So I have tried Android and iOS now.

[Eug]

Yep. The Razr M is almost there, but the 540p screen is the dealbreaker.

The 5" 1080p pixel density is 441 ppi (which I personally think is overkill).

A 4.3" 720p screen is only 342 ppi, which is more than enough.

Eh, my Note 2 is as smooth, if not smoother than my iPhone 4. Of course it took 4 cores, 2 gigs of ram, and a dedicated project by Google to get it there.

Heh. That's about right. My Nexus 7 is smoother than my iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4 is 3-year old tech.

The iPhone 5 (with a dual-core CPU) is smoother however.

 

[Oyeve]

I bought NFSMW for my sgs3 and for my iphone 5. Im waiting for the file to finish installing on the ip5. Im eager to see which one plays smoother.

 

[bearxor]

Seriously, if there was a 720p screen in the RAZR M, I'd be there.

 

[WelshBloke]

I bought NFSMW for my sgs3 and for my iphone 5. Im waiting for the file to finish installing on the ip5. Im eager to see which one plays smoother.

NFSMW?

Ninja French smurfs meet Wolverine?

Not For Sarcastic Mixed up Welshmen?

 

[bearxor]

Need for speed most wanted?

 

[WelshBloke]

Need for speed most wanted?

I was looking forward to a ninja smurfs game.

 

[bearxor]

I did this on a RAZR HD and a iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 destroyed RAZR HD in loading the game up. Game looked identical on both, but I didn't really play it.

Have video, will try and get it online tonight.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq6DRr9MhLI

 

[Oyeve]

Nsfmw loads a little faster on the iPhone 5 but the graphics and gameplay are the same. I prefer the sgs3 due to the larger screen and better control. I found I had to tilt the iPhone more to steer.

 

[bearxor]

Nsfmw loads a little faster on the iPhone 5 but the graphics and gameplay are the same. I prefer the sgs3 due to the larger screen and better control. I found I had to tilt the iPhone more to steer.

Did you record a video or anything? There's a 15s difference between a RAZR HD and an iPhone 5 but the RAZR only has 1GB of RAM. I'm kind of curious to see how much of a difference the 2GB in the SGS3 makes or if its mostly a CPU issue.

Also, if you check out the video I have, I noticed something I didn't see when I was recording. Look at the iPhone at about 1:47, when the gameplay actually starts and the controls come on screen. Then check out the RAZR HD @ 2:05 when the same thing happens, there's a stutter pause as the game actually starts. I THINK this is RAM-related, but I'd like to know for sure.

 

[Eug]

The iPhone 5 only has 1 GB RAM.

 

[poohbear]

The iPhone 5 only has 1 GB RAM.

"Only" 1gb of ram?? Its a smartphone, ure not gonna be video editing on the damn thing, its plenty for a smartphone! My Motorolla Atric has 1gb, but it stutters way more than the iphone 5, the software implementation is much more important than the specs.

 

[bearxor]

The iPhone 5 only has 1 GB RAM.

I know, but iOS is really optimized for the hardware it's on. In my case, I closed every open program on the RAZR HD, but only closed NFS on the iPhone and the iPhone still came out on top, because it does a better job with its memory management. iOS doesn't need more than 1GB of RAM for right now (and probably for the next couple of OS verisons). What I want to know is, does Android need that extra 1GB of RAM in addition in order to obtain some sort of parity with iOS?

And I'll likely never get a SGS3 in to test.

 

[zerocool84]

"Only" 1gb of ram?? Its a smartphone, ure not gonna be video editing on the damn thing, its plenty for a smartphone! My Motorolla Atric has 1gb, but it stutters way more than the iphone 5, the software implementation is much more important than the specs.

1GB is already hitting its limits on smartphones. That's why all the latest phones have 2gb now.

 

[Eug]

"Only" 1gb of ram?? Its a smartphone, ure not gonna be video editing on the damn thing, its plenty for a smartphone! My Motorolla Atric has 1gb, but it stutters way more than the iphone 5, the software implementation is much more important than the specs.

I was commenting his post, because he was comparing the iPhone 5 and RAZR HD, saying the RAZR HD has only 1 GB RAM.

That said, I think the sweet spot for Android may be 2 GB.

---

P.S. My G4 iBook has 1.25 GB RAM. OMG that runs like crap now. It's been on OS X 10.5.8 and Safari 5 for years now, and performance for surfing is now way worse than it was 18 months ago. It constant pages out to disk now, even though the only thing running on it usually is Safari (and maybe Preview from time to time).

I attribute that directly to websites getting more and more complicated. And recently, Yahoo Mail's JavaScript-intensive new look nearly killed viable usage of it altogether. Finally I turned off JavaScript temporarily and Yahoo changed my default setting to the old HTML version, which made things much more pleasant again. (No, this isn't our primary computer. We just keep it in the kitchen for occasional surfing.)

I know you can't directly compare desktop memory amounts to phone memory amounts, but the point is that web pages seem to have gotten way, way more complicated in the last couple of years, and memory is becoming increasingly important even in smartphones.

Hence, at least for Android, while 1 GB may be very usable, I think the price to performance sweet spot for ubergeek AnandTech types might be 2 GB.

 

[z1ggy]

MY friend and I were discussing a topic in regards to android vs iOS:

We both wondered why some manufactures witheld updates from customers, while iOS updates come out for the current phones all at once. i.e., if you had a galaxy s3 you might not be able to get the upcoming keylime pie update, but if you have iphone4/4s, you will be able to get iOS7. I am not sure if my analogy to android is correct in this instance, but I was just trying to make a point.

Do the companies just want people to say, "well screw it, I can't update my OS so I might as well just go buy a new phone so I can use droid OS X.Y"

 

[s44]

Do the companies just want people to say, "well screw it, I can't update my OS so I might as well just go buy a new phone so I can use droid OS X.Y"

Quite the opposite, I think (except for Moto, boo).

There are two factors at work here that you've overlooked:
(1) A lot of improvements are rolled out in Google's app updates. These would all require actual new OS versions for Apple.
(2) Android actually changes from version to version, unlike iOS which is stagnant. For all the folks who think "this is what I wanted all along" or "finally, here's that thing I read about from Google I/O" (and the # of the latter is very, very low), a bunch of people are going to be wondering "wtf happened to my phone -- everything looks different!"

 

[Red Storm]

MY friend and I were discussing a topic in regards to android vs iOS:

We both wondered why some manufactures witheld updates from customers, while iOS updates come out for the current phones all at once. i.e., if you had a galaxy s3 you might not be able to get the upcoming keylime pie update, but if you have iphone4/4s, you will be able to get iOS7. I am not sure if my analogy to android is correct in this instance, but I was just trying to make a point.

Do the companies just want people to say, "well screw it, I can't update my OS so I might as well just go buy a new phone so I can use droid OS X.Y"

No, the overwhelming majority of people either do not care or do not know about updates. They buy their phone and use it.

Android and iOS are fundamentally different in this area, so comparisons are tough. iOS is all Apple, from the software (OS) to the hardware (phone) and everything in between. This is not the case with Android. iPhones are iPhones, they all behave the same. Android phones can vary greatly. They come from different manufacturers, the software can be modified as companies see fit.

The closest comparison one could make with iOS and Android is with the iPhones and Nexus phones.

 

[z1ggy]

No, the overwhelming majority of people either do not care or do not know about updates. They buy their phone and use it.

Android and iOS are fundamentally different in this area, so comparisons are tough. iOS is all Apple, from the software (OS) to the hardware (phone) and everything in between. This is not the case with Android. iPhones are iPhones, they all behave the same. Android phones can vary greatly. They come from different manufacturers, the software can be modified as companies see fit.

The closest comparison one could make with iOS and Android is with the iPhones and Nexus phones.

Yeah I have been reading a lot of articles comparing the iphone5 and nexus 4. I am stuck really because I have the iphone4 and it's starting to give me some problems. I would like to see what the iphone5s and iOS7 have to offer...but it seems like every iteration of iOS is just a mere scrub of what's there while adding a few minor things. I am very used to iOS so I don't know if I could make the switch to android, but it does seem cool I could buy the nexus 4 with no contract and if I don't like it, go back to the 5s when it comes out.

 

[Red Storm]

I believe most or all T-Mobile stores will be receiving the Nexus 4 at some point, so you could try one out in store soon.

 

[Eug]

IMO iOS is still way slicker in its implementation than Android, even Android 4.1 or 4.2. However, iOS is also feeling a little long-in-the-tooth in some ways. More importantly though, the phones are extremely expensive and in Canada the only way to get a subsidized iPhone is to sign a 3-year contract.

The switch to Android can be done, and I've done it, but there are some hiccups. For iCloud sync-ing for example, you need to depend on third party software, and Visual Voice Mail on the Android side is a mish-mash of different apps, some third party and some carrier-specific, and none as slick as iOS's integration.

Plus, unless you get a Nexus, on Android you may wait for months for an OS update, and that's assuming you get an update at all. On iOS you know ahead of time whether or not you can update your iPhone model, and you'll get that update the day it comes out. For example, iOS 6 is not supported on anything below the iPhone 4, but I think that's reasonable because iOS 6 is already slowing down on the iPhone 4 (single-core CPU, 512 MB RAM). However, people with the iPhone 4 got it immediately upon release.

 

[Red Storm]

Plus, unless you get a Nexus, on Android you may wait for months for an OS update, and that's assuming you get an update at all. On iOS you know ahead of time whether or not you can update your iPhone model, and you'll get that update the day it comes out. For example, iOS 6 is not supported on anything below the iPhone 4, but I think that's reasonable because iOS 6 is already slowing down on the iPhone 4 (single-core CPU, 512 MB RAM). However, people with the iPhone 4 got it immediately upon release.

Do note though that unlike iOS, features are not held and only accessible via annual OS updates. Google quite often updates apps themselves individually bringing new features without needing an entire OS update. I honestly prefer this method as you get the new stuff as soon as its ready, but I see the appeal of either method.

 

[s44]

Visual Voice Mail on the Android side is a mish-mash of different apps, some third party and some carrier-specific, and none as slick as iOS's integration.

Outside the US, sure. But GV is the best voice mail option there is.

 

[Eug]

Google Voice is cool and very feature rich, but it isn't exactly slickly implemented.

 

[Oyeve]

Google Voice is cool and very feature rich, but it isn't exactly slickly implemented.

This. I so wanted to use GV but its install and setup and config are a PITA.

 

[RampantAndroid]

It must be a personal preference, because iOS looks stale to me. Icons on a grid, same as it has been for 5 years.

The notifications menu also lacks compared to Android. On Android I can delete individual notifications in a line-item manner or all-at-once, iOS doesn't give you that choice. iOS, for some baffling reason, still doesn't give quick access to common general settings like Android does. I can swipe down the notification menu and instantly access toggles for WiFi, BT, GPS, Sound/Vibrate, Screen Rotation, Airplane Mode, Driving Mode, Brightness, etc. It's 2012 and iPhone can't do that.

I don't know if you've tried 4.2 either, but the new power widgets they added are really great - they really just are stealing that from all the custom roms I think and improving it, but it's a welcomed addition.

The problem with Android is that each OEM has their own UI, with only Motorola's Blur being anything CLOSE to being as good as stock android. I tried to use the leaked touchwiz ROMs for my S3 and found that I'd been totally spoiled by stock android's UI and customization. I personally find HTC and Samsung's own UI implementations sorely lacking - for example, I could easily get email and calendar notifications on my lock screen if I was on Blur or stock android, but not at all on touchwiz or sense UI.

This is why when someone says they want to try android I first tell them to try a nexus phone BEFORE going to some other OEM UI, even if the nexus phone isn't what they'll want. Because even if the phone they do want hardware wise has some poor UI on it, chances are that AOSP is available on it in some way, shape or form. The S3 is kinda limited since everything is based on Cyanogenmod, but even so it's got plenty of ROMs to choose from (I'm presently on the LiquidSmooth Beta 2 build.)

As for notifications, I find the pulldown notification screen in Android to be pretty amazing, and I'd be lost without it. Also, the new lockscreen in 4.2 that has lockscreen widgets like allowing me to see my calendar, the weather, access my camera in seconds and whatnot is also pretty awesome.

I haven't found Android lacking in any area app-wise. Craigslist app, Instagram, Chase, Mint, Office Suite Pro, Yelp, Pulse, Flick Golf, Bad Piggies...etc. Actually, Android has better versions of several must-have apps, topped easily by Google Maps. I use Google Maps daily, and I would never switch to an inferior mapping app for my smartphone. Google Voice is more tightly integrated into Android, as is Gmail.

Google maps alone is a great thing on an android phone. Google voice is also exceptionally good and I prefer it to Siri - getting notifications that it will also take 17 minutes to drive home from work right now is kinda cool, too. The only thing I find sorely lacking in Android is Exchange support; coming from Windows Phone and an iPhone, I'm used to threaded mode and such, and I just cannot get that on Android - and that's painful when you have exchange for work, personal exchange accounts and whatnot.

But beyond that, I don't think I've ever been left saying "gee, I wish I had ___ on my phone, iOS has it." I said that PLENTY with Windows Phone 7 and 8, though.

anyway, tl;dr: In my opinion, Android beats the CRAP out of iOS.