(snip...) Go and look at the AT&T website....Look at the reviews for the Captivate, and see how many people exchanged their iPhone for a Captivate; or even see those who anticipated on getting the iPhone 4, and ended up getting the Captivate. This phone is a BEAST, hands down. When Froyo hits and gets ported over to the Captivate within the next 24-48 hours or so, everyone who has doubts in the Captivate will see exactly why we Android fans go so hard for these phones.
I admire your zeal, you remind me of some die-hard Apple fans that I know
j/k
Just a couple things to bring a little balance. First, I'm a former iPhone 4 owner who returned my phone due to the proximity sensor issue. If you're not aware of what that is, consider yourself lucky. Anyway, my plan was to pick up a Captivate as soon as my contract & upgrade eligibility reset. I was also considering jumping ship and picking up a Droid X. After much research, using these devices, and hanging out on forums like this one, I've learned that all three of these phones have major issues. I'm disgusted and frustrated with the current state of affairs with the newest devices on the smartphone market right now - what happened to quality and testing? I just want the best phone that fits my needs, I don't care if it's iOS, Android, or (heaven forbid) Windows Mobile or Blackberry. On one hand, I like the "just works-ness" of the iPhone, on the other hand I love everything that Android brings to the table (well, almost). It's a tough decision right now, for me it's come down to "which manufacturer is going to fix their phone first?". But I digress...
To address some of the points you made:
Android has a firmware (Froyo) that has Flash support.....REAL flash support. Apple still has yet to implement that into their builds.
Apple will never add Flash support. They've made it clear they're embracing HTML5. Only time will tell if that was a wise decision. I will say that I rarely interact with Flash content on the web, and I sure haven't missed Flash support on any smartphone I've owned over the past 5 years. That's just me though, I know a lot of people are looking forward to Flash support.
Apple is still stuck with the same interface, which worked for them ever since, but what's going to be their answer when Android enhances the UI? Then on top of that Samsung Galaxy S (2) i9200 I believe.....2Ghz Processor, 8MPX camera, 1080p HD recording and plus Gingerbread 3.0 coming early next year....How will Apple compete with that?
I think it's a mistake to think that Apple is going to remain stagnant and not continue to evolve and compete. Apple has always had a tendency to make you think they're sitting back, then they come out with something that sells like hot cakes. They innovate in very specific, targeted areas (unlike Google who seems to try to blast innovation out in every direction - I'm not saying that either philosophy is better than the other). And when Apple isn't quite "innovating", they've been known to latch on to something and reinvent it and incorporate it in a much more elegant and integrated fashion. All I'm saying is Apple isn't perfect, but they're not stupid either. They're not going to sit back and let Android eat their lunch. Personally I believe the marketplace needs the yin and yang of iOS and Android.
Android provides open-source everything... the Android base is so HUGE that nothing will go without being known. You can put leaks, customize, even enhance the performance of your phone just by switching kernels and what not. You can enhance the features of a build and make it your own. How does Apple provide that for their consumers?"
Apple doesn't *have* to provide that for their customers (and they never will). Regardless of which model you prefer, most people don't care about (or want to think about) custom ROMs or flashing their phones. I'm not talking about you or me or others on these forums. For iPhone owners who want to customize, jailbreaking provides just enough flexibility (which I realize is much different and more limited than what you're talking about with Android). I've been a programmer for 15 years. I work with about 200 other programmers, designers, and technologists. The vast majority own either iPhones or Blackberrys. They're all knowledgeable about Android and what it offers -- much of the work we do is developing web apps (both for desktop and mobile browsers), so we have to support everything that's out there. I'm just saying that even a lot of technology geeks aren't excited about Android, custom ROMs, etc. Maybe it's because when you wrestle with code all day, the last thing you want to do is spend time hacking your phone when you get home at night
I hear the open-source/openness argument a lot as a point in favor of Google. I'd say it's a tradeoff. Sure Apple has a "walled garden" (boy I'm getting tired of that term), but it's an extremely high-quality, highly-functional, and elegant "garden". Yes they have been heavy handed with what they've allowed (and not allowed) on their iDevices. Again jailbreaking usually provides enough for those that love the iPhone but are bothered by the restrictions. On the other hand, the Android platform is open, right? In reality, only some Android devices are actually open (what's up with manufacturers like Motorola starting to lock their devices down????). Then carriers routinely load these otherwise awesome devices with bloatware and sub-standard UI overlays, and then they try to lock them down so that you can't sideload unauthorized apps (sound familiar)? So stock Android may be open, but the end result is that a lot of manufacturers and carriers do their best to lock it down anyway. Oh how I wish wish wish that Google had the same pull with carriers that Apple does. I read somewhere that Apple considers it's users to be their customers, where Google considers the manufacturers and carriers to be their customers. Maybe that's true. At least Apple doesn't allow carriers to load crapware and dodgy UI overlays on the iPhone. I understand that Android's licensing terms allow this, so there's not much that can be done about it (except to hack it of course). Further, Google may be "open", but they're also the ones that seem to agree with Zuckerberg's assertion that privacy is dead. Google needs access to your data to make their business model work. Your gmail is parsed by bots so that they can serve you more "relevant" ads. Google has been caught with their hand in the cookie jar more than once (the whole WiFi debacle). I guess it's safe to say that Google is so open that they consider everything to be open (including all your data)
My last point on the "openness" of Android -- I find it odd that email/calendar/contacts can be such a problem on Android. You're golden if you use Google's services, but if you use Yahoo or some others or even Exchange, you're going to run into issues. On the iPhone, my Yahoo, Google, MobileMe, and Exchange calendars would all sync up OTA and appear in one unified (if I wanted it to be unified) color-coded calendar, and my email from all of these providers would be pushed and appear in one unified (if I wanted it to be unified) inbox. It all "just worked." On the forums I've read thread after thread about how everyone has to jump through hoops to get non-Google email and calendar events to sync up seamlessly (if they can get it to work at all). Turns out full Exchange support won't really happen until Froyo (even though everyone advertises it in the current OS). It blows my mind that you have to buy a 3rd-party email or calendar app, or use something like the stand-alone Yahoo app, to get this stuff to work. Shouldn't an "open" platform support these other non-Google services? After all, Apple supports services other than their own MobileMe service. I don't know if these problems are with 2.1 or Touchwiz or what, but I hope it's all addressed in Froyo. Anyway, it's all a tradeoff and it's not as clear-cut as any die-hard Apple or Android fan would have you believe.
Well you probably can't tell, but I'm actually pulling for Android and for the current issues with the Captivate to get fixed. Even with the reservations I have with Samsung, the issues with this phone, and with the availability of Froyo, I would love to be using a Captivate as my next phone. On paper it's exactly what I'm looking for.
