Worth switching to Android from iPhone?

superczar

superczar

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I know this will bring about a lot of fanboy posts, but I am honestly looking for feedback only from people who have used both extensively and do not come with an anti-iphone bias...

Before I lateched onto the iPhone ~3 yrs ago, I hadn't stayed with a single handset for anything over 6-10 months and would have had switched over 15-20 handsets before that...

Needless to say, I have been a happy camper with the iPhone, but all the buzz around android has now got me interested....

Now I don't want to plonk a lot of moolah on picking something like a nexus one and then end up being disappointed (ok, not disappointed per se, but perhaps not find it worthy of a full time switch)

So was thinking if I should pick up a Samsung Spica for starters...
If I end up liking it, I keep it :)
If I end up really liking the platform, or hating it, I can easily sell it off on TE with limited losses :)

Does that make any sense?
 
You gave yourself the answer right there. There's no substitute for trying it out yourself. Besides, I think this is more of an upgrade itch that you are feeling. It's been 3 years afterall. Android is nice but from an iPhone customer's perspective, it honestly hard to tell. My suggestion would be in line with what you suggested yourself. Try something cheap. Get a feel for it. You like it, then upgrade it!
 
borrow an android phone from someone if possible ! Anyway what are your actual needs,list all those things you like/hate abt your iphone and anything you miss on your iphone?? Also how often do you game on your phone? And what do you think abt windows 7 ??
 
i have lived with 2 iphones and 2 ipod touches. and you name the operating system, I have used it. The spica was a refreshing change. Only thing is, i never knew it would be so convenient! So much so, that I am dying to get another Android phone when something with much better features (to justify the price difference) is out! (very soon)
 
Android...and all the hoopla around it.. you can thank google for it... Free apps, budding software market with developers currently giving out apps for free... As I see it, Android platform needs to mature a bit... Spica's about 4 month's old and Bluetooth still doesn't work...

I'd say wait about a month or 2 and when the Spica comes out with Android 2.0, that's the time you should try it....
 
Come to the Pune meet on this Sunday and take a look at countrock's Google Nexus One awesome all in one device I must add :)
 
IMO the beauty of Android goes beyond bells and whistles. Its ability to seamless sync with Google universe is truly commendable. Back in Oct (last year), after unboxing my new, HTC Magic, I logged into a few accounts (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc) and voila—I had all my data on this new phone. All my contact numbers now exist on the cloud and not on the SIM! So whenever I log into my Gmail all my contact data automatically gets syncd into my contacts!

Multitasking is also commendable. I can download, browse, chat and listen to music at the same time. The phone mounts on every possible platform such as XP, Ubuntu, PS3 without any problem. There is no hassle of syncing it with fsking iTunes all the time. So take your pick ;).
 
i have lived with 2 iphones and 2 ipod touches. and you name the operating system, I have used it. The spica was a refreshing change. Only thing is, i never knew it would be so convenient! So much so, that I am dying to get another Android phone when something with much better features (to justify the price difference) is out! (very soon)
Click to expand...

Interesting!

That helps..

I'll go get one today.. Thanks :)
 
Depends entirely on how hooked on you are to the Google "ecosystem". If you are someone who uses the entire Google gamut of services i.e. Gmail, Calendar etc. as your primary information stores, it definitely makes sense to check out Android. The Nexus One is a definitely a very good phone by itself (having played with it for a while), and becomes a "great" phone if you swear by your Google ID.

For someone like me who doesn't use Gmail or any of the Google services apart from search (even that less and less every day), an Android phone holds no appeal whatsoever compared to, say, an iPhone or a Nokia E series + iPod Touch combo that I use.
 
Simply put... if you find alternatives to the apps that you use regularly on your iPhone, then by all means try Android. Simple as that.

The only thing I found keeping me out of Android phones is the lack of desktop syncing. Call me crazy but I don't like the idea of keeping all my contacts and other info online only.
 
^^ ideally, it would be the other way around but its your choice.
I would love to try an android but I would like a good option in around the 11K mark which will get me tempted. Something of a competitor to the e63 offering.
 
superczar said:
Interesting!
That helps..
I'll go get one today.. Thanks :)
Click to expand...

If you haven't already purchased a new phone, try jumping on the HTC bandwagon (avoid tattoo, its resistive). Sense UI really is worth it.
 
Having used both the platforms for a fairly long time (definitely more time with iPhone though), I would just advice you to not be in a hurry to sell off your iPhone before you are actually very sure that you like Android :)
 
iGo said:
Simply put... if you find alternatives to the apps that you use regularly on your iPhone, then by all means try Android. Simple as that.

The only thing I found keeping me out of Android phones is the lack of desktop syncing. Call me crazy but I don't like the idea of keeping all my contacts and other info online only.
Click to expand...

Well you can easily backup your google contacts to your outlook or even Apple address book or simply back it up on your PC.

All you need to do is export your google contacts in CSV or vCard format and import them to your regular apps. Its as simple as that. 1 minute job.

Reverse is also possible ( You can import your outlook contacts to Google ).
 
Having used both the platforms for a fairly long time (definitely more time with iPhone though), I would just advice you to not be in a hurry to sell off your iPhone before you are actually very sure that you like Android
Click to expand...

Ha!

Am not selling the iPhone, that's for sure

Even if I don't decide to keep it, I'd rather pass it on to someone in the family...

Honestly, I am liking the platform.. it offers greater flexibility than the iphone, and is overall quite a user friendly platform

Having said that, the two biggest peeves I have at the moment:

- The On screen keyboard sucks !!! I tried everything from swype to HTC IME (which is what am using now) but its not even a shade on the OSK on the iPhone

If i can spot a decent android with a qwerty being launched in a short period of time (before my new spica depreciates like mad) , I'll grab it with open arms

- Being a google phone, I'd expect Gmail Push to work without hitches.. But sadly, gmail push on the android is quite iffy :(

I tried multiple times over both GPRS and Wifi simultaenously, the fastest delivery, each time was on the iPhone, followed within seconds by blackberry .. the delivery on the android was delayed by anywhere from 15 seconds to 5 mins over GPRS and 1 mins to 30 mins over wifi

But perhaps it could be an intermittent problem with the Google push servers

Also, I upgraded to 2.1 and rooted it but found 2.1 a bit buggy, so reflashed back to 1.5 and rooted it again

But overall, quite a decent buy at 12.5K
 
Having used iPhone for the last 2 years and played with Nexus one sometime ago - I wa seriously thinking of getting one - and more recently Spica on 2.1 I would easily choose iPhone as my main phone. Its fluid and far more sophisticated than Android at the moment, Android is functional, Apple is polished.

The iPhone OS is very well put together and is a joy to use, this is something few companies focus on or get right, for Apple its the usp, because of the screen quality, touch sensitivity, keyboard responsiveness things like browsing the net, using email or sms is pleasurable, its diffcult to describe but the touch is actually liquid and super smooth, with android there is just that slight jitter, you don't get the same smoothness. Even the iPhone camera though only 2mp on the 3g is great to use, the pics are decent and the speed is fantastic, nearly zero lag, you can click 5 pics in 5 secs.

There are many little things that you notice when placed against the Android. And the app store eniches the experience immensely, now wherever I travel I have full fledged gps on the phone and that's a great asset.

The Android is a great experience too, definitely admire Google's effort and for those who like tinkering it does provide ample options, but still 2 years behind IMHO. For those thinking of NexusOne its not worth 33k, maybe 20-24 is ok - screen is gorgeous though. The Spica is a great deal at 12.5 given its specs, 3.2 capacitive, 800mhz, wifi,gps, bluetooth, android. I don't think you can't get a better phone at that price in India, but is let down in the sound and looks department.
 
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