Tech Review Part 3

This post is a continuation of my Tech Review Series.  You can read Parts One and Two here and here.

Today, I will be discussing the differences between the Droid and iPhone cell phones, and how they have worked for me in my daily life.

Apple vs. Android - Let the games begin!

 Before I go on – I know that there are many die hard fans of either platform.  I am not writing to equivocally say one is better then the other – these are just my experiences with these two phones, and how I have used them in everyday life.

Droid Evo Shift with Sprint Service

The Evo Shift with Google by Android

I had the Evo Shift for about 2 years and I loved it.  I was not a fan of the “tapping on the glass” method of text entry, so the fact that the Evo Shift had a slide out keyboard was the first very attractive quality that hooked me right away.  The Shift had a very nice display screen, and was easy to use.  The Droid Marketplace (now called Google Play) was easy to use, and I often found exactly what I needed right away.  I also loved the way that my email, calendar, contacts, etc all synced with my phone easily and effortlessly from my Google Accounts.  My Shift started off working great – it was fast and easy to use, and my favorite feature – built in voice navigated turn by turn directions from Google Maps.  Every time I had to take a trip, my trusty navigation unit was right there telling me where to go.

I do miss this...

However, after about a year or so of use, I started to notice some issues.  First off, the sync system that Droid uses is very slow and cumbersome – there was always some issue with trying to sync the phone with my PC.  Most of the time, I didn’t even bother. Second, there was a real memory/ storage issue.  When I bought my phone, the salesman did say that the Evo Shift was a great entry level to mid range smart phone, and he was not lying. The Evo Shift came with a 2 GB memory card and even less internal storage.

Not. Quite. Enough.

After about a year, I started getting low memory/ storage warnings.  Add to that, many apps could not be transferred to the SD card, so I had to start deleting apps to make room for the updates to the apps I wanted to keep.  And oh, the updates – there were just so many!  As my phone filled up, the system got slower and slower, until it got to the point of having to power down and reboot.  The time had come to upgrade.

Apple iPhone 4 with iOS 5 with Sprint Service

The iPhone 4 with iOS 5 by Apple

I was leery about moving over to the iPhone.  Many swear by it, but when it fails, I hear it fails spectacularly.  However, the time had come – Sprint was having a great deal on iPhones, and I decided to go for it. 

I have had my iPhone for about 2 weeks, and I really do love it, but it does take some getting used to.  The display screen is a bit smaller then my Droid, but not by much.  The nice thing, though, is that my screen is far more sensitive, so text typing on the glass is not as big of an issue as I though it would be.  I have also noted that apps work much better on the iPhone then on the Droid.  A perfect example is Instagram.  I enjoyed in on the Droid, but I love it on the iPhone (especially as the camera on the iPhone is fantastic). 

Instagram rules on the iPhone!

 The iCloud system is really what makes this phone awesome.  Look, as the end of the day, most phones do the same thing in one way or the other.  The iCloud, however, really does take it to the next level.  I love being able to download a song on my iPad and then have it instantly available on my iPhone and Mac.  The same is true with apps and documents – everything gets shared across multiple devices.   

The iCloud is awesome - and is a real selling point for Apple products.

My iPhone 4 is definitely faster then my Droid Evo Shift, and it can run more apps at once without a problem.  Add to that the 8 GBs of internal storage (and no need for a separate SD card), and so far, this phone really has been terrific. 

All that being said – the iPhone is not without flaws.  The first major shortcoming is its lack of on board navigation.  Really, Apple - you can’t figure that one out?  There are apps for this (and I will discuss those later), but they are not as good as the navigation system on the Droid phones.  The other downfall is the ongoing feud between Apple and Adobe.  This nonsense has to stop – Apple has to realize that not having Adobe Flash is hurting there phone (as a matter of fact – that was one of my deciding factors in getting the Shift).  At the same time, Adobe has to realize that Flash takes up a tremendous amount of space, and weekly, almost daily updates (as it feels like sometimes) is just annoying and unnecessary.  They have to get this figure out.  

Adobe Flash - Get it together guys!

The final major downside is Apple does not play well with Google.  After syncing all of my contacts from my Google Accounts, the showed up on my iPhone all messed up.  After downloading my contacts, I saw multiple entries for the same individual, information in the wrong place, and some of it just plain missing.  That was two hours of going through everything to get it all up to date.  Furthermore, the iPhone contacts list does not include entries for Facebook and Twitter with real time updates – you have to use separate apps for that.  The Droid platform lets you tie all of those accounts together, letting you see everything at a glance.  However, the apps do work much better on the iPhone, so I guess it is just a trade off at that point.

Facebook and Twitter work great on the iPhone!

So, there you go – my simple and personal reviews between the iPhone and the Droid.  I would like to point out one other thing though – I will continue to use Sprint for as long as they are as good as they are.  

Sprint: The way to go for me - for now....

 AT&T, which I have had in the past, stinks – I will never use them again.  A long time ago, I had Cingular, (inventor of the roll over minutes) which was awesome.  They had great customer service, and a terrific product line.  Then, AT&T bought them out, and the whole thing went down hill in a matter of weeks.  I actually paid the $250.00 cancellation fee; that’s how bad they were.   

AT&T: BOOOOOOOO!

I have heard Verizon service is good, but their version of the iPhone cannot multitask, which was a problem for me. 

I hope this little synopsis helps anyone toiling with the decision of purchasing an iPhone over the Droid, or vice versa.  My next post will concentrate on my favorite apps available for the iPhone. Thanks for reading!