суббота, 19 мая 2012 г.

Apple iPhone vs. Android: the Battle

Androids vs. iPhones. The discussion goes on and on. At the time the iPhone first hit the market, there was really no competition. Apple was playing in a class of its own. First Android phones were mediocre: slow UI response, lags here and there, and the overall "assemble-it-yourself" approach just didn't with consumers.



iphone icons


Today, the market has changed. With newest iPhone being a superb device and a luxurious platform, the latest Androids leave little to be desired. Today's Androids have responsive UI, offer most of the same apps in the Google Play store, and went away with the do-it-yourself, LEGO type approach. Today, choosing one system over another is more of a personal preference. Let's try to discover what's good about going the Apple route, and what advantages the Android way can bring.

Hardware and Model Selection

With Apple, you are always limited to just a few models. Or, rather, you can choose from only one current model in several versions that, honestly, differ very little. There are a few older models you can get from the used market, but that's about it. "You can have any color as long as it's black".

Android phones, on the other hand, come in many shapes, models and colors. Various manufacturers use completely different hardware. Different displays, processors, memory. Vastly different reliability and usability. Buying an Android phone will require you to do a market research, whereas you can't go wrong with any current iPhone. Are you a techno geek or a gadget guy? Look for an Android phone you like best. The rest will be served by Apple.

Display

The newest generation of iPhones has a superb Retina display. These super high pixel density displays will render your apps, icons and pictures so crisp it's hard to believe. Kudos to Apple: they built one of the greatest screens ever.

Android phones come with all sorts of displays. Some of the better ones can approach iPhones in pixel density, but software integration is still lacking. Many apps still have low-resolution icons and graphics designed to be shown on lower-resolution screens. When choosing an Android phone, you will have to look really carefully to buy a model with a good display. If you're not friends with numbers, icon dimensions, angles of view and other specs, just leave the Androids alone.

Pre-Installed Software and UI

An iPhone is an iPhone. They're all the same. One operating system, one user interface, the same set of pre-installed apps, same icons. You can customize it by moving icons around and choosing a few icons on your own, but there's only so much you're allowed to do.

Androids come in all sorts of flavor. Different firmware and dozens of OS versions, builds and codenames. Different sets of icons for exactly the same app. Many different shells and launchers. Extensively customizable: you can turn an Android phone into pretty much whatever you want (and it's not all about custom icons) - but you must know what you're doing. With such a broad variety, some models are simply better as in easier to use, more stable and working faster than others. If building your very own custom system is fun for you, by all means get the Android. If you like it working out of the box, get an iPhone and start using it right away.

Extensibility

iPhones don't have a slot to use an external memory card. You'll be stuck with the amount of memory you originally got. If you outgrow your iPhone, you'll have to get another iPhone, bringing more dough to Apple.

Most but not all Android devices come with a microSD extension slot, allowing you to add more memory when you need it. With flash memory getting cheaper every year, you will be better off in the long run if you buy an Android.

With iPhones, you can't even replace a battery. If your battery goes bad in some years (they all do; lithium batteries die in 3-4 years), you'll be mailing your iPhone to Apple for a "major repair" (more dough to Apple), or be on the market for a new iPhone (even more money to Apple).

While some Android phones use similarly fixed batteries, most phones are easy: just lift the back cover and throw a new battery in. A new battery will set you back a few dollars, allowing you to buy a replacement phone when you want it.

Conclusion

Android phones are cheaper to buy and more affordable to upgrade and maintain. They're more extensible and customizable. iPhones are perfect straight out of the box, and offer one of the best usage experience ever. Which one to pick? The choice is yours.

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