Move From iOS

[Fluffer]

Having read Stub74's post, I am also considering a move to Android and onto the Galaxy SII. I've had my iPhone 3GS for 24 months now and it only became bearable when I jailbroke it a few months ago, if I hadn't iOS would be very boring.

It's upgrade time and Android is looking more attractive with this new handset. Are there any other members that moved from the relative comfort and familiarity of iOS and how did you get on?

 

[mattism78]

I will be switching from iOS (iP4) to a SG2 as soon as it gets delivered (waiting on expansys.

 

[lotus49]

I did exactly that two weeks ago.

Despite superficial similarities there are some substantial differences.

The iPhone looks much better engineered and feels more solid. Having said that, it's also much heavier and I have no reason to believe that my SGSII won't last just as long.

The SGSII is a large phone in terms of area but it's so light (astonishingly so) and thin that, unless you have very small pockets, its size is not an issue.

In use, the SGSII is super snappy, completely unlike my iPhone. As far as the OS goes, there are pluses and minuses. The user experience is a lot less slick on the SGSII. It's frequently hard to work out what to do whereas I always managed to figure it out for myself with the iPhone. That said, the SGSII can do loads of things the iPhone couldn't like connect to an external screen, connect to an external device (eg USB stick, bluetooth mouse, Wii remote), read memory cards, run emulators etc.

Integration with the desktop however, is a major weakness. There is no backup capability. Sync'ing doesn't really work as the provided software (Kies) doesn't run on my Mac and anyway sucks big time. Be prepared to do a lot of faffing about with multiple tools to achieve what iTunes can do with no effort whatsoever.

I consider myself to be a hacker and I like to mess about with my phone. If you do too, don't hesitate, jump. However, I wouldn't say this is a phone to give your granny though. It may be powerful, but it's not as easy to use as an iPhone.

 

[uktivo]

You will not regret the move. I'm a MASSIVE Apple fan but moved to the SGS2 because I fancied a change and to be honest, I was fed up with Apple making decisions for me on if Flash is good or bad.. Who cares.. let your customers decide....

So, i moved to trial it and I have to say.. I am not going back.

Yes a few learning curves to get over.. but in principle It's a bloody fantastic piece of kit.

 

[Fluffer]

Cheers guys, I was always into 'tinkering' with Nokia & Symbian before iOS and so going back to that may be quite refreshing! I think I'm going to make the jump!

 

[Fluffer]

How does the music player compare to the iPod?

 

[Irate]

How does the music player compare to the iPod?

its not as good as apples offering but other music players are available my favourite being player pro which i think is as good apples ipod

 

[xmjox]

I made the switch from iphone 3G last week and so far so good. The screen is so much bigger, yet the size & weight of the phone aren't a.problem at all (although the keyboard takes some getting used to!)

The app market is a bit hit & miss and not as well laid out or easy to search.

Its a lot more customisable than the iphone and has a lot of extra features that my 3G never had. Plus it has a better camera and flash for the internet!

 

[Aatos.1]

You will not regret the move. I'm a MASSIVE Apple fan but moved to the SGS2 because I fancied a change and to be honest, I was fed up with Apple making decisions for me on if Flash is good or bad.. Who cares.. let your customers decide....

So, i moved to trial it and I have to say.. I am not going back.

Yes a few learning curves to get over.. but in principle It's a bloody fantastic piece of kit.

Well said, once one gets some time with Android and learns the basic differences, it's really fantastic. Plus the longer you use it the better it gets because there is so much you can do with Android. You just have to be a bit patient at first because you have a different OS to learn.

Cheers

 

[Pogue Mahone]

You will not regret the move. I'm a MASSIVE Apple fan but moved to the SGS2 because I fancied a change and to be honest, I was fed up with Apple making decisions for me on if Flash is good or bad.. Who cares.. let your customers decide....

So, i moved to trial it and I have to say.. I am not going back.

Yes a few learning curves to get over.. but in principle It's a bloody fantastic piece of kit.

Fully agreed.

I moved from the iPhone 4 to the SG2 a week ago btw.

 

[stub74]

Cheers guys, I was always into 'tinkering' with Nokia & Symbian before iOS and so going back to that may be quite refreshing! I think I'm going to make the jump!

I had a SE P800 and when I first started using my SGS2 it kind of reminded me of that..!!

 

[lotus49]

I had a SE P800 and when I first started using my SGS2 it kind of reminded me of that..!!

Snap, so did I and so did it.

I had a P800 (and then a P910) and I loved twiddling around with it. That was my first smartphone and although it wasn't half the phone my iPhone 3GS was, it was more fun. I'm hoping my SGS2 will be as well - so far so good.

 

[akt4rgtr]

The fact that you've posted on this forum means you're probably pretty tech savey and I therefore I don't think you'll have too much problem using Android OS. I swapped over from iOS about a year ago and it took me a few days to get used Android but now I find iOS really simple and boring. One of the main features I like about android is how sub menu's are contained within the app itself as opposed to returning to the main settings to change something. The only things I miss about my old apple iphone are the podcasts and music player which I think is better than android offering. Surprisingly android youtube app is not as slick as iOS and seems to take longer to buffer when using 3G instead of wifi. Android really needs to look at improving these key areas if it wants to get ahead of apple interms of usability.

 

[ReggieMal]

its not as good as apples offering but other music players are available my favourite being player pro which i think is as good apples ipod

My biggest gripe has been the music player! I cant seem to sync my playlist and ratings. I use mediamonkey.

 

[Quboid]

Android is designed to be synced online "to the cloud" rather than to a desktop, in line with Google's internet strategy.

 

[xmjox]

Android is designed to be synced online "to the cloud" rather than to a desktop, in line with Google's internet strategy.

This is one of my favourite things about Android, the ability to wirelessly sync to 'the cloud' and then be able to access this information anywhere.

I think this is where google will have the edge over apple when this technology starts rolling out on a more widespread scale.

 

[XplosiV]

 

[trick202]

What a great thread!

I am an iPhone4 user, but I've had the Hero and Desire between iPhones (I always went back).
The way I see it, iOS is a simple platform designed to launch apps. Android is a complex OS designed to have have apps and features integrate into it's structure.

I like both (my kids have Android devices). I like the reliability/simplicity of iOS, but the tinkerer in me loves Android for it's quirks and potential.

I'd just love to see an Android device that looks like a quality offering. Maybe the sensation? The S2 is a little 'fisher price' in my view (the industrial design) - but the specs are amazing!

 

[Jim34]

Integration with the desktop however, is a major weakness. There is no backup capability. Sync'ing doesn't really work as the provided software (Kies) doesn't run on my Mac and anyway sucks big time. Be prepared to do a lot of faffing about with multiple tools to achieve what iTunes can do with no effort whatsoever.

I consider myself to be a hacker and I like to mess about with my phone. If you do too, don't hesitate, jump. However, I wouldn't say this is a phone to give your granny though. It may be powerful, but it's not as easy to use as an iPhone.

After having the SGS2 for a week, this is really a MAJOR weakness for me too and so much so that I wish I hadn't bought it. I am happy with it but there are a lot of things that iphone does right out of the box with the standard software that Android doesn't - and needs yet another third party app (which costs money) to do well.

I think my next phone after this one will be iphone again. Maybe iphone 6.

 

[brad1601]

After having the SGS2 for a week, this is really a MAJOR weakness for me too and so much so that I wish I hadn't bought it. I am happy with it but there are a lot of things that iphone does right out of the box with the standard software that Android doesn't - and needs yet another third party app (which costs money) to do well.

I think my next phone after this one will be iphone again. Maybe iphone 6.

What features does it lack in comparison to the iphone?

Other than the obvious, i.e ability to sync with apples itunes.

 

[Jim34]

What features does it lack in comparison to the iphone?

Other than the obvious, i.e ability to sync with apples itunes.

Iphone:

Scroll to the very top by tapping the top of the screen

Control media player from lock screen

dedicated ring silence / mute button (I can mute my iphone without pulling it out of my jeans pocket)

Just "plug and it gets synced and backed up" (no extra apps to do this let alone having to pay for one!)

having a few other languages for the keyboard without having to install a different (paid) keyboard.

The auto correct seems a bit more annoying on android

I like how on iphone when I type numbers, then press space, it automatically switches back to letters.

The camera on SGS2 doesnt seem to remember the settings, e.g. Auto Contrast keeps resetting to off. This probably has nothing to compare with iphone though but shows that SGS2 has lots of 'rough edges'

Double click on home button would be handier to go to phone I think - or at least make it customizable

 

[VegasTouch]

its not as good as apples offering but other music players are available my favourite being player pro which i think is as good apples ipod

I use PowerAmp from the market. Great player and ive recently got the music App for Google music beta. I think the music player is excellent. The earbuds that come with it are pretty darn good too. Better than what Apple gives you though i still use my Skull Candy's instead because i just like em better.

To the guy that said he cant sync...i dont have a Mac so i cant compare but you shouldnt need Kies to sync your phone. Granted i still have the Gaxacy S, not the new one but should be the same. I just plug it in the computer and mount it and open my Micro card or internal card and drag into it what i want.

 

[VegasTouch]

Iphone:

Scroll to the very top by tapping the top of the screen

This is bothersome to you? Maybe you have just had an iPhone for too long...lol

Control media player from lock screen

There are many players that do this. Winamp is free and does it. PowerAmp isnt free but it rocks and also has a lockscreen player. You have to check around. My Galaxacy S come stock with one too. Sucks to hear it dont now but , the joy of Android is you never have to buy the same App twice. Since it is tied with your GMail, i wil still be able to have my PowerAmp player when i switch to a GS2.

dedicated ring silence / mute button (I can mute my iphone without pulling it out of my jeans pocket)

Yeah, nice but mine broke on my iPhone. It wont break on this one.

Just "plug and it gets synced and backed up" (no extra apps to do this let alone having to pay for one!)

Get a micro card and you wont have to back up your music. It will always be on there. Apps are tied with GMail as are your Contacts if you choose to tie them with Google instead of the sim or phone. Then you wont have to back that up either. Honestly, i see no reason to need a backup on this. You can throw your phone against a wall, get a new one and all your music(with micro card) and contacts will go right back on it without plugging it in to your computer.
However, if you like to root your phone, you can get a App (ROM Manager , the free version) that you can back up your entire OS, and everything in it and save the file to your phone and drag it to your desktop for safekeeping.

having a few other languages for the keyboard without having to install a different (paid) keyboard.

Swiftkey is the shit. 2 bucks.

The auto correct seems a bit more annoying on android

Yeah but i hated typing on my iPhone. Hated the autocorrect on that.

Double click on home button would be handier to go to phone I think - or at least make it customizable

I believe you can customize it, but wouldnt swear to it. You just have to mess around with it and get to know where everything is. I love, love love Android and what it does that iPhone wont and especially glad i dont have to use iTunes anymore.

 

[Jim34]

especially glad i dont have to use iTunes anymore.

What do you use on your computer to manage your music and sync it to your phone? I'm on a mac.

 

[daivik]

Iphone:

Scroll to the very top by tapping the top of the screen

Control media player from lock screen

dedicated ring silence / mute button (I can mute my iphone without pulling it out of my jeans pocket)

Just "plug and it gets synced and backed up" (no extra apps to do this let alone having to pay for one!)

having a few other languages for the keyboard without having to install a different (paid) keyboard.

The auto correct seems a bit more annoying on android

I like how on iphone when I type numbers, then press space, it automatically switches back to letters.

The camera on SGS2 doesnt seem to remember the settings, e.g. Auto Contrast keeps resetting to off. This probably has nothing to compare with iphone though but shows that SGS2 has lots of 'rough edges'

Double click on home button would be handier to go to phone I think - or at least make it customizable

One thing you must remember a vast majority of apps on Android are free. If your not a big app buyer (like myself), iOS, if anything, shouldn't suit you.

Most paid apps in Android Market get under 100 downloads - Phone Arena

Have a read. On the Market, the demand for paid apps simply isn't there, so developers make them free - This ties in with the fact you have to pay a couple of hundred pounds (or a 100, or something similar) to be a DEV for iOS whereas, I believe, it's free for Android, so there's less of a need for DEVs to charge to make their money back. I actually found, the 5-6 apps I've bought for my HTC Desire, at least 2-3 have now gone to waste because my GSII has built them in.

For syncing, there's doubletwist, that's free and should auto sync. AirSync is a paid add-on to do that over Wifi.

Controlling from the lock screen, my GSII does that, stock I think. Slides down on lock screen from the top.

Dedicated button - when not in a media app or game, hold down the "reduce volume key" and it'll adjust the volume, and keep reducing until it goes down to Vibrate profile - but still you have to turn it on, so it may defeat the object for you.

Have a play around, and who knows, maybe Android will sway you over - once you get past teething issues Android really is epic.