Android vs. Apple

Apple vs. Android: it has become an all-out battle for the people’s hearts and minds, a battle that can only be compared to Edward vs. Jacob or or the legendary distaste between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Both companies have been chasing the title of “best smart phone” and it has become a battle that is too close for anyone to call; proving which phone is better is like trying to prove that Coke is better than Pepsi, or vice versa–you just can’t.

But why? It’s simple, actually: personal preference.

Do you want a physical keyboard, prefer using iTunes to manage your music, or are you an Apple loyalist?

These are the all-important questions.

Until recently, I owned the iPhone 3G for the past two years and I loved it. The iPhone 3G was ahead of its time stylistically and internally; even when the iPhone 3GS and 4 came out I wasn’t dissatisfied.
It was only when Android started coming out with features that Apple had never even hinted at releasing that I became impatient with my iPhone.

It was as if Apple had us hooked with its products (which some see as true) and was withholding better technology to keep us coming back for the next thing.

For example, the iPhone 4 came out with front and rear facing cameras for video chat, but then Android came out with 3G and 4G video chat. Apple came out with the iPad with no cameras, and then a multitude of companies came out with 1st generation Android tablets, with front and back facing cameras.
For being such a trailblazing company, Apple is either unimaginative or holding out on us. I tend to believe the latter.

Not only was Apple withholding technology from me, I also began to tire of the lack of personalization I could achieve with my iPhone. My friends who owned Android products were showing me how they could make their phone tailored to them, as an “extension of who they were” and it left me wanting more.
Now please realize that before I made the switch I was “that guy.” I owned the MacBook Pro, the iPad and the iPhone. I was “Appled-out” and the only way it could have gotten worse was if I purchased the MacBook Air, which I’m looking into. . .only kidding.

So, I made the switch and have not looked back since.

My dual-core processor Motorola Atrix 4G has been amazing. My favorite thing about it, besides the speed, is the fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone.

Fingerprint recognition is a feature the iPhone only has in the app store as an idiotic party joke. The iPhone’s big brother has entered the room and, although many have tried, no one has broken into my phone via-fingerprint. It also comes with its own laptop.

A phone that turns into a laptop–now that will turn some heads. It’s a phone that turns into a laptop, also runs Firefox and runs video chat.

But is it a laptop that is a phone? Or a phone that is a laptop? The lines are beginning to blur. Let’s throw in an HDMI connection on the Atrix 4G and then tell me what you would call it. Shall we dare say “superphone?”

Apple’s iPhone 4 is a model of refinement that can and (for the near future) should be looked up to. Although Apple has produced the “near perfect” smartphone, when you purchase one you also agree to the limitations that come with it.

These limitations have been the main deterrent for many individuals looking for their next smartphone. The list is short but significant and to point out the elephant in the room, I will start off by saying that Apple’s iPhone cannot use Flash Player.

Flash Player, a seemingly easy add-on for Apple, is a feature that many websites are built upon. It is no secret that Apple and Adobe do not agree on many levels, and unfortunately this is one of the results of those disagreements.

Another limitation is the regulation of freeware programs in iTunes that Android phones offer, and the mobile hotspot feature, allowing devices such as your laptop to use the 3G or 4G signal as a wireless connection.

While many people love the easy, “tell me how to use it” aspect of the Apple iPhone, it is also consistently the number one complaint of those who chose against it.

The bottom line? People do not like giving up their say on how the perfect smart phone should be made.
Android, on the other hand, dug in at the opposite side of the debate. Their belief is that people should be able to decide what makes up the perfect phone.

You can purchase Android phones from multiple companies, out of the box with digital keyboards, sliding keyboards, 3G/ 4G video chat–almost anything you can think of, you can find.

So when you are standing in the store holding an Apple in one hand and a Android in the other, just realize it’s a choice between Android’s variability and personalization and Apple’s refined and fluid operating system.