For those of you who have experienced both, do you prefer iPhone or Android? Why?

[Stuntman06]

I also have a question for everyone in this conversation that prefers Android. Does anyone in here have problems with Bluetooth connectivity to their cars? I see posts all the time that state that there are issues with xxxx phone and xxxx Bluetooth device/vehicle. I have a feeling it's just a product of the squeaky wheel getting the grease but want to make sure.

I use to use a Nokia BT headset and it works without any issues. It connects without any issues and launches the voice reco app when you press the button on the BT headset.

With my car, the BT connects without any issue. I use it for the phone calls and music. When I start up my car, my music starts playing instantly.

I do have a few issues though. The first is that for whatever reason, I cannot download my phonebook onto the car. I tried and it just fails. The other issue is that the car's BT system assumes my phone is dumb and wants to do all of the phone functions including calling. I cannot activate the the BT speaker to simply pass through my voice commands to the phone. I want my car's BT hands-free system to work like my dumb BT headset, but it won't. I think it's more of a function of the car's system.

One of the only reasons I keep coming back to iPhone is how many accessories are made specifically for it and how for the most part it is just plug and play. The down side is if the iPhone doesn't automatically work with something there isn't really much you can do to fix it. Where with Android you can tinker until it works correctly.

This is definitely an advantage to iPhones. You go to any store and there are plenty of things for the iPhone, but not as much for Android phones. With the wide variety of Android devices, you have to design accessories for each model. Cases are the most common accessory I see. More than half of the accessories section are for iPhones and the rest is for the other phones.

 

[Menneisyys2]

I prefer neither. Both have strengths and weaknesses. For example, Android has the strengths I've elaborated HERE and HERE.

However, I also love using my iPad 4 because of
- the 4:3 screen much better suited for both Web browsing and 4:3 TV movies AND
- it's jailbroken and, consequently, I can run f.lux (so can I on Android BTW, even without rooting) AND
- it has some titles (e.g., the excellent game "Spectromancer") Android painfully lacks.

For phoning, I prefer Symbian because of its call recording capabilities.

 

[RickTaylor]

I prefer a phone where the manufacturer is not liable to suddenly declare I'd be better off with with an interface with lots of bright pastel colors, and makes it impossible for me to roll it back if I don't care for the change.

And yes, I still love the Ipad mini; the (for me) perfect form factor is worth putting up with the new colors.

 

[r0k]

I prefer a phone where the manufacturer is not liable to suddenly declare I'd be better off with with an interface with lots of bright pastel colors, and makes it impossible for me to roll it back if I don't care for the change.

And yes, I still love the Ipad mini; the (for me) perfect form factor is worth putting up with the new colors.

I must admit I'm also rather annoyed that Apple burned the rollback bridge the day before my wife proclaimed she wanted iOS 6 back on her iPhone 4S. Despite this issue, I still like my iThings better than Android. I don't have a lot invested in the Apple ecosystem for music or video but I do have a lot invested in Apps. I like the way Photostream works better than I like the way photos are handled in Jellybean. Before Jellybean, I thought Android had a slight edge in the way it handled photos because as soon as I signed in on an Android device, all my family photos from my Picasa web albums simply showed up.

I also love my Mac mini and while tempted by the new retina Mini, I think I can grit my teeth and wait a year to upgrade.

 

[Savor]

Android

I just prefer the versatility and freedom it has. It is a far cry from being a perfect OS. But it just does more for me. Smarter smartphone OS for people who dont mind thinking to make it better for them. I also prefer Google over Apple. Not so much proprietary nonsense or locked up ecosystem. I finally saw the iPhone 5s here in Manila last week. That fingerprint scanner ring looks better in photos than in person. Saw nothing that impressed me about it.

I hope Samsung blows us all away with their flexible screens that wraps around next year which would force Apple to step it up and not just rehash their flagship during an "s" year. I hope Sammy can take it to another level next year so they can have a major jump on Apple the year after if Apple plans to just use the same design every two years.

Never been a Samsung fan but they got some kudos from me after seeing them donate $1M to the Yolanda/Haiyan victims. They did the same for the Japanese earthquake/tsunami victims a couple years back. Even Google, Sony, and LG donated.

What did Apple do? Solicit their iTunes customers to donate and send it to Red Cross who are known to hoard money. Reason why Apple have $100B in the bank and rather use THEIR billions spending it on manufacturing equipment and a new Apple complex. Not saying I hate Apple or they make bad products by not donating. I was on iOS for five years. I just dont agree with their policy or philosophy anymore. They do this with their credit or refunds. They give us store credit which goes back to Apple's pocket. And their Black Friday discounts are a joke.

With Android, you can pay less but offers more capability.

With iOS, you generally pay double for a status quo but lesser features.

My Wife's next phone is a red Lenovo S820 on Android 4.2. She is only 5-1 with small hands but she can finally realize the benefits with a bigger screen and texting faster with SwiftKey.

My next phone is the Lenovo P780. A 4000 mAh battery on a smartphone is a rarity that shares with the Fonepads and Ascend Mate. Lenovo is notorious to use a heavy customized skin, so dont ever expect KitKat. But anything Jelly Bean or above is good enough for me. Only 1.2 GHz quad core and benchmark scores isnt even on par with the S3 from last year. But the Mediatek SoC doesn't draw heat as much as the Qualcomm Snapdragons.

 

[Marco123]

After being with apple for over five years I sold my recently purchased 5S because I hate ios7 and the price for the screen and 32gb was to hard to justify.
I bought a htc one and I wished I switched far earlier.
I don't know why but I just love this phone. It's the best phone I've ever held and used, it's hard to explain why but I love the phone.
I'm also loving using google services and with Dropbox and google drive I have far more storage than the measly 5gb iCloud provides.
I can also take my google play purchases to any android phone instead of being restricted to what apple sells.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

I greatly prefer the quality of the iOS platform. The devices, the aesthetics, the way so much of the UX works intuitively, the support process if you have an issue, etc. Truly a plug and play experience. And the ecosystem is harmonious and solid.

I do, however, prefer the open source diversity of Androud. It just comes with bugs and terrible support from the OEM's who just start pointing fingers at everyone else but themselves. Apple may be slow to fix some things, but they own their problems and don't blame 5 other parties. Ultimately an Android user is always a second class citizen in the eyes of the handset maker. I suspect this is why so many root their phones.....The stock experience is otherwise very subpar.