Let me tell you why I'm moving from iPhone to Android

The time has come. After a couple of years using an iPhone I've decided to move to an Android device. I'm not moving immediately, but I will probably buy a Samsung Galaxy S II very, very soon.

Making the move from iPhone 4 to Samsung Galaxy S2

For the last few months I've been spending more time 'playing around' with my wife's Samsung Galaxy S than with my iPhone 4 which I now use mostly for work email. With the current maturity of the Android OS and most of the applications I use, I came to realize that nothing really ties me to my iPhone any more.

     I feel I've regained my freedom of choice.

I still think the iPhone is awesome and the iPad is magical. We can all thank Apple for kicking off the revolution which transformed the market and eventually brought us the freedom of choice we now enjoy and which will definitely increase. I do hope Apple keep the groundbreaking practical innovations coming. I don't think any other company can revolutionize like Apple. Without them, touch screen devices, especially mobile phones, would still remain a geeky niche of unfriendly, stylus driven devices, and not desirable fashionable objects, even iconic.

Before reasoning my planned move to Android,  I thought a little bit of background about myself and my personal device preferences would be appropriate.

What I don't care about

I am always trying to make gadget and electronic device decisions which serve me best and not necessarily follow a trend, the media, other geeks, Mr Jobs, or anyone else.

A list of things I don't really care much about:

1. Flash. I haven't had an amazing Flash experience using Android, although some stellar reports on Samsung Galaxy S2 Flash experience are promising. And I am still waiting for Balsamiq, which runs on the 'multi-platform' Adobe Air, to run on Android. At the same time, I did not encounter major website limitation browsing with my iPhone or iPad without Flash. On a phone I really don't think it matters very much anyway, at least not for me.
2. Open vs. Closed OS. I really don't care. I have my set of requirements and if they are met I don't care about the underlying OS, code, magic, or secret sauce. On the same note, Apple's walled garden restricts some potential iOS features, and have contributed to my decision to make a switch.
3. I am not AGAINST anyone. If Microsoft-Nokia, HP, RIM, or even Commodore deliver a better platform, choice, and an overall package I am ready to consider a switch... again.
4. Fanboyism. I am not, and have never been:
• An Apple fanboy
• A Google/Android fanboy
• A Mac, Linux, or Windows OS fanboy. (I use all three for different purposes)

[via C-Section Comics]

I have owned many mobile devices for the past 18 years. Starting with an Apple Newton MessagePad, going through various PDAs and smartphones, (did you know John Sculley, Apple's CEO 1983-93, actually coined the term "Personal Digital Assistant"?). I used convertible tablet laptops ever since they were made available, and migrated all the books and magazines I could to digital consumption, but until Apple revolutionized smartphones and tablets, the devices, even the cooler ones, were not really delivering the StarTrek experience, and left room for a lot to be desired.

I admit to Jailbraiking, rooting, ROMing, bootloading, and other personal electronic sins on most of my devices. Interestingly, for the past year my iPhone has not been Jailbroken, but admittedly as a UK device, it is SIM free. On the other hand, my wife's Samsung Galaxy S IS rooted and runs a custom ROM which makes it run faster and adds a couple of features.
Of course I will root the Galaxy S 2 when I get it, but I am wondering if I actually need to at all.



When I first started really considering moving to an Android device, I thought hard at the reasons I use an iPhone. I considered the user interface experience, ease of use, form factor, individual features, available apps, and so on. The last and most important phase in my analysis was the apps analysis, where I listed the apps I regularly use on my iPhone and iPad, compared to the availability on Android phones and tablets.
I will include the list in my next post. It actually is very handy as a 'Most Useful Smartphone and Tablet Apps' list. Bottom line is - I decided the gap is so narrow now, there really is none for me.

I still find it amazing that I bought all the iPhone and iPad Apps I need, and some I don't, for less than the cost of a good meal for two at Sardos. I wonder how many apps I will really have to buy again on AndroidMarket. Doing the personal app usage analysis I found out that excluding games, digital books and magazine subscriptions, I bought  about 25 apps.16 of which I actually use on my iPhone and iPad combined, and these cost a total of around $80. I also bought around 10 games for the iPhone, and 3 for the iPad, for a total of around $30. Most were not played for more than 15 minutes... By the way, most of the apps and games were sniped at considerable discounts using AppShopper.

So, I decide to make the move. I might decide to move again in the future, who knows. But I sure still want Apple to keep releasing awesome devices and change the world!


And now The List: Why I decided to move from iPhone to Android:


11. Knowing the future. With Apple you have months of rumors and long waits between device releases, where everything is revealed. A new release might be major like the iPhone 4 with iOS 3, or it can be just an upgrade like the iPad 2. With Android, you have good visibility into what's coming from many brands as well as Google, on both the hardware and software fronts.


10. Customization. With Apple you are 'stuck' with how Apple wants you to use your device. Apple's UI experience is great and the approach in general is not all bad and actually was critical in defining the modern smartphone, but if you still want to change something - you can't. With Android you have more choices. Your experience can be very similar to an iPhone or customized to your needs, with a variety of launchers, GO Launcher EX is my personal favorite. And of course - Widgets! I will not be surprised if we see widgets on iPhone and iPad, perhaps even this year in iOS 5. 


9. Move any file easily. On Android you simply copy any file to and from the device using a USB cable, WiFi, Bluetooth, or micros SD card. On the iPhone/iPad you need to sync files with the dreadful and painfully slow iTunes, or use third party applications. And you cannot just copy any file to anywhere on the device.


8. Open any file. It is true that iPhone/iPad support most file types, but still not all. I simply want to watch my existing collection of DivX movies without having to convert them to iPad or iPhone formats. And AirPlay is useless when you are traveling, or simply not at home.


7. A wide selection of hardware. iPhone is amazing, but I might have other preferences, such as having a larger screen for my poor old eyes, a better camera, or 1080p video capture and playback. I can wait for the next Apple release, and probably not get all the features I want, or I can choose an Android device with everything - right now.


6. Value for money. Apple sells the the iPhone at a premium. Maybe it will be so for the iPad as well when the tablet competitors learn how to compete. Apple's profit margins are high, and you are paying for the brand and icon and not just for the electronic components. I prefer more features I need in a device I like and which many times costs less, at least a couple of weeks from launch.


5. Keep my individuality. I prefer not to be part of a herd. Imagine there was only one supercar, would everyone who can afford it (and it's not me...) just buy the same car?


4. Encourage competition. One vendor total domination discourages innovation. It used to be so when Nokia ruled the mobile phone market and Microsoft ruled the niche of smartphones. Look how things changed. No wonder Nokia and Microsoft partnered. They probably should have done so 5 years ago.


3. As much storage as I want. I prefer to have my choice of memory size and when to expand it - if I want to.  I do not want to be forced into an overpriced 32GB memory option, when I just want to occasionally store a few more movies on my device.


2. Even cheaper apps. There are more free Android apps than iPhone apps. On average Android apps are also cheaper. A recent analysis by Distimo found that the the Apple app market is not really growing any more. They predict Android apps will top Apple in 5 months. The only current advantage for Apple is in the number of mobile games and that too will change in the future, especially when Sony enters the game.


1. No iTunes!! I really can't say many good things about iTunes. The convenience of purchasing apps, music and video is probably the only good thing I can say. And even this is mostly because I was <smartly> forced to provide a valid credit card for even basic use. The people who designed the music, photo, and video syncing in iTunes have caused more grief than they realize. I know so many people who simply could not get it and accidentally erased all their pictures, music, or both. Or simply struggled to just copy the weekend pictures from their iPhone to their PC. Hey Apple - not everyone wants to sync everything. Some of us just want to copy individual files back and forth. Personally, I use iPhone Explorer to copy files to and from my PC and Mac, but after moving to Android I wouldn't have to anymore!




Next time: The iPhone and iPad Apps I use most and the Android equivalents