Ask HN: Any advice for an iPhone user switching to Android? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Any advice for an iPhone user switching to Android?

4 pointssolipsist6 comments

I'm an Apple fanboy. I have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and iPod Shuffle. The Apple devices have accumulated throughout the years and, while I like them all very much, I feel that I need a little change in my life. When I saw some of the fabulous features Android has to offer, I knew I needed one.

To let you know, I'm an AT&T user and therefore my choices are somewhat limited. I think that almost every review I've read or person I've talked to recommends the Samsung Captivate for AT&T users. However, the camera does not seem to be as good as the Sony Ericsson Xperia. There are also a lot of other features that one needs to compare, and I've been having trouble keeping track of all of them. For an iPhone user who never has to make a decision in their life, the countless compromises that need to be considered when purchasing an Android phone seem intimidating. What do you all think are the most important features to look for in a phone? Is the Samsung Captivate really the best one for AT&T users?

And along with those questions, do you have any other general advice for an iPhone user switching to Android? I've heard it takes some getting used to, but I'm willing to put in the effort to become accustomed to it.

tl;dr - I'm an iPhone user switching to Android and am confused by all the choices that have to be made when picking a non-iPhone phone.

I was an iPhone user and switched to Android three months ago without a single complaint. In contrast to what others have said, I say, Switch.

Of course, your mileage may vary depending on which device you choose, but I've had no problems moving from iOS to Android on a HTC Desire. Some thoughts from a past user of a 3G and 3GS, all opinions are massively subjective:

Pro's

- Battery life is far from dismal. Good, in fact. Better than the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

- The default keyboard was very poor: inaccurate and horrible to use, even with some tactile feedback turned on. I switched to Swype a few weeks back and now can't imagine using anything else. Typing on my gf's iPhone is a horrible experience in comparison.

- The HTC customisations are surprisingly nice (I removed them for two weeks to test the alternatives and went back).

- Web browsing is not as fast, but provides a better experience.

- No iTunes. I can't stand the application, and being able to manage my music using a simple folder structure was a breath of fresh air.

Cons

- The apps are not as polished as those available for the iPhone and not as numerous. Your favourite and most-used apps may not be available.

- Contact management can be a bit of a pain (more in a moment).

How should you prepare for the switch?

- If you don't already, get yourself a Google account. It will make life so much easier.

- Get yourself over to http://www.google.com/contacts and correct mistakes, merge contacts that it, and remove any unnecessary entries. If you don't, it'll cause havoc when/if you import your Google contacts into your phone.

Conclusion

- I wish I had moved to Android (or, more specifically, Android on a HTC Desire) sooner.

- I've had no regrets about moving.

- My girlfriend (a bigger nerd than me) is convinced: when her iPhone contract ends she's already said she'll be switching.

I'm another avid Apple user who switched from an iPhone 3GS to an HTC Desire, and love it.

Granted, it's NOT as "smooth and polished" of an experience as iOS but I think the pro's FAR outweight the cons.

I found battery life to be much better (and I don't do any of the stupid suggestions such as "disable internet for longer battery!", I use all the features, all the time).

I also like that I can actually PLAY with the phone as a geek. Download and mess with .apk's from random developers, mess with settings, store/manipulate files on the phone, etc.

The biggest reason to do it though, is what you've already said: For a change. That was my main reason, and it has opened my eyes to how much fun it is just to change your ways for the sake of change itself.

Advice: don't.

I switched from iPhone to Android, and while there are some advantages (mainly: I'm not on AT&T), overall it's not nearly as nice an experience.

Top complaints: poor battery life (I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S, but I think iPhone4 beats all Androids), inaccuracy of keyboard, and overall lack of fit and finish - eg. sometimes the phone will freeze for a few seconds and then come back to life.

I believe the Xperia and Backflip are being discontinued by AT&T.

If I were to buy a 3G phone on AT&T right now, I think the Captivate would be the model to get. I've not looked at the Aria, but, I just put a G1 and G2 on AT&T within the last week and am pretty impressed with HTC right now. http://www.google.com/phone/ might help you a little.

If you can get a Motorola Milestone, you can unlock that from Rogers.ca and run that on AT&T and get 3G (Droid 1 'clone').

1.) Don't. In your use case, I think you'll end up hating Android.

Or.

2.) Keep the iPhone around, buy your desired Android handset and use the hell out of it during your 30 day grace period.If you still prefer it great. Keep it. If you don't, return it and go back to your iPhone.

The Captivate is garbage and you will hate it. I got to play with a Nexus S (EDGE only on AT&T, but wasn't a huge deal) for a month and it almost made me want to switch, but for dependability, battery life, and elegance the iPhone is still king.

Many apps are much much better on Android though, because of its enhanced capabilities.

Don't switch. Period.

Android is a huge step up from Blackberry or Windows Mobile, but it is a big step down from iOS. Android lacks basic usability touches; the manufacturer customizations don't make things any better. Battery life is dismal. Additionally the system pauses all the time when performing basic tasks.

Some of these problems, I think, are fundamental to using a virtual machine for everything. The performance overhead is exacerbated by the less powerful mobile hardware. The garbage collection causes noticeable pauses. And more battery is used to accomplish less.

The other problems are rooted in design. Whoever was doing the UI for Google did not understand good UI. Sorry. Impressive looking UI elements waste space, get in the way, and actually slowed me down for no reason. Little iOS UI touches like the elastic scrolling that let you know you're at the end of a list are absent, making you wonder if you're at the bottom of the list or if the device is just taking a break to collect some garbage. I usually scroll repeatedly just to make sure whereas on iOS I see the bounce and I know I'm done immediately.

You're on AT&T. As long as you're happy with the service stay there and stick with an iPhone for now. Personally, I would not even consider another Android device until after 3.0 fixes some of the UI problems. And even then I have serious reservations about Android's technical fitness due to the VM.

I realize lots of people have all kinds of confidence in Android's technical fitness. People far more accomplished than myself. But whatever. The emperor has no clothes. It might be a good design for a portable OS, but it's not a good design for a mobile OS.

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