Android vs iOS vs Windows

[Uncle Shags]

I am thinking of finally breaking down and joining the rest of the world with a smartphone. Because this is my first venture, my hands-on knowledge of the different types of phones is pretty limited. Any advice on which of the three I should get?

As far as background info: PCs in the home. I'm not a big itunes user, but the wife is. We are both upgrading and would prefer to be able to use video-chatting - not sure if that means we need to get the same OS. Leaning towards Android, but only because it seems to be the most "techie."

[Diggles]

Anyone who isnt a Apple cultist, Android is an easy answer. They already own majority of smart phone OS market share and it will only increase, as well as IMPROVE as they take steps to tackle fragmentation.
Anyone buying a windows phone is delusional. That'd be like buying a Betamax 5 years after VCR is has been the accepted standard. Half the point of a smartphone is Apps, which you are going to limit yourself to say 10% of the overall app market.

Why would it matter what your wife does if its YOUR phone? Is she going to be commandeering your phone to listen to music on a regular basis? Does she purchase actual protected music files from iTunes?
Keep in mind you CANNOT use iCloud software with Windows XP machines, you need Vista/7/8.

Google owns Motorola, so your choices for a GREAT phone or either that or Samsung.

[strife]

Am going to go with Diggles on this one, but I dislike Apple, and I hate Itunes... and I am admittedly a borderline Google fanboy(minus the borderline).

I'm pretty sure you can skype between Iphone & android if you have to have the video chat, which I'm guessing you will really never use.

IMO, the main downside of Android is that there are so many different phones and different OS versions out on the market... I mean, having a bunch of phone options is a good thing, but buying a phone that is outdated in 6-12 months and not being able to get OS updates because LG(as an example) decides they don't want to support it anymore, is mildly annoying. This isn't nearly the issue on Iphone.. but then again, your main options are what color you want.

Iphones aren't inherently better on the hardware side than androids(or vice versa), although a new android with new features comes out every month.

[Grieve]

Well, for what it's worth, as the resident Apple fanboy...

iOS advantages
Get updates for your phone for years, rather than months (as Strife said)
Graphics hardware tends to be well ahead of Android
Much better range and quality of games
Build quality tends to be way ahead of Android
While the actual phone cost can be more, subsidized price is the same (so you get a bargain)
Largely avoid the viruses and scams plaguing Android app stores
Apps tend to be more polished, since there aren't 5000 different screen sizes/resolutions/hardware configs to test them against.
Generally easier to use (yes, that may mean it's "too" simple for someone techie)
Airplay (mirror whatever is on your phone onto your TV, including movies and photos)
iMessage (free text messaging with other iOS devices - saves us a ton of money)
Tends to have better battery life (except for some of the really huge, heavy Androids)
Customer support, especially in the Apple stores
More reliable and smooth than the vast majority of Android phones
No carrier "crapware" on the phone (they don't allow it)

Android advantages
More choice - if you particularly want something like NFC, or a 5" screen, or whatever, likely you can find a phone with it
If you like customizing your phone and don't want to jailbreak your iPhone, you are better off with Android
File management - if you like dragging and dropping files between your computer and the phone, it's harder with iOS (without apps or jailbreaking)
Widgets and such, if you care about such things

Also if you are heavily into Google applications, you are arguably better off with Android, although they are all available on iOS as well, and the latest Google maps app for iOS is actually a lot better than the Android version.

I would say fragmentation is the biggest issue with Android. Only Nexus phones have "pure" Android, and I'd recommend those if you are going Android. Other phones are at the least skinned (sometimes badly), and sometimes completely forked. It's great if your new Samsung has a cool new feature, but will it work with non-Samsung Android phones? Probably not.

And now I'll step away so that Slamz, Maul, Jake, Diggles, and co can explain how every advantage I listed for iOS is completely wrong.

[Uncle Shags]

Thanks fellers, good info.

I mentioned the wife because we'd both be getting new phones and we're currently living long distance, which is why video chat is a factor. She has a bunch of itunes music, so if she went iOS because of that, how would it affect our interactions if I went android?

[Vanraw]

I would say fragmentation is the biggest issue with Android. Only Nexus phones have "pure" Android, and I'd recommend those if you are going Android. Other phones are at the least skinned (sometimes badly), and sometimes completely forked. It's great if your new Samsung has a cool new feature, but will it work with non-Samsung Android phones? Probably not.

And now I'll step away so that Slamz, Maul, Jake, Diggles, and co can explain how every advantage I listed for iOS is completely wrong.

Well Its not hard when you just make stuff up. Fyi every single app I have bought for android works on my droid 4 and worked on my droid 3 and work on my Samsung tablet 10.1. Also The apple 5 came out with less function and capability then the Samsung galaxy 3 which was out for like 6 to 12 months before the apple 5.

Read and learn.

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Skags.

My advice is shop for what you want. Go into the store and check stuff out. Make sure you check out google now, (assistant on android) that blows away Siri on Apple). For the most part I use my smart phone for Browsing when Im on the go, work email and VPN access, listening to Amazon Mp3 player, Playing Podcast, and using the GPS / Maps app. Virtually all the smart phones will do this to some extent.

I use Android and my wife has a iphone. She is a non-tech, but she seems to like the android voice commands and speech recognition as well as the GPS capabilities of my droid4 over her iphone. I just find the iphone stupid. Meaning restricting.

Define what you think you will do with it and then go for it. Note that you do not need the latest greatest phone. You don't need to spend top dollar and or be forced into a contract.

Also while the windows 8 for phones and tablets actually looks like a superior OS fro a touch screen, I seriously doubt they are going to get any head way into the market.

[strife]

iOS advantages
Graphics hardware tends to be well ahead of Android

For a month or 2, and then android surpasses it and they go back and forth. Android is typically better off on overall hardware though, being that new phones come basically every month. There are MULTIPLE quad core android phones out.

Much better range and quality of games

You mean there is no fruit ninja on Android? There aren't many games from legit developers that only exist on the iphone... maybe games by 1 off people, but most if not all of the really popular games are on both... not that I'd know, I don't game on my phone.

Build quality tends to be way ahead of Android

Depends on the phone. I'd put my 2 year old G2X against any iphone when it comes to build quality.

Largely avoid the viruses and scams plaguing Android app stores

IMO non-issue for 99% of the population

Apps tend to be more polished, since there aren't 5000 different screen sizes/resolutions/hardware configs to test them against.

And a lot of apps usually come out on Iphone first, then android later

Generally easier to use (yes, that may mean it's "too" simple for someone techie)

Disagree... easier to use if you're into the worst fucking application UI known to man kind. Apple really should stick to developing hardware and contract out their UI manipulation. Have they gotten the whole, make the keyboard letters capitalized when they are going to type capitalized and lowercase when they are going to type lowercase yet?

Airplay (mirror whatever is on your phone onto your TV, including movies and photos)

I can do that on my 2 year old android

iMessage (free text messaging with other iOS devices - saves us a ton of money)

Who doesn't have unlimited text messaging.

Tends to have better battery life (except for some of the really huge, heavy Androids)

Depends on the model. And in most (if not all) androids, you can replace the batter by just popping off the back. On an Iphone it takes an engineering degree and probably voiding the warranty.

Customer support, especially in the Apple stores

You'll need it with an iphone...

More reliable and smooth than the vast majority of Android phones

As long as you hold the phone the right way, you'll be fine.

No carrier "crapware" on the phone (they don't allow it)

Phone specific, but yea.

[Snowreap]

My wife had to stop using Waze because it doesn't work well anymore on her Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the original Galaxy Tab can't be upgraded to a newer version of Android (only the newer Galaxy Tabs can be upgraded).

so yes, fragmentation is an issue to watch out for. "I have been lucky" is not the same thing as "this problem does not exist".

getting two phones of the same model is a good idea, because you'll be able to use the same accessories. my wife and I have the same phone (not a smarthpone) so I can use her charger when I'm in her car, and she can use my charger when she's in mine. and when neither of us has a charger handy, a dead battery is no problem if we simply swap mine for hers (two dead batteries are still a problem, though).

-ken

[Jakensama]

getting two phones of the same model is a good idea, because you'll be able to use the same accessories. my wife and I have the same phone (not a smarthpone) so I can use her charger when I'm in her car, and she can use my charger when she's in mine. and when neither of us has a charger handy, a dead battery is no problem if we simply swap mine for hers (two dead batteries are still a problem, though).

Not usually an issue since, unlike Apple, most of the big android phones just use microusb instead of their own proprietary bullshit.

[Snowreap]

our phones are mini-USB, but they won't charge when connected to a PC unless the appropriate Windows device driver is installed (which is problematic because the correct driver doesn't exist). Mac charging seems to work fine though.

still, point taken for any phones that don't have this problem.

-ken

[Slamz]

Android is the best bet.

It has the best feature list and the most choices. I still think it's dumb every time I see iPhones and realize they have no widgets -- that is, live content you can see on your home screen without having to click an icon. Apple added these to their "notification center" but it's not the same thing.

Basically when I use my phone, 90% of what I want to do can be done without opening an app. I can toggle music, check the weather, see upcoming Facebook events, stock prices, set my volume and turn on the flashlight without having to open an app. It's just right there on my desktop (I suggest Smooth Calender if you use Facebook. Free. Draws in your Facebook and Google calender events and can display them right on your desktop as a widget).

The only apps I regularly open up are probably internet and Netflix (mainly to queue up something for streaming on the TV). I'll open my Amazon app to shop for music but it has a widget that can be used to control playback without opening it up. Also can be configured to operate from the lock screen.


Apple gives you a very....stable....experience, which is to say, it's bland. Well tested, but bland. It's what the Apple authorities have authorized you to see and it works great because it's well tested but if you want something else, tough shit. I feel like Apple came up with a good idea and then went out to lunch for 2 years and still aren't back. Nothing I ever see on iPhones tempts me to buy one.


Windows would be cool to play with but seems risky. It's new and I dunno how much effort Microsoft is really putting into it. I'm wary of Microsoft because it feels like they fell asleep at the wheel quite some years ago. I could be convinced but I'm not going to be the test subject.


I would look at the Droid DNA, HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S3.

[Slamz]

Thanks fellers, good info.

I mentioned the wife because we'd both be getting new phones and we're currently living long distance, which is why video chat is a factor. She has a bunch of itunes music, so if she went iOS because of that, how would it affect our interactions if I went android?

Been a while since I had to use iTunes but I don't think there's a problem, as long as you don't have a lot of older, DRM-protected iTunes crud.

If I recall correctly, iTunes just stores MP3 files in directories and you can just copy those to your Android. iTunes can also detect things you buy from other sources, to add them into its library, so it's a little hassle but no big deal. Really just old things with copy protection that HAVE to play through iTunes would present a problem. (Chalk those up to a loss and rebuy them, IMO. Lesson learned: don't buy stuff with DRM.)


In fact, your Android "backup" will come in handy when she messes something up and deletes her music and iTunes wipes out her phone by trying to synch it to an empty folder. :-p I know someone who did that...

[Vanraw]

Interesting that someone has a android emulator for windows 8. Basiclly allowing access to 750k apps. I wonder if these guys will port it to windows 8 phone or Rt.

[Diggles]

Thanks fellers, good info.

I mentioned the wife because we'd both be getting new phones and we're currently living long distance, which is why video chat is a factor. She has a bunch of itunes music, so if she went iOS because of that, how would it affect our interactions if I went android?

Been a while since I had to use iTunes but I don't think there's a problem, as long as you don't have a lot of older, DRM-protected iTunes crud.

If I recall correctly, iTunes just stores MP3 files in directories and you can just copy those to your Android. iTunes can also detect things you buy from other sources, to add them into its library, so it's a little hassle but no big deal. Really just old things with copy protection that HAVE to play through iTunes would present a problem. (Chalk those up to a loss and rebuy them, IMO. Lesson learned: don't buy stuff with DRM.)


In fact, your Android "backup" will come in handy when she messes something up and deletes her music and iTunes wipes out her phone by trying to synch it to an empty folder. :-p I know someone who did that...

iTunes doesnt sell mp3's, they sell .m4a which are all protected and not usable in LOTS of stuff like powerpoint, moviemaker, etc. At least that was the case when I bought my last song from iTunes back in early 2011. So better check and see what file formats you have and that an Android can play them.

[Slamz]

Interesting that someone has a android emulator for windows 8. Basiclly allowing access to 750k apps. I wonder if these guys will port it to windows 8 phone or Rt.

Hmmm. I wonder if that's the emulator that comes with the development kit or a different one.

The Google development kit you use to make Android apps has an emulator that runs in Windows but it's so awful that nobody uses it unless they have to (like to emulate an Android version you don't have). The place I work at does all development on actual phones. I hear the Google people do too, which is why the emulator sucks.

It works, it's just obnoxiously slow, and that's on an Intel I7. I doubt it would be usable on a phone.

[Jakensama]

Removing itunes DRM is fairly easy, Tunebite and several other programs do it

[Skelas]

[Vanraw]

Did you see that one with the White ear?? I think that was Grieve!!

[Uncle Shags]

She went with the iPhone 4s and I got the Samsung galaxy 3. Android. I feel pretty happy about it. It's a bit overwhelming with all the apps and whatnot. It'll take awhile to figure out. Pretty badass though. I can already send Morse code with my flashlight app, which is something I've always felt I should be able to do. And I didn't even have to learn it... I typed this with swype type and it took me forever. But I'm sure I'll eventually figure it and everything else out. Pretty neat stuff. Anyone got some app recommendations? :roll:

[Grieve]

Did you see that one with the White ear?? I think that was Grieve!!

The irony is, Apple is now completely out of favor and "uncool", and Samsung is the new Apple, with accompanying SamSheep. Now they are the ones teed up to be knocked down - I suspect it won't take too long to happen. I guess we'll see how the Galaxy IV announcement next month goes.

[Jakensama]

Sorry, all the hipsters in Brooklyn are still rocking iphones and they are the litmus test for what sheep think is trendy.

[Slamz]

The irony is, Apple is now completely out of favor and "uncool"

SELL! SELL! SELL! SELL!

I always said that this was the one thing propping Apple up and if they ever became uncool in the eyes of the masses, they'd be the next MySpace.

If that's happening now then Apple better do something really exciting with their tens of billions or they're on their way to meet Microsoft in the Land of Once Powerful But Now Largely Forgettable Companies.


It is kind of interesting to see how much of Apple and Microsoft must have been driven by Jobs and Gates. Microsoft went rudderless when Balmer took over and maybe Apple is doing the same.

[OrsunVZ]

The irony is, Apple is now completely out of favor and "uncool"

SELL! SELL! SELL! SELL!

I always said that this was the one thing propping Apple up and if they ever became uncool in the eyes of the masses, they'd be the next MySpace.

If that's happening now then Apple better do something really exciting with their tens of billions or they're on their way to meet Microsoft in the Land of Once Powerful But Now Largely Forgettable Companies.


It is kind of interesting to see how much of Apple and Microsoft must have been driven by Jobs and Gates. Microsoft went rudderless when Balmer took over and maybe Apple is doing the same.

Much of the "fan-base" as you guys call it revolves around the near-god-like status these figureheads have/had. When the changeover inevitably occurs, the struggle these companies have is ensuring that the perceived value in the company shifts away from the "anything Jobs touches is going to be he best thing in the world, because he personifies awesomeness and geniusocity tm in every way, and I want to have his anal babies", and shift towards the "these products really stand on their own two feet because they truly are amazing". At Apple, too much of the prevailing opinion is/was surrounding Jobs' greatness. With Samsung's rise, and the lack of Jobs' and his personal touch of genius, Apple is in a very precarious position.

We can debate the facts of who has the actual better product all day, but the reality that in the Apple camp or Android camp, the vast majority of users consume the tiniest percentage of what these devices are actually capable of. And in that sense, to the average user, these devices serve the exact same function to virtually the same degree. What is left is pure fan-base. And if you lose that because suddenly you're uncool, you're screwed. Apple made a name for itself through innovation and having the next big thing. Unless they come out with something that is a game changer quickly, there is just no way they can maintain their cool-status.

[Skelas]

I want to have his anal babies

Jesus christ Oface........

[Grieve]

I think there's two reasons they are considered "uncool" now (neither of which involve Orsun's private fantasies about Steve Jobs).

First, Apple's ads have dropped in quality recently (which may be related to no Jobs). Lets face it, young people are easily influenced, and I really think the "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" had a huge impact. Plus the early ads for ipods, iPhones, and iPads were all great. Recently they've been tame bordering on boring.

But Samsung is kind of playing the same game Apple did vs the PC with their ads showing "uncool" Apple fans waiting in line. I think the ads suck, but I can see impressionable teens not wanting to be lumped in with the Apple fans...just like they didn't used to want to be the PC guy.

Then there's the media. We all know the media love to put people/things on a pedestal just so they can knock them down. Right now everyone is piling on Apple. "No new products", "no innovation", "no emerging market play", "falling margins", "being crushed by Android".

Of course, that's all crap - nothing has really changed from 8 months ago when the media and Wall Street loved them. In fact, Apple now has the best selling smartphone in the world for the first time ever. Both the iPhone 5 and year-old IPhone 4S outsold the Galaxy S3 last quarter. Apple also has the highest marketshare in the US it's ever had. But it's all about perception and sentiment.

I suspect we'll see a story similar to Netflix. Unstoppable at $300 in 2011, til sentiment changed and it plummeted to $54 in October, with everyone bearish on it. Then suddenly House of Cards gets great reviews, and the stock almost quadruples to $200. Any of that based on fundamentals? Not really.

So as soon as Apple announces iWatch or iTV, or even just a TV SDK, I expect to see Apple fly back up to the $600s, if not to new highs.