Has anybody here gone from an iPhone to an Android phone?

[miles]

I'm considering making the switch, and curious to hear others' experiences.  Even if you've gone to an iPhone from an Android, let me know your thoughts on the relative merits.

Thanks!

[Zixxerpilot]

Yup, and I'll be going back. I went to the Captivate, and it's been a rough experience, even after rooting this one. I've also done a couple others for different carriers through work and business, and they simply aren't up to par with the iPhone. Basically, think of it as a conduit for Google to get their ads to you. As a phone, it simply doesn't work well. It drops calls a lot, has poor call quality, and has constant lag an freeze issues. Oh, this is my 7th one since they released the phone, all warranty replacements. Don't even get me started on the carrier bloatware that can't be uninstalled without rooting, which essentially voids your warranty

I rooted this one, and ROM'd it, and it's better, but still an epic failure.

I'll be honest, Android has such potential, but it's being bastardized. I use it as a media device more than anything, and my BB torch for anything requiring a phone.

[sleazy rider]

I signed up for a Droid X a week ago.  It went back in four days due to the battery life and the lack of useful apps for me.  I just upgraded the 3G to an iPhone 4 today and am not looking back.  All my data is swapped over and rockin'.

[cyjo]

I have an X after having an iphone 4. You have to understand that androids are more like PC's. I actually like the x better than the iphone. I feel it gives control over the device. One thing I did not like about the iphone is how locked up it is. Only apps from the apple store, only changing files from itunes sync. Now the X I can plug it in to any computer and share files, it has expandable memory and access to the battery. A lot of the apps I had on my iphone I use on the X. Battery life is not as good as the iphone but the difference is small. I like being able to add apps and backup contacts over the air. The other thing about the iphone though is the accessories. I like the android os and I love the bigger screen on the x. The thing to do is go look at a few of them. The OS is not uniform from one phone to the next. The menus are slightly different from phone to phone. The thing is to look at what phone does what, fo hold it in your hand and then decide. Overall I am very happy with the X.

Joe

[miles]

So the phone I am considering is the Motorola Defy.  The pros are very rugged construction, good processor and so on.  The cons are sub-optimal camera and the MotoBlur layer motorola lays on the Android 2.1 OS.  

If I get it I'll probably root it to Android vanilla to ditch the motoblur- I'm just not enamored with the idea that the phone is primarily for social networking.

I'm running jailbroken 4.2.1 on my iPhone, so I'm not adverse to monkeying around under the hood, so to speak, but it bothers me that there is so much to get rid of before I even start using the device...  and that not all phones are created equal in terms of Android OS.

[1moreroad]

We only have Cris's Samsung Galaxy, but as a phone it is superior to the iPhone (part of that will go away now that Verizon will offer the iPhone).  Voice quality and connection are better, IMO.  The screen has a better resolution than the HTCs I've seen and almost as good as the iPhone, but not quite.  There are a few quirks -- I can't get verbal search to work most of the time -- but overall we're happy with it.  We don't do any social networking on it.  Battery life is 2 - 3 days always on if you are only using it as a phone, but running the phone like a GPS will kill battery life.  Don't know if that is true for the iPhone or not.

[FiremanBob]

I have an Evo 4G from Sprint and so far it has been great. The only reason I upgraded from the basic cell phone was to tether my laptop for secure broadband email that I need when traveling on business. But I have come to really appreciate some of the other features such as the GPS navigation and the camera is excellent.

[SuperHans]

I've never owned an iPhone, but I do own an iPod Touch which is essentially an iPhone without the phone. I also have friends that own iPhones so I have had my hands on them enough to be familiar with them. I've also been the owner of a couple of different Blackberries (Storm and Curve), and an earlier Windows based smart phone.

I currently own an HTC Incredible.  I found the call quality is excellent and the coverage is very good through Verizon. I've had a couple of different carriers both through work and with my own personal cell phones and have always found the Verizon CDMA phones to give the best coverage.

There seem to be plenty of applications for the Droid phones and I have yet to be unable to find what I need on the Droid Market Place. While there are certainly fewer applications for the Droid, there is also much less clutter. Sure there are plenty of fart noise apps, but not the vast quantity you will find for the iPhone. Same goes for many other apps. The one thing I have found is there are many quality apps for free or only a couple of dollars. It may only be my perception, but I feel that apps are much cheaper for the Droid. I think that’s probably true based on what I've read. It seems a lot of small companies are really trying hard to make Droid apps while the big companies focus on the iPhone. It seems to me this gives the consumer a lot more bang for their buck.

One of the guys I work with has a 32gb iPhone 4 he spent $299 on. I bought my HTC incredible for $50 and added a 16gb micro SD card for another $25 from eBay. (It came with a 8gb card) Had I wanted, I could have snagged a 32gb card for $50. I can expand my memory or switch out memory cards at my choosing. He quite often cannot make phone calls, send text messages, or use internet while I have full service everywhere on plant site. If he needs a new battery, it has to be sent back. I can just buy a new one and pop it in.

One day when he and I were talking about our phones I just started laughing and couldn’t stop. I just couldn’t believe how both phones were so comparable in features yet had such a huge disparity in price. I couldn’t believe the HTC was a third of the price of his iPhone. It just struck me as funny. Sure there are things the iPhone does better, but you can bet your ass there are things the Droid does better. You do have to be an informed consumer and do your homework. All Droid phones are not created equal.

[miles]

I've never owned an iPhone, but I have owned an iPod Touch which is essentially an iPhone without the phone. I also have friends that own iPhones so I have had my hands on them enough to be familiar with them. I've also been the owner of a couple of different Blackberries (Storm and Curve), and an earlier Windows based smart phone.

I currently own an HTC Incredible.  I found the call quality is excellent and the coverage is very good through Verizon. I've had a couple of different carriers both through work and with my own personal cell phones and have always found the Verizon CDMA phones to give the best coverage.

There seem to be plenty of applications for the Droid phones and I have yet to be unable to find what I need on the Droid Market Place. While there are certainly fewer applications for the Droid, there is also much less clutter. Sure there are plenty of fart noise apps, but not the vast quantity you will find for the iPhone. Same goes for many other apps. The one thing I have found is there are many quality apps for free or only a couple of dollars. It may only be my perception, but I feel that apps are much cheaper for the Droid. I think that’s probably true based on what I've read. It seems a lot of small companies are really trying hard to make Droid apps while the big companies focus on the iPhone. It seems to me this gives the consumer a lot more bang for their buck.

One of the guys I work with has a 32gb iPhone 4 he spent $299 on. I bought my HTC incredible for $50 and added a 16gb micro SD card for another $25 from eBay. (It came with a 8gb card) Had I wanted, I could have snagged a 32gb card for $50. I can expand my memory or switch out memory cards at my choosing. He quite often cannot make phone calls, send text messages, or use internet while I have full service everywhere on plant site. If he needs a new battery, it has to be sent back. I can just buy a new one and pop it in.

One day when he and I were talking about our phones I just started laughing and couldn’t stop. I couldn’t believe how much I paid for this HTC compared to how much he paid for his iPhone. It just struck me as funny. Sure there are things the iPhone does better, but you can bet your ass there are things the Droid does better. You do have to be an informed consumer and do your homework. All Droid phones are not created equal.

Uh, most apps on iTunes are 99¢.  The most I've ever paid for an app was $4.99, and I thought that was exorbitant.

Also, I'm planning on sticking with the same carrier, so comparing one phone service with another really doesn't mean anything to me.  Now if you and your pal had the same service but you got vastly better reception, that would be good to know.  In that area, my iPhone typically has 1-2 bars better reception than my wife's Blackberry when we are out and about, so it certainly is true that the hardware matters in these areas...

[SuperHans]

Uh, most apps on iTunes are 99¢.  The most I've ever paid for an app was $4.99, and I thought that was exorbitant.

Also, I'm planning on sticking with the same carrier, so comparing one phone service with another really doesn't mean anything to me.  Now if you and your pal had the same service but you got vastly better reception, that would be good to know.  In that area, my iPhone typically has 1-2 bars better reception than my wife's Blackberry when we are out and about, so it certainly is true that the hardware matters in these areas...

If you're sticking with the same service why would you be interested in a Droid? Most people want to get away from the iPhone because of the service. Just curious.

[Cheap Weenie]

Yes, went from a 3GS to a Nexus One. Will never go back if I can help it, this phone (Nexus One) is infinitely better than the iPhone. Much better screen (about tied with the new iPhone 4), same selection of apps, better keyboard software, better syncing with Gmail and such. User-swappable batteries.

[miles]

If you're sticking with the same service why would you be interested in a Droid? Most people want to get away from the iPhone because of the service. Just curious.

It's a valid question.  I have no real complaints about the phone service I've got, and the plan we are on would be impossible to equal, much less beat, in today's bandwidth-capping environment if we jump ship.

No, the basic question was whether, all else being equal, have the Android phones gotten better than the iPhone?  Wold it be an improvement to switch?

Ultimately, I may go ahead and get the Defy and try it out for a while.  After all, I can return to using the iPhone any time I wish if I hate the Android OS as implemented in that phone.

[SuperHans]

It's a valid question.  I have no real complaints about the phone service I've got, and the plan we are on would be impossible to equal, much less beat, in today's bandwidth-capping environment if we jump ship.

No, the basic question was whether, all else being equal, have the Android phones gotten better than the iPhone?  Wold it be an improvement to switch?

Ultimately, I may go ahead and get the Defy and try it out for a while.  After all, I can return to using the iPhone any time I wish if I hate the Android OS as implemented in that phone.

I think it will be hard to find a phone that will hands down beat the iPhone just as I think the iPhone would have a hard time beating certain Droid phones. I've read a lot of reviews and done some shopping around and found it very difficult to compare phones. The difference in features from device to device makes it pretty difficult to make an apples to apples comparison. (No pun intended)

The iPhone is a great product and if I already owned one I don't know if I would move to a Droid if I was happy with the service. Someone who is upgrading to an iPhone device like I was though, should seriously look at the Droid phones.

If you can get a Droid for a decent price and still have the ability to go back to your iPhone, what do you really have to lose?

[miles]

If you can get a Droid for a decent price and still have the ability to go back to your iPhone, what do you really have to lose?

Well, if I'd had my act together I could have gotten the droid phone for free over the weekend, but now it's gone back up to $99!

[loadedmind]

I've had HTC phones, Motorola phones, Nokias - all of these were smartphones.  Each one of these were ROM'ed/rooted because I believe in having full (or at least more) control over my devices.  Two years ago, I purchased a 3GS, then upgraded to a 4GS and haven't looked back since.  I'd say some of the things I consider to be more advantageous as an iPhone user are:

*  Stability (had to reboot the other smartphones more frequently to get them to behave right)
*  Useability (this point is arguable, of course, but all things considered, I just find it easier to navigate the iPhone than other phones)

I use an Otterbox Defender case on my 4G (which I'm not all that happy about regarding fit/finish) so that I don't feel like I'm about to break it all the time.  

Some of my co-workers who have the Droid and other Android OS-based smartphones are considering the iPhone for the first time since they prefer Verizon as their cellular carrier.  For me, a jailbroken iPhone is far and away the best option out there for a smartphone and it seems as if other smartphone vendors keep trying to play catchup (or copy) with Apple for the unique features/innovations they continue to introduce each year.

Just my buck fitty.

[sportridertex]

August 2010,  I switched from a iPhone 3G, to Verizon and the HTC Incredible, did take a few days to get use to my new phone, I thought  I would miss the iPhone and I do and don't, Call quality on Verizon has been less than stellar, I'm on a replacement Incredible and it's the same issue, broken/choppy voice calls.

The smart phone part of the HTC Incredible is great, I was planning on getting the iPhone when it arrived at Verizon, but the pricing and rate plans are keeping me from going back to the iPhone.

If it didn't cost so much to switch to the Verizon iPhone, I think I would go back, it's overall a little bit easier to use, and I need all the help I can get.

[basco]

Got a Droid X work phone and a iPhone 4 personal phone.

After the new-ness factor wore off on the Droid X, I can say I like both phones for different reasons.

1. I like the screen on the Droid X, iPhone is ok
2. I like the battery life on the iPhone, Droid X has terrible battery life
3. More apps on iPhone
4. Droid has more customization.
5. I like the screen layout on the Droid, iPhone is just icons/folders
6. I like the sensors on the Droid, iPhone I put everyone on mute by mistake.
7. Email app is better on the Droid (if you use gmail), iPhone you have to buy a push-app

[scottzilla]

Got a Droid X work phone and a iPhone 4 personal phone.

After the new-ness factor wore off on the Droid X, I can say I like both phones for different reasons.

1. I like the screen on the Droid X, iPhone is ok
2. I like the battery life on the iPhone, Droid X has terrible battery life
3. More apps on iPhone
4. Droid has more customization.
5. I like the screen layout on the Droid, iPhone is just icons/folders
6. I like the sensors on the Droid, iPhone I put everyone on mute by mistake.
7. Email app is better on the Droid (if you use gmail), iPhone you have to buy a push-app

IMO, this sums it up nicely.  The Iphone is more polished.  I like how simple Android is, especially when you plug it in to a pc.  It doesn't try to sieze control of your computer like Apple does.  The Droid is better to type on; Iphone sucks.
I have a Droid Incredible and the battery life sucks.  Apple has cornered the market in the battery life department.
My Droid is faster on the net as well.

[Rincewind]

Interesting thread as I will likely be upgrading my iPhone 3GS next week.  First response is to go right to the iPhone 4, but I'm taking a step back and reading some of the latest Android and Windows 7 reviews.  

Basco is right that the Android has the better screen layout, with more customization for quick-access to info.  I get a bit tired of the same old icons and folder options on the iPhone.  But the form-factor, quality, and ease of 1-handed use of the iPhones seems superior.  The iPhone keyboard layout doesn't bother me, and after two years of using it I prefer it over the flip-out keyboards.  I'm a bit worried that the music functions/quality on the other phones will work as well as the iPod on the iPhones because I use that quite a bit.

Hmmm....

[scottzilla]

Interesting thread as I will likely be upgrading my iPhone 3GS next week.  First response is to go right to the iPhone 4, but I'm taking a step back and reading some of the latest Android and Windows 7 reviews.  

Basco is right that the Android has the better screen layout, with more customization for quick-access to info.  I get a bit tired of the same old icons and folder options on the iPhone.  But the form-factor, quality, and ease of 1-handed use of the iPhones seems superior.  The iPhone keyboard layout doesn't bother me, and after two years of using it I prefer it over the flip-out keyboards.  I'm a bit worried that the music functions/quality on the other phones will work as well as the iPod on the iPhones because I use that quite a bit.

Hmmm....

For day to day use I no longer use an Ipod.  I use my droid.  There are a few free apps for Droid that mirror your Itunes (Doubletwist, Isyncher, etc) so you can use Itunes as normal and it will automatically synch with your droid.
I just dropped and dragged 6 GB of music once and never looked back.  The Droid has a nice widget so you can stop/pause and forward/back songs right from the home screen and offers dozens of free music players.