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Should I stay with iOS or shift to Android?

Let me start this article by giving you a brief background on how I started shifting from one mobile ecosystem to another. Like most people, my first love was with Nokia and its Symbian OS. Not because it is a revolutionary OS but primarily because I don’t really have any choice.

On the positive side you get to choose from a wide variety of cellphone models since Nokia led the mobile hardware race back then.

I’ve had four Nokia phones before with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic as the last one. It was also the device that introduced me to flashing custom ROMs, it was exciting. However, that excitement ran out when I had my first encounter with an Android phone. My then girlfriend (who’s now my wife) bought a Samsung Galaxy Spica running Android 2.1 Eclair.

I instantly fell in love with it but not because of the phone’s design or the widgets or the fluid interface. I fell in love with Android because of its threaded SMS system. If you’re an experienced Nokia user coming from the likes of 3210 then you’ll understand how wonderful threaded SMS is.

I immediately sold my 2 year old Nokia 5800 and planned to buy a Spica myself but for some reason I skimped and decided to wait for a better Android phone. I then had my sights on the HTC Hero until a friend came along with his iPod Touch 3rd Gen. I’ve seen the iPod Touch before and considered it as a great device. But I needed a phone, the iPod Touch is not a phone. And the iPhone 3G is too damn expensive at that time. I played with the iPod Touch and I fell in love again. This time because of the apps and the really neat UI. To cut things short, I went for the iPod Touch 3rd Gen and just used a really cheap “that-you-can-toss-it-around” Samsung phone that came as a freebie when my mom bought a refrigerator.

I was really satisfied with the iPod Touch and even went for the 4th Gen. If I have the resources I’d immediately buy the iPhone 4. All the while I kept in touch with Android with my wife’s Spica. I loved the idea on how you can customize Android in different levels – something that iOS cannot achieve even with a jailbreak. Like what I told a friend – “If you want elegant simplicity, go for iOS. But if you want complex badassery, go for Android.” I was lucky enough to play both worlds, until I bricked the Spica. Maybe I’m not badass enough.

And so I stuck with iOS and kept on tinkering with the jailbroken iPod Touch 4th Gen. Currently I have the iPhone 4S and things are great so far. I’ve jailbroken it and customized it to a point that it’s lagging and crashing. I was forced to restore it to its “pristine” state but decided not to completely go back. I want something better. I ended up updating from iOS 5.1.1 to iOS 6 beta 3. It’s neat, it has new features but I wasn’t completely satisfied. The geek inside me is screaming for something more difficult to tinker on. I flashed my wife’s Kindle Fire with a custom Android Jellybean and the voice subsided. What the fuck was that?? Is Android becoming the right kind of dealer for my needs?

I started comparing the philosophies behind iOS and Android. iOS is going for something that really works seamlessly but somewhat capped. Android, however, is accepted to be far from perfect but it is constantly evolving. A smartphone, in my opinion, is more than just a gadget. It’s an extension of who you are and its identity is how you want your life to work. As I remember holding the HTC One X on one hand and the Samsung Galaxy S3 on the other with my iPhone 4S in the middle, I just can’t reject the fact that I needed change. The question now is, it Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS that’s going to give me the satisfaction of change? Should I stay with iOS or shift to Android? To our dear readers, help me weigh in the options. Convince me, entice me, coax me. iOS or Android? Share your thoughts below.

Editor’s Note: At one time or another, we can all relate to this transition and have faced the same dillema. – Yuga

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Avatar for Diangson Louie

This article was written by Louie Diangson, Managing Editor of YugaTech. You can follow him at @John_Louie.

142 Responses

  1. Avatar for Havoc Havoc says:

    Android’s the way to go. Had my first Android phone last year; never had a dull moment with it. Unleash the full techie in you… Android! XD

  2. Avatar for matt matt says:

    Should I stay with IOS or shift to android? The next question is why not have both IOS and android?

  3. Avatar for Adrian Adrian says:

    Cant see why you cant have both..

    iOS is good basically for its apps. so get an iPod touch.
    I have my sister’s 2nd gen iPod and I’m still using it as a music player, etc.
    you know, that thing you’ll remember to use only when you see it sitting around.

    But as my primary gadget, I have Galaxy Nexus. This thing do what my iPod can’t. Text, call, and amaze people.

  4. Avatar for Patrick Patrick says:

    The article was written not by Yuga. See author at the end of the article. For me, go Android. I would have to agree – iOS is 2007. No significant innovation really from their end since then.

  5. Avatar for Mickey Mickey says:

    I had a great run with the former big shot of mobile phones which is Nokia. I had an Xpressmusic 5300, which was sooo cool 5 years ago. I think it was the “in” phone to own back then. Then my Mom came back from Dubai with a gift, a Nokia N95 which back then was as expensive as today’s iPhone 4. People bought phones not for their OS, but for how loud can your phone go.

    I sticked to my phone for a year or two, then my Mom bought me a Samsung S5230 Star. It was my first touch screen phone, and it sucked. I didn’t like the pixelation of the screen, but ended up sticking to it. Christmas in 09 I wanted an iPod 4G, and obviously I got it. This time I was sure what I want. I was gaining knowledge from the mighty internet what to buy and check for reviews this time.

    The first time I held the iPod on my hand I was scared I might drop it. Just because of how thin the device was! My mind was blown with the iPod’s resolution and how high the PPI was. iOS was superb, just the transitions from page to page was butter. I instantly became a fanboy of Apple, Steve Jobs was God. Let’s do a recap, Nokia 5300, Nokia N95, Samsung Star and the iPod. I have been using the iPod for 2 years now. For me, iOS is getting boring, and I’m not even interested in iOS 6. The UI looks like the same for years and I think it won’t change with the iOS 6.

    This is why I switched to Android. I’ve been using the SG3 for a month now and it is awesome. Android is totally different, it’s much more customizeable. Flash ROM’s, APK’s, Hacks it’s all there. iOS is more restricted which is boring. Although you can also do those stuff with iOS, it’s still getting boring.

    From an iFanboy to a Droid.

    P.S. Sorry for some crappy grammar and everything with the word “tions”. ex cotations

    I haven’t slept yet. Insomnia, you know how it is.

  6. Avatar for techie05 techie05 says:

    luckily for me, i have experienced using several mobile OS.. Simplicity of IOS makes it rock solid. android’s flexibility makes it loved by many..including me.. but after i had a windows phone 7, i forgot IOS. a lot will disagree to me. but i believe microsoft has something to show more when windows mobile 8 comes.. windows mobile connection to social networking is way better than any mobile os.. and the simplicity of it comes way better than ios.. slick and fast. just have a look :)

  7. Avatar for jr jr says:

    both my parents have iphone4s and i own a samsung galaxy s3.im a iphone user before long long ago and still have my iphone 2g.but if you ask me i’ll go for the samsung galaxy s3 (android) because they have more options and i love the “widgets” and how you can tweak your phone the way you like it to be, like what icons and widgets you only want to display on you home screens” in my opinion iphone is a very decent phone, but now that i think of it i cant imagine my self using an iphone 4s, especially when i hold one now that im used to my big galaxy, it feels like a small toy for me and the ever simple just icons display are too simplistic for my taste.

  8. Avatar for giogagz giogagz says:

    iOS s so boring. Like you said sir yuga nageevolve ang android.iOS nageextinct. Hehehe

  9. Avatar for Levite Levite says:

    I symphatize with your situation. IOS is already becoming boring with the same UI since Iphone 3. Android is not complex for me as I was used to the same customizability of WinMobile but seems very inconsistent and always problematically laggy.

    I suggest you go for Winodows Phone 8 when it comes out for a fresh look and experience. I think this platform is very promising especially that it will share core kernel with Windows 8 RT.

  10. Avatar for H H says:

    never. you will never be satisfied. there will always be a feeling na something kulang. its a never ending thirst.

  11. Avatar for Ren Ren says:

    Thank you for this article! I thought I was the only one with the same thoughts. I remember I had both ipod touch 1st gen and iphone 3g on its early years. Some ios apps don’t support our country. Now i have samsung galaxy tab7 which even shows peso amount on paid apps! Leave apple products in the US, love android which fully supports SEA consumers!!!

  12. Avatar for boofman boofman says:

    Do you still have your Spica? Planning to sell it? How did you brick it?

    We got ZTE Blade, a Spica, Optimus One, SGS III, Hyundai A7HD in the family, and another Spica if you sell yours to me..

    Oh, and Linux and Android all the way!!! Sharing is the concept behind all these, unlike others that are proprietary and locked down despite whatever jbreaks you do..same with their other devices..

  13. Avatar for Cxian Cxian says:

    why not fit in 3 ecosystem? (Apple, Google and MS)

  14. Avatar for Anonimi Anonimi says:

    In my opinion, almost, if not, all the features present in the iOS are also available or better on the android or can be made available by some mods. Go for android, you’ll never regret it if you are into modding to satisfy your techie mind. Just choose the right unit which has the most development support.

  15. Avatar for iOSlovesAndroid iOSlovesAndroid says:

    Based on your article, you’re really into customizations and so on, go for Android. :)
    But honestly, iOS has far more dedicated apps and games which runs really smoothly compared to Android based on my experiences as well.

  16. Avatar for iOSlovesAndroid iOSlovesAndroid says:

    Based on your article,you’re really into customization and so on,go for Android. :)
    But honestly, iOS has far more dedicated apps and games which runs really smoothly compared to Android based on my experiences as well.

  17. Avatar for Kamote Kamote says:

    If you want a phone that can play games, go for IOS. But if you want a true SMARTPHONE, Android is the better choice

  18. Avatar for Mr. Serious Mr. Serious says:

    Ah… ANOTHER android vs ios post.

    I have been a long-time ios user (never owned a mac), and also am an android developer. It really depends on your wants and need.

    If you’re looking for content that can be provided to your phone (apps, movies, songs, tv series etc..), then you go ios. because the googleplay store can’t even touch the amount of content on the itunes store. (Amazon has even more content on their store than googleplay).

    If you’re not looking the content, but for a great phone, in paper atleast, itself. Then you go android.

    Much comparison have been made, but what they really focus in their platform is different.
    iOS focuses on a seamless experience, they rarely release features that are half-baked. They play it safe. They offer a great experience with not so much technical aspect to it.
    The Problem: It can be boring for people who likes to tinker with their handsets.
    Possible Solution: Jailbreak.

    Android on the other hand is aggressive. They give you options. They release feature after feature, OS versions after another. And OEMs also release different handsets like crazy.
    The Problem: No support. With the amount of phone models and custom UI they release, they can’t continue to support all of them.
    Possible Solution: Custom ROMS.

    If you’re more on the adventurous side, then you can go android because it provides a wide room for tinkering. BUT if you’re more of a conservative user who simply wants a phone that can do its job well, (a little tinkering as well) then you can go ios+jailbreak.

    Just my 2 cents.

  19. Avatar for Edison Evasco Edison Evasco says:

    i think i’m the only one whose gonna dare… hihihihi for something new… go Windows Phone… :D

  20. Avatar for jojolemuelramos jojolemuelramos says:

    yuga, go android, you can never be at peace with a handicapped software.

    im a die hard iphone loyalist back then, but that relationship drastically ended when one day gf gifted me a desire hd. then on smartphone has never been smarter in that sense.

    WHEN YOU FEEL SOMETHING’ KIND-OF-BIT-WEIRD wrong, GO and make the move. You deserve something better and ye kno’ that dude

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