Phones Andy Ihnatko - Why I switched from iPhone to Android

[Stuntman06]

I like this series of articles. The second part was quite negative towards iOS. I quite understand the reasons for his frustrations. I also felt the same way when Apple announced Twitter integration and then Facebook integration. As an Android user, I was surprised that iOS couldn't do that already. Then I understood more about iOS and what it is designed to do.

I understand Apple's philosophy of keeping a device simple and rigid. Their success with the iPhone speaks for itself. In the end, when I came to choose a phone, I wanted a phone that is best for me, not simply good enough or acceptable for a majority of people.

I'm actually looking forward to the third part. I think that many people still judge Android based on older devices. In the 20 months between when I was using an HTC Desire Z to a Samsung Galaxy S3, the improvement of the SGS3 over the DZ is huge.

 

[TacticalDesire]

My 2p: the "marginally bigger" S3 (apparently) is difficult to handle with one hand when you need to reach things in the top left hand corner, but the iPhone 5 is easy to handle no matter where you need to reach.

I'm right handed.

I hear this from a lot of iPhone users. This issue varies on the person. I personally find no problem whatsoever reaching things on my Nexus 4. It depends on the size of your hand. It's subjective.

 

[Ddyracer]

Andy Ihnatko is the reason Macbreak Weekly is awesome!

 

[matttye]

I hear this from a lot of iPhone users. This issue varies on the person. I personally find no problem whatsoever reaching things on my Nexus 4. It depends on the size of your hand. It's subjective.

Yeah I know, it depends on the size of your hand.

 

[daveathall]

I hear this from a lot of iPhone users. This issue varies on the person. I personally find no problem whatsoever reaching things on my Nexus 4. It depends on the size of your hand. It's subjective.

IMHO the argument was negated by the introduction of the iPhone 5. If the ideal size for one handed use was that of the iPhone 4 and 4S then the iP5 is not. The goal posts seemed to have moved on the introduction of the iP5.

For me personally, I don't see the fuss, the keyboard on any Android or Apple phone does no appear at the top left of the screen, its about a third of the way up. Any app that is in the top corner is either; one that I don't use often, the space at the top corner is not used (something that can't be done with an iPhone) or I use my other hand.

Edit: I can use everything on my Nexus 4 one handed, my apps and widgets are set out that way, but TBH, I often use both hands.

 

[ChazUK]

IMHO the argument was negated by the introduction of the iPhone 5. If the ideal size for one handed use was that of the iPhone 4 and 4S then the iP5 is not. The goal posts seemed to have moved on the introduction of the iP5.

It certainly was.

I remember people touting this as a big reason for owning the iPhone:
http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches

This is an example of one of those design decisions that you don't usually notice until you see someone doing it wrong. It's one of the things that makes Apple products Apple products.

First it was smaller because that size was perfect.
Now it's bigger. And still perfect....

 

[maflynn]

Great article. Very well written.

Agree Andy is able to articulate what works and what doesn't work for him very well. I particularly like how he said:

One thing strikes me about this list: each item is something positive about Android, instead of something negative about the iPhone. That’s often a sign that a decision is the correct one. If you’re moving toward something, it means you know what you want and you think this other thing will deliver it to you. If you’re moving away from something, you’re headed towards… what, exactly? You don’t know where you’re going but you know it must be better than the situation you’re fleeing from.

For me, I think the positives of what android offers does not outweigh the negatives leaving the iOS platform. I'll have to wait and see what the S4 looks like to finalize my decision but iOS offers more for me meeting my needs then android at the moment. I really do like the S3 and more so the Note II however and I'm quite tempted by those phones.

 

[sentinelsx]

EH, the iPhone 5 size is not perfect anymore IMO. I already have to stretch my thumb a bit too much to reach top right (left-handed) which i didn't with iPhone 4.

However, to me that is a non-issue. For 75% of tasks, i can use a GS3 and nexus 4 one handed. However when it comes to note 2, i cannot use it one handed. The GS3 size is the max for me.

 

[Tinmania]

EH, the iPhone 5 size is not perfect anymore IMO. I already have to stretch my thumb a bit too much to reach top right (left-handed) which i didn't with iPhone 4.

However, to me that is a non-issue. For 75% of tasks, i can use a GS3 and nexus 4 one handed. However when it comes to note 2, i cannot use it one handed. The GS3 size is the max for me.

I have large hands and was hesitant to get the Note 2 because I thought it would be too big for even me, one-handed.

But I have been surprised how well I can use it with one hand. Even passed my "send text while running to next gate at airport" test (other hand clinging to carryon).

I even turned off the single-hand options on the Note 2--they were more annoying than helpful. Plus I do not use the stock Samsung keyboard--which I hate.

Now if my hands were only a little smaller, it would likely be a lot harder to use my Note 2 with one hand. My girlfriend could never use it like I do, for instance (nor does she deserve to: with her irreverent attitude towards my smartphone obsession).



Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

I have large hands and was hesitant to get the Note 2 because I thought it would be too big for even me, one-handed.

But I have been surprised how well I can use it with one hand. Even passed my "send text while running to next gate at airport" test (other hand clinging to carryon).

I even turned off the single-hand options on the Note 2--they were more annoying than helpful. Plus I do not use the stock Samsung keyboard--which I hate.

Now if my hands were only a little smaller, it would likely be a lot harder to use my Note 2 with one hand. My girlfriend could never use it like I do, for instance (nor does she deserve to: with her irreverent attitude towards my smartphone obsession).



Michael

How they left auto correct out of their keyboard is beyond me.

 

[daveathall]

My girlfriend could never use it like I do, for instance (nor does she deserve to: with her irreverent attitude towards my smartphone obsession).



Michael

Now that was funny, made me laugh.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

How they left auto correct out of their keyboard is beyond me.

I completely agree with this. The updated stock keyboard on the S3 and N2 is just awful. It's way too busy and not nearly as responsive as other keyboards you can find in the Play Store. I've said it before, but this is why I always go back to Jellybean Keyboard Pro from the Play Store. If you've never used the AOSP keyboard, it looks just like it but it also has the best auto correct I've ever used on any phone.

 

[mattopotamus]

I completely agree with this. The updated stock keyboard on the S3 and N2 is just awful. It's way too busy and not nearly as responsive as other keyboards you can find in the Play Store. I've said it before, but this is why I always go back to Jellybean Keyboard Pro from the Play Store. If you've never used the AOSP keyboard, it looks just like it but it also has the best auto correct I've ever used on any phone.

ageed. The stock keyboard on the nexus 4 is great.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I didn't see if it had been posted here yet, but Part 3 is up now...

http://www.techhive.com/article/203...i-switched-from-iphone-to-android-part-3.html

 

[soulreaver99]

This is a decent article and a good read if you have the time. For a more visual and different perspective on real world usage, check out Danny Choo's article on how he prefers using his S3 over iPhone in his line of work which deals with a lot of multimedia files: http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/26872/Why+I+m+sticking+with+Android.html

 

[Stuntman06]

I hear this from a lot of iPhone users. This issue varies on the person. I personally find no problem whatsoever reaching things on my Nexus 4. It depends on the size of your hand. It's subjective.

When I went from my 3.7" HTC Desire Z to the 4.8" SGS3, I did find that the screen was really big. It did make reaching for corners more difficult. It felt like a 2-handed device often.

Over time, I got used to its size. I have no problems reaching to the far corner of the screen anymore. Also, I made sure that the most commonly used apps and widgets I use are in the centre of my screen. The least commonly used apps are at the top left corner where it is most difficult to reach with my right thumb. For the most part, I can reach most of the screen comfortably and just have to stretch a bit for that far corner.

I completely agree with this. The updated stock keyboard on the S3 and N2 is just awful. It's way too busy and not nearly as responsive as other keyboards you can find in the Play Store. I've said it before, but this is why I always go back to Jellybean Keyboard Pro from the Play Store. If you've never used the AOSP keyboard, it looks just like it but it also has the best auto correct I've ever used on any phone.

I found the stock keyboard on the S3 to be really not to my liking. I immediately tried third party keyboards. Recently, I discovered SwiftKey which I consider to be in a class of its own, well above anything else. All other third party keyboards I have used (Kii and Thumb), I would consider to be tolerable. (I hate touch screen keyboards, before SwiftKey). SwiftKey is the one that well exceeds my expectations.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I found the stock keyboard on the S3 to be really not to my liking. I immediately tried third party keyboards. Recently, I discovered SwiftKey which I consider to be in a class of its own, well above anything else. All other third party keyboards I have used (Kii and Thumb), I would consider to be tolerable. (I hate touch screen keyboards, before SwiftKey). SwiftKey is the one that well exceeds my expectations.

I completely agree on Swiftkey. The only thing I dislike is the fact that you have to long-press to activate the voice-to-text. That's it. Otherwise, it's the best keyboard out there for an Android device. (I'd use Swiftkey in a second over Jellybean Keyboard Pro if you could change this).

I'm actually surprised they don't have an option to make the voice-to-text key tap to activate. For me, that's the only thing missing from Swiftkey.

 

[bmac4]

So I just finished reading all three parts. Really great article that does not take one brand over the other. I was almost in the same boat as him when I decided to try the note 2. It was a little different for me because I had used android before and liked it. The iphone 5 had gotten me thinking I needed some of the features that it had, but I found that android offers them as well, and a lot of the time for me in a better way. I miss my iPhone 5 less and less every day I spend with the note 2. The only thing I am questing now is do I want to keep the note 2 with touchwiz or get the nexus 4 with pure android. In the past I have said I would never ever get an android that was not an nexus phone, but here I am. I just don't want to be left in the dark when Google come out with the new update of android and my note 2 want get some of those features. I do not want to get into the rooting game, so that is not an option. I may still stick with the note 2 cause I like it a lot, just don't want to be unhappy in 5 months.

 

[sentinelsx]

So I just finished reading all three parts. Really great article that does not take one brand over the other. I was almost in the same boat as him when I decided to try the note 2. It was a little different for me because I had used android before and liked it. The iphone 5 had gotten me thinking I needed some of the features that it had, but I found that android offers them as well, and a lot of the time for me in a better way. I miss my iPhone 5 less and less every day I spend with the note 2. The only thing I am questing now is do I want to keep the note 2 with touchwiz or get the nexus 4 with pure android. In the past I have said I would never ever get an android that was not an nexus phone, but here I am. I just don't want to be left in the dark when Google come out with the new update of android and my note 2 want get some of those features. I do not want to get into the rooting game, so that is not an option. I may still stick with the note 2 cause I like it a lot, just don't want to be unhappy in 5 months.

The thing about note 2 is that you can load up a newer KLP custom rom from aokp or cm 11 and you won't get a big hit in battery life because of the monster battery.

That's why I was hesitant to flash the gs3 in the beginning. The 2100 mah battery was ok at stock, but after a fairly new custom rom with bugs I would lose a lot of juice fast.

 

[bmac4]

The thing about note 2 is that you can load up a newer KLP custom rom from aokp or cm 11 and you won't get a big hit in battery life because of the monster battery.

That's why I was hesitant to flash the gs3 in the beginning. The 2100 mah battery was ok at stock, but after a fairly new custom rom with bugs I would lose a lot of juice fast.

What does that require you to do? I don't have a pc. I have a MacBook.

 

[sentinelsx]

What does that require you to do? I don't have a pc. I have a MacBook.

Well first you would have to wait for key lime pie to come out

XDAdevelopers.com is the starting point.

If you have doubts about what to do once there, can always ask for further help

 

[bmac4]

Well first you would have to wait for key lime pie to come out

XDAdevelopers.com is the starting point.

If you have doubts about what to do once there, can always ask for further help

Oh ok. I JB my iPhone 5 with no problems at all, but it was really easy. I just don't want to get inti something that is really hard.

 

[sentinelsx]

Oh ok. I JB my iPhone 5 with no problems at all, but it was really easy. I just don't want to get inti something that is really hard.

Not too hard, but will require a little more work on your part too. A lot of ios JB tweaks are simply plug and play.

Since you have a Mac, it might be easier. Windows has the drivers mess added to the flash part, while ironically macs tend to play nice with flashing android phones.

 

[Tarzanman]

I'm starting to get a little weary of seeing all the I-just-saved-$100-on-my-insurance-by-switching-to-android articles.

At this point it is mostly intellectually dishonest hypocrites and fansters who are more concerned with their appearance (i.e. not looking like a backwards luddite) than what OS their smart phone is running.

Articles such as these get a 'meh'.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I'm starting to get a little weary of seeing all the I-just-saved-$100-on-my-insurance-by-switching-to-android articles.

At this point it is mostly intellectually dishonest hypocrites and fansters who are more concerned with their appearance (i.e. not looking like a backwards luddite) than what OS their smart phone is running.

Articles such as these get a 'meh'.

"Meh" all you want. I'm fairly certain no one in the "Alternatives to iOS and iOS Devices" section of this sight really cares that articles like these don't get you all charged up. What are you doing here anyway?

And to call the author of this article an "intellectually dishonest hypocrite and fanster" (that's a new one, by the way...usually it's "fanboy") is just silly and proves you didn't read all three parts (or even one part) of the article. He was an iPhone user from the first one...he'd tried all sorts of Android devices over the years, but none could pull him away from the iPhone...until the S3. He didn't disparage the iPhone or iOS but was simply stating clearly (over and over throughout the articles) that Android just worked better FOR HIM. He wasn't trying to persuade anyone to switch, only giving the reasons why Android now does more FOR HIM than the iPhone or iOS can.