my iPhone to Droid experience

[DaveJustDave]

Here's the writeup if anyone cares to read it (its pretty long and exhaustive)

The DOS Guru: Thinking of Switching From iPhone to Droid? (think again)

Please let me know if i left anything out - I plan on modifying the comparison as time progresses.

In the end, I'm glad i went with the Droid, though there are times that I do look back.

[Mojo]

Good read, there are a few things that was incorrect. But not to the point that would sway your article. Main thing that sticks out is voice command on the Droid does allow you to open apps as well. But I have to say this is the most unbiased read on the two! Great job.

[mcapehart]

Good comparison. Just a suggestion...you could do like me and get an iPod Touch and have all the great things the iPhone does (except phone and GPS) and have your Droid.

[Schimm]

Good comparison. Just a suggestion...you could do like me and get an iPod Touch and have all the great things the iPhone does (except phone and GPS) and have your Droid.

Yup, that's what I do. 32 gig Touch for music mostly 'cause my 8 gig nano was running out of space. I do like the Touch but I prefer the Droid.

[vrrm]

@DaveJustDave That's a great comparison; thank you for taking the time to do it. I just transitioned from an iPhone 3GS also. I'm not an Apple fanboy, but I do find it better at a couple of things not mentioned in your blog...

Search - the iPhone has a better search function (similar to Spotlight on Macs). It will search contents in your Contacts, Calendar, Notes, etc. The Droid does not search the CONTENTS. Also, the Droid seems to only search two fields in Contacts (first name and last name).

Notes - the Droid does not sync Notes (from Outlook).

Password Changes for Gmail Account - if you change your Gmail password (using a PC), you will need to delete that account on the Droid. This also deletes all the contacts, calendar, etc. from the phone. A sync will then re-load that info back to the phone. There should be a better way to change your Gmail password on the Droid.

[ryema54]

Nicely done write up!!

[DaveJustDave]

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! Yes, i am missing stuff and will definitely include some of your feedback back into the review. Hopefully some of the right people will read it and we'll see some features make their way into a future firmware update (more than likely wishful thinking).

Another main reason that i have to include in my review for switching is the development environment. For those who weren't raised on the Apple mothership, objective C is very foreign. I'm a software engineer, and after fumbling for a while i decided to give the Android SDK a try - which is based in Eclipse as you all know and infinitely more productive. I almost started crying when i could start using periods again for method invocations rather than the bizarre [] syntax.

Also, If you have time, please upvote my comparison on Digg Thinking of Switching From iPhone to Droid? (think again)

[johnflo88]

Here's the writeup if anyone cares to read it (its pretty long and exhaustive)

The DOS Guru: Thinking of Switching From iPhone to Droid? (think again)

Please let me know if i left anything out - I plan on modifying the comparison as time progresses.

In the end, I'm glad i went with the Droid, though there are times that I do look back.

I don't trust his writing and he is definitely biased, one has to read between the lines.He is a iphone fanboy through and through.You judge for yourself.That's my opinion of him.

[jsh1120]

Best comparison I've seen. Congratulations. I realize I'm in the minority: an aging boomer who believes the most important features of a smart phone are (a) its performance as, you know, a PHONE!; (b) a display I can read without fumbling for my glasses; (c) the capacity to sync with various business apps; (d) a physical keyboard my huge aging thumbs can manipulate; and (e) a workable GPS that eliminates the need to carry around still another device.

On those counts, especially the first, the DROID comes out ahead. Not by much, but by a significant enough margin to matter. And by sticking with VZW I was able to rid myself of a truly hated Windows Mobile device for several hundred $$$ less than by switching to the iPhone.

The comparison between the well regulated marketplace for the iPhone versus the anarchy of the Android apps is, I think, especially perceptive. As someone who began using Unix before most of the folks on this board were born, I see it as an old story of the tradeoff between open and proprietary environments. For a consumer each approach has its advantages and costs. I have to admit that my preference for the DROID is based at least in part on its family history and a predilection to cheer for the underdog and the small developer.

Compared to the iPhone my DROID is a bit clunky. The "Market" is more like a middle east bazaar than a mall. Its keyboard adds weight and its multitasking OS sometimes makes me think the phone is too busy with housekeeping to pay attention to me. Are those tradeoffs I'm happy to make? Yup.

[jk6959]

Good comparison - felt quite unbiased but even though I'm thinking of going from iPhone 3G to Droid / Milestone the review did seem to make the 3GS sound better even though you preferred the Droid.

I doubt any phone OS will ever be as smooth as the iPhone OS - where Apple have complete control over the phone software AND hardware they can quality control the whole user experience. This ends up putting lots of limits on the consumer, but also a very polished - intuitive experience that I believe is the best starters / newbie smartphone OS around.

I'm wary of moving to Android though - due to the already splintered OS, it seems that if nothing drastic is done then Android will just be another Windows Mobile down the line (but halfway between iPhone OS and WinMo OS in terms of features / usability). I'd like to have access to all the things Android could theoretically do, but without the worry that having an unpopular phone in UK would change from OS updates being a given to barely a privilege if you're lucky.

I'm no iPhone fan - but Google has had a year to show what it can do with Android and it's shown great potential - it's also got great hardware out there - but it just doesn't look like it can promise users the long-term support that limiting myself with Apple does.