(Note: I actually started writing this over a week ago. I can probably rewrite some of it at this point, but I’m going to keep it written with the feel that I just got the phone a day or two ago.)
Before I became an iPhone user in early 2008, I was rocking the Treo for years. From the first day that I fixed a client’s problem via email while out to dinner, I was hooked on the idea of a Smartphone. This is obviously not a great thing for everyone, but in my particular line of work, it was indispensable. Not that the Treo was very smart.
The iPhone 1
The iPhone 1 was an amazing device, even in it’s terribly locked up state. This was the dark ages of no apps. If you wanted to do anything outside of the 10 standard applications on the phone, you had to jailbreak it, and install apps via Cydia. Being technical, this wasn’t a huge deal to me, but it was still pretty amazing when the App Store was released.
I had the iPhone 1 for about 18 months before the 3GS was released, which I got that week. I’m not a sucker to sit out in line on day 1 normally, so I went to a random AT&T store about two days after it was released and got it no problem. The iPhone 3GS has done well, but by the end of it’s life, it started showing it’s age and I was ready to move on again – especially after my two year contract was up.
The Trusty 3GS
In February, I posted ”Should I Go Android?”, which was basically saying that I was getting fed up with recent Apple changes to the iOS ecosystem and was looking for a change. The only reason I didn’t do it then is because the Atrix didn’t come out until later and the reviews were mixed at best.
I said that I would basically wait until a premiere phone was released or the iPhone 5 (well, 4S), and wait I did. I decided to hold out for the Galaxy S2 to be released in the states. Little did I know it was going to take 6 months… but I was determined.
About two weeks ago, my trusty 3GS started acting up. It wouldn’t pause correctly, and was doing some other weird things. Then it just stopped working all together. At this point, the S2 release date was live and the Apple date was announced, so I decided to wait another couple of weeks and slum it with wife’s old 3G that was sitting in a drawer.
AT&T released the Galaxy S2 two days before the iPhone 4S was announced. Initially, I was going to wait and see what was announced, but as the rumors about the 4S being a minor upgrade from the 4 became more apparent, it became clear that it wasn’t worth waiting for. That Sunday morning, I ran up to the mall and took the plunge (after asking if I had time to return it – 30 days, apparently).
The Samsung Galaxy S2
Hardware
The Galaxy S2 is beautiful. The size is bordering on being a little too big, but it’s not detremental to the device. It still fits fine in my pocket. The thinness of it is just amazing… I’m really impressed how much they can get into such a small package.
The AMOLED+ screen is really bright – insanely so. In fact, I almost think it’s a little too colorful. When I take a picture, all the images look SO saturated. It’s totally unnatural looking and throws me off. It’s only until I get the picture online and look at it from a regular computer that I realize that it’s the screen playing tricks on me. It took me a day or two to get over it.
Speaking of the camera, I’m not that impressed with it. I’m not sure if it’s the camera itself, or Samsung’s camera application. There’s a well known pink spot problem that I do see, and any images that use the flash are just flat out ugly. The white balance is all wrong, as well, and any image taken indoors is entirely too warm. Since the camera is something I use a lot, I’ll definitely be messing with it more until I figure it out.
Battery life is pretty great. The first day I got it, I was a bit concerned as it seemed to be dying quickly, but it must’ve been because I was constantly fiddling with it. If I charge it overnight (I bought a dock for my bed), and with regular use (several hours of podcasts, some phone and SMS), it’s only at about 40% by the time I go to bed. I think that’s more than acceptable – as I knew I was going to have to do a charge nightly once I went to an Android phone. It’s just the way it is.
User Experience
I listen to a lot of pundits on various podcasts that tell me about how bad Android is to use, and how anything coming out of Cupertino is the best thing since sliced bread. Honestly, except for fixing something on my dad’s phone once, I never touched Android in any depth before I had already given them my credit card. Without a clue how to use it, I left the store. Talk about a leap of faith.
The way it was getting talked up, I was expecting this big learning curve with switching to a new operating system. And it’s not true. Yes, Android works differently than iOS. The home screens and the application list are separate, and some things interact differently than you intiall expect. But when it comes down to it, it’s not any more difficult to use. It’s just like the differences beween Windows and Mac ..It works, and it’s intuitive – it’s just different.
It does have some advantages, though. Widgets are amazing to use, and it’s still something that iOS still doesn’t have. The notification improvements are awesome too, though I know iOS 5 has something similar now. I love the fact that you can turn on/off Bluetooth, GPS and Wifi right from the notification pulldown – this was something that I had on my jailbroken 3GS and I’m glad it exists here.
It does have some downsides, of course. Relying on the back button is kind of a pain, though it is nice that it’s ubiquitous to the device. You also have to get used to the idea of the Settings menu and thinking of it as sort of a “right click”. There is a lot of inconsistency in what shows up there, but you get used to it after awhile. It also means a lot less cluttered interfaces as compared to some iOS apps (GoodReader, I’m looking at you). It also took me awile to figure out the “hold down home to switch apps” thing – that wasn’t obvious at all.
GoodReader. Great app, but yikes!
Apps / Marketplace
Yes, Apple still has a leg up in this case. The fact of the matter is that the Android Marketplace is the Wild West. Pretty much anything goes, just like the regular internet. And just like the internet, you have to be careful what you download and what you agree to. I can see that being a big issue for the “normals”, but for a nerd like myself, I don’t mind it. I just watch what I’m doing, check reviews, make sure I know who is actually releasing the app, etc. It’s not difficult, but it is a lot to ask of the general populace. It’s in this case that I totally get why Apple does what it does… for the most part. I still don’t get things like not being able to release a Gmail app because people will “get confused” – that’s still anti-competitive bullshit.
Just like my initial research on Android, I’m only missing one application in my switch – Instagram. Now understand that any iOS games I play are on my iPad, so I’m a bit of a rare case in that I didn’t have a lot of iPhone games. As far as all the other apps I normally use, mainly Foursquare, Twitter, Google+, etc., I’m finding perfect parity.
Now, as a card carrying member of the Google Experience, I’m finding Android to totally shine over iOS. The GMail app is incredible. The Google Voice integration (it’s my main phone # for work) is fantastic and I could only wish that it could work like that in iOS. It’s something that Apple wouldn’t let fly… oh well.
I also find the ability to replace the default app for different functions incredible. Don’t like the default Android camera (actually Samsung replaced it, but either way I don’t), totally replace it. Default calendar crappy (hint: it is)? Then replace it. Again, I can see where Apple is coming from a customer service and controlling the experience aspect, but I’m not a child and I can take it. I know that I can change it back if I don’t like my new default – no big deal.
Did I mention I’m missing Instagram? No, Picplz is not as good. Can’t they get on that already? I’m dying here.
Where to from here?
I had 30 days to decide if I was keeping this phone. I basically asked just in case the iPhone 4S turned out to be something that I absolutely had to have. When it was announced, I was feeling a little better about my decision. While it seems like a nice phone, it’s not a huge step, and it’s allowing me to see how the other side lives for awhile.
Ice Cream sandwich is coming, and since my phone is new enough, I’ll actually get to see and enjoy it. For the moment, though, I’m looking to root, unlock, and put Cyanogenmod on this thing (edit: I’ve done them all already) and enjoy the idea of controlling my phone’s destiny for awhile.
We’ll see where things lie in the iOS/Android war in another two years when my contract is up. Until then, I’m digging my decision.