So now that it's been announced that iPhone OS 4 will include multitasking...

[bbrosen]

I don't know why no one has brought this up yet in this thread (maybe I missed it) but IMO a huge downside to the iPhone is the App Store rules.

At this point, I wouldn't buy a phone that isn't compatible with Google Voice. Apple loves to point out the fact that bad stuff can be found in the Market, like PORN APPS!! Think of the children!!

But the fact of the matter isn't that Apple is anti-porn or anti-malware - they are anti-whatever Steve Jobs doesn't like or whatever competes with them, even if it's better.

The worst part is that devs keep bending over and taking it from Apple when they should focus on platforms that don't risk rejecting their months of programming for no actual reason.

So a lack of porn apps is a downside for you?

 

[IOWA]

So a lack of porn apps is a downside for you?

Whats wrong with porn apps? If people want to download porn on their phone let them. It's their freakin phone.

 

[QrafTee]

Depending on your phone as a gaming platform is also moot. So whats the point?

That's where you're wrong. We're not talking about "dumbphones." There are "superphones." Entertainment (such as gaming) should be expected by now, so that argument isn't moot; if it was then video/music playback, Flash, web broswing, email, GPS-capabilities, built-in cameras, etc. etc. would be moot points as well. There is a reason game developers like Newtoy Inc. are making money, there is a large userbase using iPhones that use it as a gaming platform (albeit not a primary use, but neither is video/music playback and all that stuff that separates Android phones from "dumbphones."

 

[slick_old]

If you go back through the past few weeks, there's a new post almost every day that says "Phone X is coming to Verizon - will you be jumping?" or something along those lines (I've seen it for the N1, I've seen it for the iPhone, among others). Add to that the "Well, phone X will be doing this on network Y - will you be jumping" (Evo 4G, among others), and it's a near-constant deluge of people who seem unhappy with the phone they have. I can see posting it in a general discussion forum or a phone-specific forum for the phone in question (N1, Evo 4G, Incredible, etc), but when it's posted on the forum of a phone that's already been released and widely purchased, it just makes it seem like very few people who visit this particular forum are all that happy with their phones. I will admit that I'm considering making the jump to the Incredible, but that's only because I've been having issues with dust getting into the slider mechanism of my Droid (I work in environmental remediation, so I'm outside a lot, and the work I oversee tends to generate a lot of dust) and I think a one-piece phone would be better suited to keeping dust out. However, this is the first time I've even mentioned the Incredible outside of the Incredible forum, and that was a very specific question about HTC's overall camera quality (one of the few things I actually dislike about my Droid is how subpar its pictures appear when compared with the ones I was able to take with my Omnia).

I, too, was with Cingular/AT&T (only for four years) when the iPhone was released, and, like you, it wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't have any issues with the design or the restrictive OS (at the time I had a Motorola KRZR, so I was completely new to the world of smartphones), it was simply that the AT&T salesman was honest enough to tell me that if I dropped the iPhone (something I do often), it would almost certainly break and I'd be out $400 with no recourse whatsoever. I switched back to Verizon in July of 2008, and I had an LG Voyager from July until December, when I bought an Omnia. I had just about convinced myself through custom ROMs and the like that I did like my Omnia, and then the Droid was released and I realized that it did everything I wanted my Omnia to right out of the box. I had intended to wait for the Nexus 1 to hit Verizon before getting rid of the Omnia, but fate intervened and I fell into the Delaware River, something that's apparently not amenable to the Omnia. It died, I bought the Droid, and I haven't looked back. But the same reason I didn't buy an iPhone is the same reason that I'll probably end up keeping my Droid (and investing in stock for a compressed air company), because I know it can take a pretty substantial drop and come out no worse for the wear. The Incredible looks like it might be too iPhone-esque in that regard, where if I drop it, it's going to break.

So I apologize if you felt I was lumping you in with the iPhone lovers, but that is certainly how it makes the people who start these threads (and the ones who post affirmatively in it) seem - like they bought a Droid only because they couldn't get the iPhone. I do realize that is not the case for everyone, but my initial point remains - threads like these reflect poorly on those of us who do own the Droid, who are (largely) happy with the Droid, and who aren't in the market for another phone.

I agree that there are a good number of people who would have started a thread such as this because they have a deep-seated, perhaps subconcious dissatisfaction with their Droid. I too have seen numerous threads posing the proposition of jumping to the N1, Incredible, Motoroi, etc. I have no interest in any of these devices because I am super content with my Droid. Plus, the aforementioned devices are only MARGINALLY better than the Droid and I'm not the type who must own the "latest/greatest". The Evo 4G has piqued my interest but even it is not enough to get me to jump ship from Verizon smack dab in the middle of my contract period, especially when my Droid can do most of the important things that the Evo 4G can do (sans HDMI, bigger screen and extra ROM). In your case, I can understand how an otherwise satisfied Droid customer would have a sincere NEED to jump ship because of your work environment and the physical design of the device.

I can assure you, however, that this thread was not started b/c I am in some way envious of the iPhone or any other device. I absolutely see how you could gather that based on all of those who are apparently unhappy with the Droid and anxious to jump ship on this forum. Thus, there are some Droid owners who would rather have an iPhone but, for me personally, the phone itself has nothing to offer (other than apps and games and there are plenty of the former in the Android market and I don't really care about the latter) and there are many many things that my Droid and Android in general does better. Truly, I only made this thread to express my opinion that the Droid is STILL a superior device to the iPhone even with multitasking. Now, since the iPhone is an awesome device, I figured that some might agree with me and I was simply hoping to get some opinions on how others thought the Droid weighed up against the "benchmark" (iPhone). Because, let's face it, even after all these years the iPhone is still the benchmark smartphone by which all other smartphones are measured.

 

[IOWA]

I agree that there are a good number of people who would have started a thread such as this because they have a deep-seated, perhaps subconcious dissatisfaction with their Droid. I too have seen numerous threads posing the proposition of jumping to the N1, Incredible, Motoroi, etc. I have no interest in any of these devices because I am super content with my Droid. Plus, the aforementioned devices are only MARGINALLY better than the Droid and I'm not the type who must own the "latest/greatest". The Evo 4G has piqued my interest but even it is not enough to get me to jump ship from Verizon smack dab in the middle of my contract period, especially when my Droid can do most of the important things that the Evo 4G can do (sans HDMI, bigger screen and extra ROM). In your case, I can understand how an otherwise satisfied Droid customer would have a sincere NEED to jump ship because of your work environment and the physical design of the device.

I can assure you, however, that this thread was not started b/c I am in some way envious of the iPhone or any other device. I absolutely see how you could gather that based on all of those who are apparently unhappy with the Droid and anxious to jump ship on this forum. Thus, there are some Droid owners who would rather have an iPhone but, for me personally, the phone itself has nothing to offer (other than apps and games and there are plenty of the former in the Android market and I don't really care about the latter) and there are many many things that my Droid and Android in general does better. Truly, I only made this thread to express my opinion that the Droid is STILL a superior device to the iPhone even with multitasking. Now, since the iPhone is an awesome device, I figured that some might agree with me and I was simply hoping to get some opinions on how others thought the Droid weighed up against the "benchmark" (iPhone). Because, let's face it, even after all these years the iPhone is still the benchmark smartphone by which all other smartphones are measured.

Awesome post. Really.


And to the superphones comment, yes, they really need to do all that. But hey lets thrown in a vacuum cleaner and coffee maker while we're at it

"Man I gotta call you back because I was on a raid on my EVO 4G"

 

[benderhatesyou]

Hey wait, my gf's iPhone has a porn app. It's called the interwebz, it came with the phone!
(this was supposed to be in response to an earlier comment, not the entire thread...)

 

[IOWA]

Hey wait, my gf's iPhone has a porn app. It's called the interwebz, it came with the phone!
(this was supposed to be in response to an earlier comment, not the entire thread...)

Whats an interwebz. I know what the internet is, I know what the world wide web is, but this interwebz thing eludes me.

 

[shaidtan]

If I may interject, I think the point people are making is that when we're talking about smartphones or superphones or whatever they're called it should be up to the consumer what they're used for.

If your main focus for your phone is to play games or watch porn, you should get the phone that has the best games and porn. If for you the primary focus is elsewhere but gaming and porning is a priority you have every right, as a consumer, to find the lack of such capability a negative.

Not everyone has to agree. I personally don't see much point in playing games on a phone but it's not my place to call anyone else an idiot for wanting better gaming lest I invite them for denouncing me for using my phone as I see fit.

As for people starting threads every single day, isn't that what message boards are for? It would be a pretty boring place if people stopped creating new threads or stopped discussing in an open forum for fear of being told how wrong they are because they were so bold as to have an opinion.

That all said, I'll step off that particular soap box.

As for iPhones getting multitasking; that's not a bad thing. Apple devices not getting Flash will probably not matter in the long run either. In my view it'll either foster competition or it'll do nothing. In other words we'll either all gain or we'll all lose nothing.

 

[deeznuts2]

Not bothering to read through all this, but has it been pointed out that multitasking in OS 4.0 is only available on Iphone 3Gs?

If you have an older iphone, you are still screwed.

FAIL

 

[webeougher]

As for people starting threads every single day, isn't that what message boards are for? It would be a pretty boring place if people stopped creating new threads or stopped discussing in an open forum for fear of being told how wrong they are because they were so bold as to have an opinion.

Please, before you step back onto your soapbox, re-read my post and try to catch the meaning I was trying to convey, which I laid out in a later post hopefully more clearly - my problem isn't with people starting threads every day, it's with people starting "will you get phone x instead of the Droid" in the DROID FORUM. If your reading comprehension is so lacking, might I suggest you start slowing down, actually reading posts instead of just scanning over them, and then giving the words a few minutes to register in your brain before you click on the reply button?

 

[QrafTee]

Not bothering to read through all this, but has it been pointed out that multitasking in OS 4.0 is only available on Iphone 3Gs?

If you have an older iphone, you are still screwed.

FAIL

Doesn't it sound a lot like the lower-end Android phones not being able to utilize Google Navigation, Voice to Text, and Flash (whenever it releases)?

 

[IOWA]

Doesn't it sound a lot like the lower-end Android phones not being able to utilize Google Navigation, Voice to Text, and Flash (whenever it releases)?

Qraftee is right on this one. Both sides, and all sides, handsets will be left in the dust. They can't be supported forever. Hell not long ago there was no such thing as free os upgrades on handsets. And guys, please cool it on the name calling. I know these things can get heated, but name calling isn't going to prove your point.

 

[finnaginagain]

i love love love how apple disses certain features such as multitasking and having a serch bar on the home area and then as soon as they can implement it into the new os. lol it kills me. i know that ipod touch could search through the entire ipod but now it can search the web.

i read they were saying that searching is for desktops and it was dead most people spend time in apps not searching......yet we made sure it was put into our new phone.

he also said multitasking is something that most users wont really use but we also added that.

I wanted an iphone until i got my droid now i will never give a single cent of my money to apple. the way they handle themselves. I do realize it is about making money and its all a competition but really?

the one thing that stands out more than anything about them is when they announced the ipad and that it would have something better than Kindle and i Quote " we stood on amazon's shoulders and just made ours better." and yet you take out a patent and sue HTC because it uses a swipe to unlock feature? apple is the biggest piece of hypocrite bull i have ever seen in my life. They get scared so they sue to slow down there inevitable death which from android is coming

 

[deeznuts2]

Doesn't it sound a lot like the lower-end Android phones not being able to utilize Google Navigation, Voice to Text, and Flash (whenever it releases)?

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this thread was about the iPhone and multi-tasking.

And you cannot compare older gen iPhones to older gen Android phones since those old iPhones > old android phones. The comparison is on different levels.

 

[QrafTee]

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this thread was about the iPhone and multi-tasking.

And you cannot compare older gen iPhones to older gen Android phones since those old iPhones > old android phones. The comparison is on different levels.

This thread it about multi-tasking, but I'm rebutting against your argument (which isn't strictly bound to multitasking.)