Do you want stuff to go with it?
The Samsung S2 is the flavor of the day. Yesterday it was some other android. If your are interested in cases, pouches and other accessories up to an including stereo/speaker/radio attachments; the consistency of the apple form factor and connections in unbeaten.
jrw1621 wrote: Do you want stuff to go with it? The Samsung S2 is the flavor of the day. Yesterday it was some other android. If your are interested in cases, pouches and other accessories up to an including stereo/speaker/radio attachments; the consistency of the apple form factor and connections in unbeaten.
Considering you can still get all the accessories you want for the original Droid, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on this.
Unless Apple's heavy handed treatment of developers and hackers is a deal killer or you need something outside their walled garden, their mobile stuff is an easy choice. The 4S is great and will not be obsolete for at least two years. It'll be compatible with the next two versions of iOS and will probably feel faster next year than this year as the OS is tweaked.
Apple is the world's largest company and basically all they do is mobile devices. They're the only one with full control of every aspect of the device, and they are solely focused on the perfect user experience. They make tons of very careful compromises to maximize their version of the perfect experience. Throwing out features, limiting developers' access to the hardware, throttling processors and rejecting hardware they think is too immature. You're SOL if you want to do something the boundaries they dictate.
Android gets features first and will always have more impressive specs and be more flexible. It's a bleeding edge platform and is super exciting if you're really into berkeleying around with your phone in your free time. Android is the LS motor of smartphone OSes.
Apple will always be more polished and stable, both because it's what their known for and because any tiny screw up on their part makes for very negative news. They're the Honda of phones, if Honda still produced a real sports car. :)
When I read the title of this post my initial thought was 'Help me pick my new religion Christianity or Islam' But then I realized that would probably be more civil than iPhone Vs Android!
I don't own an smart phone as I get a company phone and can't justify another phone bill. But my wife has an iPhone, my daughter has a crackberry and many friends have androids. The first time I ever picked up an iPhone I could use it to do anything I wanted without thinking, it's completely intuitive. When ever someone passes me an Android it takes magnitudes longer to figure out how to do what I want to do. I'm sure with familiarity it would become second nature, but they do seem to be a PIA to use. Also anecdotally people seem to have more software related issues with Androids, things not working, needing to call help lines, needing to reboot, loosing stuff etc. People I know just don't seem to have problems with iPhones like that, although some have had hardware issues. The one caveat I'd say to the software issues is people with older iPhones who accept the updates from Apple eventually seem to get to the point where the system slows down a lot, but that's with the old 1st and 2nd gen machines.
For the non techno geek, I'd say iPhone for simple usibility every time.
Can anyone make any predictions about resale?
I can buy the 16gb iPhone 4S for $170, I've seen the 16b iPhone 4 sold on craigslist for $330, and the 4S for sale on eBay for $350.
I may be into buying a 4S just to sell it, and use the money to buy an iPad, or put it towards a new computer, or a GPS that I can use with ArcGIS.
Tom_Spangler wrote:jrw1621 wrote: Do you want stuff to go with it? The Samsung S2 is the flavor of the day. Yesterday it was some other android. If your are interested in cases, pouches and other accessories up to and including stereo/speaker/radio attachments; the consistency of the apple form factor and connections in unbeaten.Considering you can still get all the accessories you want for the original Droid, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on this.
Try this one... www.otterbox.com
Makers of some of the finest and most durable cell phone cases.
Currently no offering for Galaxy S2. They do have a Galaxy SII but it is not compatible with Sprint.
The Evo 4g Handset comes in 3 styles but only black. (This was Sprint's most popular android to date.)
http://www.otterbox.com/htc-evo-4g-cases/htc-evo-4g-cases,default,sc.html
The iPhone 4s comes in so many colors I did not bother to count.
http://www.otterbox.com/apple-iphone-4s-cases/apple-iphone-4s-cases,default,sc.html
So to your point, original droid accessories are out there but not as prevalent.
How many of these have you seen for the original droid?
I have an iphone 3gs, and one really annoying thing is that if you talk on it hodling it in your right hand it will mute it if it touched your face. I know you arent actually supposed to use them to talk on like that anymore, but it seems like a stupid oversight in the design.
I've been reading about widespread problems with the new 4S on Sprint's 3G networks. Major speed reductions, to the point of disabling functionality. And the speculation is that will be middle of '12 before its rectified. What I'm not sure about is that I'm squarely in their 4G network coverage, so I'm not sure if it will effect me. Guess I'll have to drop by a Sprint store and run a speed test.
But that would be a deal breaker, and would send me to an Android phone for sure.
Well since you're with Sprint why don't you try each phone for 30 days and see which you like better? They let you do that. 
Also I should mention that every smart phone is made with Gorilla Glass so the screen is pretty tough.
I think iPhones work fine and all, but I just don't like the way Apple essentially seals their devices forcing you into buying Apple accessories. My HTC EVO has an extended battery (3500mAh) that I bought on Amazon for $12. All I had to do was pop off the back cover, drop extended battery in, and pop the new back cover on. Yes it makes the phone thicker, but it is 100% worth the trade off. Doing this with the iPhone is not possible. The same size battery is already available for the Galaxy SII on Amazon for $11. On the OEM battery I often barely made it through the day without needing to recharge the phone with light use. With the extended battery I can use the phone heavily streaming Pandora, writing emails, texting, browsing the web, etc. This is how a smartphone is meant to be used. On the OEM battery there was a constant worry of having a charger handy and keeping all of the aforementioned to a minimum.
Another benefit to a phone running Android is frequent updates and OS improvements. There have been a few significant updates in the last year and with each update the phone runs smoother, has improved power consumption, and better management of resources.
I gotta say with Steve Jobs gone and no longer at the Apple helm Google is really going to start dominating the market.
clutchsmoke wrote: Well since you're with Sprint why don't you try each phone for 30 days and see which you like better? They let you do that.
I'm giving this serious thought. Actually, my girlfriend has a Samsung Galaxy S Pro, so I have had a pretty decent chance to poke around with Android stuff.
At the end of the day you are all a bunch of posers, go buy a StarTac, and be done with it. Your buying a phone not a netbook/tablet.
And Vanilla Bean rules!!!
(Posted on a Droid 3)
For the record I know that all analog tower are down
The thing that absolutely kills me even considering an iPhone: iTunes. I hate iTunes. I don't want it anywhere near any of my computers, and the iPhone has to have it.
ReverendDexter wrote: The thing that absolutely kills me even considering an iPhone: iTunes. I *hate* iTunes. I don't want it anywhere near any of my computers, and the iPhone has to have it.
You only need it once to register the device and load content that isn't online already. You don't have to let it manage your content.
They're moving towards syncing OTA and storing more in the cloud to get around this issue.
Honestly, it isn't that big a deal. Install it once, use it for what you need it for and then turn its services off and you don't have to worry about it until you need to update the device/content.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/241955/smartphone_camera_battle_iphone_4s_vs_the_android_elite.html
iOS 5 includes OTA syncing and wireless activation so no PC or Mac (iTunes) needed. Although if you want to buy or install any apps you'll still have to setup an AppleID and use the on-device App Store (mobile version of iTunes). But between that and the new iCloud services which back up the phone and data you really can be PC free with an iOS 5 device.
And if you don't Apple/iTunes then you still have to deal with somebody's app store and associated account for any other smartphone - Google/Android, MS, RIM, pick your poison.... 
iPhone and Vanilla for me.
Man, a homemade vanilla shake sounds really good right now.
i just switched to samsung 4g from iphone and i realllllllly like it. still learnin all the stuff but its very fast and very easy
I'm almost certain that I am joining the iPhone camp in a few months. The upfront cost is minimal compared to the life of the plan, so I would rather pay more for the higher quality product. I don't want to customize my phone; just give me something that is well-designed from the start.
I like my Galaxy S II very much so far (only been a week or so).
I can't recommend it over the iPhone because I've written Apple off after a bad experience with an iBook, so I never considered an iPhone. It was only "what flavor of android?"
Mitchell wrote: I'm almost certain that I am joining the iPhone camp in a few months. The upfront cost is minimal compared to the life of the plan, so I would rather pay more for the higher quality product. I don't want to customize my phone; just give me something that is well-designed from the start.
The biggest drawback to the iphone at the moment is that they still don't offer one with 4g.
That would be a big deal breaker to me.
pigeon wrote: I dictated this response using my iPhone. That's all you need to know.
Do you mean you spoke that sentence, and the iPhone entered the text?
Because Androids can do that too. It is super helpful, you can text and drive!
I've been using a HTC G2 on T-Mobile for close to a year. It has performed flawlessly for me. No fiddling, no reboots, no lock ups. Does everything I need it to do without any fuss. Battery life is about a day and a half.
I have no experience with the iPhone, never even held one in my hand. Not an Apple fan, so they weren't even considered when I bought the Android.
The one nice thing about having a droid phone is that it uses a standard USB connection (Micro USB, IIRC) That means after your friend is done downloading their pictures on their laptop, you can sneak in for some charge time. iPhone? Not so much.
The Droid Razr and Galaxy Nexus are much better smartphones. Battery life stinks if you're in a spotty 4G area and leave the 4G radio on. The phone will drain the battery trying to find a connection. My main gripe about the iPhone, other than iTunes, is the fact that they shatter into a million pieces after one drop.
I got my Verizon-based Droid Incredible 2 about 8 months ago, and I'm completely satisfied. I completely agree with the logic that if you're an Apple guy with Apple products in your life and you use iTunes etc., just get an iPhone and be a happy clam. But the Android OS is fun to tinker with, my music library has nothing to do with iTunes, and I have yet to encounter an app-need that can't be met through the Android library, usually for free.
Other perks: Hardware isn't proprietary, so I can charge it off any micro-USB cable, I have maybe six of these scattered throughout my life, so a cable is always at hand. If I ever want more storage space, I just yank the supplied 16GB microSD card and put in a 32, 64, 128, whatever; these are getting stupid cheap, too, so I don't feel trapped should I decide really fill the thing up. (Currently I have about 10 gigs used with music, photos, apps and such). The battery life has been more than adequate, it's never run out on me and generally finishes each day with about 70 percent charge remaining, though I don't just park myself on the thing and poke around for no reason.
Another unexpected perk has been Amazon's app store. They offer a free app of the day; check every day and fill your phone for free. I've gotten $5 games, name-brand apps, etc. for free, just nab 'em and if you ever need them they're there. If you don't download them right away, you still own 'em.
Finally, the built-in stuff like Google Maps and Google Nav simply destroy all comers, and they're free with the phone. Someone told me they had to spend like $50 for a fully-capable GPS nav app for their iPhone, that really surprised me. I guess they nerf the Google Maps app on the iPhone version?
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