iPhone vs Android phone?

R

redfyr79

New member
I'm part of a family plan (not the main line), and when the contract is up in April, I want to upgrade to a smart phone, on Verizon. I can't decide, though, if I want to go with an Android phone, or the iPhone, and I'd like to hear peoples' thoughts on both.

Now, I'm waiting to see what happens with the Thunderbolt. Having looked at Verizon's site, it does show that 4G is available in my area. I don't want to pay more than $30 for the data plan, and I also don't want to have to wait longer than April to upgrade to a smart phone. So, if the Thunderbolt comes out before April, with a data plan for $30, I'll almost definitely be getting that. But I'm hearing the phone may not release until June, and there's no info on how much the data plan will cost.

So, going under the assumption that I won't be getting the Thunderbolt, what about iPhone vs Android phones? For one, I already have an iPod Touch, so not only am I already VERY familiar with iOS, but I also have quite a few apps and games that I could just add right to the iPhone if I got one.

On the other hand, Android looks kinda neat, even if its app store isn't as great as Apple's. But I'm not sure which Android phones (on Verizon) are the best. The Droid X looks neat (I don't care for the Droid 2, though), and the Incredible seems like a good phone, for its cheaper price. I've heard rumors that new phones will be releasing soon, though, and phones like the Incredible will be phased out shortly. I know the iPhone 5 is also supposed to be launching in summer, but I'm less bothered by that. It seems like new Android phones come out more rapidly, so I'd hate to buy an Incredible or a Droid, only for something better to come out.

Are there any new Verizon smart phones coming out before April that I should take a look at?

Anyway, thanks for any input.
 
What it comes down to is who you are, and what you like. Android will never be as polished, smooth as iOS, but it can do a lot more, thanks to the open nature of Android. For example, on Android, apps can communcicate with each other (think: Tasker). Applications are able to "move around" more, if that makes sense. Google "Android Tasker" and will see what I am trying to say. Even if you jailbreak your iPhone, you will never be as "free to do what you want" as you will on Android. Also, you can customize 100% of every aspect of Android, unlike iPhone.

BUT, the iPhone is as popular as it is for a reason. It works, and it works damn well. All those apps, all those nifty features. I personally have an Android phone and never would go back to the iPhone, but thats because I like stuff like changing the icons for my apps, or making my phone go on silent based on which wifi network im connected to, or having my headphone music volume automatically raise and lower whenever ambient noise starts affecting my listening experience. If you are into all those geeky techy type deals, then you want Android.

But the iPhone has that WOW factor. Every iPhone looks the same, and they all do the same thing. They open apps, make calls, and close apps. But they do it well. You wont have problems doing any of those things on androids, but it wont be as polished

That leads me to another thing. My stock Droid X is a piece of **** compared to my Droid X after I rooted it and got that god-aweful blurr off of it. It runs at least 4 times faster. This is an obstacle you wont have to worry about with the iPhone. But my Droid X today runs circles around nearly any other stock phone, all because it has STOCK android.

One more thing....you most likely will NOT see an LTE iPhone this year. If you want to ride Big Red's LTE waves, Android is all you've got. All of their new LTE android phones will be out before July. The LG Revoultion just passed FCC clearance today. It wont be long. Go to a store and demo a current android against the iPhone. If you like the Android better, wait till a new LTE one drops. Regardless of which phone you choose, you will have 14 days to try it out. Good luck!
 
So, going under the assumption that I won't be getting the Thunderbolt, what about iPhone vs Android phones? For one, I already have an iPod Touch, so not only am I already VERY familiar with iOS, but I also have quite a few apps and games that I could just add right to the iPhone if I got one.

On the other hand, Android looks kinda neat, even if its app store isn't as great as Apple's. But I'm not sure which Android phones (on Verizon) are the best. The Droid X looks neat (I don't care for the Droid 2, though), and the Incredible seems like a good phone, for its cheaper price. I've heard rumors that new phones will be releasing soon, though, and phones like the Incredible will be phased out shortly. I know the iPhone 5 is also supposed to be launching in summer, but I'm less bothered by that. It seems like new Android phones come out more rapidly, so I'd hate to buy an Incredible or a Droid, only for something better to come out.

Are there any new Verizon smart phones coming out before April that I should take a look at?

Anyway, thanks for any input.[/QUOTE]

Obviously both phones have their pros and cons. Ultimately, only you can decide what phone is the best for you. Having said that...

I don't know how much you've read about the Thunderbolt fiasco, but it has been an absolute mess. Supposedly, it was going to be released in February, and every single week since then, we've had "insiders" telling us all kinds of contradictory information. At this point, nobody is sure when the phone will be released, but I wouldn't hold my breathe over it. I'll probably give it until the end of the month and if it doesn't get released, go ahead with either an older Droid or the iPhone.

We also don't know anything about the price of 4G data. Most of the rumors have indicated that initially our current unlimited 3G plans will have 4G added on, so we will continue to get unlimited data for $30. We should have this plan grandfathered when Verizon officially introduces tiered data pricing; however, how that will work remains to be seen. Verizon will either force users to switch to the tiered data when they get a new contract/subsidized phone, when they activate a phone that requires tiered data, or they can at any time since data isn't part of the contract. My guess is that they will begin to introduce new phones that require tiered data, so regardless of if you get the phone subsidized or at full price, you will still be forced to switch when you activate the phone. This is what they did when the html phones came out around 2007 I believe.

iPhone:
-iOS is smooth as butter
-Apps are 100x better
-Thousands of aftermarket accessories
-iOS is the same for each iPhone version, so they all have the same features and aren't fragmented like Android

Android:
-You can choose from several hardware manufacturers
-Choice of screen sizes, hardware keyboard vs. soft keyboard, body styles, etc.
-Open Source allows you to change keyboard, music player, etc.
-Choice of UI overlays--HTC Sense, Motorola Blur, etc.
-Phones across all service providers
-Widgets
-Google Navigation (turn by turn directions w/ voice, 3d mapping, street view, etc.)
-Removable battery

I'm sure there are other things I forgot that others will add...this was just off the top of my head.
 
Obviously both phones have their pros and cons. Ultimately, only you can decide what phone is the best for you. Having said that...

I don't know how much you've read about the Thunderbolt fiasco, but it has been an absolute mess. Supposedly, it was going to be released in February, and every single week since then, we've had "insiders" telling us all kinds of contradictory information. At this point, nobody is sure when the phone will be released, but I wouldn't hold my breathe over it. I'll probably give it until the end of the month and if it doesn't get released, go ahead with either an older Droid or the iPhone.

We also don't know anything about the price of 4G data. Most of the rumors have indicated that initially our current unlimited 3G plans will have 4G added on, so we will continue to get unlimited data for $30. We should have this plan grandfathered when Verizon officially introduces tiered data pricing; however, how that will work remains to be seen. Verizon will either force users to switch to the tiered data when they get a new contract/subsidized phone, when they activate a phone that requires tiered data, or they can at any time since data isn't part of the contract. My guess is that they will begin to introduce new phones that require tiered data, so regardless of if you get the phone subsidized or at full price, you will still be forced to switch when you activate the phone. This is what they did when the html phones came out around 2007 I believe.

iPhone:
-iOS is smooth as butter
-Apps are 100x better
-Thousands of aftermarket accessories
-iOS is the same for each iPhone version, so they all have the same features and aren't fragmented like Android

Android:
-You can choose from several hardware manufacturers
-Choice of screen sizes, hardware keyboard vs. soft keyboard, body styles, etc.
-Open Source allows you to change keyboard, music player, etc.
-Choice of UI overlays--HTC Sense, Motorola Blur, etc.
-Phones across all service providers
-Widgets
-Google Navigation (turn by turn directions w/ voice, 3d mapping, street view, etc.)
-Removable battery

I'm sure there are other things I forgot that others will add...this was just off the top of my head.[/QUOTE]

If you want a media device that works consistently with updates and the like and is the most polished then the iPhone is your best bet. It's a matter of preference though. Get a VZW from Apple store cause you have 30 days to test drive it compared to VZW 14 days.


Sent from my iPhone 4 using HowardForums app
 
Yeah, I've been paying attention to it for a while, now. It's pretty disappointing how it got a pretty big ad campaign, and then suddenly got "pushed back indefinitely", and no one has made any official statements as to what's going on with it. Delaying it if there's problems is fine, but it'd be nice if they could at least communicate to us what the heck is going on with it.



I'm curious, if Verizon goes to tiered data plans, is it at all likely that they'll offer a cheap cap (like 2-3GB) for a price lower than $30? I've been using an app on my iPod Touch to monitor my data usage (over wifi), just to give myself an idea of how much data I'd be using in a month. From what I can tell, I'd be perfectly fine with a 2-3GB cap. We're already a third of the way through the month, and I've only just used over 100MB today. My concern, though, is that $30 will remain the minimum price point for the data plan, and it'll have a pretty low cap. :/
 
I hear ya. That's supposed to be my next phone, but I've been waiting since it first got leaked on BGR...that was back in like...August I think.



Nobody knows what the data cap will be like. I would assume that they would have a data plan cheaper than $30, but it might end up being something ridiculous like 300MB. Really, nobody has any idea.
 
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