Right now, Android and iPhone are battling it out for the top spot on the smartphone market. Android has marginally overtaken iPhone’s market share and is standing tall with its head held high. However, this doesn't mean that Apple is going to back down. With the upcoming release of iOS5, they are attacking the droid from all angles possible. Nevertheless, one shouldn't believe the Apple fanboys when they say that iPhone is the better device.
Android beats iPhone hands down in as many as 10 areas. Here's a look on why you should choose Android smartphones over iPhone.
Android beats iPhone hands down in as many as 10 areas. Here's a look on why you should choose Android smartphones over iPhone.
Android is open source, sort of
Android smartphones are based on an operating system that is both open source and freely available. Even though, there was a controversy about Google holding back Android's code, Android is not as restrictive as iOS. Apple can put any feature, and we mean absolutely any feature in the iPhone and the user won't even know about it.
More carriers
Android devices support almost all the mainstream mobile networks in the U.S. However, iPhone on the other hand, supports only Verizon and AT & T. So, in case you hate your network, you'll have to stick with it forever.
Flash support
Many people agree with Steve Jobs when he says that Flash is a primitive technology that is holding back the progress of the web. But, when we browse the web for a while, there's a huge chance that we'll end up at a site which uses Flash somewhere. Android does a good job at supporting Flash from the start, thus making web browsing as good as it is on the computer.
Many devices to choose from
When you buy an iPhone you have no choice but to buy the device manufactured by Apple, whether you like it or not. Android however, offers its users a lot of choices in this field (see: 3 Latest Android Superphones To Satisfy Your Smartphone Lust). If say, you don't like using touchscreen devices, you can easily go for an Android phone that comes with a physical keyboard.
Truly Wireless
Android syncs with multiple services and that too wirelessly. iPhone users are tied down to iTunes for all their syncing needs. Wireless sync is still unavailable in iPhone even though it has been 4 years since its first release. Also, updating an iPhone is quite a drag as the user has to connect the phone to the dreaded iTunes and wait for the device to reboot. Android does a great job by including over-the-air (OTA) updates keeping a mobile phone what it should truly be - wireless.
Pricing
A person who is looking to buy an Android smartphone can go for a lower-end model if he's a little short on cash. An iPhone buyer has to shell out $500 or more no matter what.
iPhone is a trap
iPhone is designed to make sure you end up buying more stuff from Apple. iPhone (pre-OS5) is still locked down to iTunes, and users still have to rely on it for upgrading their OS. Furthermore, you have to download/buy apps only from the iTunes store and nowhere else, which mean you’re stuck with Apple forever. Moreover, Apple makes sure that you buy accessories only from Apple and not from someone else. What a rip-off!
Multitasking and cut, copy, paste for everyone
When it comes to multitasking, Android has always been a step ahead of iOS with all its models supporting the feature from the start. IPhone on the other hand, made the feature available only for its later models starting with iOS 4. Also, Apple left out an essential feature like Cut, Copy and Paste in its initial model. The feature was then introduced using a paid OS upgrade. No wonder, Android users had a great laugh about it.
Works on Linux (officially)
Android smartphones connect perfectly with Linux across all distributions. iPhone on the other hand requires the proprietary iTunes which works only on Windows and Mac.
Perfect for open source fanatics
If you're a stickler for open source stuff, Android is the perfect platform for developers and for users. On iOS there are only a handful of open source apps, thanks to Apple's restrictive policies. However on Android, one can find a lot of quality open source including popular ones like Firefox, Ubuntu One and Frozen Bubble.
Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.
Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.
It's too bad you waited so long to post this, as a good number of your comments are about to be addresses.
ReplyDelete-iOS 5 can operate completely independently from iTunes.
-An iPhone is not $500 if you get it from one of the carriers, generally less than $200. You quoted full price for the unlocked phone, which by the way works with more than just Verizon or AT&T.
-Copy and Paste? Seriously? "iPhone didn't have it. Now it does... but...." That's pretty much a non-issue at this point. The original Android was slow and buggy, should we continue to hold that against it?
I use an Android phone, but this article is just a waste of space.
"Apple can put any feature, and we mean absolutely any feature in the iPhone and the user won't even know about it."
ReplyDeleteGoogle Faces $50 Million Lawsuit Over Android Location Tracking - http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/google-faces-lawsuit/
"Flash Support"
Walt Mossberg tells Adobe CEO that Flash SUCKS on Android - http://www.cultofmac.com/walt-mossberg-tells-adobe-ceo-to-his-face-that-flash-sucks-on-android/98231
"Truly Wireless"
IOS 5
"Pricing"
Misinformation at it's best
"Multitasking and cut, copy, paste for everyone"
Copy and paste really?
"Works on Linux (officially)"
Of course, it's ridiculous if it did not
"Perfect for open source fanatics"
Ah ... the only valid reason why you would choose Android over anything else.
Hi, i believe its you (anonimous) who is misinformed.
ReplyDeletePricing? its absolutely true that apple devices are expensiver than android ones (true too that apple offers more quality in overall materials and design... i recognize that)
Flash my suck but exists, and its an option for the user to install it or not, not prohibited as in iOS... i think that is a bether heck of approach than apples...
You didnt respond abaut the TRAP issue, wich mackes you depend of apple even to go pee..., that's the main reason of whay someone should seriously consider not to buy apple products no the open source stuff...
@Ben
ReplyDelete"Flash my suck but exists"
I don't want to suck your Flash :P thank you very much. But that's a very pathetic way of defending your favorite phone, just because It has a flash (which clearly sucks on the platform) does that mean it's better than anything else out there. You should read some articles sometime for the reason why apple did not included flash on the iPhone (I'll give you a hint - BATTERY).
About the pricing, the misinformation that I talked about is the fact that you can get an iPhone for $200 with contract (Verizon), the author just plainly write that the iPhone cost $500 no matter what. He never mentioned if it's with contract or not. I'm not saying that it's cheaper than android, please read my comment if you know how to read.
About the TRAP issue, in what way are you trap with an iPhone? I can always buy an Android once everything is as polished as the IOS experience. Heck, I can even buy a WP7 or any other phone for that matter. I am not dependent on Apple or any company, I just loved products that are created with high quality and better experience, I'm not the type of guy who would defend his shit for the sake of being a fanboy (which you clearly exhibit through your comments)
In Asia Android Phones has overtaken iPhone...and..that's a fact! @Jay :)
ReplyDeleteIn Asia Nokia Phone is still the KING... and .. that's a fact!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI love Nokias too, but their build quality really sucks!