iPhone 4s Review and comparing iOS with Android

Writing by on Monday, 30 of January , 2012 at 10:56 pm

Yes. I switched to the iPhone 4s.

Three years back, I had the Blackberry Storm and last year I switched to Motorola Droid 2 Global (Android) and what a pleasure it was. This year, going to the iPhone 4s it’s even more pleasurable. I really have to give it to Apple for making it so intuitive, simple and clean (hardware and software aesthetics). Android still feels a little too geeky. So with HP/Palm and the Web-OS story I think there are only two choices at this point. The iPhone 4s or Samsung/HTC Android phones (Sorry, I will probably not go with the Motorola for a while now). So here’s my review and a comparison in general between the iPhone and Android phones.

In terms of Apps, you pretty much have a similar spread on both. However, I do miss Google Listen (the best Podcast app for Android). Until I find a good workaround, I will live with iTunes.

Primary Requirements whether an iPhone or an Android based phone

  • The Phone aspect (for making/receiving calls) must work and be accessible easily and fast
  • When in the gym or running on the trail, I need my music and be able to skip !!! (Motorola Failed BIG time on this)
  • Podcast Apps
  • Text/E-Mail support
  • Good Fast Browser
  • Needs to be a world phone

In my opinion, the iPhone wins in all departments (except Podcasts), only because eventually after time Android phones just seem to get slower!
OK – now here are my observations.

Why you would get an iPhone (4s running iOS 5.0.1)

Positives

  • Simple, easy and intuitive with beautiful fonts and overall appearance
  • You want a phone that just works every time and any time and is fast and spiffy
    (My Motorola Droid 2 fell short on this – gradually took too long to get to the phone to make calls etc.)
  • You have an iPad as well and you’re part of the Apple ecosystem
  • You want a smaller phone that you can hold easily in your hand
  • You want a phone that integrates with your car, with your receiver at home and has a plethora of accessories
  • You need a World Phone (Note iPhone 4s supports GSM/CDMA, while the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is only CDMA)
  • Voice mail is awesome (I would never listen to Voicemail on my Android)
  • Battery Life – You can tweak certain things to increase the life (also a negative, because it needs the tweaks)

Negatives

  • You don’t drop your phone and you’re not clumsy with it (The iPhone fared pretty bad on the drop test – Gorilla Glass – Yeah Right!)
  • You don’t care about Adobe Flash (Note: YouTube, NetFlix etc. run great)
  • You don’t care about the Free Google Navigation (Google Maps works just fine)
  • You don’t care about Google Listen
  • You don’t care about Siri
  • As a developer, you don’t mind writing Objective-C and be stuck to a Mac
  • You don’t mind not having Chrome to Phone
  • Battery Life – You can tweak certain things to increase the life (also a positive because its better than Android, for me)

Why you would get an Android Phone (Samsung/HTC – I can’t say great things about Motorola until I forget the pain I went through)

Positives

  • You need 4G LTEL – Samsung Galaxy Nexus supports this
  • You’re a podcast enthusiast – Google Listen is the best
  • You can’t stand iTunes
  • You can see the file system with your USB cable connected and easily transfer music
  • You want a bigger screen
  • You love Google and how seamlessly it integrates with Android
  • As a Java developer, you want the choice of what OS you want to develop code on and developing Apps is relatively easy
  • Pretty damn sturdy (My Motorola fell several times and didn’t even get a scratch)
  • NFC support (which not too many places accept at this point)

Negatives

  • A fraction slower navigating the phone (Not the browser or downloads etc. just the OS itself)
  • Just too geeky and not a very simple user experience (compared to the one button iPhone)
  • After about a year, the phone just doesn’t perform like it did when it was new
  • Battery Life – Gosh my Motorola Droid 2 would be completely drained before I got in my car at the end of the day
  • Really easy to build apps that are malicious. You could accidentally download them. There’s source code out there that teaches you how.

Overall, I wouldn’t disagree with folks who claim that Android 4.0 available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is probably the best out there, but it’s still a tad bit geeky. However, it’s not a World Phone which is a requirement for me. Now, Looking back at my Motorola Droid 2 – I just felt that whenever I really really needed something – Like Music or GPS – it needed a hard reset using up 5 minutes.

For simplicity and everyday use, and guaranteed to provide the same level of exceptional usability all year round – I went the iPhone! It just works!

Leave a comment

Category: Android,Apple,Reviews

No Comments

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Shivdev Kalambi's Blog

Shivdev Kalambi is a Software Development Manager, previously a Principal Software Engineer at ArcSight/HP. With over 16 years' experience in software development, he's worked on several technologies and played different roles and contributed to all phases of projects. Non-tech activies include Ping-pong, Rock Climbing and Yoga at PG, Golf, Skiing, Swimming & a beer enthusiast.