Random musings: iPhone or Android?

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

iPhone or Android?

Which do you use and why?

I use an iPhone and I just bought an iPhone 8. I started with an iPhone because at the time it was the only device available through the AT&T employee discount. I know my co-worker Raleigh changed to an Android when they became available and he seems to like it but I decided I'd stick with what I know. I've had an iPhone 2, a 3GS, a 5C and now an 8.

Here's a comparison of the 5C and 8. One of the biggest differences for me was the screen size...I think the screen on my 5C was somehow shrinking because it was getting harder and harder to see.

I was never a big Apple fan...I was always a PC guy. My iPhone was my first Apple device...I never owned an iPod. Then when my laptop died, I borrowed Danny's MacBook Pro since he wasn't using it and I'd bought it for his college classes which he wasn't taking anymore. And then for my 35th Anniversary with AT&T I got an iPad Mini. I do like the way that all of the devices work well together.

Here's an article from CNN comparing iPhone and Android. I think they were fairly evenly divided (I didn't actually count them) although two of the categories that Android wins I have to take exception with...I don't like Google maps at all and Google won in the photo category primarily because of free online photo storage. However you can get free photo storage with a free SendOutCards account plus you also get a free contact manager and the ability to send a card right from your phone (the cards aren't free but they're very reasonably priced plus if you're not already a SendOutCards customer, the first card is free) which are two things that Google can't do. The storage is limited but you can double the storage space for a one time fee of $99 or you can get unlimited storage for a one time fee of $199.

Another issue is that many apps are issued first, or exclusively, on iOS. There are a few reasons for this, according to this article:

There are many more different types of Android devices that require different versions of the app. According to the article there are 6 - 8 flavors of iPhone devices, depending on how far back you want to go device wise, versus 12,000 for the Android
iOS apps are more profitable for developers
There are much more piracy concerns with Android
Many developers like the development environment on Apple

So, tell us why you like your particular device...especially if you've changed. Tell us why you changed and whether you like your new device better than your old.