Smart Phone Comparison

[Stonerboy779]

Oh no, no, no you were fine. I found your posts very helpful. Like I said, if you try something and there are things you you don't like by all means state it. I just don't like it when an Apple fanboy says all droid sucks or when a Droid fanboy says all Apple sucks because usually that is all they have to say and have no good reasons to support the claims.

Then I will put it this way.

 

iOS6 sucks

 

Reasons why it is inferior to iOS4 and iOS5 (and yes I conceed that they were well made OSs not entirely my cup of tea because I dislike constraints but they were very well finished walled gardens).

 

1 - It has introduced yet another app I have no need for. Passbook which is useless on an epic scale its more useless than Stocks, Voice Memos, Reminders, Newsstand, Game Center and Weather which where all introduced through iOS4 and 5.

2 - Maps has gone with Navman or TomTom something like that and it is a massive bundle of fail. Google maps for iOS was vastly superior in quality of maps, quantity and use of maps. It was so much easier to search and use google maps. in this new Maps you need to write down full address's meaning yes you need to put road instead of rd and street instead of st. There is nothing intuitive in there use and the directions are really quite sub par when compared to the cheapest of GPS units or the android maps and navigation which takes on and best the best of dedicated GPS units.

3 - Continuity of design is lost now. Many of the defult apps have undergone style changes and not for the better either. It would have been better if they all changed in a similar fashion but every app seems to have taken on it own unique and rather poor style that no longer lends to the feeling of a complete and polished OS.

 

Reasons why it is inferior to android.

 

1 - Maps and Navigation. Hands down it is a win for Google and an abysmal fail for Apple. Google Maps and Navigation has helped me out many a time and it has been the greatest GPS software I have ever used. I have used several different dedicated GPS units from work and not one of them can even hold a candle to Google Navigaion. Apple doesn't even stand anywhere in the competition in fact it lays down and gives up somewhere cold and dark. With Google nav I have been able to navigate to places like my very own work by opening up nav and hitting the voice search button. Said the name of my work and the suburb and a second or so later it ask me to confirm the address it had already found. This means I have never had to actually stop and type addresses and often I have just started the GPS from my phone cradle. Re-routing is insanely fast on Google nav not something I have checked out on Apple nav yet because it sucked too hard to warrant actually using it haha

2 - notifications yes Apple introduced its notification center and yes it has "widgets" but the widgets have nothing on what the Google nav bar has I have been able to customize my bar greatly and I can now switch between bluetooth, data, wifi and airplane modes on and off, switch brightness levels, change sound profiles, turn gps on and off and even shut down or reset my phone.

3 - Roms roms lots of glorious roms now I know this isn't for everyone but I love been able to so heavily customize my phone, i love undervolting and changing CPU profiles and how the SD card is accessed or how much stuff gets cached etc. I enjoy removing all non critical stock apps that I never use and don't want.

 

Reasons why Apple and iOS6 are better than the competition

 

1 - It has an Apple on it

2 - It has a Sony camera, wait a lot of phones have one of them haha

3 - Okay I am serious I can't think of any reasons why I would want or even recommend Apple and iOS6 honestly iOS5 wasn't that bad and can understand people liking it but I cannot no matter how much I try understand how someone could like iOS6 or even wish it apon someone

 

Just my take on the Apple vs Droid and iOS6 vs previous OSs.

[Fogel]

Okay I am serious I can't think of any reasons why I would want or even recommend Apple and iOS6 honestly

I expected someone with as much intelligence as you possess to be less biased than this.

 

You are definitely correct when it comes to the Google Maps argument. That was one of the things I remembered I had left off my list a couple pages back and is definitely something that means something to me. Google really phooked Apple in that regard and Apple had no choice but to go their own route moving forward. And Droid fans are surprised Apple is fighting back with lawsuits? Sorry but its been dirty play on both sides. That's corporate ball, if you can't own up you get crushed. Look at all of Microsoft's competition for reference points.

 

Though from what I have seen you overstate the awesomeness of Google Maps. My friend uses his droid phone for GPS all the time... except he does it so we can make fun of it as we are driving. It gives him crappy routes. If he changes route it takes a long time for his droid to reconfigure the route. It will tell him to turn when he is already at the light waiting. The only reason my friend uses his droid for GPS is for pure entertainment so he can cuss it out while we drive. Like I said, most of my friends use Droids. I see Droids in action 95% of the time. If you get lost all the time, nothing beats a dedicated GPS unit. If I really needed a solid GPS device to rely on, I would go Garmin.

 

I agree with you 100% that Apple loses on Maps, but Droid beating a dedicated GPS device. I've seen all 3 in action (Apple w/ Google, Droid w/ Google Maps and full on GPS) and GPS wins hands down. Not to mention a dedicated GPS device isn't restricted to the same coverage a cell phone is.

 

 

Though I agree with you on Apple Maps sucking, I simply call that a con ...not a reason iOS/iPhone/Apple "sucks". Saying it sucks because it lacks the same product its competition developed is really 1-sided and akin to what all the other droid fanboys I read on the internet say. And I read a lot of these types of comments since I mostly visit the droid websites. Luckily they have great info because reading their forums is like hearing a bunch of sheep sound off in unison. I thought the true, no kidding fanboys were the same on both sides but its no where close to the same. Droid fanboys are rabid boy. Yeesh! It is getting to the point to where I may actually go with a Windows phone just so I'm not associated with droid ...I am not quite there yet, but...

[Stonerboy779]

I expected someone with as much intelligence as you possess to be less biased than this.

Well my experience comes from owning an ipod touch 4th gen from the day before it was meant to release in aus it shipped early so I guess I could say two or so years ago the delivery from the apple store was fantastic.

 

I went through iOS4 and 5 and they were nice and polished and my iPod was great to use for music but iOS6 is really quite poor and has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Does two years of owning Apple and Droid side by side make me biased or informed?

 

The iOS6 software as a whole has me not liking Apple one bit, now if you move from software to hardware there is in reality nothing special going on there nothing that you wouldn't find in any other flagship phone of the same price range. I guess you could count the billion and one accessories for iPhones and iPods as a plus as well as more games if your into that sort of thing, personally I don't care much for the games from either market. Why pay $5 for a game on my phone when I can pa $5 on steam and get a hell of a lot more value for money.

 

iPhone has a nice camera so does the other flagships, Nokia has an even better one but well Symbian and Windows phone..... really both are kinda dead end OSs.

It has facetime and messages but well there are a heap of apps both sides that accomplish the same thing.

It has a nice functional music player but stylistic changes don't have me liking it so much especially when you have big square buttons that arent buttons because only the pic inside is a button.

It has an app draw and supposed multi tasking but I find the android is definately ahead there on switchong between apps or even running mini widowed apps over the top of other apps.

It is mostly operated by a principle of three where you can do most core functions in only three clicks or presses something great that Steeve did there.

It has glass and aluminum construction, great for looking pretty and feeling expensive but I will take a plastic phone any day in preference if all else is the same. I prefer it if things don't smash the first time i accidently drop it so giant slabs of glass aint my thing, not to mention the sevear scratches that tiny bits of dust have introduced to the mirrored aluminum of my iPod.

 

Pretty sure that I am not being biased and have plenty of reasons for why I believe that Apple has really dropped the ball.

 

Not to mention a dedicated GPS device isn't restricted to the same coverage a cell phone is.

 

Actually you'll find that you can use Google maps and Nav without a data connection. You just end up using cached maps you can even make your own cached maps which i have found can be made really quite large and still not take up too much space on the phone. So basically anywhere the dedi GPS gets GPS signal so does the phone.

[d3bruts1d]

blah

"iOS6 sucks"

1. While I agree that the Stocks and Weather apps in iOS are fairly useless, I actually make heavy use of Voice Memos, Reminders, and even Game Center. On the iPad I use Newstand but haven't had much use for it on the iPhone. Passbook I also enjoy and use it frequently at Starbucks, Walgreens and Target... I haven't been to a movie yet since iOS 6 was released, but I would certainly use the Fandango integration as well since I always buy tickets there anyway. MLB has reported heavy usage with Passbook as well. Each user will be different, I just wish the default apps could be removed... instead I throw them in a folder and forget about it until someone complains.

2. This is Apple's first attempt at maps. Yes, it sucks. Google Maps in iOS 1 (iPhone OS) sucked... granted Apple Maps sucks more, but it still took Google a while to get it right. This really isn't a big of a deal. There are a number of other apps available, Google Maps works in Safari, and Google is expected to release an official app soon. Meh. I use the maps app (current or previous) maybe once every 6 months. Generally I know where I'm going.

3. This actually started in iOS 4 or 5 (I forget) and can also be seen in Mac OS. While I agree that this is an "issue" I tend to use apps because of how they work and perform rather than how they look. - It's the whole game play over graphics mentality of gamers.

 

"Reasons why it is inferior to android."

1. Rehash of the same argument. Yes, Apple maps suck. Yes, Google is/was better... they had better be, they were doing it far longer. Yes, there are alternatives available.

2. Agreed. Apple has a lot of room to improve this area.

3. Meh.

 

 

As I said before, driving a 4.8" display isn't an easy thing to do..

This is one of the things I noticed when I was playing with some phones recently at the AT&T store. And if you think 4.8 is tough, try playing with the 5.3" screen of a Galaxy Note. I seriously don't understand what people are thinking with that one... but obviously it worked well enough for some to justify Samsung building a Galaxy Note II (5.5"). I'll just sit back and ridicule people I see holding it up to their ear and using it as a phone. That's about as stupid as the people that use the iPad as a camera in public.

 

 

In the end it's about being happy, and as long as your happy with your phone thats what matters. I have had bad luck with most phones, every windows phone i have had has been awesome to say the least, so I stick with what works for me. Just thought I would clarify why I say the Nokia phone was awesome.

+1 That's pretty much what I said at the beginning of the thread.

[Stonerboy779]

D3bruts1d come use Passbook in Australia it only has one app available for it and on reminders and voice memos I just use notes and/or calander see no need for the twobit understand others may find great use in there working life.

 

They're nothing special to sell the phone and just take up space imo. I have never ever liked stock apps I can't remove. Thus goes for PC's laptops and phones regardless of os. If it comes with non crucial programs that I wont ever use and can't remove I don't like it.

 

I did some thinking and have decided one thing I like about Apple is that you are pretty much guaranteed app comparability and smooth running. Something that is iffy at best a lot of the time on android unless you have one of the flagships from the last 6 months running an official release of the latest android os ie ATM Jellybean.

 

The walled garden of apple mobile devices is good for app development.

 

What isn't cool is the resolutions apple uses. My biggest gripe with actual physical design, material preferances aside, is the non standard resolutions. Seriously how hard would it be to make 720p or 766p 16:9 phones. They finally brought in a 16:9 screen but in some really weird res but at least you can watch videos and YouTube etc without boarders.

[vandreadstriker]

 

 

Not to be rude, but this is typical fanboy talk IMO.. Why? Cause they only talk the bad side of things (and I mean every inch of it. e.g. Build in apps are given for free and still they'd complain about it."Bloatware" rings a bell to anyone here?) and can be easily manipulated:

 

Well my experience comes from owning an ipod touch 4th gen HTC Sensation and a GS3 from the day before it was meant to release in aus it shipped early very first few weeks it was released so I guess I could say two or so years ago the delivery many months ago from the apple store what HTC & Samsung offered was fantastic.

 

I went through iOS4 and 5 Froyo and Gingerbread and they were nice meh and polished customizable and my iPod Sensation was great Sh!... to use for music as a phone but iOS6 ICS is really quite poor good and has left me with a sour sweet taste in my mouth. Does two years of owning Apple and Droid side by side make me biased or informed?

 

The iOS6 ICS software as a whole has me not liking Apple Google one bit a whole lot, now if you move from software to hardware there is in reality nothing special going on there nothing that you wouldn't find in any other flagship phone of the same price range. I guess you could count the billion and one accessoriesy for iPhones and iPods Galaxies as a plus as well as more games apps if your into that sort of thing, personally I don't care much much-but-not-fanatic for the games apps from either market. Why pay $5 700 for a game Snapdragon 4 & Android on my phone when I can pa $5 500 on steam a computer and Windows and get a hell of a lot more value for money.

 

iPhone Samsung has a nice camera screen so does the other flagships, Nokia iPhone has an even better one but well Symbian Android and Windows phone iOS..... really both are kinda dead end matured OSs.

It has facetime and messages Google Maps and S Voice but well there are a heap of apps both sides that accomplish the same thing.

It has a nice functional music player dropdown menu but stylistic changes don't have me liking it so much especially when you have big square small symbol buttons that arent buttons because only the pic inside is a button. <--- (I don't really get the point. Pic inside is a button?)

It has an app draw and supposed multi tasking store but I find the android iPhone is definately ahead there on switchong between buying apps or even running mini widowed apps over the top of other apps. without hassles.

It is mostly operated by a principle of three nature where you can do most core functions in only three clicks or presses really use and hold the phone with ease something great that Steeveamsung did there.

It has glass and aluminum plastic construction, great for looking pretty and feeling expensive cheap but I will wouldn't take a plastic phone any day in preference if all else is the same. I prefer it if things don't smash bend and tear the first time i accidently drop tried to pull the battery cover off it so giant slabs of glass plastic aint my thing, not to mention the sevear scratches dents that tiny bits of dust have dropping introduced to the mirrored aluminum plastic edges of my iPod S3.

 

Pretty sure that I am not being biased and have plenty of reasons for why I believe that Apple has really dropped the ball.

 

I've debated with Stonerboy many times on this Apple vs el Goog/Sammy matter.. From what I learned, he got many experience with Android and tweaking them but seems to have closed his doors on iOS.. Matter of preference IMO

 

@Fogel: Unless you found a way to use all Phones you'd like to buy for a certain period of time, there really isn't a way to find out for sure which one suits you best. Everything is a matter of personal preference: shape, size, weight, OS, apps, features etc.. If you've chosen iOS, then iPhone is your choice, but if you chose Android/WP, you'd have to use each device to get a good 'feel' of what suits you best since they all differ from each other. Have you chosen a carrier yet?

Also, My offer on the Galaxy S 5.0 still stands. I'm still finding someone who'd want to take them off my hands (my dad's hands actually) here

[Fogel]

Does two years of owning Apple and Droid side by side make me biased or informed?

Informed ...but clearly biased. If you feel the need to bad mouth iOS/iPhone/Apple in multiple threads (which you have) you shouldn't need me to tell you that you are biased. I won't be able to do as well as Vandreadstriker did, but let's take your style of debate. I will use the Galaxy S3 since it is winning the poll and the current droid flagship.

 

Why iPhone the 5 doesn't suck (Stoner Style):

• 
   
  
• Better quality and it isn't some dull greyed out screen like the S3
  
• Lighter in weight and easier to hold than the S3
  
• Actually works well as a phone compared to the entire S3 line of phones which has crappy call quality
  
• Better quality apps ...oh and many of them ARE free so its not like you have to pay for all of them
  
• Apps aren't plagued with malware to the same degree like Android apps are
  
• More apps because developers prefer iOS over free source droid
  
• Apple doesn't drop its product line after 6 months like droid phones
  
• An Apple phone still performs great years later, unlike droid phones
  
• Great Battery Life (iP5 lasts 3 days on a charge with frequent web, you tube and other app usage)
  
• Faster and smoother than the Galaxy S3 despite the weaker tech specs
  
• It looks good if you are into that stuff
  

 

Why the S3 sucks (Stoner Style):

1. 
    
   
2. It has big gaudy screen that people compensating for something need. It totally chumps the iP5's toddler screen, but the screen quality SUCKS
   
3. It looks good if you are chic. It looks like a small tablet for girls.
   
4. Ok I am like so serious, I cannot think of a thing Android does right that Apple doesn't do better with less to work with
   

 

Ya that style of post doesn't come across as biased one bit. Someone coming into this topic would read this post and think I am completely anti-Android. You can't even give a compliment to the other side without immediately taking it away.

 

Like I said from the very get go. Before I started this search I was leaning to the Galaxy S3 and figured it would be a sure thing. If it was as perfect as you think it is than this decision wouldn't be so hard. This may be hard to acknowledge but each side has very good benefits that make it an awesome product and guess what... each also has features that suck.

 

+1 That's pretty much what I said at the beginning of the thread.

Not sure why so many people hate the Weather app but I found it useful when I borrowed my Mom's phone. Seemed to be accurate and you can scroll through the weather by time, which I found useful since I train at night and it is nice to know if I need a hoodie at night (sweaty and cold weather isn't a good mix). That is why I like accuweather.com.

 

Anyhow, I find it interesting that most people who like Apple products seem to be more open minded than the droid fanboys.

 

 

@Fogel: Unless you found a way to use all Phones you'd like to buy for a certain period of time, there really isn't a way to find out for sure which one suits you best. Everything is a matter of personal preference: shape, size, weight, OS, apps, features etc.. If you've chosen iOS, then iPhone is your choice, but if you chose Android/WP, you'd have to use each device to get a good 'feel' of what suits you best since they all differ from each other. Have you chosen a carrier yet?

Also, My offer on the Galaxy S 5.0 still stands. I'm still finding someone who'd want to take them off my hands (my dad's hands actually) here

No I haven't picked a phone yet. Still deciding between the S3, iP5, Optimus G ...and a small part of me really wants that Lumia 920. (just not a fan of the tile ecosystem)

 

So no decision on the Galaxy S 5.0 till I make that call.

[d3bruts1d]

D3bruts1d come use Passbook in Australia it only has one app available for it and on reminders and voice memos I just use notes and/or calander see no need for the twobit understand others may find great use in there working life.

 

The walled garden of apple mobile devices is good for app development.

Passbook integration is really up the the app developers and not Apple. It is still a new feature, so I'm sure others will add support for it over time. One thing you have to take into consideration is that when a business decides to use it (or anything similar) they don't simply create an app. They also have to purchase bar code (or QR code) readers that can read the image from a screen, even if the company had readers previously there is a chance they wouldn't work - not all readers are created equal! Additionally, they have to get the word out to their employees about the app and what it means for them running a register, which may include training.

 

The notes app and voice memo app complement each other, as do the reminders and calender. I use reminders often to build a check list (i.e. things to do/check before leaving on vacation)... it also comes in handy with things that don't necessarily need to be on the calendar (pay x bill today) or (when I get home, call mom). I think the line is blurred a lot between what calender and reminders can be used for, and wish that Apple would integrate the two apps.

 

The walled garden isn't perfect, but it does help consumers and developers. I wish they would ease up on some of the restrictions, but it is how they keep their user experience with iOS high.

 

Not sure why so many people hate the Weather app but I found it useful when I borrowed my Mom's phone. Seemed to be accurate and you can scroll through the weather by time, which I found useful since I train at night and it is nice to know if I need a hoodie at night (sweaty and cold weather isn't a good mix). That is why I like accuweather.com.

It's not bad and the integration with the notification center is a plus. However it is a very simple app and doesn't stand up to TWC Max (my preferred app), Intellicast, or any other number of available weather apps. I wish Apple would post a weather API and allow users to select a weather app to drive the stock app. I think that would improve it quite a bit.

[Stonerboy779]

d3bruts1d just a question hows wifi going for you on ios6?

[EuroFight]

In my opinion, both OSes have their advantages and disadvantages, for example, Andriod offers great customisability, but on the contrary, iOS is very stable and is easy to use. I think we can spend our lives arguing about which OS is better but for every point one side puts down the other will have another one to counter.

 

Having said this, I think most of us agree that most Apple devices have better build quality than many Android devices, but then to say that is like saying your $1000 gaming rig is better than a $200 P4 rig - you get what you pay for in many respects, but you're also paying for the name. I also find Apple products are much more enjoyable to use than many other devices, the devices are ergonomic and look nice, and the OS just seems to 'work'. 90% of people who buy products just want it to work, they don't want to spend the next month customising it and modding it, they want to set it up once and that's it.

 

I personally have an Samsung Galaxy Ace (S5830i) running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and I don't mind it. The apps I need are fairly basic and it's a lot easier to use for checking Facebook or OCC than booting up my laptop, so for what I do, I don't NEED a iPhone 5 or a S3, admittedly it would be nice, but I wouldn't need anything close to what they provide, and I think this is the main point for many people. If you need something like an iPhone 5 perhaps instead of a netbook while travelling and you can afford it then that's great, but for the average consumer, they only need a cheaper device, and because Apple devices are so expensive, there is no way Apple can cater for them, hence this is where Android comes in.

 

Anyway, to conclude, both OSes are good in their own ways, Apple devices provide a great range of functions and a fluid OS that works around the user, however Android devices can work well enough for those who don't want to splash out $700 on a phone.

[IVIYTH0S]

...If you need something like an iPhone 5 perhaps instead of a netbook while travelling and you can afford it then that's great, but for the average consumer, they only need a cheaper device, and because Apple devices are so expensive, there is no way Apple can WANTS TO cater for them, hence this is where Android comes in...

[vandreadstriker]

I wish Apple would post a weather API and allow users to select a weather app to drive the stock app. I think that would improve it quite a bit.

 

They wouldn't be Apple if they lets us have an option like Android does

Shame Jailbreaking is made illegal starting next year.... Seriously I find no sense in not letting the customer do what they want with their phones.

Making it harder for the customer to customize is a different story. They still let you do it, but you gotta figure it out by yourself.