The iPhone 4 is coming out this Thursday and a friend of mine got into a bit of a nerd fight with people on Friend Feed (ya friend Feed is still around) and I told her personally I don’t want an iPhone, I want some kind of Android phone. The phone went silent at that point, and then I heard “what the hell? why?" I stopped and thought for a sec and I came up with a few reasons why.
· The first thing that came to mind was Google voice. The Google voice app. for Android makes using a Google Voice number your main number so much more easier then it is on the iPhone phone or any other phone. They give you the option to always use your Google Voice number on the app. instead of your normal phone number. It also adds visual voice mail to your phone for free, something AT&T and Verizon charges for.
· Gmail seems to be better on android then on the iPhone. Now I’m sure that I could always use the web app. for Gmail on my iOS device but it should just be on the device already. iOS 4 is making it better, but it’s still not Gmail and that’s what I want is Gmail. The Android one looks like Gmail the way I know it to be. I do know that it’s not in Apples interest to have a Gmail app. on iOS devices so I let Apple off on that.
· Everyone always says how iOS is so much more polished then Android and how clean and simple it is. Well I don’t want that in my hand, I want a computer in my hand. I want file menus, a task manger, and all these things that make Android feel more like a PC in my hand.
· The last case for Android is freedom. The fact that none of the apps. on Android go through any approval proses to be able to work on Android devices. If Apple wants to make an iDisk app. for Android devices Google wouldn't stop them, but Google tries to make a decent Google Voice app. for the iPhone and they get booted. Now for the record no one knows if Apple kicked them off the app store or if that was AT&T’s call.
I would like to say that I know my wants for a smart phone are different from everyone else. If my mom said she wanted a smart phone I would tell her get an iPhone 3GS or an iPhone 4, I would not recommend an Android phone. I think it would be too much. My mom is someone who just wants things to work and that’s what the iPhone does best it just works and Apple makes sure of that. So I’m not saying Android devices are better than iOS devices, but I do feel there is room at the top for them both. You just have to get the device that is right for you and for me an Android device would be right for me.