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
stay with ios… the next version will have bluetooth
Android. I started with Spica too. I want freedom.
Gingerbread and up are the standards. Lags come from poor hardware, not optimized code of app/poorly written, or both.
Android, one-word-reason:
FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
I have an iphone 4s which is my second phone. I am using the galaxy note as my main phone. Just like you the geek inside me wants more than what the ios can do. I had to buy a really good android phone. I dint wait for the galaxy s3 though but my note is already more than perfect. I use its glorified features alot especially in my masters. And whats getting me more excited is jelly bean. Knowing apple’s history, they will always be limiting so i say get an android. Need i say more?
Dear Louie,
I extensively compared both os’s when i finally decided to settle with galaxy nexus, for the ff. reasons:
1. As for the UI, there’s nothing android cannot do that ios can, but there’s a lot of customization that you can do on android but not with ios (i.e. Keyboard – swype is ghe best fo onscreen
keyboard followed by SwiftKey, home screen layout, etc.) However, as for the smoothness of some apps, truly, its ios hands down.
2. You have a variety of handsets to choose from and based on your need you can choose a phablet phone, like the Samsung note, which is best for gaming, videos and web surfing. Or one which you can operate comfortably with one hand like those with 3.7″ to 4.3″ screen. Or perhaps, one with physical keyboard for quick typing.
On the other hand, since android is the fast evolving os at present, the value of your smartphone depreciates very fast. That’s why its really a good a idea to choose an android smartphone that has the latest os, just to future proof your investment for the next 2 years.
This is just my opinion, hope i was of help :-)
iOS is sooo 2007. Nuff said.
“I just can’t reject the fact that I needed change.” <– you answered it yourself, so ditch iOS and go Android… I'm an iphone 4 owner and I started with ipod touch 2g way back 2009 and from the looks of it I'm also bored with iOS (jailbroken), even with the upcoming iOS 6, it does not bring anything new. Also I miss bluetooth transfer and easy to load music without using itunes which an android can do.
I've tried S3 from my officemate and I definitely say that I want to taste android in the near future. Very smooth interface and the screen size is just perfect.
The only good thing I see with iOS and all other apple products are it's resale value, great international warranty and lots support form other iOS users if ever you encounter a problem.
Nevertheless if I'm in your situation now, I'll definitely give Android a go.
MAKE YOUR OWN PHONE!!!
Make your own mobile OS!!!
Thats the best solution…
the disadvantage is
your the only ONE using it…
hehehe
If you have the means, then why not have both.
I own Nexus S (though nasa Samsung repair shop siya ngaun at sana makuha ko na mamaya dahil taon ng aking kapanganakan bukas hehehe) and I must admit there were lags and all but I’m still satisfied with how much customizable the phone can be. Same with you, I also get to hold an Iphone 4S and I must as admit that its damn smooth. Well Nexus S is mid-range android phone so I cannot complain. With project butter and all, i dont think this should something to worry about specially if you buy a galaxy nexus though thats not advisable as we are just few months far from seeing the light of the new galaxy nexus.
So if you want the smoothness of iOS and the customizability of Android, then buy the best google android phone (not just android) out there. You’ll never regret it.
Im no fan of iOS but im a android lover.
I didnt owned a iOS phone but i love the physical design of it like “premium”. But i hate their OS which is close source.
I really love android because it gives me what i want of my phone. The exciting part is flashing some custom ROMS. i ownned samsung galaxy mini and ACE. Even if its a lower end phone but android expands the usage of my phone.
TRUE. If you want simplicity and premium like go for iOS. But if you’re geek enough go for Android.
Go for an android. You know YOU WANT IT.
I’d say both if you have the capacity to buy phones with Android and iOS- just to eliminate the endless curiosity of the feel and what not of both OS’.
I’ve been with the iPhone for 3 years now and I have no problems with it. I also handled several android phones – Samsung Ace and Young – and believe me, when it comes to capabilities, they have the edge since you can fully customize it in infinite number of ways. HAHAHA where am I going?
If you want to KISS (Keeping It Short and Simple) – go for iOS! It’s a dumb man’s smartphone! (not in an insulting way)
If you want to maximize its capabilities and unleash your inner IT side -go for Android devices (and I would recommend the best ones)
Shift to android. im like you yuga, i tinker a lot with my phones, i like the installing custom roms, “extending” the lives of my phones because i get to install android versions like Jelly Bean even if it’s not officially supported by the phone. i like troubleshooting, i like getting new features like google now even when almost all phones dont have it yet. i always like something new, without the spending for a new phone. installing a custom rom gives you the feeling that your phone is a spanking brand new one, eventhough it’s already a year old. i like overclocking my phone, seeing if it can run the amazing spiderman flawlessly when it’s at 1.6ghz. i like playing my games with a bluetooth ps3 controller, etc etc etc.
i have been an ios fanatic myself, i have jailbroken my 3gs, installed numerous homebrew apps, had installed gestures and stuff way before apple introduced the “persistently on the foreground circle accessibility thing”. but when i got to android, i found it better.
not only are my geekiness appetites satisfied, but my productivity appetites are also being served well. say i have a ppt file to show, it is VERRRRYYYYYY easy to save it locally and show to others with an android, even if it is not rooted. i tried doing that with an ipad 2, and after an hour, i only had 1 or 2 options to show the ppt, and i didnt even like it.
OH plus one more thing, i read days before, that one thing that beats ios flat is android’s notification system. nothing beats a notification bar on top, wherein you get updated at a glance alone. unlike with ios, where you still have to make an effort to slide it down.
i am not someone who has all the free time in the world. i am no longer a student. i am already working, 5 days a week. was a management trainee. yet because this is my passion, which i believe is yours too, id still give it time. even if i dont get enough sleep sometimes, it makes me happy.
go for android. ios is boring.
You’re choosing between iOS and Android. You have an iPhone 4S. You just can’t reject the fact that you needed change.
Sounds like you want us to convince you to go android. Anyway I suggest a Nexus or a proofreader >:D
android is not as good as ios in terms of stock roms.. but a fully customized android vs a fully customized ios, that’s different thing.. :) if you know what i mean..
Stock roms? When you buy your smartphone it comes with a stock rom. If you want to change the rom, you pick a better rom one that suits your needs. If you buy an iPhone you get your stock rom and you are stuck with it for all eternity. See the difference? Iphone is boring.
WP8! nyehehe
“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.”
AMEN to this~!
I’m a person who truly loves to innovate and try new things, and a closed ecosystem like Apple will never work for me. And lastly, I could never support the ‘evil’ actions that Apple has been doing for the past few years. They went from underground hero to a massive corporate monster.
If you love to tinker, you’ll never go wrong with Android.
If you like the simplicity and stability of Apple iOS and the strong capabilities and hardware variety of Google Android, Windows Phone 8 may be just that. I suggest you wait for it and see. After all, I don’t see you using a Google OS on your desktop anytime soon, do you? Plus, do you really feel comfortable with how Google handles your personal information?
We don’t know all the features Windows Phone 8 will bring, Joe Belfiore made it clear that what they revealed back in June were not all there is to it.
I agree with you Lucien. WP8 is the way to go. Actually there has been a lot of leaked consumer features detailed since Joe Belfiore presented in the WP Summit.
More especially, stick to the Nokia Lumia series of WP8 or wait for Pureview version of WP8 it will be so totally cool. I hate Google snooping on my data for advertising purposes and I feel Iphone UI is already boring even as IO6 does not bring any innovation in that department.
Windows Phone 8 is the game changer I feel.
If you want your phone to be as flexible as a computer, go Android.
If you want your smartphone to be as simple to use as can be, stay with iOS.
go to android, get galaxy nexus (or wait for december for new nexus)
4.1.1 is just as smooth as iOS.