Hate to do this but...what's the current state of affairs in the smartphone wars?

[a0cake]

I looked for other threads but the relevant ones were from '09 and 10. Apologies if there's a recent discussion that I've missed.

Inconceivably, Android vs. iPhone is a more controversial topic than religion with most people. Strong opinions all around make it very difficult to figure out what's what.

So if some of the technology gurus here could give me some advice that would be great.

I've been an Android user since the original Droid came out. I have no real issues with it, aside from minor things that bug me here and there. Anyway, I got my first Mac laptop a few weeks ago and I'm impressed. The seamless hardware / software integration, input and interface features, and the overall intelligence of the thing make me wish I'd switched from PC's years ago.

I can't help thinking that it just makes sense to switch to the iPhone now, especially since I apparently like the way Apple thinks and the phone and Macbook Pro can work together nicely.

But I've also been hearing that the new Android based phones like the Galaxy S4 are beating the iPhone, and even when the 5S comes out it probably can't match the Android phones in performance and capabilities.

So I'm conflicted. Do I get the iPhone 5S when it comes out or get something like the Galaxy S4? Please advise.

[Palmguy]

Either will probably do whatever you could possibly ask of it. If you want the total Apple integration, the iPhone is obviously a good choice. I'd try to use both and see which you prefer instead of getting bogged down in specs. Qualitatively the Android phones will have often significantly large screen screens if that is important to you.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

[Belmont31R]

Been using the iphone since the 3G and switched for a few months to the S3.


I personally think Android is ok but has some issues. For one apps look better on iphone, and iphone tends to get apps faster. I currently use Mailbox and Tempo for my mail and calender. Not on Android yet.


Having a back an iphone makes a lot of sense. Unless you do HEAVY word processing stuff iWork actually is really nice to use. This is Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Basically Word, Excel and PP in Apple form. It's really cool to start a document on a Mac then have it on the phone and vice versa. Can do a whole PP type presentation with Keynote and have it on the phone. You can log in with iCloud.com and get the docs via any web browser.

I will say the new Androids with 1080P screens are nice but if you go that route I would get the HTC One. The HTC uses 'LCD' and the GS4 is Amoled. Amoled sucks in sunlight. We had a GS3, and outside you could not read a single word on the screen even at full brightness.

I am also leery of having so many buttons. My MIL and SIL just got GS3's, and when I asked the first thing my MIL said was you have to handle it like a museum piece because any errant button pressing hits a back button, menu button, volume button, ect. I gave her a Otterbox case for it which makes hitting buttons a lot harder but still. Out of the box the iphone 5 with no case is hard to accidentally hit buttons.

The best thing about the iphone is the cloud support, and I don't care what anyone says iTunes is hardly as bad as anyone makes it out to be. Maybe 2-3 years ago but the current one is very quick, and easy to use. I used Kies with the GS3, and I can't fathom how anyone can bash iTunes if they've spent just 30 seconds with Kies.

itunes also does a lot more with itunes match so any music you upload itunes match will save it to your apple ID and download a high bit rate AAC version for free. It's also stupid easy to do backups and if you gave me a brand new phone, and I set it up to restore from a backup the phone would be exactly the same as my old one down to the screen saver, texts, tapatalk accounts, pictures from the camera roll, ect. The most I have had to do with a full restore was put in the youtube app account information again. Its so stupid easy the icloud backups are a saint.

Then comes Apple, and Apple is really cool when it comes to broken phones. I don't want to have to deal with ATT for anything besides the sim card, and every other device besides iphones are friggin riddled with carrier BS. We have two Apple stores in Austin, and they actually gave my wife a brand new phone when she went in there expecting to pay hundreds of dollars after she washed one. They were just like be more careful next time and here you go. Handed her a sealed in the box phone, and with the free wifi her phone was exactly the same as it was the day before within 10 minutes. I do not want to deal with ATT for hardware issues, and you are forced to do that with every other brand of phone.

[Belmont31R]

I watch the pocketnow videos on Youtube, and just like the GS3 the GS4 comes with a bunch of features that don't really work. Go check out their channel. They just uploaded a bunch of GS4 stuff. That Air gesture thing is :rolleyes:. They have a few videos and it works like half the time, and you have to use your whole hand. Just gimmicky shit you will use for 2 days and then ignore. Same with scrolling with your eyes. All that crap is meant to appeal to people in the ATT or VZW store then a week later they realize none of it works right.


If you really want Android you have to go check out XDA forums.

[An Undocumented Worker]

I just got my first smartphone this week and went with an HTC one running android. Seems pretty sweet so far, it's fast and doesn't bog down and isn't bulky either.

[Belmont31R]

I just got my first smartphone this week and went with an HTC one running android. Seems pretty sweet so far, it's fast and doesn't bog down and isn't bulky either.



First smartphone the One will be a HUGE change. Congrats!

[a0cake]

Been using the iphone since the 3G and switched for a few months to the S3.


I personally think Android is ok but has some issues. For one apps look better on iphone, and iphone tends to get apps faster. I currently use Mailbox and Tempo for my mail and calender. Not on Android yet.


Having a back an iphone makes a lot of sense. Unless you do HEAVY word processing stuff iWork actually is really nice to use. This is Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Basically Word, Excel and PP in Apple form. It's really cool to start a document on a Mac then have it on the phone and vice versa. Can do a whole PP type presentation with Keynote and have it on the phone. You can log in with iCloud.com and get the docs via any web browser.

I will say the new Androids with 1080P screens are nice but if you go that route I would get the HTC One. The HTC uses 'LCD' and the GS4 is Amoled. Amoled sucks in sunlight. We had a GS3, and outside you could not read a single word on the screen even at full brightness.

I am also leery of having so many buttons. My MIL and SIL just got GS3's, and when I asked the first thing my MIL said was you have to handle it like a museum piece because any errant button pressing hits a back button, menu button, volume button, ect. I gave her a Otterbox case for it which makes hitting buttons a lot harder but still. Out of the box the iphone 5 with no case is hard to accidentally hit buttons.

The best thing about the iphone is the cloud support, and I don't care what anyone says iTunes is hardly as bad as anyone makes it out to be. Maybe 2-3 years ago but the current one is very quick, and easy to use. I used Kies with the GS3, and I can't fathom how anyone can bash iTunes if they've spent just 30 seconds with Kies.

itunes also does a lot more with itunes match so any music you upload itunes match will save it to your apple ID and download a high bit rate AAC version for free. It's also stupid easy to do backups and if you gave me a brand new phone, and I set it up to restore from a backup the phone would be exactly the same as my old one down to the screen saver, texts, tapatalk accounts, pictures from the camera roll, ect. The most I have had to do with a full restore was put in the youtube app account information again. Its so stupid easy the icloud backups are a saint.

Then comes Apple, and Apple is really cool when it comes to broken phones. I don't want to have to deal with ATT for anything besides the sim card, and every other device besides iphones are friggin riddled with carrier BS. We have two Apple stores in Austin, and they actually gave my wife a brand new phone when she went in there expecting to pay hundreds of dollars after she washed one. They were just like be more careful next time and here you go. Handed her a sealed in the box phone, and with the free wifi her phone was exactly the same as it was the day before within 10 minutes. I do not want to deal with ATT for hardware issues, and you are forced to do that with every other brand of phone.

Getting the iPhone to integrate with the Macbook is sounding better and better. Thanks.

[WillBrink]

I looked for other threads but the relevant ones were from '09 and 10. Apologies if there's a recent discussion that I've missed.

Inconceivably, Android vs. iPhone is a more controversial topic than religion with most people. Strong opinions all around make it very difficult to figure out what's what.

So if some of the technology gurus here could give me some advice that would be great.

I've been an Android user since the original Droid came out. I have no real issues with it, aside from minor things that bug me here and there. Anyway, I got my first Mac laptop a few weeks ago and I'm impressed. The seamless hardware / software integration, input and interface features, and the overall intelligence of the thing make me wish I'd switched from PC's years ago.

I can't help thinking that it just makes sense to switch to the iPhone now, especially since I apparently like the way Apple thinks and the phone and Macbook Pro can work together nicely.

But I've also been hearing that the new Android based phones like the Galaxy S4 are beating the iPhone, and even when the 5S comes out it probably can't match the Android phones in performance and capabilities.

So I'm conflicted. Do I get the iPhone 5S when it comes out or get something like the Galaxy S4? Please advise.

That they do, so I'd say if you're already a mac user, and you like the interface and the fact Mac does such a good job of making their stuff play nice and you use the things that benefit from that, then go with the IPhone. I will say, you can get a 4s for about half the $$$, and I have no complaints about it if you wanna save a few $$$.

People will throw numbers and stats at you of one vs the other, but if you're already a Mac user, you won't be unhappy with a 5S or even a 4S.

That's my take.

[An Undocumented Worker]

First smartphone the One will be a HUGE change. Congrats!

Yeah I dig it so far, hell it only took about an hour to transfer 10 gigs of music from computer to the phone and no futzing around with SD cards and such, hook it up to a usb port and it uploads all the drivers from the phone to computer automatically.

No trouble seeing the screen in direct sunlight, and surprisingly the touch screen is damn accurate, I was worried typing stuff in would be a bitch with large fingers and small buttons but it hasn't really been a problem.

As an added bonus you can set the thing up to use as a remote control for your tv, stereo, cable box etc.

[Belmont31R]

It works better if you get a WD My Book Live, and can do TimeMachine backups to it and they have an iphone app to use to get docs and pics and such like you own personal cloud. It will even email you when it gets an update, resets, or detects an error. $150 for 1TB and your Mac will auto detect it as a Timemachine. Even works on our Samsung TV as a media server, Samsung laptop picks it up, ect. Great investment.



http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj245/BM31R/IMG_1121_zps0cd60114.png

[officerX]

I've been an iPhone user since day 1 and will never stray. I don't like how it's so locked down by Apple, but that's what jailbreaking is for.

I have no experience with Android.

[Belmont31R]

Yeah I dig it so far, hell it only took about an hour to transfer 10 gigs of music from computer to the phone and no futzing around with SD cards and such, hook it up to a usb port and it uploads all the drivers from the phone to computer automatically.

No trouble seeing the screen in direct sunlight, and surprisingly the touch screen is damn accurate, I was worried typing stuff in would be a bitch with large fingers and small buttons but it hasn't really been a problem.

As an added bonus you can set the thing up to use as a remote control for your tv, stereo, cable box etc.


Most phones auto download the driver...but I know what you mean.

The HTC 'LCD' screens are a lot better in direct sunlight. The GS3 is crap in direct Texas sun. All phones struggle there but it was like at ax brightness and you couldn't read a single word. On the other hand I wear polarized sunglasses, and Amoled actually is better for that. With the iPhone 5, Nokia 920, and HTC you get like a rainbow effect on the screen.

The IR blaster thing is meh to me. We already have enough remotes. I like blue tooth remotes a lot more because you don't have to point the remote at the TV or device. We have a coffee table so with IR remotes we have to point it over or above everything anyways. Our PS3 remote is a blessing not having to go around tables, shoes, toys, ect.

[Belmont31R]

I've been an iPhone user since day 1 and will never stray. I don't like how it's so locked down by Apple, but that's what jailbreaking is for.

I have no experience with Android.



I did the 6.1.2 JB and suddenly had a lot of app crashes. Restored and no more of that.

Apple is limiting at some points with apps but thats just how they are. They don't want rogue apps or junky shit. Like the new BB app store, and every commentator has basically said 70k apps and 68k of them are worthless. They try to cut down on the redundant and knock off crap that plagues others.

[theblackknight]

I still prefer a actual keyboard, so Droid4 vote from this macbook user. They talk to each other just fine.

[Magic_Salad0892]

I know that many will disagree with me, but I refuse to support Apple as a company.

I'd go with Samsung.

[Koshinn]

I know that many will disagree with me, but I refuse to support Apple as a company.

I'd go with Samsung.

I agree. Or HTC. But I also refuse to support Apple, but they do sometimes make great products, like the current MBPs.

BTW, I think jailbreaking is now illegal and punishable with a $500k fine. Could be wrong, but I think I read that somewhere.

Anyway, I just got a HTC One. I've used iPhones of all generations, androids of all types for the last 4 years, and even blackberries and flip phones as recently as last week. I have never been as impressed with a phone as I have with this one (the One). I even had my hands on the first android phone about 3 months before it was released publicly because a family member was an HTC employee, and I'm still more relatively impressed with this phone than I was with that one at the time.

Apple might come out with something new in the near future as the 5 is not the latest and greatest by far. If you're dead set on staying in the Apple ecosystem, wait for the 5S or 6. If you're open to Android at all, get the HTC One. It's seriously amazing. Absolutely everything about it is pretty much perfect. I would've liked a removable battery though... I had 2 extra batteries and an external battery charger for my last phone; came in handy sitting in PAX terminals or killing time in transient tents waiting for a flight.

[domestique]

You can not change out the battery for the HTC one or iphone! A HUGE minus in my opnion.

I have a Glaxy SII, my wife a SIII and I will be upgrading to the SIV when it comes out. The gorilla glass used on the Galaxys is amazing. With an otterbox I have dropped my phone down flights of stairs (concrete/metal) stairs and had nothing but scratches to the case.... try that with an iphone.

I use Android over apple and Samsung over all other makers. The galaxy series have user removeable batteries which is great for backpacking, hunting, mountian biking, being outdoors etc. and swapping batteries when you have no power source for charging. I also like having the micro SD cards to backup your files but also have different cards for music etc.

I personally would never buy a phone that I couldn't swap out batteries while in the field. While they do make solar panels, and portable battery charging stations, I can swap out a battery and have 100% charge in 10 seconds.... how about you iphone/HTC one users?

[Koshinn]

You can not change out the battery for the HTC one or iphone! A HUGE minus in my opnion.

I have a Glaxy SII, my wife a SIII and I will be upgrading to the SIV when it comes out. The gorilla glass used on the Galaxys is amazing. With an otterbox I have dropped my phone down flights of stairs (concrete/metal) stairs and had nothing but scratches to the case.... try that with an iphone.

I use Android over apple and Samsung over all other makers. The galaxy series have user removeable batteries which is great for backpacking, hunting, mountian biking, being outdoors etc. and swapping batteries when you have no power source for charging. I also like having the micro SD cards to backup your files but also have different cards for music etc.

I personally would never buy a phone that I couldn't swap out batteries while in the field. While they do make solar panels, and portable battery charging stations, I can swap out a battery and have 100% charge in 10 seconds.... how about you iphone/HTC one users?

An iPhone with an otterbox is roughly as durable as a gs3 with an otterbox.

Did you not read my post directly above yours regarding batteries? Regardless, I actually have a battery pack that can transfer a charge from AA or CR123 batteries to a phone. It's really useful... not as quick as a battery swap, but a good workaround. It's actually designed as a rechargeable battery charger, but it can go the other way too.

But yes, no removable battery is a down side to a seamless aluminum body. The HTC One camera, speakers, screen, and body are all the best you can get in a smartphone. The internal hardware is comparable to the gs4 and other phones in the Q1 '13 time frame, but definitely at the high end. The speakers are really really impressive. The camera is good enough that it makes me reconsider taking my dslr at times unless it's a very special occasion. The screen is an IPS screen with a higher pixel density than the iPhone5 and GS4. And the body is just great, although it's just my opinion, it has the nicest design and material choice of any smartphone to date.

[domestique]

An iPhone with an otterbox is roughly as durable as a gs3 with an otterbox.

Did you not read my post directly above yours regarding batteries? Regardless, I actually have a battery pack that can transfer a charge from AA or CR123 batteries to a phone. It's really useful... not as quick as a battery swap, but a good workaround. It's actually designed as a rechargeable battery charger, but it can go the other way too.

But yes, no removable battery is a down side to a seamless aluminum body. The HTC One camera, speakers, screen, and body are all the best you can get in a smartphone. The internal hardware is comparable to the gs4 and other phones in the Q1 '13 time frame, but definitely at the high end. The speakers are really really impressive. The camera is good enough that it makes me reconsider taking my dslr at times unless it's a very special occasion. The screen is an IPS screen with a higher pixel density than the iPhone5 and GS4. And the body is just great, although it's just my opinion, it has the nicest design and material choice of any smartphone to date.

I am biased having had 4 different Samsung phones over the years, but you can't go wrong with either the HTC one or GS4 IMHO. I like the looks of the HTC better, but I always use an Otterbox so looks mean nothing to me. I do wish the speakers on the Galaxy phones were front facing and the screen was brighter in the sunlight, but those are the only gripes I have.

For MY life style the battery was the biggest deal breaker for me, and switching out the SD cards was also a plus.

[Belmont31R]

Theres a shit ton of portable battery packs of varying capacity on Amazon, and the good thing about those is you can use them with different phones or tablets. If you buy a bunch of batteries you'll spend at least as much if not more, and if you switch phones in the future they will become useless to you.

iPhone 5S might be this summer or at the latest this fall. Prob just be a spec bump and not a major form factor change. Kinda have to time when you buy phones to get on a good upgrade cycle. I am on the 4>5 cycle and skip the S models since everyone went to 2 year upgrades. Used to be a 1 year upgrade as I really went 3G>3GS>4>5. When the 4S came out they had stopped yearly upgrades for iPhone users.

Maybe look into buying a used 5, and save the upgrade for the 5S. If you go Android the newest phones, HTC One and GS4, are out right now depending on your carrier. I would not burn up a new contract price or upgrade on a phone that came out basically 9 months ago. By the time you get it, and use it for 2 years it will be an almost 3 year old design. My SIL and MIL just got GS3's, and I was like if you guys waited a month you could have gotten the One or GS4 for the same price...:confused:

I don't mean to sound like a pure Android basher but when the GS3 came out I know a lot of people jumped ship from iPhones (me included), and most of the people I know who did that are back to iPhones (me included). iOS has gotten a bit stale but Apple took people off the OSX team and put them into the iOS crew. iOS 7 is supposed to be quite a change from 6 and previous versions. FWIW the last time they took people away from OSX is when the first iPhone came out. :)

[Magic_Salad0892]

Also, iTunes is absolutely awful.

I had it on my last computer, it lost files, changed names, was stupid hard to navigate (counter-intuitive), and it froze all the time.

I prefer raw files + VLC media player. (And I don't own a smartphone, yet.)

Not that that had anything to do with phones, it's just one of my gripes with Apple.

[jet66]

Jailbreaking by itself isn't illegal, I believe, it's an 'unauthorized' unlock that is. The most popular/common methods pf JB'ing alone only open the OS to accept apps and tweaks, it doesn't allow you to move from carrier to carrier.

I went the other way around: iPhone to Note II. IMO, both work fine. (I'm an OSX user, iMac) I only went away from Apple because I was tired of having to keep up on jailbreaking for the ONE app I really wanted, iBlacklist. Since I was able to find a pretty decent call blocker for Android, I went ahead and switched. I do like the size of the Note II, though. Since I got it, I rarely tote my iPad to work with me.

Now, one thing that I had to get used to after being an iPhone user for 4-5 years? Hardly anyone makes cool accessories for the Galaxy format. Alarm clock docks, for example. I liked being able to just plop the phone in the cradle. Seems trivial and innocuous, until you can't do it anymore. :D


Also, iTunes is absolutely awful.

iTunes is my least favorite part of 'the Mac experience.' The concept of your devices basically being imaged is great, but I prefer the simplicity of drag-n-drop.

[sadmin]

Also, iTunes is absolutely awful.

I had it on my last computer, it lost files, changed names, was stupid hard to navigate (counter-intuitive), and it froze all the time.

I prefer raw files + VLC media player. (And I don't own a smartphone, yet.)

Not that that had anything to do with phones, it's just one of my gripes with Apple.

Agree completely- for what they are capable of providing, it's the worst media manager. I'm certain this to steer you towards online new purchases rather than adding your existing files. I'm a 4S user.. Reluctantly.

[Hmac]

Also, iTunes is absolutely awful.

I had it on my last computer, it lost files, changed names, was stupid hard to navigate (counter-intuitive), and it froze all the time.

I prefer raw files + VLC media player. (And I don't own a smartphone, yet.)

Not that that had anything to do with phones, it's just one of my gripes with Apple.

I disagree, at least partially. I do find iTunes a little difficult to navigate, but it has never given me any technical problems - I've found it to be completely reliable, at least on the Macs at home. I can't speak to iTunes on Windows.

My only significant gripe with Apple is the lack of video card choices in the high-end Mac Pro. I acknowledge that they've pretty much conceded the desktop gaming market and the Mac Pro represents such a small percentage of their sales these days that it may not be worth aggressively catering to such a small market.

As to phones, Apple pretty much defined the market originally and I started with iPhone when it finally came to Verizon. At that time, it was clearly the best of what was available. Now, it's a horse apiece, at least according to sales figures and what my friends with Android tell me. I figure on looking into switching to Android at whatever point it happens that my iPhone doesn't give me what I need out of a smart phone device.

[Noodles]

Lol! Just get an iPhone and be done with it.

The latst flavor of droid phone to me is like people ****ing around with 12.5" mid lengths, "tunable" compensators, BCG coatings, budget suppressors, etc.. There may be some merit to it, but eventually you'll end up the premium but traditional option anyhow.

Just get an iPhone. Do you give up the extremely rare desirable feature like switching the battery out, yea, but it ****ing works the other 99.99% of the time and you get to skip a lot of bullshit.

[a0cake]

Thanks for all the tips. If there's one thing that pisses me off, it's gimmicky features of little utility and new "innovations" that don't work well. It sounds like the iPhone will be a better choice for that reason, plus the fact that I now have a MPB.

[JBecker 72]

Long time Droid user who swore he would never get an Apple product. Well 2 months ago I switched to the iPhone 5 and am very happy with it. I can go 2 days on a charge with this thing, and I surf the net and watch youtube videos all the time on it. So far so good.

Not a huge fan of iTunes though, but other than that, it's fine. I don't have any problems or frustration once my music is actually on the device.

[Noodles]

Long time Droid user who swore he would never get an Apple product. Well 2 months ago I switched to the iPhone 5 and am very happy with it. I can go 2 days on a charge with this thing, and I surf the net and watch youtube videos all the time on it. So far so good.

Not a huge fan of iTunes though, but other than that, it's fine. I don't have any problems or frustration once my music is actually on the device.

It should be stated that NO ONE likes iTunes and it is indeed a horrible program. However, I have had 4 or 5 iPhones now, and the only time I sync is when adding music or videos before a trip. With cloud backup I find almost no reason to start that abomination up.

iTunes is AWEFUL, but I certainly wouldn't let that stop me from owning an iPhone. I would say the horribleness of iTunes is equalled out by how funny I find it when people are talking on their giant tablet sized android "phones" in public.

[Koshinn]

Lol! Just get an iPhone and be done with it.

The latst flavor of droid phone to me is like people ****ing around with 12.5" mid lengths, "tunable" compensators, BCG coatings, budget suppressors, etc.. There may be some merit to it, but eventually you'll end up the premium but traditional option anyhow.

Just get an iPhone. Do you give up the extremely rare desirable feature like switching the battery out, yea, but it ****ing works the other 99.99% of the time and you get to skip a lot of bullshit.

That analogy is very wrong. Those AR modifications affect the basic functioning of the weapon. Smartphone "innovations" don't change the way you make calls, access the internet, send txt messages, or your access to other apps. They just add features that you can decide to use, or not. A better analogy is a car with extra features that don't come at an additional cost. You might use them, you might not, but adding them doesn't detract from the reliability of the primary function of the car.

Also, jail breaking is illegal iirc because you do not own the software on the phone, so you cannot modify it without the owner's permission. The software in this case being iOS. It's been that way for more than a decade with computer software... You almost never own software, you own a license to use it in very specific ways, but you do own the hardware it comes on. That said, jail breaking is unauthorized software modification and is therefore illegal.

The reason it generally isn't illegal on android phones is because the OS itself is open source with license to pretty much do whatever you want with it.

As for working 99.99% of the time... Apple makes mistakes just as often as other companies. Remember the iPhone4 not working when you simply held it the wrong way? Remember Apple's map app last year? Again, not saying Apple makes more mistakes than other companies, but it isn't nearly as infallible as some people claim. If you want something to "just work", go for a flip phone with a 5 day battery life. Otherwise, both Samsung and Apple produce great products and aren't going away any time soon. I just happen to think HTC hit it out of the park in this instance with the One.

[C-grunt]

I'm very happy with my iPhone. I came from a Sumsung Galaxy and a couple other Droids before that. The iPhone has been far more reliable and has far less bugs.

However it definitely is t as powerful or has as much stuff as the new Droids. My best friend is in the cyber security/warfare business and has a Droid. He likes them a lot more because they can do things that the iPhones can't. I however am not a computer wiz and it does everything I want it to do.

[discreet]

Iphone beating android and android beating iphone? They are 2 different phones on 2 different operating systems. They dont beat each other unless you are speaking terms of sales. Other than that, there is different apps, different features etc, and comparisons at this point really are pointless. Both will do everything you could ever need, and unless your a developer I dont see why it would matter. There are mac apps for syncing android to mac, and mac to android as well as to windows computers. Heck you can even sync either up if your running linux now adays with ease.. There are full word processing suites for both etc. There is really nothing one device can do that the other cant, asides from certain apps being android only or apple only.

In terms of the legal crap btw the smartphone companies, who cares at this point as it hasnt effected the end user in anyway. unless you have stocks invested in a company there really is nothing the lawsuits would effect at this point. The patent trolls are being shot down one by one asr people and companies are fed up of this fiverlous crap going on.

In the end get whatever you want and it will do what you need it to. For me, i dont care what brand it has on it anymore as long as it has a slide out keyboard and can handle being dropped a few times.

[Koshinn]

Iphone beating android and android beating iphone? They are 2 different phones on 2 different operating systems. They dont beat each other unless you are speaking terms of sales. Other than that, there is different apps, different features etc, and comparisons at this point really are pointless. Both will do everything you could ever need, and unless your a developer I dont see why it would matter. There are mac apps for syncing android to mac, and mac to android. There are full word processing suites for both etc. There is really nothing one device can do that the other cant, asides from certain apps being android only or apple only.

In terms of the legal crap btw the smartphone companies, who cares at this point as it hasnt effected the end user in anyway. unless you have stocks invested in a company there really is nothing the lawsuits would effect at this point. The patent trolls are being shot down one by one asr people and companies are fed up of this fiverlous crap going on.

In the end get whatever you want and it will do what you need it to. For me, i dont care what brand it has on it anymore as long as it has a slide out keyboard and can handle being dropped a few times.

Ever try Swype?

[discreet]

Ever try Swype?

Disabled it the second I got my phone.

[Koshinn]

Disabled it the second I got my phone.

Give it a week, it took me a while to get used to it too. I used to love real keyboards too, but now it's a non issue.

Really changes the way you use a smartphone, but it does have a learning curve.

[discreet]

Give it a week, it took me a while to get used to it too. I used to love real keyboards too, but now it's a non issue.

Have extensive usage with it, just not for me. Its the first thing i disable now when I get a phone. Gotta hve my physical keyboard :)


to note : its all pref. I do however think the idea of it is pretty solid and works well for some people, but just not my thing.

[Magic_Salad0892]

Ever try Swype?

What is Swype?

[VooDoo6Actual]

GS4 comes with a bunch of features that don't really work. Go check out their channel. They just uploaded a bunch of GS4 stuff.

Finger Fooked a GS4 today @ AT&T. Awesome screen (441 ppi), had 1.9 processor, BLOATWARE was ridiculous (had 279 applications) w/o any additions. 13 mp camera rocked as well. External form factor same except slightly thinner & slighty bigger internal screen size. The Camera, Processor & 441 ppi are enough to make me swallow the hook & cut loose of the $. I will wait for the Verizon 64 gb internal version however as 16 gb will not cut it for my needs. My GS3 has been great but I still prefer the iPhone 5 over it for it's IUI.
The GS4's 441 ppi was noticeably discernable for me comparative to iPhone 5's retina display & easily surpassed the GS3. Great tool & great write off for my needs.

[discreet]

Finger Fooked a GS4 today @ AT&T. Awesome screen (441 ppi), had 1.9 processor, BLOATWARE was ridiculous (had 279 applications) w/o any additions. 13 mp camera rocked as well. External form factor same except slightly thinner & slighty bigger internal screen size. The Camera, Processor & 441 ppi are enough to make me swallow the hook & cut loose of the $. I will wait for the Verizon 64 gb internal version however as 16 gb will not cut it for my needs. My GS3 has been great but I still prefer the iPhone 5 over it for it's IUI.
The GS4's 441 ppi was noticeably discernable for me comparative to iPhone 5's retina display & easily surpassed the GS3. Great tool & great write off for my needs.
Why would you ever need that much internal space??? You can just run a 64 gig M.SD card and not deal with fragmentation issues :)

Also not sure why everyone creams over phone processor speed, its not like your playing call of duty, halo, or doing major photo/video editing, or modeling on it. I can see obesssing over a pc or laptop speed but honestly ive yet to find something that doesnt run on my droid 4, so not sure what kind of stuff people would be running that requires some splitting atom quality type speed.

[Palmguy]

What is Swype?

http://www.swype.com/category/about/

I use it exclusively.

[domestique]

I love swype. My previous smart phone had actual keys, and I thought I was going to miss it, but affter a day with swype I am much faster, more accurate, and can use one hand to text.

IMHO, Apple is like a Colt 6933... fine SBR, always functions, and made for the masses. Android: GS4, HTC ONE etc. in my mind is like a fine Noveske, KAC SBR with Surefire Socom RC suppressor.

There is a reason all the teeny bopper girls have iphones, and techies have Android. :p



In all seriousness you cannot go wrong with any of the major smart phones currently out there. I personally have never been an Apple fan and not being able to service any of their products myself. My wife's job gives her a MAC book every other year and it is nice, but I wouldn't spend my money on it.

[Belmont31R]

It should be stated that NO ONE likes iTunes and it is indeed a horrible program. However, I have had 4 or 5 iPhones now, and the only time I sync is when adding music or videos before a trip. With cloud backup I find almost no reason to start that abomination up.

iTunes is AWEFUL, but I certainly wouldn't let that stop me from owning an iPhone. I would say the horribleness of iTunes is equalled out by how funny I find it when people are talking on their giant tablet sized android "phones" in public.

I see people say iTunes sucks and they must have never used Kies. That shit was horrible.

Never had a technical problem with iTunes and when I switched to a Mac all I had to do was sign in with my apple id and it downloaded everything. Ran a phone backup and it was just a matter of waiting for everything to DL. I have iTunes Match as well which is great.

Generally I found the sync/update/media way better on iTunes than anything else. Zune for Windows phone was even far better than Kies.

[Magic_Salad0892]

I see people say iTunes sucks and they must have never used Kies. That shit was horrible.

Never had a technical problem with iTunes and when I switched to a Mac all I had to do was sign in with my apple id and it downloaded everything. Ran a phone backup and it was just a matter of waiting for everything to DL. I have iTunes Match as well which is great.

Generally I found the sync/update/media way better on iTunes than anything else. Zune for Windows phone was even far better than Kies.

One of my problems with iTunes is that it only plays mp3s. It doesn't play wma, or .flac files. (Which much of my music is formatted.)

And the whole "**** you, I'm gonna delete your files, and switch song names" thing.

[Belmont31R]

One of my problems with iTunes is that it only plays mp3s. It doesn't play wma, or .flac files. (Which much of my music is formatted.)

And the whole "**** you, I'm gonna delete your files, and switch song names" thing.

Have you used the current iTunes or iTunes Match? iTunes Match will take any non drm'd file and auto download a high bit rate version. It's a flat yearly fee. I have seen people with thousands of junky versions of songs get it all replaced with 256/356k versions.

Only play mp3? The standard Apple format is AAC. About the only thing that won't play is drm stuff. I have Xbox music also and all their stuff is drm. Nothing you buy from iTunes is restricted. That's why the other phones sync programs pick up iTunes music so well. Buy stuff on a windows phone and its drm'd. **** that.

[Magic_Salad0892]

Have you used the current iTunes or iTunes Match? iTunes Match will take any non drm'd file and auto download a high bit rate version. It's a flat yearly fee. I have seen people with thousands of junky versions of songs get it all replaced with 256/356k versions.

Yeah, that's actually the iTunes program a friend of mine has. And is constantly having problems with.


Only play mp3? The standard Apple format is AAC. About the only thing that won't play is drm stuff. I have Xbox music also and all their stuff is drm. Nothing you buy from iTunes is restricted. That's why the other phones sync programs pick up iTunes music so well. Buy stuff on a windows phone and its drm'd. **** that.

Actually, you're right. Standard format is AAC, but when I upload mp3s to iTunes it converts them. Doesn't do it with any other file type. Instead it ****ing deletes it.

I must be a techno-n00b, what is drm?

[Belmont31R]

Yeah, that's actually the iTunes program a friend of mine has. And is constantly having problems with.



Actually, you're right. Standard format is AAC, but when I upload mp3s to iTunes it converts them. Doesn't do it with any other file type. Instead it ****ing deletes it.

I must be a techno-n00b, what is drm?

Been using iTunes since the 3G and never had something disappear.

DRM is digital rights management. Basically the file is encrypted so only authorized media players can play it. If you get mp3's off Xbox music they have drm so you can't upload them to iTunes. But if you get a windows phone they have no problem taking iTunes shit and putting it on their phones. Hypocritical.

[Magic_Salad0892]

Been using iTunes since the 3G and never had something disappear.

DRM is digital rights management. Basically the file is encrypted so only authorized media players can play it. If you get mp3's off Xbox music they have drm so you can't upload them to iTunes. But if you get a windows phone they have no problem taking iTunes shit and putting it on their phones. Hypocritical.

Oh, yeah. None of my music is DRM.

Thanks for the explanation.

[Palmguy]

I see people say iTunes sucks and they must have never used Kies. That shit was horrible.

Never had a technical problem with iTunes and when I switched to a Mac all I had to do was sign in with my apple id and it downloaded everything. Ran a phone backup and it was just a matter of waiting for everything to DL. I have iTunes Match as well which is great.

Generally I found the sync/update/media way better on iTunes than anything else. Zune for Windows phone was even far better than Kies.

Kies must really suck because Zune was absolutely horrible.

[domestique]

Kies must really suck because Zune was absolutely horrible.

+1, Everyone saying itunes sucks must NEVER have used Zune..... I think itunes is much better in that regard, and I am not an apple fan by any stretch.

[HES]

Late to the party here. Look if you've got an otherwise entire Apple ecosystem, then it's hard to NOT go with an iPhone.

As for the iPhone, its a great device. It's not for me. It does a lot of things well. However I like the ability to crawl under the hood and play with things. Android allows me to do this in addition to doing a butt ton of things well. So I stick with Android.

The issue is which Android device do you go with? HTC has done a great job with their latest. Their marketing sucks. Samsung has clearly go the "it" factor and is knocking things out of the park. But neither is for me.

I switched to the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX HD when it came out and do not regret it. The three main reasons I went with it are:

#1: No one makes a phone with better reception than Motorola. Samsung, Apple, and others keep missing the boat in this respect. Only HTC comes close. When Im in the woods this becomes especially important.

#2: Yeah the battery is non replaceable on the MAXX HD, but for crying out loud you would have to abuse it like a red headed step child by watching nothing but YouTube Videos on 4G all day in order to run it down from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. The weight of a portable power pack is no more than the weight of a spare, pre-charged battery or three. You just charge it while you sleep and no need to swap batteries out in the early evening. This was a critical decision item for me when I am camping or hunting.

#3: Durability. Nothing about this phone says cheap, flimsy, or delicate.

Another plus with this phone is that Motorola gives as close as you can get to a pure Android experience as possible. They do very little to change Android. This is the opposite of Samsung and their TouchWhiz UI skin and HTC with their Sense skin.

The drawback to this phone: The camera sucks. Yeah I'm buying a phone but it would be nice to not need to carry a spare camera to take good shots when Im with the family, friends, out in the woods, etc..

Something to consider: Google bought Motorola the other year. They let Moto burn through their existing designs and admitted that they were "ho hum". During a press conference last month Google let drop some interesting tid bits about the near future of Motorola phones. They said they will stay committed to the ideas a durability and battery life while at the same time stepping things up design and hardware wise with Motorola branded phones. Oh and they are 100% anti-skin. So the upcoming (between now and October?) Motorola X Phone may very well be a game changer. So if you can wait till then you may want to.

[Belmont31R]

I do agree Motorola makes some good hardware. Reception is really not an issue for me though and that's not to say the iPhone has poor reception just don't care when there is lte everywhere here. I get over 40mbps down just down the street and I get lte sitting on my couch. In fact I have taken to streaming my music instead of storing it locally on the phone. Prob won't with my next phone and make sure to get at least 32gb. I have 2-4gb just in podcasts at any one time.

[Bowser]

Played with my buddies GS4 today. Time to upgrade!

[BAC]

It really depends what you'll use your phone for. If it's just a media consumption device (social media, reading email, surfing the web, etc.) then you don't really need much besides a smooth UI, nice screen, and decent battery life. If you're doing work on the phone (Office-like apps, spreadsheets, etc.) then a larger phone with more RAM and HDMI or MHL out (to plug into monitors) will be useful. Gaming might require a nicer screen and more capable graphics compute performance. If you already have time/energy invested in iTunes, and/or you have mac computer, an iPhone is probably a smarter option.

Will you use MHL or HDMI out? USB OTG? Do you know or care about the difference between Bluetooth 2.1 and 4.0? It's funny how many people I know who own high-end smart phones and have no idea what all they're capable of. Researching the features on the spec sheet is solid advice.

[jmnielsen]

I would also say it depends on what other devices you own. I have an iPhone 4, and got it mainly because i have a MBP and iPad and loved how everything jived together. iCloud is awesome. I never backed up my phones to my computer anyways, so when I broke them I was SOL with contacts and everything. With iCloud my phone backs up everytime it is in the same wifi as my laptop, so no more worrying about backing it up.

I would also look into known common issues with the particular phones you narrow down to. For instance, apple blows with their updates. The latest 6.1.3 update has a bug that effects 11% of all iPhones that basically ruins all audio capabilities. No phone calls, alarm clocks, music, nothing. Can't even use the headphone jack. I have best buys black tie protection (which I recommend) and got it replaced for free. Not sure how other companies do it or if apple is taking care of all effected devices or not.

[Belmont31R]

What? No 6.1.3 did not render 11% of iphones basically dead. I am on mac rumors forums almost daily, and there are always a couple people who say they have problems after an update. 11% would be headline news around the world.


However I would also recommend updating a phone through the master program like iTunes or Kies rather than OTA. OTA updates are more like patches whereas updating through itunes downloads the entire OS and installs it instead of doing a patch.

[brickboy240]

I am on my second HTC smart phone and love them.

Started with the Droid Incredible II and now have the HTC Rezound with Beats Audio.

Reasons for this over Apple?

Well, the removable battery and SIM card are a plus. With Apple...if you buy a 16GB phone....you're stuck with it. Battery goes out...you need a totally new phone.

Second, the HTC was 100 dollars cheaper.

Third, I can load all my pirated music on the Android phone. With Apple...you are stuck with buying only through I-tunes. No thank you.

Fourth, my car and wall chargers from my other phone (...and the wifes and daughters phones) work on the new HTC phone. Going to Apple means all new chargers and no borrowing someone else's chargers in a pinch.

Then, there is the whole issue of Apple being SUCH a leftist company. Al Gore sits on their board and they donate tons of money to the DNC. No thank you on giving to those trying to take my guns away.

So you do what you want...but the HTC 4G smart phones are fast and do everything I want in a phone.

-brickboy240

[Belmont31R]

With any phone all you have to do is buy a battery pack with a USB out, and you can keep using it through multiple phones. They come in all shapes and capacities. Buying extra batteries...as soon as you upgrade phones the stack of batteries you bought are useless.


The SIM in every iPhone has been removable pretty much the same way a lot of phones are.

Cheaper is a matter of perspective. Most people are on contracts, and every flagship phone I know of is $200 with a 2 year contract. Buying them contract free the prices might be different. Never bought a phone not under contract.

Not true with iTunes. As long as the song is not DRM'd it will upload to iTunes, and if you pay for iTunes Match they will even replace all your crappy 128 b/s mp3's you stole with high quality AAC versions. I just got some stuff on Amazon, MP3, and it went right into iTunes. The only source I have ever had trouble with is Xbox Music (formerly Zune Music) because all their stuff is DRM'd.

Heres a hint about car chargers. The best thing you can do is a get a dual USB outlet which goes in the power port. Then you use your regular cord so it doesn't matter what device you are using, and can charge 2 phones out of the same port instead of one charger hogging everything.

Apple also donates to Republicans. You would have nothing to buy from any public company if you didn't their products because there was a Democrat on the BOD or they donated to a Democrat at some point in the past. I am glad that they employ a large number of Americans in tech support (my BIL is one here in Austin), and have stores in most major cities to help customers out. I'd rather get good tech support and CS from a company who has Al Gore on the BOD than shitty service and no support from an Asian company. YMMV but Apple is one of the company's actually trying to keep jobs here. Unlike Dell, who is also in Austin, and half their parking lots are empty and they sent all their tech support to India.

[brickboy240]

Apple keeping jobs here?

Name one Apple product made in the USA.

So have they changed the I-phones in the 5 to where you can up the memory inside? My friend's 4S is 16gb and he cannot up the storage to 32GB without paying more (around 399) and totally changing phones.

Sound on the HTC Rezound is pretty good...this phone has the Beats Audio feature and comes with the Beats Audio headphones. Pretty decent for 199...I'd say.

-brickboy240

[Belmont31R]

A lot of the internal parts and screens are made in the USA. The screens are made in Kentucky.


Aside from that they have a lot of tech support jobs here as well as designers and engineers. They are building a multi-billion dollar new building right now, actually, to employ more Americans.

[maximus83]

I personally avoid the Apple platform and kept my kids off of it. The miserable ITunes software and the way they try to lock you into their ecosystem and proprietary media file formats is only one indicator of what you'll experience in the future if you lock into "i"-devices.

Android devices are on a roll; Samsung and Motorola are the best of the lot. Samsung is currently annihilating Apple in the sales department and that's because consumers recognize value and performance.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/tech/mobile/samsung-spanking-apple/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

[mikelowrey]

Is basically what makes you feel comfortable. I went from iPhone 3G to android back to an iPhone 5, IMO I feel more comfortable with apple because it just works, nice UI and simplicity. Forget about who sells more because if you don't have stocks with the company then why stress about it?

Go to a store and get a hands on with both, and then from there you make a decision.

[a0cake]

I think I'm going to wait for the iPhone 5S to get released, see what the OS and new features are like, and decide then.

I'm able to upgrade now but not really desperate. I don't want to rush to the shiny new toy (Galaxy S4 and HTC One, etc.) only for Apple to hit it out of the park with the some brand new software feature only available for the 5S coinciding with the new iOS release.

Thanks all for the responses so far. Much appreciated. If the above plan is stupid for some reason, I'm all ears.

[mikelowrey]

I think I'm going to wait for the iPhone 5S to get released, see what the OS and new features are like, and decide then.

I'm able to upgrade now but not really desperate. I don't want to rush to the shiny new toy (Galaxy S4 and HTC One, etc.) only for Apple to hit it out of the park with the some brand new software feature only available for the 5S coinciding with the new iOS release.

Thanks all for the responses so far. Much appreciated. If the above plan is stupid for some reason, I'm all ears.

Forgot to add in the previous post that there is rumors that the new iOS will be very interesting since Jony Ives is the head of everything there now.

[Belmont31R]

I personally avoid the Apple platform and kept my kids off of it. The miserable ITunes software and the way they try to lock you into their ecosystem and proprietary media file formats is only one indicator of what you'll experience in the future if you lock into "i"-devices.

Android devices are on a roll; Samsung and Motorola are the best of the lot. Samsung is currently annihilating Apple in the sales department and that's because consumers recognize value and performance.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/tech/mobile/samsung-spanking-apple/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

No one is annihilating anyone and AAC is not proprietary. If it was then how does kies and Zune put stuff from iTunes on android and windows phones?

[chadbag]

Well, the removable battery


a feature which about .000001% of the people actually use.



and SIM card are a plus.


I think you mean SD card. The SIM card has been removable on the iPhone since the beginning.



With Apple...if you buy a 16GB phone....you're stuck with it. Battery goes out...you need a totally new phone.


Yes, if you buy a 16GB phone and you fill it up, you either remove the stuff you don't use to make more room, or you get a new phone, or you just buy a 32GB or 64GB phone up front. Most Android users do not add a memory card in or if they use one, do not swap it out (many phones on Android only come in 16GB or even 8GB versions and you have to add in to get equal to 64GB).



Second, the HTC was 100 dollars cheaper.

Third, I can load all my pirated music on the Android phone. With Apple...you are stuck with buying only through I-tunes. No thank you.


????????????????? Come again ???????????????????

You are not stuck with only buying through iTunes. The iPhone will play any MP3 file just fine. It will also play industry standard M4A files (aka AAC). (Yes, iTunes uses an industry standard format, not Apple specific, called AAC or M4A which is the audio file version of MPEG4).

Almost none of the hundreds of songs I have on my phone are from the Apple iTunes store. I can think of maybe a dozen or dozen and a half where I needed to get a tune or album quickly for my son's bass guitar lessons (to learn and play along with) where I bought them from iTunes. Everything else I buy on CD and rip myself.



Fourth, my car and wall chargers from my other phone (...and the wifes and daughters phones) work on the new HTC phone. Going to Apple means all new chargers and no borrowing someone else's chargers in a pinch.


Actually, Apple sells a usb adapter so that you can use normal usb ended chargers if you really want to. The Lightning connector is much more robust than the usb based ones though.



Then, there is the whole issue of Apple being SUCH a leftist company. Al Gore sits on their board and they donate tons of money to the DNC. No thank you on giving to those trying to take my guns away.

So you do what you want...but the HTC 4G smart phones are fast and do everything I want in a phone.


If they work for you, great, rock on. Glad you like it and hope it works well for you.

I just wanted to correct some misconceptions you had.



--

[chadbag]

Actually, you're right. Standard format is AAC, but when I upload mp3s to iTunes it converts them. Doesn't do it with any other file type. Instead it ****ing deletes it.

I must be a techno-n00b, what is drm?

There is a setting of some sort (have not checked for details) since when I add in MP3 files to iTunes, it does not convert them. I vaguely remember it asking once and I went in somehow and turned that off. I assume, from looking just now, it is the "Copy files to the iTunes folder" option in preferences (looking at Mac iTunes, though I would assume that Windows iTunes has the same option). Just turn that off, keep your own music folder, and iTunes will handle it just fine. And should without converting -- I add in MP3s from our music teacher all the time and they don't get converted.

iTunes handles and plays MP3 just fine.


---

[chadbag]

BTW, I think jailbreaking is now illegal and punishable with a $500k fine. Could be wrong, but I think I read that somewhere.



I do not believe that is true. What is true, is that the Copyright Office or whatever office let the "unlock" exception expire so any phone purchased after that date is now illegal to unlock (in the US). However, jailbreak is not the same as unlocking. You can jailbreak without unlocking a phone. I believe jailbreak has been found explicitly to be legal.

(And I suspect "root"ing an Android phone would be in the same classification as a jailbreak of an iPhone in terms of legality).



---

[chadbag]

Y
I have a Glaxy SII, my wife a SIII and I will be upgrading to the SIV when it comes out. The gorilla glass used on the Galaxys is amazing. With an otterbox I have dropped my phone down flights of stairs (concrete/metal) stairs and had nothing but scratches to the case.... try that with an iphone.


Uhm, the iPhone has Gorilla Glass on it too and the Otterbox is available for iPhone too. And iPhones in an Otterbox have suffered all sorts of abuse and come out unscathed too. Just dumb and silly comparison.

There are lots of videos and reports out there of iPhone 5 WITHOUT case being abused and surviving just fine (and others break). There are probably a few reports of Samsung doing the same.

I use my iPhone 5 without case or screen protection of any sort. It has been dropped several times. The glass is pretty much perfect still and the body (black version) is in very good shape with just a small amount of wear [black off] noticeable on the corners.

---

[Koshinn]

I do not believe that is true. What is true, is that the Copyright Office or whatever office let the "unlock" exception expire so any phone purchased after that date is now illegal to unlock (in the US). However, jailbreak is not the same as unlocking. You can jailbreak without unlocking a phone. I believe jailbreak has been found explicitly to be legal.

(And I suspect "root"ing an Android phone would be in the same classification as a jailbreak of an iPhone in terms of legality).



---

Read one of my later posts regarding this.

[chadbag]

I personally avoid the Apple platform and kept my kids off of it. The miserable ITunes software and the way they try to lock you into their ecosystem and proprietary media file formats is only one indicator of what you'll experience in the future if you lock into "i"-devices.


There is nothing proprietary about non DRM AAC files (MP4 audio) which are standard on iTunes.



Android devices are on a roll; Samsung and Motorola are the best of the lot. Samsung is currently annihilating Apple in the sales department and that's because consumers recognize value and performance.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/tech/mobile/samsung-spanking-apple/index.html?hpt=hp_t5


So, Apple having approximately 50% higher profit, and earning about 2x as much profit per phone as Samsung, and being at the nadir of their sales cycle [Apple has only been releasing new phones 1x a year so they have a definite sales cycle] means they are being annihilated by Samsung? (And Samsung's profit came not just from consumer electronics).

Android activates a lot of phones. MANY MANY MANY of which are low end feature phone replacements using old versions of Android and which are slow throw away phones.


---

[chadbag]

Apple keeping jobs here?

Name one Apple product made in the USA.


Some Macs TODAY are Assembled in the US. There are strict laws about when you can say "Assembled in the USA" (the FTS does not allow "screwdriver assembly" to count where every part is imported and someone just throws it together). You can Google it.

And Apple is supposedly setting up (or having set up) a Mac Assembly plant in the USA.

The Samsung built Apple Ax processor used in the iPhone and iPad are made in Texas (at least many or most of them). The Gorilla Glass is made in the USA. There are other chips and components as well.

One report (you can "bing" it) says that the net benefit to China for iPhone assembly is about $10 per phone for labor. Local parts may or may not be part of that $10. All design (HW and SW) for iOS and iPhone/iPad is in the US and many of the parts come from the US for assembly in China.

Support for iPhone and iPad (for US customers at least) is in the US predominantly. I've NEVER been connected to India or elsewhere like that for Apple. Though I did get connected to Canada once since that office was still open [after hours].

Where does Samsung (or HTC or Motorola) design and build there stuff? (yes, vanilla Android is in the US at Google, and they all use Gorilla Glass and Samsung may build some of its chips in the US).


---

[Belmont31R]

I don't know where this myth of itunes only playing music bought on itunes came from but afaik that has never been the case. I have never had a problem adding my own music as long as it's not DRM'd, and that has nothing to do with Apple since they don't DRM their music. In fact there is an option to auto add music from any CD you put in your computer, and you can rip music from iTunes onto a CD from within iTunes. There has always been the menu option to add a file or folder to itunes.

iTunes Match is specifically designed to take music you got from outside iTunes, and replace it with high quality versions. So reality is the exact opposite of what a few people have said in this thread. They will also keep a record of all the music you have in iTunes, and if you get a new computer or whatever all you have to do is sign in with your Apple ID, and it downloads all your music (even stuff you didn't buy through iTunes).

You may just not like iPhones or iOS, and that is fine. But these myths are quite funny.

[Belmont31R]

I do not believe that is true. What is true, is that the Copyright Office or whatever office let the "unlock" exception expire so any phone purchased after that date is now illegal to unlock (in the US). However, jailbreak is not the same as unlocking. You can jailbreak without unlocking a phone. I believe jailbreak has been found explicitly to be legal.

(And I suspect "root"ing an Android phone would be in the same classification as a jailbreak of an iPhone in terms of legality).



---



Yes that is true. What became illegal for phones purchased after, IIRC, Jan 24th, is you cannot remove the carrier lock. You have to request a carrier unlock from whoever the phone is locked to. Im not sure about anyone other than ATT but they will unlock your phone if you are mil and getting deployed, contract has run out or if you travel a lot. They do not have to at all but if you have a good reason they will generally do it. Or just pay for the phone outright, and it should come unlocked. You can buy unlocked iPhones right from Apple.

Jailbraking has nothing to do with a carrier unlock just like rooting an Android phone. Apple tries to block jailbraking because a lot of the time it makes the phone unstable and a lot of people are jailbraking to get pirated apps. It protects their developer community from having their apps ripped off.

[Waylander]

If you don't want iTunes to process your ripped CD audio files to AAC/mp4 format (.m4a extension which most modern media players will play fine anyway) there's the simple option to have your CDs imported as mp3s for older players. Menu -> Edit -> Preferences -> General Tab -> Import Settings.

[Littlelebowski]

a feature (removable battery) which about .000001% of the people actually use.

--

No offense dude but lots of people use this.

[chadbag]

No offense dude but lots of people use this.

No offense, but it is still an almost minuscule fraction of the 100s of millions of phones sold. Remember, even several million people doing this is around 1% of 100s of millions of phones sold a year (across all types of phones).

Very few people actually swap batteries out. Yes, some do. But most don't. If it was really a problem, you'd see more batteries for sale everywhere and Apple would take a real hit and you wouldn't see high end Android phones (and PC notebooks) that have non-replaceable batteries.


Same with SD cards. For those devices that have an SD card slot or otherwise have a memory card slot (SD or not), most users just stick a card in and use that same card forever. They may remove it to download or upload stuff but they then stick the VERY SAME CARD back in the device (phone, camera, etc). A small minority of people actually swap cards around. Of all my cameras, phones (yes I have had phones with slots), etc. that have or had memory card slots, the only one where I actually used more than the initial card I stuck in [whether the original that came with it or a different one I bought with it since the original was lamely small] is my DSLR. All the smaller point and shoot cameras don't get cards swapped in and out. Most people don't. Some do. Mainly über geeks or Pro users (DSLR types).

===

[Littlelebowski]

Hey, that makes sense. The folks I hang out with aren't usually "everyday users" :D

[chadbag]

Hey, that makes sense. The folks I hang out with aren't usually "everyday users" :D

Many of us probably aren't every day users.

What Apple and Samsung and HTC and the rest of them do is to look at what makes sense for their product, which is sold to 10s of millions or more. For some, the PR benefit of including it outweighs the additional complexity and cost and design constraints it forces on them (Samsung). For others, it makes sense to forego it because they can save money in manufacture, reduce complexity of design and manufacture, and it opens up new design avenues to them (Apple, and some other Android makers like HTC(?)).

What is important to YOU will guide your purchase.

I decided I did not care since even when I had phones that had removable batteries AND I had purchased a backup battery, I never used it. And my 2007 Macbook Pro has an unused, unopen backup battery sitting on the table down in my basement. For me, since I never got around to using them anyway, I've decided that feature is useless for me. YMMV

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[Belmont31R]

Just did an Amazon search for "usb battery pack", and got 156,000 results.

First hit was a 10000 mah pack for $39.99. That will provide 5 iphone complete charges and is only 5.6 x 2.8 x 0.6 inches and 8.5 ounces.


Most people who get Micro SD cards do so because they don't want to pay extra for factory built in memory. That is certainly a point and is what I did with the S3 I used. Is it something I really care about anymore? Nope. Its less than a 2% price difference over the life of the phone if you buy a high quality Micro SD card.

[fourXfour]

My buddy has a Samsung Galaxy S3. He's been bitching for a week that he bought a song off Google Play and it won't show up in his music folder.


I had some free time and decided to try to see what the issue was. After about ten minutes of tinkering and googling the problem, I come to find out he turned off most of his automatic syncing (to save battery life) which resulted in his automatic downloads being suspended.

While I do lust after the newest and greatest, Apple is just more reliable and user friendly. I do miss some of the features on my old Android phone, but having something work is important. Even my mom has figured out how to use an iPhone. Unfortunately she bought a MAc, which is causing me a headache every time I visit.

[a0cake]

First time I'm seeing the Otterbox. Thanks for mentioning that, whoever brought it up. My phones double as ballistic computers and GPS's, so I'm definitely going to get one of those.

The battery issue actually is something that I'm concerned about, because I often use the phone as my primary GPS out on the trail.

But if there are external battery packs that can charge the iPhone, then it's no big deal. Maybe this isn't true generally, but from what I've noticed battery efficiency declines with time. My Droid batteries have started to bleed a lot faster after about a year of use, in general. So I've often replaced them.

Is this not a problem with iPhone batteries?

[chadbag]

But if there are external battery packs that can charge the iPhone, then it's no big deal. Maybe this isn't true generally, but from what I've noticed battery efficiency declines with time. My Droid batteries have started to bleed a lot faster after about a year of use, in general. So I've often replaced them.

Is this not a problem with iPhone batteries?

All batteries deteriorate over time. My original 2007 iPhone still packs a very good charge, but is probably not as good as it was brand new. (I have not done any testing and its current use as a game machine for my son is different -- but it still has wifi on and picks up the cell signal though it cannot make a call without SIM -- and it lasts for a good long game playing session). My iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 don't have any appreciable loss of battery capacity, though there is probably a small amount.

When I was testing some GPS enabled apps heavily (like hours walking around with GPS turned on in Vegas testing and downloading info at the same time), I used a Sanyo Eneloop battery pack plugged into it and still had a full phone battery when I got back to the hotel that night I still had a full internal battery as the Eneloop kept it charged the whole time. I also used it in Japan like that as we wandered around whole days.

I usually get a days use out of the battery, with normal use. Some days it drains faster as I am using more network or GPS stuff, or occasionally I am in a place that has terrible network coverage and it uses a lot more power trying to stay attached to the cell tower. My son's swimming team location is like that...

I don't usually bring the USB based battery pack with me unless I know I will need it. But it works.

Mophie also makes an iPhone case that has a battery pack built in. I think they also make a similar Samsung case (?)

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[Waylander]

First time I'm seeing the Otterbox. Thanks for mentioning that, whoever brought it up. My phones double as ballistic computers and GPS's, so I'm definitely going to get one of those.

Before you get the Otterbox take a look at the Ballistic case. They're amazing for roughly the same price and are like vaults.

http://www.goballisticcase.com/

[Belmont31R]

First time I'm seeing the Otterbox. Thanks for mentioning that, whoever brought it up. My phones double as ballistic computers and GPS's, so I'm definitely going to get one of those.

The battery issue actually is something that I'm concerned about, because I often use the phone as my primary GPS out on the trail.

But if there are external battery packs that can charge the iPhone, then it's no big deal. Maybe this isn't true generally, but from what I've noticed battery efficiency declines with time. My Droid batteries have started to bleed a lot faster after about a year of use, in general. So I've often replaced them.

Is this not a problem with iPhone batteries?


I don't use a case but heard lots of good things about the LifeProof cases if you want that kind of protection.

As far as batteries go I've never noticed any type of degradation. I've had my 5 since about last Oct and I still get the same use out of it. These are not like the old ni-cad batteries that got bad memory and were unreliable over time.

If you use it away from a plug in power source aside from the battery packs I'd check out solar chargers as well.

[maximus83]

No one is annihilating anyone and AAC is not proprietary. If it was then how does kies and Zune put stuff from iTunes on android and windows phones?

Sure they are. The numbers are just for Samsung Android devices, excluding other Android makers. From the article:


Research firms underscored the two companies' divergent financial performance with units shipped. "Samsung shipped almost two times more smartphones and grew nine times faster than Apple during the quarter," said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston in a report digging into the first quarter.

Another research firm, Juniper Analytics, estimates Samsung shipped 68 million smartphones during the first quarter, accounting for approximately 34% of the 200 million smartphones sold. Apple in contrast, sold north of 37 million iPhones during the same quarter.

As for AAC, it is an "open file format specification", so technically any open or proprietary software can use the spec. However, Itunes and the store are proprietary software, and they use a combination of Itunes, the AAC format, and default settings in their software, to create a condition of de facto proprietary format lock-in, which makes it difficult (though not impossible) for the average consumer to get their music files into any format other than AAC. For starters, you can only get your music in AAC format from the store. In the future, if you want all your music to be on say a more universal format like MP3, you have to go through yet another file conversion process. Easy for you and me, not for mom and pop end users who don't want their music library to be stored in 15 different file formats including MP3's purchased from Amazon, Google, other, and AAC's purchased from Apple.

Apple has some nice hardware. But they are controlling and are using a variety of strategies including the AAC thing mentioned above to push users into staying on their platform. Not illegal, but more controlling than necessary and not really in consumers' best long-term interests. It is the DATA that you create or buy--including your media files--that is really the valuable thing for the long term, and not the device.

[chadbag]

Sure they are. The numbers are just for Samsung Android devices, excluding other Android makers. From the article:


And they include every low end POS Samsung that uses an old version of Android, substandard performance specs, feature phone replacements, etc as well as the true high end smart phones that Samsung ships. Samsung ships A LOT of low end phones that technically are called smart phones and run some old Android but which are not really used as smart phone nor competitive with smartphones (whether from Apple, Samsung itself, HTC, Motorola, etc).

Samsung did not ship 68million GS3, Note X, etc phones.

Apple had almost 50% higher profit than did Samsung (despite Samsung selling all those phones) and makes 2x the profit per device as Samsung and Apple is at the bottom (nadir) of its iPhone sales cycle, meaning they sold a lot fewer phones that quarter than they do in the zenith or top of their sales cycle.

The profit per device is important as it is one way to show that the throw away low end phones that are replacing normal "feature phones" are not equivalent to true high end smartphones.



As for AAC, it is an "open file format specification", so technically any open or proprietary software can use the spec. However, Itunes and the store are proprietary software, and they use a combination of Itunes, the AAC format, and default settings in their software, to create a condition of de facto proprietary format lock-in,


NO, it does not. AAC is merely M4A and is an industry standard. It is part of the MPEG4 standard. It includes an "open file format" as well as industry standard audio codecs.

Anyone can use AAC/M4A files if they want and they are widely supported across platforms.

There is nothing proprietary about them and the iTunes software does NOT lock you in to AAC (though AAC is the default) and it is not hard at all to use these files elsewhere.



which makes it difficult (though not impossible) for the average consumer to get their music files into any format other than AAC.


No, it is not. However, there is no need to get the files in any format other than AAC. It is easy to convert to MP3 (most any audio conversion program will do it) but there is no need. AAC is as standard as MP3 is in terms of standards.


For starters, you can only get your music in AAC format from the store. In the future, if you want all your music to be on say a more universal format like MP3, you have to go through yet another file conversion process. Easy for you and me, not for mom and pop end users who don't want their music library to be stored in 15 different file formats including MP3's purchased from Amazon, Google, other, and AAC's purchased from Apple.


The average user you talk about does not care what format their files are in for music. As long as they work. And they do. I suspect that there is not a currently available music player available that won't play M4A files (non DRM encumbered, which iTunes files have not been for a long while). If there is, it is some no name $3 player from China that no one buys and you get when you play those 25 cent snag-the-prize games at Wal-Mart and the arcade (and I bet those even play them now).

All the current software players should play them as well.

The average user just does not care about file formats -- they care about their music and as long as it plays, they are happy. (And it does and will).




Apple has some nice hardware. But they are controlling and are using a variety of strategies including the AAC thing mentioned above to push users into staying on their platform.


That is not why Apple uses AAC. AAC files are smaller at a given quality level than are MP3 files.

AAC is no lock in. AAC is just industry standard MP4 music files. You know, the MPEG standard that came came after MPEG2 (MP3 files are MPEG2 layer 3 or something like that).


Not illegal, but more controlling than necessary and not really in consumers' best long-term interests. It is the DATA that you create or buy--including your media files--that is really the valuable thing for the long term, and not the device.

That's correct. And AAC is as open as available as MP3. In fact, it is the next generation of MPEG music files.


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[Belmont31R]

Samsung sells a lot of non-flagship smart phones. So what? Are you going to go buy an Asia only Samsung phone that is pure junk?


For American sales...they are pretty equal. I don't care what a bunch of poor people in Asia buy or whats in a blister pack in Walmart. Even at the ATT store they have maybe 5 flagship phones, and about 50 older models and junk.


itunes plays mp3's....and there is nothing proprietary as in purchased itunes music can't be played on other devices. We keep a Windows phone as a backup and Zune loads it just fine onto that phone.

When my wife had the S3, and used Google Music. When I bought something on iTunes Google Music would upload it and make it available on her phone.

You're simply not locked into anything music wise. I have several non-AAC format songs in iTunes that play just fine. I have the option to convert them to AAC if I want, and they will still play on non-Apple devices.

AAC offers better quality sound at the same bit rate as an MP3 which is why Apple uses it.

As I've mentioned the only music issue Ive ever had loading stuff between the 3 major phone OS's is Xbox (Zune) Music because it's DRM'd.

[Belmont31R]

AAC vs MP3 audio quality
The AAC format was designed to be an improvement over MP3 in the following aspects:

More sample frequencies (from 8 kHz to 96 kHz) than MP3 (16 kHz to 48 kHz)
Up to 48 channels (MP3 supports up to two channels in MPEG-1 mode and up to 5.1 channels in MPEG-2 mode)
Arbitrary bit-rates and variable frame length. Standardized constant bit rate with bit reservoir.
Higher efficiency and simpler filterbank (rather than MP3's hybrid coding, AAC uses a pure MDCT)
Higher coding efficiency for stationary signals (AAC uses a blocksize of 1024 or 960 samples, allowing more efficient coding than MP3's 576 sample blocks)
Higher coding accuracy for transient signals (AAC uses a blocksize of 128 or 120 samples, allowing more accurate coding than MP3's 192 sample blocks)
Can use Kaiser-Bessel derived window function to eliminate spectral leakage at the expense of widening the main lobe
Much better handling of audio frequencies above 16 kHz
More flexible joint stereo (different methods can be used in different frequency ranges)
Adds additional modules (tools) to increase compression efficiency: TNS, Backwards Prediction, PNS etc. These modules can be combined to constitute different encoding profiles.
Overall, the AAC format allows developers more flexibility to design codecs than MP3 does, and corrects many of the design choices made in the original MPEG-1 audio specification. This increased flexibility often leads to more concurrent encoding strategies and, as a result, to more efficient compression.

The MP3 specification, although antiquated, has proven surprisingly robust in spite of considerable flaws. AAC and HE-AAC are better than MP3 at low bit rates (typically less than 128 kilobits per second). This is especially true at very low bit rates where the superior stereo coding, pure MDCT, and more optimal transform window sizes leave MP3 unable to compete. However, as bit rate increases, the efficiency of an audio format becomes less important relative to the efficiency of the encoder's implementation, and the intrinsic advantage AAC holds over MP3 no longer dominates audio quality.

http://www.diffen.com/difference/AAC_vs_MP3

[Belmont31R]

This thing is included in Samsungs 'shipments'. I had to look up what the 'Bada 2.0 OS' even is. Apparently Samsung doesn't even support it anymore.


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-Wave-Y-S5380-GSM-Phone-Sand-Silver-Unlocked/21281017

[Littlelebowski]

I've had equally great experiences with Apple and Android phones. I've seen both lose battery power. I've seen one company leave a less than 3 year old device hanging on certain OS updates and that was Apple (iPad1). I've seen bugs on both platforms.

Currently using a Galaxy Nexus phone, Nexus 7 tablet, and a brand new Macbook Pro 13" Retina.

If a0cake is staying in heavily populated areas, I'd strongly recommend looking at the Tmobile offerings. The cost savings are significant.

[a0cake]

If a0cake is staying in heavily populated areas, I'd strongly recommend looking at the Tmobile offerings. The cost savings are significant.

That's good advice but I'm out of the city pretty often. There's actually some really good hiking to be done up near USMA West Point (plus my AR's are kept up there since Uncles Bloomberg and Cuomo don't think I should have them here). Also get out to eastern PA once or twice a month. T-Mobile can get spotty in these areas.

As much as I hate Verizon as a company, I like their coverage.

[Belmont31R]

I've had equally great experiences with Apple and Android phones. I've seen both lose battery power. I've seen one company leave a less than 3 year old device hanging on certain OS updates and that was Apple (iPad1). I've seen bugs on both platforms.

Currently using a Galaxy Nexus phone, Nexus 7 tablet, and a brand new Macbook Pro 13" Retina.

If a0cake is staying in heavily populated areas, I'd strongly recommend looking at the Tmobile offerings. The cost savings are significant.



I looked at the Tmobile new contract free prices and when you factor in the fact the ATT price is with a phone subsidy Tmobile was more expensive, and has far worse coverage.


It's $80 for the cheapest 2 line 'family plan' which is only 500MB of data, and that $80 doesn't include taxes. We do get a employer discount for ATT so our plan is $145 a month WITH taxes, and two subsidized phones. The subsidy works out to about $20 a month per line so thats $40 total a month making our plan $105 month in reality. Our plan has unlimited texts and calls with 6GB of shared data. The Tmobile plan with 2.5GB of data is $100 not including taxes.

[Magic_Salad0892]

As much as I hate Verizon as a company, I like their coverage.

Those ****sticks will never see my business again.

[Littlelebowski]

I looked at the Tmobile new contract free prices and when you factor in the fact the ATT price is with a phone subsidy Tmobile was more expensive, and has far worse coverage.


It's $80 for the cheapest 2 line 'family plan' which is only 500MB of data, and that $80 doesn't include taxes. We do get a employer discount for ATT so our plan is $145 a month WITH taxes, and two subsidized phones. The subsidy works out to about $20 a month per line so thats $40 total a month making our plan $105 month in reality. Our plan has unlimited texts and calls with 6GB of shared data. The Tmobile plan with 2.5GB of data is $100 not including taxes.


Hmmm, food for thought. I hadn't looked at family plans. I'm like a0cake - tied to Verizon. However, I prefer vanilla Android phones so I'm keeping my (ready for upgrade) galaxy Nexus and really have no urge to get anything else. Wish the Nexus 4 was on Verizon and wish iPhones had Swype like keyboards and one could tether from one without buying the service nor jailbreaking.

[chadbag]

wish iPhones had Swype like keyboards and one could tether from one without buying the service nor jailbreaking.

I don't know about Verizon or TMobile, but on ATT, the standard data sharing plans now come with tethering built-in to the service (including on iPhone). It is no longer extra $ or a special service as long as you are on the shared data plans. I would expect verizon and tmobile to have similar things on their new plans (at least the Verizon shared data plans, which are all you can get now with Verizon for new service -- older plans being grandfathered).


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[Belmont31R]

We were on a grandfathered unlimited plan with ATT which did not include tethering, and switched to the Mobile Share plan. Losing unlimited data doesn't effect us since we have 6GB of data between us. We never went over that with unlimited anyways, and we save about $20 a month. This also did away with having a set amount of minutes but we had unlimited texts anyways. The unlimited wasn't really unlimited. I think it was over 5GB you'd get throttled. Oh yeah the Mobile Share plan includes tethering at no extra cost.


I've looked at a bunch of the pre-paid or contract free plans and don't really see anything that would save us enough to switch from what we have now. Even at $40 a month per line that would really only saves us about $20 a month, and usually that comes with far less service either in minutes/texts/data or coverage.


Don't know about single line plans. I'd imagine that would be a different story but it might be worth it for some people to share a plan with a close friend or family member. If they are old or don't want to use their upgrades you can use their line for a yearly upgrade for yourself...;)

[Littlelebowski]

I don't know about Verizon or TMobile, but on ATT, the standard data sharing plans now come with tethering built-in to the service (including on iPhone). It is no longer extra $ or a special service as long as you are on the shared data plans. I would expect verizon and tmobile to have similar things on their new plans (at least the Verizon shared data plans, which are all you can get now with Verizon for new service -- older plans being grandfathered).


OK, that's pretty good news. Now if I could just move files around using a file browser :D

[chadbag]

OK, that's pretty good news. Now if I could just move files around using a file browser :D

Sadly, I've never had the desire nor cared where my "files" were stored on my phone. Sorry.


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[Littlelebowski]

Sadly, I've never had the desire nor cared where my "files" were stored on my phone. Sorry.


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I just want the ability to save and transfer/email files.

[chadbag]

I just want the ability to save and transfer/email files.

Can you give me some use cases? I am not sure what you mean.

Most "user created" content on the iPhone can be mailed or texted or saved to the cloud or to dropbox etc. It may require some "different" thinking compared to normal filesystem based management but is possible as needed. I won't claim all sorts are but most.


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