So the general consensus here is go Android if you like rooting/custom roms otherwise

[runawayprisoner]

Windows Phone is getting there and MS has the resources and motivation to make it happen, but WP7 isn't quite there yet IMO. Nokia abandoned MeeGo for it, other than that one phone you mentioned. MeeGo is becoming Tizen (by Intel & Samsung) and Bada will be rolled into it, but that platform will still be a ghost town. It would be like recommending OpenMoko at this point.

Tizen is not MeeGo no matter how much people want it to be... I'm not sure where they get that. Just because Intel is taking parts from MeeGo and putting it into Tizen doesn't mean they are both the same. For one thing, MeeGo was built so that apps could be developed for it using Qt. Tizen needs HTML5 and Javascript. Just like you can't say Safari and iOS apps are one and the same.

On a more serious note, MS paid Nokia to abandon MeeGo and go with WinPhone 7. It was all over the news. Hence my response that MS is focusing on the wrong folks.

I don't like iTunes either, but iOS 5 and iCloud finally made iOS able to work independently from a computer.

iOS 5 didn't "untether" iOS completely. I know that for a fact because there are still many things I have to plug my phone into my computer for (namely music and videos).

Not to mention it's faster backing up 2.5GB worth of data on my computer instead of waiting for it all to upload into iCloud, plus I can't sync my Mac's contacts with iCloud, which practically means I have to plug the phone in anyways.

So in other words, even with iOS 5, if you are a heavy iOS user, iTunes is still a necessity.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Android for the fact that it has rapid tech advances.

And larger screens

 

[Slinkwyde]

Oh, ok. I stand corrected about Tizen's relationship to MeeGo.

On a more serious note, MS paid Nokia to abandon MeeGo and go with WinPhone 7. It was all over the news. [...]

Yes, that's what I was referring to. That MS paid Nokia doesn't change the fact that MeeGo is dead. It's not a real option.

iOS 5 didn't "untether" iOS completely. I know that for a fact because there are still many things I have to plug my phone into my computer for (namely music and videos).

For videos, yes (except maybe videos from the iTunes store). For music, you can redownload iTunes purchases for free. For non-iTunes purchases, iTunes Match replaces them with DRM-free 256kbps versions for $25/yr. When the subscription ends, you get to keep your music. Also, it scans through your library so that it only has upload the music you have that isn't already on Apple's servers.

Not to mention it's faster backing up 2.5GB worth of data on my computer instead of waiting for it all to upload into iCloud

True, but you might not have to upload that much and you might only have to do it once.

plus I can't sync my Mac's contacts with iCloud, which practically means I have to plug the phone in anyways.

Really? Even in Lion? I'm still on Snow Leopard, so I don't know. Personally, email/contacts/calendars on my Mac and iPod touch have been syncing directly and independently with Google for a long time now. That's been in there since Snow Leopard and iOS 4 (if not earlier).

So in other words, even with iOS 5, if you are a heavy iOS user, iTunes is still a necessity.

Hmmm. Maybe that's true. That's the way it is for me too, but I thought that experience might be different if I had Lion, iTunes Match, and the latest iPhoto.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Yes, that's what I was referring to. That MS paid Nokia doesn't change the fact that MeeGo is dead. It's not a real option.

Well, yeah. It's only semi-dead in my opinions. If you consider it as the N9's firmware, then it probably would stick around and get some support at least until the N9 is obsolete.

For videos, yes (except maybe videos from the iTunes store). For music, you can redownload iTunes purchases for free. For non-iTunes purchases, iTunes Match replaces them with DRM-free 256kbps versions for $25/yr. When the subscription ends, you get to keep your music. Also, it scans through your library so that it only has upload the music you have that isn't already on Apple's servers.

Uploading 150GB worth of music that I don't always try to completely sync to my phone all the time (obviously) is not really a good option for me, not to mention I have to pay $25 every year to do it.

I don't really have much problem with iTunes purchases, and in fact, a large portion of my music library is from them, but it's the later portion that I'm more worried about. I get back in my computer and re-organize my music on the phone every month or so.

True, but you might not have to upload that much and you might only have to do it once.

I'd have to do it all the time because I use File Transfer in iTunes quite often to sort documents. The problem with iCloud is that it indiscriminately backs up everything on a device. Even movie clips and FLAC music in dedicated apps. If I change those out for something else, I'll have to reupload them.

Not to mention that if I turn on Photo Stream, it takes up even more bandwidth.

Really? Even in Lion? I'm still on Snow Leopard, so I don't know. Personally, email/contacts/calendars on my Mac and iPod touch have been syncing directly and independently with Google for a long time now. That's been in there since Snow Leopard and iOS 4 (if not earlier).

Lion actually does integrate well with iCloud. The problem is that it ties all of my devices into the same iCloud account and make them all have roughly the same contents. So I can't manage separate account lists for my iPhone and for my iPad. Say... if I want to have only phone contacts on the iPhone and mail contacts on the iPad...

But it does keep app data separate well. The problem is... I want both the iPad and iPhone to have some sameness as well, and Dropbox still gets the job done a bit better than iCloud.

 

[Hogan773]

I think the Google Navigation app that comes free on my Android is awesome - turn by turn directions - satellite overlay, etc. I sold my Garmin GPS unit that I never use anymore.

I don't think this app is available on iPhone.

 

[pm]

I think the Google Navigation app that comes free on my Android is awesome - turn by turn directions - satellite overlay, etc. I sold my Garmin GPS unit that I never use anymore.

I don't think this app is available on iPhone.

I agree with you that the Google Navigation app is great - as long as you have cell data service the whole time.. the map goes away if you lose data or at least it did for me - and I'm impressed by the features that it has. And you are correct that it's not available on the iPhone.

But there are plenty of turn-by-turn GPS (SatNav) apps for the iPhone that are as good as Google's:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/iphone-navigation-app-comparison-xr5133.php

 

[vshah]

Lion actually does integrate well with iCloud. The problem is that it ties all of my devices into the same iCloud account and make them all have roughly the same contents. So I can't manage separate account lists for my iPhone and for my iPad. Say... if I want to have only phone contacts on the iPhone and mail contacts on the iPad...

i'm curious, isn't there an option on the iPhone to only display contacts with phone numbers? every smartphone I've used has had this option in the contacts app.

 

[Red Storm]

I agree with you that the Google Navigation app is great - as long as you have cell data service the whole time.. the map goes away if you lose data or at least it did for me - and I'm impressed by the features that it has. And you are correct that it's not available on the iPhone.

But there are plenty of turn-by-turn GPS (SatNav) apps for the iPhone that are as good as Google's:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/iphone-navigation-app-comparison-xr5133.php

Yeah I used the Mapquest app (free) while I had my iPhone. It did the job, but wasn't as good as Google NAV, and it was annoying having to launch one application for searches, and another for NAV.

 

[Hogan773]

I agree with you that the Google Navigation app is great - as long as you have cell data service the whole time.. the map goes away if you lose data or at least it did for me - and I'm impressed by the features that it has. And you are correct that it's not available on the iPhone.

But there are plenty of turn-by-turn GPS (SatNav) apps for the iPhone that are as good as Google's:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/iphone-navigation-app-comparison-xr5133.php

I confess that I haven't looked for iPhone nav stuff recently. I downloaded Skobbler last year and it was cr%p......couldn't even direct me across town to the library without taking me on some roundabout way. I never spent much time with it and we'd just use Google Maps and use the text-driven directions or just look at the map route ourselves (ie without the spoken turn-by-turn).

Now that I got myself a phone (Android) I was pleasantly surprised to find that Google Nav app sitting there, and even more surprised at how slick it looks. My only complaint is that sometimes my phone seems lose itself on the GPS (like it misses the fact that I just made a turn) and then GNav reroutes itself through some side streets to try to get me back on course (even though I AM on course) but it usually figures it out again.......

 

[zerocool84]

I agree with you that the Google Navigation app is great - as long as you have cell data service the whole time.. the map goes away if you lose data or at least it did for me - and I'm impressed by the features that it has. And you are correct that it's not available on the iPhone.

But there are plenty of turn-by-turn GPS (SatNav) apps for the iPhone that are as good as Google's:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/iphone-navigation-app-comparison-xr5133.php

Once you loaded up the nav and get your directions, you don't need to have a data connection after the fact to have turn by turn navigation.

 

[pm]

Once you loaded up the nav and get your directions, you don't need to have a data connection after the fact to have turn by turn navigation.

Yeah. But I noticed the map disappeared at some point. I continued to get directions all the way to the end, but the screen went to a gray blank.

I confess that I haven't looked for iPhone nav stuff recently. I downloaded Skobbler last year and it was cr%p......couldn't even direct me across town to the library without taking me on some roundabout way. I never spent much time with it and we'd just use Google Maps and use the text-driven directions or just look at the map route ourselves (ie without the spoken turn-by-turn).

Once again, I agree with you. I tried free SatNav apps on the iPhone but was never happy and didn't want to spend $25+ for a "real" one, so I used Google Maps and just looked at the screen. And I agree that the Android Navigation app was a hugely pleasant surprise.

But I did see a demo of the TomTom iPhone app and that seemed to work pretty well. Arguably better in some ways than the Android Google Navigation app. It seemed to be about all that I wanted in a SatNav app... except that I didn't want to spend $60 + $20 for traffic = $80 for it.

 

[runawayprisoner]

i'm curious, isn't there an option on the iPhone to only display contacts with phone numbers? every smartphone I've used has had this option in the contacts app.

No, no option. At least not that I know of. It displays all contacts. Even in the Phone app, it displays all contacts even if a lot of them don't have any phone number. In fact, it displays a contact even if the contact doesn't have anything but a name.

It's a nightmare if I have too many contacts. Granted scrolling isn't bad, but it's less efficient than if I had a lot less contacts. That's why I still have to rely on my Mac to handle contacts between iPhone and iPad.

It's okay to keep phone contacts on iPad, though, since sending an email masks off contacts that don't have emails, but... on a phone, it's a real problem.

Edit: and I also didn't see an option for that on my Captivate or the Xperia Play, so I guess it's not there by default on some Android devices either.

 

[ponyo]

I confess that I haven't looked for iPhone nav stuff recently. I downloaded Skobbler last year and it was cr%p......couldn't even direct me across town to the library without taking me on some roundabout way. I never spent much time with it and we'd just use Google Maps and use the text-driven directions or just look at the map route ourselves (ie without the spoken turn-by-turn).

Now that I got myself a phone (Android) I was pleasantly surprised to find that Google Nav app sitting there, and even more surprised at how slick it looks. My only complaint is that sometimes my phone seems lose itself on the GPS (like it misses the fact that I just made a turn) and then GNav reroutes itself through some side streets to try to get me back on course (even though I AM on course) but it usually figures it out again.......

This is because your Captivate has faulty and extremely poor GPS. It's not normal behavior and doesn't happen on phones with proper working GPS. You'll find what you experienced is common with that phone as it can't hold GPS lock worth anything. I would advise not to trust that GPS. It still blows my mind Samsung got away with faulty GPS and wasn't required to recall the phones.

 

[Hogan773]

This is because your Captivate has faulty and extremely poor GPS. It's not normal behavior and doesn't happen on phones with proper working GPS. You'll find what you experienced is common with that phone as it can't hold GPS lock worth anything. I would advise not to trust that GPS. It still blows my mind Samsung got away with faulty GPS and wasn't required to recall the phones.

It didnt use to lock at all until I made some changes in LBSTESTMODE and now it locks pretty quickly. But maybe you're right because its in the car and is somehow losing lock. And the "blue circle" that shows the accuracy was pretty wide in the incident I'm describing so maybe it was relying on AGPS data. With the lack of accuracy it couldn't figure out that I had made a 90 degree turn so it assumed I was still going straight and it took a little while to adjust.

Did they fix the GPS in the SGS2s? If I root and get one of those apps like FasterFix will that fix me or is it just an issue with weak GPS antennas or something?

 

[Slinkwyde]

It's a nightmare if I have too many contacts. Granted scrolling isn't bad, but it's less efficient than if I had a lot less contacts. That's why I still have to rely on my Mac to handle contacts between iPhone and iPad.

One thing that helps is tapping letters in the alphabetic menu on the right. There's also Spotlight search to the left of your first home screen.

An automated to split up the contacts between your iPhone an iPad would be to use Smart Groups in your Mac's Address Book. File -> New Smart Group. One for "Phone is set" another for "Email is set." Then in iTunes set your iPhone to sync only the first and your iPad to sync only the second.

 

[runawayprisoner]

One thing that helps is tapping letters in the alphabetic menu on the right. There's also Spotlight search to the left of your first home screen.

An automated to split up the contacts between your iPhone an iPad would be to use Smart Groups in your Mac's Address Book. File -> New Smart Group. One for "Phone is set" another for "Email is set." Then in iTunes set your iPhone to sync only the first and your iPad to sync only the second.

I'm already splitting them up in Address Book, but just to say, there's no way to do the same for iCloud, so I'm stuck tethering my phone to iTunes still even though iOS 5 was supposed to "untether" it.

 

[SAWYER]

I like Android better regardless of roms and rooting

 

[Pliablemoose]

To the OP: Yes.

The only way to really customize an iOS device is to jailbreak it, and that has some inherent problems, you can't update the OS until a new jailbreak comes out.

That being said, an iPhone is my daily driver, because my phone needs to be pretty bullet proof.

 

[hans007]

I like Android better regardless of roms and rooting

yeah same here. just has more features and flexibility

 

[J-Money]

IPhone is more "user friendly" in that out of thet box it is pretty straight forward. My parents use IPhones because it just works, no need to play around.

Android is more customizable so takes a little extra time to setup how you want. Like widgets etc.

I have and like Android more because of this, but the iPhone is definitely an "easier" OS to use, because it isn't so highly customizable (unless jailbroken), this "easier" use does not include iTunes, which can be tough for those less technology inclined.

You'll get more support for a longer time with iPhone too. Most Android devices get cut off from updates way too early in their life.

 

[BenSkywalker]

You are talking about choice. Isn't the discussion about customizations (a.k.a. what you already "chose" to have)?

No, that wasn't what the OP asked at all. He asked if the consensus was something, I pointed out very accurately that it isn't what the consensus is. The consensus is choice versus whatever Apple tells you you want. If you agree with Apple's exacting vision, go with iOS. If you want to make your own choices, go with Android.

Show me an Android device with 64 gigs of internal memory.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-183827U-Android-Tablet/dp/B005F0JLXW
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/AS...TF201-64GB-Android-3.2-Champagne/2545496.aspx
http://www.frys.com/product/6914087
http://www.verizonwireless.com/droid-xyboard-10.1-64gb.shtml
http://we4327.en.hisupplier.com/pro...0-1-inch-64GB-Android-3-0-Tablet-USD-369.html

See what I did there?

No, not in the slightest.

 

[jiffylube1024]

So the general consensus here is go Android if you like rooting/custom roms otherwise go with iOS?

If you like customizing like crazy Android is clearly better, and if you value simplicity above all else, iOS is better. For the vast majority of us in the middle, I'd say it's more complicated than that.

I'd recommend trying both and seeing which one you prefer.

I liked Apple's simplicity, stability and fantastic app (and game) selection when I was on iOS. I also drooled with envy at my friends' big, beautiful 4"+ screens. Apple has a much better stock music player too. Siri looks cool too.

On Android I very much like Google's App store implementation (I buy pretty much all my apps on the PC now, and it just wirelessly & automatically downloads them to the phone), I like some of the extra utilities like WiFi Analyzer and free Wifi/Tether apps on Android, and the big screen size. I also like widgets a lot. I like that you can load divx files directly on the phone and play them. You can world unlock most Android phones for free (like all Samsungs) and use them with different SIMs around the world. You need to buy an unlocked Apple phone unless you have one of the rare carriers that you can pay to unlock your phone after the fact.

 

[Geekbabe]

general consensus where?

if you ask the general consensus here it is going to be android, no matter what, because 99% of everyone here hates apple and ios no matter what.

I certainly don't "hate" Apple as I'm typing this on my Macbook. The screen on the iphone is just too small to be practical for the amount of work I do on a phone every day.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

If you like customizing like crazy Android is clearly better, and if you value simplicity above all else, iOS is better. For the vast majority of us in the middle, I'd say it's more complicated than that.

I'd recommend trying both and seeing which one you prefer.

I liked Apple's simplicity, stability and fantastic app (and game) selection when I was on iOS. I also drooled with envy at my friends' big, beautiful 4"+ screens. Apple has a much better stock music player too. Siri looks cool too.

On Android I very much like Google's App store implementation (I buy pretty much all my apps on the PC now, and it just wirelessly & automatically downloads them to the phone), I like some of the extra utilities like WiFi Analyzer and free Wifi/Tether apps on Android, and the big screen size. I also like widgets a lot. I like that you can load divx files directly on the phone and play them. You can world unlock most Android phones for free (like all Samsungs) and use them with different SIMs around the world. You need to buy an unlocked Apple phone unless you have one of the rare carriers that you can pay to unlock your phone after the fact.

Agreed.
I'm more of an android guy because hacking an android is easier compared to jailbreaking an iPhone.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Agreed.
I'm more of an android guy because hacking an android is easier compared to jailbreaking an iPhone.

Rooting an Android phone so far has been far harder than an iPhone. I'm saying this having rooted a Moto Droid, a Samsung Captivate, Nexus S, Incredible 2/S, and an SGS2. They're all freaking different. Even basic questions like how do I update ClockworkMod seems to confuse me. It seems different on all of them.

Jailbreaking is far easier. By FAR. I've jailbroken an iPhone and two iPod Touches. Contemplating jailbreaking my iPad 2.