It's the same damn hardware. Oh you mean with stock ROMs? I think with CM7, my good friend's Captivate feels just like my NS.

 

[ultimatebob]

I had an iPhone 3G, but now I have an Droid X and an HTC Inspire 4G.

Out of the three, I like the HTC Inspire 4G the best. The interface feels as polished as my iPhone did, but is faster and responsive.

It also seemed to be the most stable of the bunch. Both the Droid X and the iPhone 3G had issues with applications locking up and the phones eventually slowing down the point where needed to be restarted.

 

[Gibson486]

I actually got a mytouch4G (non-slide) today. My fiancee used to have a 2nd gen iphone. My thoughts....yeah, I do think that the UI is better on the iphone. It's just easier to use. Using the mytouch, I felt like there was a minor learning curve, but wiith the iphone, you knew how to use it immediately. Like someone mentioned earlier, it's all about how you customize it. It's Andriod's strength and it's weakness at the same time.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

can we just lock threads like this from the start, they are so stupid

 

[zerocool84]

Why do SGS phones feel slow compared to the Nexus S? It's the same damn hardware. Oh you mean with stock ROMs? I think with CM7, my good friend's Captivate feels just like my NS.

Stock for stock both feel very different. Obviously throwing ROMs into the mix changes it but stock for both it's no contest.

 

[mosco]

Why do SGS phones feel slow compared to the Nexus S? It's the same damn hardware. Oh you mean with stock ROMs? I think with CM7, my good friend's Captivate feels just like my NS.

From what I can gather, the Captivate seems to use another type of file system that apparently make it slow. The Nexus S doesn't.

 

[Dulanic]

From what I can gather, the Captivate seems to use another type of file system that apparently make it slow. The Nexus S doesn't.

SGS1 phones used RFS. SGS2 and many other android phones use EXT4 file system.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The iphone 4 came out June 24, 2010 and the Captivate was released on July 18, 2010 according to wikipedia. I don't think it's too unfair to compare them.

To be honest, the "speed" of the phone isn't even really one of my complaints.

Try Serendipity 6.4 on the Captivate. It is 2.2.1 based which is generally more stable than the Gingerbread leaks and has is themed to look like stock gingerbread so it is very tasteful.

 

[Brian Stirling]

If Apple would offer models with larger screens I'd probably still be planning an iPhone but since Apple looks to be locked into the smaller end of the game I will go elsewhere.

My first smart phone was the iPhone 3G which I had for 2 years before I switched to Android when the HTC Evo 4G came out. I made the switch BECAUSE of the larger screen and not because of any fanboy Apple/Android debate. I think Android has largely caught up to Apple iOS with Apple being better at some things and Android better at other things. The hardware and particular firmware implementation is the big variable with Android and the are many crappy devices to go along with the few really good ones. Apple wins this one as they have only a few devices and total control over everything.


Brian

 

[mosco]

try either GoSMS or Handcent SMS neither have adds IIRC. seeing as you have rooted to do roms you can simply install Ad Free Android which is a hosts filed edit that blocks 99% of the ads.

goSMS was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[notposting]

For fun you should try to pick up a WP7 (all mangofied of course) and see where it stands in comparison.

I just switched a month (two??) ago and don't see myself going back. It also (like the iPhone) performs well on what would be considered ancient Android technology.

 

[pm]

can we just lock threads like this from the start, they are so stupid

While I admit that I've considered locking these threads - and the ones that show some random bit of marketshare data - the fact is that most of us... the vast majority of us, only use one OS platform on our phones. We have a view of the "other side" that is based on a brief experience using a phone in a store, or borrowing a friends. And usually that experience is outdated by several years and so we compare an SGS2 vs. an iPhone 3G running OS3.0, or an iPhone 4 on iOS 4.0 and compare it to the time we borrowed a friend's HTC G1 running Cupcake.

While I agree that these discussions are sort of circular, and possibly nothing useful is learned, the truth is that there are two main mobile OS's and users of one generally know little about the other and thus threads that compare the two - while inevitably controversial - may be educational for those that don't cross the de-militarized zone between Android and iOS.

Moderator PM

 

[Capt Caveman]

can we just lock threads like this from the start, they are so stupid

I actually found this thread very useful. Currently, I have a iPhone 3GS but based on what gets announced later today by Apple, I may switch but this thread gives me additional information to digest.

 

[cheezy321]

Which....also happens on Android.

So therein lies my question. Why would you need another slider for this sound under the settings? That seems unnecessary to me

 

[alyarb]

I use both systems regularly and enjoy these threads. Users who have committed to a particular side for whatever reason are standing in the way of their own education. Being too pussy to root/JB is another reason.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I use both systems regularly and enjoy these threads.

Agreed.

I do believe more and more people are being exposed to both OSes. In fact I would go so far to say that many people here are cross-platform with Android phones and iPads.

One issue is that Android is such a varying experience across the board that you almost have to use a phone from each manufacturer to get an idea of the possibilites. I mean, in this year 100,000 Amazon Fires will be sold and many will be to iPhone owners, but will its hacked interface make them experienced in what we consider Android? I don't think so..

 

[poofyhairguy]

So therein lies my question. Why would you need another slider for this sound under the settings? That seems unnecessary to me

I think the official answer is for media applications that lack such controls onscreen such as games.

Personally at first as a switcher I HATED the many volumes of Android(CM7) on my Nook Color. The buttons on the home screen would turn down the "ringer volume" (useless on Nook). Only way I could turn down the "media volume" was to start some media and immediately rock the rocker down, which meant I had to preplan if I wanted to play a game in class.

Even worse there seemed to be another "notification volume" or something because even when the other two were turned down notification sounds would get through (an issue that got the poor Nook banned from one class). I ended up having to go into the DSP manager and just basically turn off the speaker to be safe in class. Luckily the default ROM of my SGS2 has a "Silence" option on its power menu, so I can easily make the device ready for class (I hope). The thought of losing this option will probably keep me off CM7 for a while.

I must admit I still don't get the point for the different volumes. In my experience I am either in a situation where I can have sound, or I am not. I am never in a situation where the music from my game is a no-go but no one cares if the ringer gets through if someone calls.

With all of that said, I think the iPhone relies too much on its Mute Switch to silence the phone. Mine broke on my 3GS a year and two weeks in and I couldn't find any other way or app (jailbroken or not) to easily silence the phone. Even the volume rocker would only go to very low- not silent. I ended up just leaving my phone in my car when I went to class which was a huge pain. That Mute Switch, a locked bluetooth stack, the fact that each new generation would leave a pile of my (expensive) iChargers in the dust, and the lack of hope of having a bigger than 4 inch screen is why I moved on.