Apple or Android?

Alrighty then,
I am *this* close to buying a smartphone. My current holdups are 0) the required 2 year contract (I can live with it if I must, not the first one I have had) and 1) the monthly cost, which is realistically $70-80+ every month.

I know I need an VoIP app to make it anywhere near useful and these fit that bill
Apple iPhone <http://www.icall.com/iphone/> $9.95 sounds reasonable enough for the use it would get.
Android <Google search link> (I am sure there are other options out there)

My main point of this thread is asking for input. If there is anybody in the 'fanboys/haters/actually objective opinions based on real experience' that would like to sway me either way, I am all ears.
The iPhone has the appeal to me with the iPod thing which I would definitely use (listening to old time radio shows at lunch would be nice), and the selection of applications. And I have actually played with my parent's phones somewhat and store models and have a solid idea of how those look and feel.
On the android side of things my 'experience' is less, but they look quite slick in their own right.

and of course there is option 3 - stay put, use vonage and straight talk phone and pay less than $60 for both land line and cell. That is a very powerful argument in its favour right there. (never likes when I use more sensible UK spelling, perhaps I should change the dictionary Opera is using finally). That falls under "if it is not broken, then do not fix it" school of thought. And neither option there has any kind of contract or cancellation fee.

edit: are there any decent options on either platfrom to make them passable e-readers or are those screens too small in the first place for that kind of thing?

 

Android!!!!!

Sent from my HTC Evo using Tapatalk

 

Android has more capability then the apple products.. And it double as a media player also. I use power amp for Managing my music and it even has the ability to tune.
Sent from my HTC Evo using Tapatalk

 

It appears to me via a google search that Android phones play Ogg-Vorbis files. That really gets my interest, as I dropped MP3 for any practical purposes years ago.

 

I would say android. If you are in the US you also have google music which means you don't have to do anything to sync your music.

 

I've got a rooted evo running an alternative rom and an ipad 2. Neither strikes me as inadequate. With either, unless you're willing to root/jailbreak your options are somewhat limited by your device manufacturer and/or carrier.

Androids can use flash, which is something I miss on the ipad.

Android phones can be hit or miss, so be sure you know what you're getting into if you choose one.


I don't know that there's much difference between phones types in terms of actual functionality.

 

iPhone would work better for me. It seems like it is better designed and works.

 

I like my iphone, but I have not used an Android. I do miss using flash on my ipad, but I don't know that I would use it on a small screen. I have ibooks for my iphone ereader (it's free from the itunes store). It is a nice program, but the screen is a bit small for much reading. I don't like that I have to go through apple's itunes for any app I use, though it may cut down on buggy apps. The new iphones take pics on either side of the phone, which is great if you want to see how you are posing for a social media picture. I don't know the Android camera features.

Thinking this over for a few minutes, I suggest going the cheap phone route and get yourself a tablet with internet, and preferably one that can use flash. Especially if you like to play a Facebook game on your lunch break. As much as I like my ipad, I do miss flash.

 

i love my android

 

Go with the Android. So many of the apps are free where on iPhone they cost. I have had an Android phone for almost a year now and I am so happy I made the right decision.

 

I love Android, it's easy to customize, lots of free apps, and if you want, there are custom ROMs available. Keep in mind....no flash player on the iphone. Seriously there is a free app to do almost anything I want to do. If you go with a good piece of hardware (I currently like HTC), running Android 2.2, you can't really go wrong. Just make sure you get a phone w/ beefy specs, the entry level Android phones are s...l...o...w.

 

<This option> seems to be one of the best VoIP I have seen so far, at least from what I can tell from the online reviews.

 

I have an android phone (Samsung Google Nexus S). It is significantly cheaper than an iphone (my plan is 2 years, $29 a month and NO up front cost for the phone). Getting an iPhone on the same plan would cost $45 a month. The phone works, but you do get what you pay for - the body is plastic and doesn't seem as ruggedly built as an iphone.

But in terms of what you can do on them? There is very little difference in functionality. This phone has dual cameras, like an iPhone, and android has a 'marketplace' like iTunes that you use to download (free or not) apps. Both work as media players (my phone came with a really nice set of headphones). The upside of this phone - it has a slightly bigger screen than an iphone, though the difference (even in this is miminal - maybe 1/2").

People seem willing to pay a premium for iphones, but I'm not sure the value proposition is really there. It is not a $20/month better phone.

 

I am choosing the stick with Vonage for now option - it is only $14.95/month for three months and only $25 after that.
I also decided to let my straight talk phone 'die' tonight as the minutes expire at midnight (not long past 2100 here now in the PST) . Android works for me, especially with all of the comments posted here. I did notice the flash support on those, just not sure right now how big a point that is for me. It would be nice to know it is an option and seems odd to spend $147 for an iphone and not get to use flash on it.
Not sure which phone yet, but probably going back to the AT&T shackle. Verizon gets better (as in spotty but it is service period) out here but at home I would be using my wi-fi for anything with data or VoIP for the cell in any event.
thank you for the illuminating thread, this has been most informative and no doubt will continue to help others as well.

 

I'm an apple kid.. but I loathe the Iphone. I'm quite happy with my Galaxy S which seems to blow away the Iphone. :shrug: you can usually pick up a phone from your provider and you have 2 weeks to try it out..don't like it you can change it for free for something else.

 

I refuse to by Apple due to their over their rather draconian control they maintain. If I buy a phone, I want to be able to do whatever I want with it, without worrying about them remoting shutting down apps because they don't like them.

 

The iPhone has the 'pretty boy' vibe which tend to push me away from it. I also was looking at the apps section on iTunes the other day and was not thrilled with the idea of being tied to that bloated pig of a media player for both music management and the apps store. Yes I have strong personal opinions on software media players but that is another thread entirely.
Of course I have no experience with the Android app store thing but it must be decent at the very least for the platform to have maintained such a loyal fan base that i could readily tell just from internet searches.

 

I'm pretty sure that google can do this as well. I think that once you factor in carrier-imposed restrictions, thete isn't much difference between Android phones and iPhones.

 

Preface: A lot of what I have below is opinion based (particularly the parts about iPhone hardware being superior to Android hardware).

About me:

• Own 2 Android phones, 1 Android tablet
• Own 1 iPod touch
• Enjoy products on both platforms
• I used to be a staunch Android fanboy, but am considering getting an iPhone 5 if it's good enough

Android Pros:

• Removeable battery
• Removeable memory card
• Less restrictive software
• More hardware choices (although the iPhone hardware is typically better)

Bottom Line: Better more open software, lots of hardware variety, but most don't surpass the iPhone

iPhone Pros:

• Hardware in many respects is a generation ahead of Android hardware
• Hardware build quality will always be better than Android hardware
• Hardware will always be sexier than Android hardware
• Higher "designer" appeal (if you're into that sort of thing)
• Longer hardware longevity. The iPhone 4 is over a year old (which is old by smartphone standards) and holds its own quite well against Android phones still!

Bottom Line: Better overall hardware

To answer your question about whether phones can be decent book readers, they can, although I would opt for an Android with a bigger screen over the iPhone (keep reading though, I don't really think using a phone as a primary reader is worth it). I have a Thunderbolt with a 4.3" screen and I can read books on it just fine. I actually prefer it sometimes over my tablet since it weighs less, BUT carrying a phone with a 4.3" screen (it's big and heavy) around all the time is not worth the 1% of the time I use it to read.

*NOTE: The iPhone 5 is coming soon, so the features they release with it might overwhelmingly put the iPhone in your favor. I would wait it out if I were you. Also, iOS 5 is coming out this fall, which is also a big plus.*

 

Nice list Soma.
I talked to AT&T and made the easy choice to stick with my basic phone for now. I know there are cheaper options through other carriers out there than the $75-$85 before tax that they quoted me, but the bigger points for me are that I truly do not NEED a smartphone currently and there are always bigger and better things coming soon that will drive down the cost of the equipment it replaces. At&T dropped all texting plans that cost less than $20/month. You must have a standard plan at no less than $45/month, a data plan at no less $15/month, and a texting plan for no less than $20/month unless you want to pay 20 cents a message.

Some of those phones do strike me as a bit bulky to carry around. Of course if I was able to find one these days, then the option of a no camera phone with black & white screen might trump any of these fancy things.