Let’s state the obvious, Fink. Geez. I’ll be blunt: this is an, “Should I keep my Android phone or get the new iPhone on my Verizon contract?” post. Specifically, I’m talking to my fellow Android owners who’re on the fence about switching to the Verizon iPhone.
I’ve been sitting on this article all day between five thousand or so words of rant material, iPhone gawking, Android squawking, and just about every title under the sun that would attract more iPhone and Android fanboy rage than my little heart could handle. Good grief! I told Federico that this piece could do me in for a few days – this one was hard to write. “Ticci!” I said. “This is too controversial for the Internetz! They’ll explode!” After much deliberation I decided to focus on one specific aspect of Android and the iPhone, instead of comparing the platforms as a whole (there’s simply too much to talk about). After dramatically toning down the content, today’s topic is all about apps and the phones that have them, but which one is better for you?
As someone on Verizon who’s had a year long matrimony with an Android… do you dare click the read more link? I think you should.
“Can you drop the needle? Play me some background music. No not that one, flip the vinyl over. Yes… yes that one. Thanks!”
So you really love apps. You’ve swiped so many times on that Android touchscreen that those grease prints are permanently affixed to the display. In the quest to empty every last dollar in your bank account, you’ve sold your soul to Google Checkout on numerous occasions for the perfect app. Some have found nirvana in the sea of task-managers and beautiful widgets that give us superior control over our handsets. Others keep looking, wishing for something like Instagram or Path to bomb the Marketplace with its hipster-labeled awesomeness. Oh undecided ones, how will you fulfill your needs to discover something of immense proportions?
“Federico? Cut the music.”
I really like my Android smartphone, especially since it’s from no other than Motorola. (I’m a moto-fanboy!) It doesn’t have the greatest camera, but it’s tough as nails and I’ve followed many a Twitter joke thanks to Seesmic. We’ve had good times together, including when I cheated Google on those wicked ROMs like Bugless Beast and Cyanogen. I’ve even ADB’d to uninstall system apps in my day (XDA beta releases for the win), but I think it’s time to take a break. The iPhone is coming to Verizon! You know what that means?
It means that it’s time to highly consider getting a phone you can actually find lots of really great applications with. I know Android users are going to read this and immediately think of some “iFart” joke, but it’s no joke when I type “fart” into the Android Marketplace and get more results there than on the App Store. There is a Bieber Fart App in the Android marketplace. I’m being facetious of course, but come on.
Seriously, if we’re going to talk just about Apple and Android applications, I’m in the camp that the iPhone experience is definitely made by the developers who passionately create works of art on the iPhone. Everyday you hear about a new killer app or a success story in the App Store, and available are lots of fantastic choices between the world’s best mobile games, productivity apps, and hell, there are even a few alternate web browsers that are pretty cool (to your disbelief). It’s not necessarily about how pretty things look (although that might be important to you) and related eye-candy – it’s about really seeing developers flourish, seeing ideas like Flickit Pro transform the Flickr experience, and simply being happy with a phone instead of being a control-freak all the time.
Control-freak? Well, that’s what Android wants you to be right? Every time a website posts a must-have Android app, there’s never anything really cool – it’s all “Task Manager” and “Root Explorer.” People are really feeling the need to treat Android like a desktop OS, and it’s crazy! And while all this talk of openness and choice is all fine and dandy, developers aren’t using that to their advantage to woo me with really innovate applications. You download an app, and it’s a button here or a button there on a black screen. Where are the really unique Android experience asides from maybe Twitter? The Youtube app is pretty cool, and don’t get me started on how great Google Maps are on these phones, but what indie developers are super excited about bringing an exclusive social network or productivity tool to the Android marketplace? Anyone? You?
The major players all have Android apps if you’re looking for Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter apps, but the iPhone often features lots of unique and attractive apps that you never see Android get toted for. While Apple’s App Store is argued to be locked down, the end result really only affects developers making things that maybe aren’t well suited for the iPhone. As a consumer, you can find anything you want with a quick search: Zombie games, alarm clocks, and even those animal noise things the kids like to play with are all on the App Store. I make the argument that people who buy into Android aren’t buying it for its awesome arsenal of apps – instead you’re only buying the phone with the promise of carrier availability and Google’s apps.
This is where battles are won and lost: the iPhone is really good at curating great mobile applications thanks to Apple’s help in the App Store, but Android comes packed with admittedly luxurious features like Voice Actions out of the gate, though after that you’re on your own. I’m betting those who like their Android phones have fallen in love with Andy for reasons other than apps – you like those custom kernels and ROMs which unlock more features than a Windows 7 Registry tweak editor. In that case, you’re not a potential candidate for a Verizon iPhone, and that’s fine. With phones like the Droid Bionic showing up soon, you’ll have plenty of cool things to play with (too bad the Atrix isn’t coming to Verizon).
There are those who simply could give a rat’s bottom about whether or they can have new kernels on their phones because we just want to take pictures, browse the web, and produce some mad beats with Beat Maker. Plus apps on the App Store give us superpowers like tracking TV shows with TV Show Tracker or painting a masterpiece with Brushes. Hell, that’s all I do with my phone besides Twitter a majority of the time, and I really like reading text on the go with a native Instapaper app.
Do you love apps? Do yourself a favor and get an iPhone – the market is jam-packed with so many cool things that it can drive a MacStories writer crazy trying to write about them all. If you’re not into apps (and instead into customization) I think you should stay with your Android smartphone, because you’d really miss the core-features you purchased the phone for. Ultimately your Android phone is better as a Google hub and information assistant – it integrates with everything you’re vested in. The iPhone? It’s simply a very cool device that’s a lot of fun to use. It gets even better when you can finally port all those apps you purchased with your iPod touch onto the real deal.
What will I choose? I don’t know if I’ll stay on Android or not, but I think a lot of Verizon owners will make the switch (and it doesn’t have to be at launch - I understand you’ll probably wait until the end of your contract). I know there’s Android owners who have the phone because of the carrier, while others have it because they actually like the little green robot. It turns out that both are true for me, but the allure of finally being able to use Camera+ and OmniFocus may just be enough to warrant the exchange. It doesn’t matter to me what you choose, but the iPhone is where the apps are at.
