Been with Blackberry for years, I think it might be time for a change. Would like some help please.

Welcome to the Android Forums!

If your family all have iPhones then you have yourself a built-in tech support group to help you learn IOS. That would definitely be an advantage to considering the iPhone as your next device.

That said... I'm not a fan of the iPhone. I had one for a short time and hated that I could not tweak it to my liking. Yea you have some flexibility but it's never enough.

With Android, however, you have a lot of options open to you. Lots of different phones with lots of different feature sets. Some manufacturers make rock solid phones while others tend to be somewhat fussy. Both Android devices you mentioned are Samsung phones. My one criticism with Samsung phones is that their cases are made of plastic (and they feel like plastic). I prefer a phone that feels more substantial in my hand. Others don't necessarily share my preference.

Take a look at each and make sure you note that many devices have manufacturer provided UI's that alter the Andoid experience. Samsung is one of these vendors. If you prefer pure an unmolested Android experience then look at one of the Nexus phones.

Another thing to consider when selecting an Android device is that some manufacturers tend to lock down their devices. My current (and previous) Smartphones were manufactured by Motorola. Motorola is notorious for locking down their phones. For some this would be an immediate deal killer. For me, not so much...

 

Welcome to the outfit dlknight. There are two things I like about the iphone:

1.) solid construction
2.) less glitchy than your average Android

That said and to reiterate some of what Martimus mentioned, I'd be bored stiff with one after about a week. The beauty of Android is that it's ever changing. Some might consider that a weakness because it does sometimes come with a few growing pains. But if you're one who likes to customize your experience and ride the tide of change and innovation, then Android is for you. Many of us here came from Blackberry and it doesn't take long to make the transition. The most glaring difference you'll notice initially is that with Android, so much of the experience is altered with apps rather than predetermined options in the OS itself. We still have some of that, but Android is very app driven.

Good luck with your decision, I think you'll be in a better place whatever you choose.

 

My girlfriend had a blackberry for years but she dropped it in water. I gave her my very old Droid X Android phone and we switched he phone number over to it. She has been hooked ever since. Now she stays up to 6 am every morning playing with it. I want my girlfriend back please someone. Good thing she didn't get a S3 (Which I have and love) or I would never see her.

Do your spouse a favor and buy an Apple phone.

Yes the Galaxy S3 is top notch phone and according to what the net says Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) will be available for it in about a week. I can't speak for the IPhone 5 as it is not out yet and who knows when it will come out. The S3 is here now and is a great phone. Just don't be surprised if your spouse hates you for getting it.

 

I have a blackberry phone, and android phone, and an iPad. Here is what I like better about each:

Android:
Customizable
Better UI
Replace what you don't like (lock screen, keyboard, messaging app, etc)
Less apps crash
Better sharing with any social Site

Iphone:
Nice construction
More games
More timely OS updates (compared to non nexus android)


That pretty much sums it up.

 

moving from a BB to any thing is an upgrade!.. so you cant go wrong with either.

currently S3 specs are better than 4S.
99% sure the iphone5 (whatever they name it) will have better specs (minus the screen size) than the S3. being that the S3 will be half a year old by then (and that is a lot in smartphone time).
but then 6 months more and the next Galaxy phone will be released and it will beat the iphone5.
rise, wash, and repeat..........

 

I am 99% sure the iPhone 5 won't have better specs than the S3, probably about equal, and the software will probably be caught up to gingerbread, maybe ICS if you really stretch it, but still behind JB.

The iPhone 5 has no chance of being as good as the next nexus.

I have the latest version of ios 5 on my iPad right now (which I am using to type this post) and it is not even as good as gingerbread on Android which was released almost 2 years ago. Apple has been playing catch up for about 3 years and in terms of OS they can't keep up. Why do you think they have turned to litigation instead of innovation even though they keep copying things straight from android?

The only advantage they have left is games on iOS, but that will soon go away since most of the best game producers are realizing how big android has become.

 

here are my thoughts...(i am referring to hardware specs)

apple will:
1. the CPU will be quad-core with the newer smaller design for faster cooler less-energy
2. the GPU will be better.
3. the screen size will be around 4 inches.. but they will up the resolution and brightness.
4. they will also raise the camera picture quality bar again.

it will out spec the current S3!

 

1. No Apple won't be using the latest Snapdragon S4 quad cores. At least its highly unlikely. Apple never was cutting edge in the CPU department primarily because they spend a lot of time optimizing the OS. The most likely chipset they will use is the dual core Snapdragon S4 (same as US version SGS3) to maintain LTE capability. The current S4 quad core in existence AFAIK has no LTE capability.

2. GPU being better is highly subjective. As of the moment the most powerful GPU on a phone is the Mali400 on the Galaxy SIII. Adreno 320 is too recent IMO for Apple to use. They won't have enough time to optimize. And even if they would, Samsung has just released a new quadcore chipset on the Galaxy Note 10.1, using the latest Mali-604 (basically the most powerful ARM based GPU available at the moment). If they put that GPU on the Note 2, iPhone 5 eats the dust in terms of raw power. Of course due to optimization it will have par performance.

3. Upping the screen resolution is pointless. Or even if they will, it will just be enough to keep a retina-screen level clarity. Any screen of over 300dpi has indistinguishable pixels already, so the whole "retina screen" marketing strategy aint really a big deal.

4. Raise the bar? When did they even set the bar? Nokia ALWAYS had the best camera phones. Never once did iPhone even had the hardware to challenge them. The best camera phone to date is the Nokia PureView 808, with a 41mp sensor whose picture quality rivals entry level DSLRs. Sony just released the new Exmor R phone camera technology, and HTC is now playing with what is the smallest camera sensors in the world. Even Samsung has great camera technology. Apple has no hardware technology or know-how to even rival the technologies other companies produce in terms of camera quality.

So to reiterate what has been said before, ever since the time the Galaxy S was released, Apple never had a phone whose hardware power was ever able to rival its Android counterpart. The iPhone 4 and the 4S, despite being released later than their Galaxy S counterparts (SGS1 and SGS2), were inferior in almost every way regarding hardware. What sets iPhone apart is the deep level of optimization of the OS for the hardware, and the huge number of apps.

 

well.. i guess we can revisit this again in Oct. and see how it is.

 

We could, but the only thing where I could possibly be wrong is in point number 1.

 

I've been thinking about this issue quite a bit lately. Bear in mind that I have an iPhone 4S after moving up from an iPhone 4. Here's the thing about the 4S -- it looks and feels like a relic compared to some of the newer Android-powered hardware out there. The OS is old, the screen is tiny and the only real difference between the two machines is a faster CPU (which doesn't impact performance as much as one might think) and a voice assistant which is worthless.

Meanwhile, the iPhone does have some advantages. For one thing, you can be good and lazy in buying one. You do have to do some research in choosing Android-based hardware because there is some junk out there (I had a Sony-Ericsson Xperia X10 for about a month which was garbage). If you buy an iPhone, you know the hardware will be solid and the OS will be standard (i.e., Android fans have to wait until they're manufacturer releases "their" version of Google's latest OS update). You'll also find the most apps on the iOS platform and the resale values on iPhones is ridiculously high.

Having said all of that, it all comes down to what you want to do. Do you want a plain vanilla, yawn-inducing OS that has been modified with mostly junk and gizmos over the past few years, but runs on stable hardware and has a lot of apps available? If so, grab an iPhone. Do you want to have a lot of choice in hardware that runs on an OS that is produced by a company still interested in innovation and has only been improving in terms of the quality of apps available over the past few years? If so, do some research and find the "right" Android hardware.

Oh, and if you really want to customize that Android, root the rascal and you will be amazed at the possibilities that opens up on your machine (and you can really do some cool stuff if you're comfortable with Linux). Jailbreaking an iPhone to allow for some "non-standard" apps and other tricks is a true chore by comparison.

Finally, there's iTunes to consider. It is the least intuitive, most maddening piece of software out there today. It is horrible, horrible, horrible to deal with on a daily basis, but we iPhone users are pretty well chained to it. Triple yuck on that. Android gets bonus points for simply allowing users to drag and drop media to it.

Good luck finding that ideal phone. Unless Apple does manage to sue its competitors out of existence, I figure my next phone will run on Android. Apple has just gotten too lazy as of late and is busily churning out dinky-screened relics that look pitiful when compared to some of the latest Android hardware. Apple has fallen behind the curve and it would take a miracle for the company to pull ahead in at least the near future.

 

Research in Motion is doing their best to keep up with Android and iPhone but they still have a ways to go.

If you have a chance for Android/iphone/BB? I would choose anything but BB. I think the most complaints I hear are from BB users.

I personally use to have a BB for about 2 years. At first since it was my first smartphone I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. As time went on...it became a very frustrating phone. Memory got low quick. Little roller scroller thing would pop out. To restart the phone when it's memory was causing problems took FOREVER AND A DAY. one year I went thru 3 bb's. One was my fault as I did fall asleep on the phone.

Unless they have went thru a world of changes in the last 3 years BB is still behind on times compared to Android and iPHone.

Good luck with your decision.

Manny

 

BB10 should at least bring them back to the ballpark. Not coming out until Q1 2013 so still a ways to wait.