I've been an iPhone user since the first generation iPhone. Now with my iPhone 5, the whole experience is beginning to become a bit stale, so I decided to give Android a try. Anyone who's interested in my experience is welcome to follow along.
Days 1-2
First, I wanted a phone at least as good as the iPhone 4S. I have always liked the Droid RAZR, and found one in mint condition, with a bit of warranty still left for $140. Swooped it up, upgraded to 4.2, and began my evaluation.
Android is less polished, less beautiful, and harder to use than iOS. It's really not something that can be argued IMO, Apple goes through great lengths to make their UI as close to perfect as possible, and then they make sure it STAYS that way. When I started using the RAZR I was surprised to find there is a file system, and I can manage most apps. Ironically, I can get rid of some things needed for the phone to work properly, but I can't delete any Verizon or Motorola bloatware (At least sans root.) Not planning on rooting it until the warranty is over.
So, here are some of my likes I've discovered, in no particular order:
-Customizability. It's no secret Apple doesn't let you customize much. You can move things around, but not exactly to where you want it to be. On Android, you can have whatever you want, wherever you want. At least for the most part (See dislikes below)
-Home screen layout. Before I started using Android, I hated the home screen. I quickly found out that is because I hadn't customized it to my (minimalist) liking.
--Widgets are great, but with the RAZR's short battery life, I avoid the ones that constantly access data.
--Love the fact that the middle screen is the main home screen, as opposed to the farthest left screen. And I love the fact that if I press the home button from any home screen, it goes to the middle screen
-Power control widget. Control wifi, bluetooth, location services, sync, and autobrightness from one widget? Yes please!
-Files app. Makes the phone feel less like a mini tablet and more like a mini computer. Love it.
-Downloads app. Didn't realize I wanted this until I had it, it comes in handy probably once every hour or so using the phone!
-Pretty much anything I can't do stock, I can download from the Play Store. Cool!
And my dislikes:
-Cut, copy, and paste are miserable to use. It's the biggest iOS feature I would love to have here.
-Zooming in on web pages is less efficient on Android vs. iOS. Scrolling too.
-Can't move any apps in the app folder into their own folders (IE moving all Verizon apps into a folder, all Moto apps into a folder, misc folder, I like to reduce clutter)
-Slide to unlock an't be used before/in addition to PIN lock.
-Notifications are hard to determine from lock screen
-Battery indicator doesn't and cannot show percentage
-No stock notes app!
-Chrome can't be set as the permanent default browser unless I disable the stock browser (I was wrong here.)
-Bloatware!!!!!!!!!
-Turning off individual push accounts is difficult. In fact, most Android menus are difficult and I'm having a hard time deciding where a setting would be.
-No stock voice memo app
-Contacts were difficult to find within the phone app, and the only way to search contacts via the phone app is via a physical (search) button.
-In Chrome and the stock browser, I have to press the menu button before the forward and back buttons. Also, the top bar doesn't go away while scrolling like in iOS. I miss Safari.
-Can't, as far as I know, join my Yahoo and Gmail mail accounts into one app.
That said, I am liking Android a lot more than I expected. Not sure yet if it is my "honeymoon stage" or if I might actually be liking Android more than iOS! Like I said before, it has the feel of a mini computer instead of a mini tablet.
Days 1-2
First, I wanted a phone at least as good as the iPhone 4S. I have always liked the Droid RAZR, and found one in mint condition, with a bit of warranty still left for $140. Swooped it up, upgraded to 4.2, and began my evaluation.
Android is less polished, less beautiful, and harder to use than iOS. It's really not something that can be argued IMO, Apple goes through great lengths to make their UI as close to perfect as possible, and then they make sure it STAYS that way. When I started using the RAZR I was surprised to find there is a file system, and I can manage most apps. Ironically, I can get rid of some things needed for the phone to work properly, but I can't delete any Verizon or Motorola bloatware (At least sans root.) Not planning on rooting it until the warranty is over.
So, here are some of my likes I've discovered, in no particular order:
-Customizability. It's no secret Apple doesn't let you customize much. You can move things around, but not exactly to where you want it to be. On Android, you can have whatever you want, wherever you want. At least for the most part (See dislikes below)
-Home screen layout. Before I started using Android, I hated the home screen. I quickly found out that is because I hadn't customized it to my (minimalist) liking.
--Widgets are great, but with the RAZR's short battery life, I avoid the ones that constantly access data.
--Love the fact that the middle screen is the main home screen, as opposed to the farthest left screen. And I love the fact that if I press the home button from any home screen, it goes to the middle screen
-Power control widget. Control wifi, bluetooth, location services, sync, and autobrightness from one widget? Yes please!
-Files app. Makes the phone feel less like a mini tablet and more like a mini computer. Love it.
-Downloads app. Didn't realize I wanted this until I had it, it comes in handy probably once every hour or so using the phone!
-Pretty much anything I can't do stock, I can download from the Play Store. Cool!
And my dislikes:
-Cut, copy, and paste are miserable to use. It's the biggest iOS feature I would love to have here.
-Zooming in on web pages is less efficient on Android vs. iOS. Scrolling too.
-Can't move any apps in the app folder into their own folders (IE moving all Verizon apps into a folder, all Moto apps into a folder, misc folder, I like to reduce clutter)
-Slide to unlock an't be used before/in addition to PIN lock.
-Notifications are hard to determine from lock screen
-Battery indicator doesn't and cannot show percentage
-No stock notes app!
-Chrome can't be set as the permanent default browser unless I disable the stock browser (I was wrong here.)
-Bloatware!!!!!!!!!
-Turning off individual push accounts is difficult. In fact, most Android menus are difficult and I'm having a hard time deciding where a setting would be.
-No stock voice memo app
-Contacts were difficult to find within the phone app, and the only way to search contacts via the phone app is via a physical (search) button.
-In Chrome and the stock browser, I have to press the menu button before the forward and back buttons. Also, the top bar doesn't go away while scrolling like in iOS. I miss Safari.
-Can't, as far as I know, join my Yahoo and Gmail mail accounts into one app.
That said, I am liking Android a lot more than I expected. Not sure yet if it is my "honeymoon stage" or if I might actually be liking Android more than iOS! Like I said before, it has the feel of a mini computer instead of a mini tablet.