I miss iPhone/iOS but....

[supervelous]

I owned iPhones only since the iphone 3g. When I purchased my iphone 5, I heard all the buzz about the S3 and decided to try them both and keep the one I liked more. At the time, I thought it was about a tie. I loved the customization of Android, the widgets, features, etc...but it had more lag than I was used to with ios and the phone felt cheap.

I ended up thinking it was a tie, but iphone 5 won out. I know a lot of iphone users so imessage and facetime was important to me, and I knew the S4 would be out within the next 4-6 months and knew iphone 5 would maintain good resale value if I wanted to buy the S4 off contract and sell my i5.

So, fast forward to current times. The S4 came out, but the HTC One also caught my eye. Stunning design, first Android phone to match/surpass iphone in design. Add to the fact I was buying off contract, and the HTC One Dev Edition was 64GB, unlocked, unlocked bootloader, no bloatware, not carrier branded, and I could trade in my old iphone 3g for $100 to HTC and that's the phone I went with. (has anyone seen a comparable deal for an S4?)

So far, mostly so good. I still have my iphone 5, and pick it up from time to time. LOVE the HTC One, but miss things about the iphone every time I pick it up. SOOO easy to use 1 handed. App quality so much better (CNN App a great example). Android has made great strides in this area, but is still not quite as buttery smooth as ios (it's now close).

I miss imessage (read and delivery receipts, see when someone's replying, doesn't use SMS). I miss facetime. These 2 are important to me because my girlfriend has iphone, my daughter's mom (we're split up) has iphone, and my daughter has an ipad mini. I know there are alternatives to facetime but for the casual non-techie, it's a turn off to them using it to say you have to download another app, setup a username on there if you don't already have one, etc. With facetime it's as simple as making a phone call.

I like to go on runs with my iphone 5 in an armband, the HTC One and S4 are obviously not as convenient for that, due to both size of the phones and lack of accessories (both being new and iphone generally has the best accessories market).

The iphone has great resale, I sold my iphone 4 after the iphone 5 came out for $250 in 1 day, possibly could have gotten more. No way that'd happen with a 2 year old Android. It's also nice if something goes wrong with my iphone I can simply go to an Apple Store. I don't know what I'll do if something goes wrong with my HTC One, but I'm sure it involves mailing it in and potentially being phoneless for awhile.

I miss some of the jailbreak apps on the iphone. Biggest one is Pandora Downloader. Unlimited skips in Pandora, no ads, and could download any song. Is there an Android equivalent? Also will miss upgrades to the software being available instantly, instead of being at carrier/manufacturer mercy in the case of anything but the Nexus line.

With all the above, I still think the HTC One is a better phone IMO, and I am 95% sure I am keeping it, but the above make me want to keep both...just not sure I can justify it given I will have paid net $550 for the HTC and can only use 1 as a phone at a time. So probably selling the iphone and keeping the One, but it's tough.

Anyone have similar iphone to Android conversion anxiety? I am almost hoping Apple does something big on the next iphone to win me back. Got so bored of the UI. Also think the screen is too small, although I think the 4.7 inch and 5 inch screens are too big! There's a sweet spot in there somewhere. If Apple could freshen up their UI, make a 4.3 inch or so screen, I think I'd be extremely tempted to get the next iphone. fingers crossed.

 

[daveathall]

I picked the S3 over the iPhone 5, but hey, we're all different. Enjoy your iPhone.

 

[supervelous]

I picked the S3 over the iPhone 5, but hey, we're all different. Enjoy your iPhone.

Don't blame you if you didn't read my post fully, it's a bit of a TLDR. But I am not keeping the iphone. I am selling it and keeping the HTC One.

Also, I loved the S3, only kept it because I was invested in the Apple Ecosystem and had many friends and relatives with iphones. I knew I'd likely leave when the S4 and other 2013 flagships came out. I'm still very interested in the S4, but don't know of a deal like what I got one the HTC One ($650 unlocked, 64 Gb Dev edition, no carrier bloatware, $100 trade in bonus for old iphone 3g)

I was simply stating that although these are probably my last days with iphone and imo it's no longer the best, I will miss a lot of things about the phone and the Apple "experience".

 

[Assault]

So, fast forward to current times. The S4 came out, but the HTC One also caught my eye. Stunning design, first Android phone to match/surpass iphone in design. Add to the fact I was buying off contract, and the HTC One Dev Edition was 64GB, unlocked, unlocked bootloader, no bloatware, not carrier branded, and I could trade in my old iphone 3g for $100 to HTC and that's the phone I went with. (has anyone seen a comparable deal for an S4?)
.

Some of your questions are best not answered here. You need to go here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2115

I believe AT&T is offering $100 minimum (I think they are giving $320 for a like new condition iphone 5) for a smartphone that works and is newer than 3 years old. Must be or become an AT&T customer. This is also stackable. In other words, if you bring in 2 crappy old smart phones, you will get $200. Tablets will also be taken, but the price they give will vary.

Once added up, this goes towards AT&T credit to buy a phone (even one off contract if you wish.) You must do this at a corporate store, not a retailer.

 

[daveathall]

Don't blame you if you didn't read my post fully, .

My apologies.

Although I sold my iPhone 5, it was still a superb phone, as are the HTC one and S4.

 

[Stuntman06]

I miss imessage (read and delivery receipts, see when someone's replying, doesn't use SMS). I miss facetime. These 2 are important to me because my girlfriend has iphone, my daughter's mom (we're split up) has iphone, and my daughter has an ipad mini. I know there are alternatives to facetime but for the casual non-techie, it's a turn off to them using it to say you have to download another app, setup a username on there if you don't already have one, etc. With facetime it's as simple as making a phone call.

The iPhone makes it easy to communicate with others who have iOS devices. However, when communicating with people who use devices on another platform, you're going to have to download an app.

I installed VTok on my wife's iPhone, so when I was out of town, she and I can make video calls to each other. I have an Android phone and use GTalk. Perhaps you can help them install an app on their phone. I end up having to install apps on all of the iPhones in my family because they don't know enough to do it themselves. This is not just apps to do video calling. It is stuff like weather apps or reader apps. No matter what device people have, sometimes they need someone who is an enabler to set things up.

 

[supervelous]

Some of your questions are best not answered here. You need to go here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2115

I believe AT&T is offering $100 minimum (I think they are giving $320 for a like new condition iphone 5) for a smartphone that works and is newer than 3 years old. Must be or become an AT&T customer. This is also stackable. In other words, if you bring in 2 crappy old smart phones, you will get $200. Tablets will also be taken, but the price they give will vary.

Once added up, this goes towards AT&T credit to buy a phone (even one off contract if you wish.) You must do this at a corporate store, not a retailer.

I tried to buy it at two separate AT&T corporate stores, and another person who was there at the same time tried to as well for the off contract price of $639.99. At both stores, and the other person, were told that they don't sell the phones off-contract for a period of time after they first come out. This was in 2 separate states (one in CT and one in RI).

Also, the iphone 3G is more than 3 years old so I wouldn't get $100 for it. HTC already quoted me $100 for it. I'd also get the carrier version of the S4, with carrier branding on it, locked bootloader, carrier bloatware, and only 16GB vs the 64gb I got on the HTC One. I know I could get an SD card but that would add to the cost.

And with all that I still MIGHT consider it, but they wouldn't sell it to me. And at other places (Best Buy, Amazon) they want $700+ for it off-contract.

 

[vikingjunior]

I just did the total opposite had android phones from the beginning and went through all the beta testing but now going to the dark side.
Android has come a long way but I'm just tired of tinkering with settings and looking for polished apps. I guess I'm just getting older and don't have time for all Android has to offer. So it's nice to get a iPhone and it work right out of the box. Peace.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I miss some of the jailbreak apps on the iphone. Biggest one is Pandora Downloader. Unlimited skips in Pandora, no ads, and could download any song. Is there an Android equivalent?

Pandora hacks do exist for Android.

 

[ChazUK]

Seeing as you went for the Dev model, I'd be interested if you're going to go down the custom ROM route at all?

A HTC One running a decent stock Android based build would be a fantastic proposition to me as I have a distaste for heavily customised Android builds.

I've kept my hand in on other platforms but primarily use Android myself as my main platform. My wife (randomly ) bought me a 32gb 5th gen iPod touch yesterday and I must admit the longer screen is better for iOS (when apps have been updated) but I still prefer the larger dimensions of my Nexus 4 screen.

Despite all the fanboy bickering that goes on, its never been a better time to be into smart phones and tech in general. Consumers have some fantastically strong options out there.