10 things Android phones do better than the iPhone
recently switched from my AT&T iPhone to Sprint's HTC Hero. Now
although the Hero is not a pure Android phone (it's the HTC Sense, which
is a modified form of Android), it gives the same experience that
Android gives (only with an HTC "bent" to the package). Through this
phone, I have come to once again enjoy my mobile experience. There are
so many differences between the iPhone and the Hero, so many aspects of
the Hero to really help you get your mobile geek on. But for the
purposes of this article, I had to pick just 10. So I have narrowed it
down to those aspects that really make the experience different from
that of the iPhone.
We all know the iPhone, know how it works (or doesn't work, in many
instances). We know there is an app for just about every possible task
on the planet. But an Android phone? You don't really know an Android
phone until you've worked with one. That's when you'll find how far you
can push your mobile experience.
Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.
1: Browsing
Let me first say I do like the Safari browser on the iPhone. It's
fast, it's reliable, it's stable. But flexible? Flash? Monopolistic? Yes
Safari is the only browser for the iPhone, and that browser still does
not do Flash. However, the Android browser is one of the best browsers
on the mobile market. On my HTC Hero, I have Opera Mini, Dolphin, and
the default Browser. I haven't used Opera Mini since I used it a couple
of times upon installation. Dolphin is outstanding, with its use of Tabs
and Gestures. But the default Android browser just can't be beat. It
usually loads pages faster than Safari, has Flash support, and simply
does everything a browser should do.
2: Desktop
Instead of just having icons littering your phone's desktop (like the
iPhone), the Android phone adds widgets to the desktop. These widgets
tend to have an actual purpose. For example:
- The Twitter Widget allows you to update your Twitter status from your mobile desktop.
- The People Widget allows you to enable different actions for
different contacts right from your desktop (say you want to call
your wife with a single click and text your child from a single
click).
- The Messages Widget allows you to instantly see your email from the desktop.
The Android desktop is on a completely different level from the
iPhone desktop. To compare them is actually unfair. Apples to Éclairs as
it were.
3: Connectivity
On one of the "pages" of my Hero desktop, I have four buttons:
- Turn on/off bluetooth
- Turn on/off Wifi
- Turn on/off Mobile Network
- Turn on/off GPS
These buttons let you instantly switch on or off the various
connectivity options, which will go a long way toward conserving battery
life. There is also an app in the Market called Y5, which will turn off
Wi-Fi automatically when no known wireless network is available. To do
any of this on the iPhone, you have to go into the Settings screen and
navigate your way around the various options.
4: PC connection
Unlike the iPhone, you don't need to have iTunes to manage your
phone. Now, I say this with a bit of a chewed-up tongue because Android
can't sync with the Linux desktop yet. That's okay for now. But Android
can mount the SD card so that it is usable (via drag and drop) by any
operating system. On this you can add music and files, which will then
be usable on the phone. Simple.
5: Multi-notification
One of the issues I've always had with the iPhone is its notification
system. Basically, it depends upon a single system that not all
applications have access too. For instance, if you are a Twitterer, you
can find out if you have updates only by opening the Twitter app on the
iPhone. With Android, the apps have access to the notification system
and can all report. The notification bar on the Android phone can alert
you to new voice messages, email messages, Facebook notifications, new
Gmail, new text messages, and much more. If an app has a notification,
it can let you know quickly, and in the background.
6: Endless personalization
I hesitate to place this on the list because so many readers seem to
think user-configuration is worthless. It's not. The Android phone
allows users to configure their mobile to look and behave exactly how
they want it. If you're a social network power user, you can have a
screen for Facebook, one for Twitter, one for texting, and one for
Flickr. Or if you are a business user, you can have a screen for
contacts, for your calendar, for gmail, for email, for RSS, and more.
Not only can you configure the desktop the way you want, you can
configure the behavior of your phone. Set up default actions for
different contacts -- even add an entirely different desktop, should you
want. The possibilities are endless with the Android phone. With the
iPhone, you're pretty much limited to what Apple says.
7: Market
Yes, Apple has an app for that. But so does Android. And chances are,
the Android app is free and works as well (or better) than the iPhone
app. And, believe it or not, there are thousands of apps in the Android
Market. Apple does not (at least yet) have a patent on an application
for just about everything. Give it time though. And installing
applications on your Android phone is actually easier than it is on the
iPhone. For free applications, you don't have to worry about entering a
password every time you try to install anything. And you do not have to
link to Apple's iTunes store to purchase applications from the Android
Market. For those apps that have a price, you enter your information on
the Google Market one time and you're done.
8: Google integration
This one is almost not fair, since Android was built with the
intention of integrating with Google. But wow does it integrate well.
Want to search Google? Simply click the search button, enter your search
string, and you're off and running. Did I mention Google Voice? Yes,
the Android has an app for that.
9: Open Source
Why does being open make Android better than iPhone? For the same
reason that being open helps Linux: a planet full of developers with the
ability to aid Android's developers. Anyone can get access to the
source of Android to better the system. This is also a double-edged
sword, in that it allows those will less-than-ideal intentions to
discover any weakness of the phone. But that can be seen as an indirect
plus because when weaknesses are found in the open source community,
they are quickly fixed. I assume that this tradition will extend to the
Android phone. iPhone open? You're kidding right?
10: Open to carriers
This is yet another reason why Android is superior. If you want an
iPhone (at least for the time being), you better be open to AT&T. If
you don't like AT&T and you still want an iPhone, you better be
open to doing a little jail breaking or move to another country. If you
want an Android phone, you can join any number of carriers and have your
choice of any number of outstanding phones using Android. No lock down.
Your take
What do you think: Are these reasons enough to get you to move from
your iPhone to an Android phone? If not, tell us why you prefer the
iPhone. And if you aren't sure, just grab an Android phone and play
around with it. You might quickly change your mind.
Check out 10 Things... the newsletter
Get the key facts on a wide range of technologies, techniques,
strategies, and skills with the help of the concise need-to-know lists
featured in TechR
No comments:
Post a Comment