My first smart phone was an iPhone 3G, which I got around 2008. I replaced it with an iPhone 4 three years ago, and that's the phone I'm using today. I don't have LTE. I don't have a Retina display. I don't have a lightening fast processor and I haven't updated it to iOS 7.
I decided it might be fun to try an Android phone, so I asked Google if I could use a shiny new Nexus 5 for a couple of weeks and compare it to my experience as an iPhone user. I've played with Android phones, but I've never lived with one and I thought it would be interesting to compare my Apple experience to the Android one. Anyone who reads about smartphones knows there's a ridiculous level of passion from both audiences.
I'm here to tell you that that the experience isn't dramatically different. If you have even a little bit of tech savvy, a phone OS is a phone OS, but there were aspects of it I liked and ones I didn't.
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Before you leave nasty comments, yes, I know I'm using an older iPhone. Your experience could vary from mine and I acknowledge that.
Also, please note this isn't a review so much as a description of my first extended experience using an Android phone after five years on iOS. If you want to read a review, check out my colleague Chris Nerney's.
A big phone
The first thing I noticed was the size. The screen is appreciably bigger and sharper than my iPhone 4. I liked that. Having more screen real estate is always good, but it comes at a cost. I don't have small hands by any means, but I'm used to holding an iPhone 4.
One thing Apple does very well is take into account ergonomics and the way the device fits in your hand. The iPhone has been designed to fit comfortably. It has a certain sense of balance and it just fits well, although I know people with larger hands who don't share this impression.
Overall, I didn't like the feel of the larger phone in my hand. It didn't feel right. The edges weren't soft. I found myself putting it on a desk and using it on speaker because I didn't like holding it in my hand.
Amazing screen, atrocious sound
The screen quality is just outstanding. I found it easy to read articles on the phone and I downloaded a Pixar movie. The experience was fantastic. As I watched, I forgot I was looking at a small screen. It was that good.
The sound is another story. It's tinny. The speakers are horrible and playing music without headphones is barely tolerable. I'm not sure what they were thinking here, but they seemed to have skimped on the speaker quality. I found this to be true with phone calls and music. The iPhone 4 doesn't have great sound either, but it's certainly better than what I was experiencing on the Nexus 5.
Customization is a double-edged sword
Another key difference between Android and iPhone seems to be the ability to customize an Android phone and make it your own. One friend who is an avid Android user told me that being able to swap out ROMs to give you a different Android look and feel is one of the joys of owning an Android phone.
I found this to be a double-edged sword. One of the joys of iPhone is that it just works. You open the box, you turn it on and it's fairly self-explanatory. If I have an issue I can ask any iPhone user for help and we are for the most part sharing a common experience. Even if you're using an earlier version of the operating system, the system works in a fairly consistent way.
With Android, it depends on the flavor.and what version you are using. Individuals can customize it. Carriers can customize it. Manufacturers can customize it. That can be a good thing or it can get messy. I asked for help with a problem on Android KitKat (the version running on the Nexus 5) and only people who have updated to the latest vanilla version could help me.
The texting problem
One of the key things I like to do with my phone is texting. I have two children and they prefer texting to talking on the phone, so I've gotten in the habit of texting with them and my wife. That's why I was confused when I went looking for a texting app on my Nexus 5 and I couldn't find one.
After consulting with my social networks, I realized that Google Hangouts was the default SMS tool, only it didn't seem to offer a way to send or receive SMSs. That was a problem. I finally gave up in frustration and went to Google Play and downloaded a third-party SMS app, Handcent. It worked fine. Surprisingly, soon after I did that, Google Hangouts told me I could turn on SMS in Google Hangouts too. I'm not sure why it wasn't on by default, and that's a problem.
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news by November 23, 2013 at 01:28AM
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