About a week ago I decided to take the plunge and ditch my iPhone for the Motorola Droid. It was a tough decision, because I’ve been a faithful iPhone user since the first generation of them. It also meant that I would have to cancel my AT&T contract early and switch carriers to Verizon. But enough of the boring stuff, on to my thoughts on the showdown between the best two smartphones on the market. I wasn’t really surprised to realize that it’s not so much about the Droid vs. iPhone so much as it is about the better of the two operating systems.
First of all, let’s talk about why I switched. It had nothing to do with the Verizon commercials with all the maps – out here in Hawaii my island is just about completely covered by both providers. The commercials are funny though, and AT&T’s response commercials citing facts like “the most popular smartphone” are pretty weak. I switched mainly because I wanted a new toy, so I checked the internet for the latest rumors about upcoming iPhones and other smartphones, and didn’t find much except that there’s speculation that on the nextgen iPhone there may be a front-facing camera for video calls. Considering I’m usually doing something else while I’m on the phone, that doesn’t really appeal to me. Plus, I assume it would be compatable with only other iPhone users with the latest phone with that capability. No thanks. I also have gotten angry at AT&T lately because of their delays with rolling out MMS messaging on the iPhone – seriously, it really shouldn’t have taken that long, and they still have yet to follow through with promises of tethering. I knew that Verizon offers free turn by turn navigation, while AT&T charges an extra $10 per month for it. Admittedly, I wouldn’t use it a lot, but it’d be nice to have without extra fees. I was also dissappointed with Apple lately, with some of the apps they’ve rejected from the AppStore. Sure, a lot of them are dumb, but who is Apple to decide that? I wanted something with less restrictions – something that felt a little less like a walled garden, because that just seems wrong to me, especially if it’s not for personal safety or illegal reasons.
Enter Android, Google’s mobile operating system. It’s open-source, highly customizable, and allows app developers to create apps with such high functionality (including background processes) that they blow Apple’s apps out of the water. True, one has to be more careful when downloading apps for the Android because they have more ability, but as far as functionality go, Android wins by far. I’ve also noticed that while Apple boasts 100,000 apps, I had maybe 20 on my iPhone. I just didn’t have much use for fart machines and a collection of half-naked girlie pictures. While the Android Market loses the quantity battle as far as apps, when it comes to quality, again it’s a hands-down win for Android. Many of the really cool apps for Android are even free – a bonus in anyone’s book. And if you can’t find what you want, Android will even let you install your own apps, not from the market. So your friend could write one, and you can get it on your phone without him having to submit it and get it approved by the market. I forsee a huge underground Android scene where apps that would even be rejected by Google will be able to be used, which will really be able to do some freakin cool stuff, that will most likely be in the “legally grey” area. Sweet. If you do buy an app though, Google gives you 24 hours to get a refund on it, which means no more gambling or getting screwed with crappy apps like in the Apple store. That was a big reason I didn’t buy too many from them, because if it didn’t quite work and there was no trial version, you’re out of luck. Not anymore.
Another great thing about the Android OS is wigetization – that is, being able to use widgets. Basically, it’s sort of like a mini-app that runs on your homescreen, giving you anything from quick access to news, RSS feeds, online calendar, weather – there’s a ton of them, and while you wouldn’t use them all, the couple that you do find useful you will find very useful.
My favorite thing about the Android Operating system so far is its flawless integration with Google. This makes sense since it’s made by Google, but check this out – push GMail, Google contact and calendar syncing, Google Talk, Google Voice, Voice search, Maps, the list goes on. And like I said: flawless. I know some of these are available on the iPhone, but it’s always felt really awkward to me, and slow to the point of not even checking my GMail or trying to do one of the stupid workarounds to sync the other stuff. When I signed up and first got my phone, I entered my login/password and within seconds all my contacts were loaded into my phone, complete with avatars, if available. If the avatar wasn’t available, that was solved when I entered my facebook info, and it took all the default pictures, email addresses, birthdays, and other available facebook friend info and merged them with my existing contacts. Flawless.
I’ve discussed a lot about the Android operating system here, but that’s because I believe that’s what truly makes the Droid so awesome. There’s a learning curve to getting the hang of it and whatnot, but once you customize it a bit it all just makes so much more sense than the iPhone OS. It may not be for the technically moronic, but the beauty of it is that whether you’re not a heavy app user (like a coworker of mine) or a heavy app user/customizer/dig through every setting and play with everything (guilty) sort of person, it can work for everyone. As far as syncing with iTunes goes, you don’t need to. There’s an app that will let you, but you can plug it in to your computer and just drag over whatever files or music you want. Easy. And with the extended freedom for app developers, you can even find apps that can have file editing permissions, such as to re-tag MP3s and download cover art for you right over your phone’s network. That’s easier than fixing them all on the computer, even. Then you can take that MP3 and use it for your ringtone without having to first buy it from Apple, then buy it AGAIN as a ringtone. I even found an app that searches blogs, etc. for downloadable MP3s for free – something Apple would never let you do.
Like I said, I think it’s this operating system that really makes the Droid awesome, but the hardware of the phone itself is nothing to overlook. Firstly, it’s FAST. Like, fast fast. Switching between apps, loading stuff up, it’s blazing. The screen is big, pretty, and high res. It’s got a changable battery (bonus), just in case. The slide-out keyboard takes some getting used to, especially for a former iPhone user, but you really grow to appreciate how in landscape mode it doesn’t take up three-quarters of your screen when trying to type an email or whatever. I don’t know how I didn’t miss one on the iPhone these past few years. The camera is 5 megapixels and does a pretty decent job with photos and video, and has a flash and a bunch of settings like white balance and all that kinda stuff. The speakers are loud, and speakerphone works great, as does Bluetooth and all that stuff. It’s heavier and a bit thicker than the iPhone, mainly because of the slide-out keyboard. Yeah, the hardware is all better than the iPhone, that’s to be expected; it’s newer. The difference really is in the operating system.
One other thing I’ll mention is that the 3G speeds on Verizon here in Hawaii are really, really fast compared to AT&T. Almost as fast as my home Wi-Fi fast.
So in conclusion, the Droid is awesome, and while the hardware is definitely all great and slick, the thing that truly makes this worthwhile is the Android OS that it runs. And it runs it really, really well. In fact, I’m kind of upset I didn’t switch to the Droid the day it came out.
Awesome article. I have a mytouch and absolutely love it! I’ve noticed between different people’s service that ATT lies a lot about their service and will literally say anything to win customers. While I have t-mo right now and they’re decent I would much rather be back with verizon or sprint. I’m just making the rounds on the carriers but I refuse to even go to ATT.
Thanks for the comment. I’ve been anxious to play around on the mytouch since it runs a slightly different OS than the standard Android, but haven’t gotten a chance to yet.
I think AT&T is grasping at straws lately, the latest commercial I’ve seen is (recently-added) celebrity spokesman Luke Wilson include answering a question for a friend on a “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” type gameshow where he looks up the answer on his smartphone, demonstrating the useful ability to get data and voice at once. I just shook my head thinking “is that the best they can do?”
And speaking of AT&T, have they rolled out (legit) tethering for iPhone yet, or have they still not finished their “infrastructure upgrades”? Cause I’m writing this while tethered on my Droid, and downloading [a movie] at 200+k.
yeah, I dig the slide out keyboard. Javier and Karla have the droid. I still have the original alias. And now you’re IN so now I can text and call u w/o using my minutes. Out here Metro PCS is beginning to expand fairly rapidly and I like their model better – you pay the full cost of any phone you buy, sign no contract, and receive unlimited talk text and web for $40 a month total (that price includes all fees and taxes). No smartphones available as of the last time I checked and their coverage area is pretty small, but they are expanding their coverage area and I think they stand a chance at becoming a big player in the future. I guess they are going from 2g straight to 4g and smartphones are rolling out soon, if not already.