# iPhone or Android?



## Banned (Dec 3, 2012)

I am due for a phone upgrade soon and am leaning towards an iPhone because of brand recognition but I'm hearing lots about android.  What is the difference and pros/cons of android over iPhone?  I have a Blackberry right now that needs to last until March but I honestly don't think it'll live til the end of the month.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Dec 3, 2012)

I gave up on my last Blackberry update after about 4 months.

I went to iPhone because:



from personally polling owners, iPhone has better reliability
it appears to get new apps first and has more of them
there are more Android viruses and other malware than iPhone malware
cell phone suppliers try to push you toward Android not because they're better but because they get a higher profit margin; Android manufacturers discount their phones to suppliers like Bell and Rogers so they offer discounts to customers for 2 and 3 year contracts; iPhone just has one price for everyone so suppliers don't get that discount and have to sell at the iPhone price which limits their profit margin. For that reason, cell phone reps will tell you all kinds of lies and half-truths about advantages of Androids that don't actually exist. For that reason alone, I distrust them.


----------



## Banned (Dec 3, 2012)

Sounds good to me.  I was already 99% to iPhone so this pretty much cements it.


----------



## H011yHawkJ311yBean (Dec 3, 2012)

♪ ♫ I love my iPhone... And iPad 2...  8)


----------



## Banned (Dec 3, 2012)

I bought an iPad this summer to use while I was off for surgery.  I thought I'd use it for eight weeks and then sell it but I love it and its gotten me familiar with Apple products so I'd be more comfortable going to an iPhone now too.


----------



## AmZ (Dec 4, 2012)

My iPhone has been a lifesaver for me whilst being in the hospital. There's endless things to go on it and I'm always finding more and more new stuff! Even though I'm paying monthly for it on a 36 month plan (!), it's definitely worth the money. I don't even get my laptop out of the cupboard any more because I can do 90% of things on my iPhone.


----------



## gooblax (Dec 4, 2012)

If you're already familiar with the iOS from the iPad then I'd agree about getting an iPhone. I've never used one myself (my first smartphone is a Note 2 and before that I've only had a play with my dad's HTC phone), but the people I know who have iPhones seem to really like them.

Would you get iPhone 5 or one of the earlier models?


----------



## Banned (Dec 4, 2012)

I'd get the iPhone 5.  May as well since its got the most up to date "stuff" (how's that for technical talk?!)


----------



## positivethoughts (Dec 4, 2012)

Hi turtle,

In our house we have both an Android and an iPhone. Both are good phones. The phones are used for everything from email to entertainment to geocaching. So, I would recommend either phone.

There is also an iPod touch in our home. My daughter is a huge fan of Apple products. She is getting her first mobile phone in a few weeks (no not Christmas gift). I will be giving her a new phone,so her choice is not based on finances. She is tilting towards an Android phone. It has really surprised us because Apple products our what she likes. The one reason she is leaning towards an Android is because when she updates her ipod touch she has to reload many of the apps on her phone while the Android does not do this. Also there are more apps for the Androids than for the iPhone.

As for myself, I am looking at getting the curves blackberry or a Nokia phone that has a full keyboard. A little phone, no touch screens, and nothing fancy. My current phone is a Nokia very simple and it is about five years or more old. I have been told it is time to upgrade. I really do not like fancy phones. I just want a phone, not a camera, mp3 player, entertainment unit.....Just a phone....


----------



## Banned (Dec 4, 2012)

I will definitely miss having a tactile keyboard.  That is one thing I really live about my blackberry but undortunately at this point in time the only thing I love.  I use it a lot to go online and it is so slow.  And the camera is terrible. I will probably not use 1/4 of the features of the iPhone because I can't keep up but I do want a good camera, fast Internet access, and the fact I could sync it with my iPad is a plus.


----------



## positivethoughts (Dec 4, 2012)

Like I said, I just want a phone. I like things that have very few gadgets to them. As for the rest of my family the more the better.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Dec 4, 2012)

Turtle said:


> I will definitely miss having a tactile keyboard.



I thought I would when I made the move to iPhone. In fact, I adapted rapidly and by now I can't remember typing on actual little keys any more.


----------



## Banned (Dec 5, 2012)

Is it hard typing on the itty bitty keyboard of the phone?  How many mistakes do you make in one message?  :lol:


----------



## H011yHawkJ311yBean (Dec 5, 2012)

I know what you mean about the keyboard....  On my iPhone, if I am typing, I prefer that the screen is horizontal rather than vertical.  That makes the buttons a little stretched out and further apart from each other and less likely to make mistakes.   On the other hand, the auto correct is pretty good, although there are certainly some doozies I've seen for WAY too much correction!  lol


----------



## Retired (Dec 5, 2012)

> Is it hard typing on the itty bitty keyboard of the phone?



If you don't have itty bitty finger tips, a stylus provides good control and accuracy.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Dec 5, 2012)

Steve said:


> If you don't have itty bitty finger tips, a stylus provides good control and accuracy.



You can lose an eye with one of those things...


----------



## Banned (Dec 5, 2012)

I had a stylus for my ipad until the cat ate the end of it, rendering it useless.


----------



## Retired (Dec 5, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the cat becoming useless.......

is this what a useless cat might look like?


----------



## Banned (Jan 19, 2013)

Blackberry is trying really hard to make a comeback with the Blackberry 10 they are releasing next month.  It has some interesting features and once I have more technical specifications, it may be enough to persuade me to stick with RIM.


----------



## W00BY (Jan 19, 2013)

well am gonna poo poo the iphone

It's the worst phone I have ever had

My daughter has had three blackberries all of which have never had signal or connective issues it far out performs my iphone and we bought her a playbook to go with it

The black berry playbook has dropped in price drastically for a 64gb version you can pick it up for a fraction of the price of a ipad and it has better technical spec

The problem with blackberry is it is the perfect network it cannot be hacked it is impenetrable to both malware and third party monitoring of any kind that is why the goverments use them

At the same time no one in the industry likes them because they are so good ... no one can make money from them or manipulate them

That is the saddest part for me they have been hammered for being SO good

My son has the new HTC x one + it has a quad core processor is 4g enabled Ive never seen a piece of kit like it and you can install absolutely anything you want even operating system if you wish and it is a fraction of the price and far out performs the iphone 5

Iphone's are dictatory their product is not very good given the high end market it targets they are riddled with bugs and security issues and for the money your investing you could get yourself something like my sons HTC that runs android therefore far less cost for apps etc and you ultimately control your own phone.

You won't be told what you can and can't do and it will work seamlessly

Me personally given the choice I would buy a blackberry and a playbook for a fraction of what an iphone will cost

In fact I am buying an playbook even though I don not own my own blackberry because I have been that impressed with it and they are that cheap which may lead to a blackberry phone purchase because the interaction you can do between the phone and playbook is brilliant.

I would go on the technical forums for the iphone and you will get an idea of the many many issues that exist

My own particular issues with mines has never been resolved to my satisfaction and many people have the same issues as me without any fix, which is intermittent ability to receive and send picture messages which in this day and age is shocking every other phone I have owned has never had a problem with this.

Anytime someone does manage to help with it any update I do to my phone brings the problem back.

I would give it quite a bit of thought and have a good look round

I personally think within 6 months the iphone will be old school due to the quality of next gen smart phones that are out there

The HTC my son has beats the pants off of anything

I will never buy an iphone again

Ever!

Happy phone hunting


----------



## Meg (Jan 19, 2013)

I also have an Android HTC phone, and I love it.  I've had no problems.  And it's got prettier wallpaper than an iPhone.  That's VERY important.


----------



## Banned (Jan 19, 2013)

I can't believe how much work this decision is!  It's a freakin phone.  Yeesh!


----------



## rdw (Jan 19, 2013)

I bought an Iphone 4 before Christmas switching from a blackberry torch. So far so good -simple to use, charges quickly, and I've had no problem switching over to touch screen typing. Actually I have found the touch screen typing  typing easier than the keys.  The camera takes pretty good pictures too! Never mind you can buy or design really sweet cases.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Jan 19, 2013)

I switched from Blackberry Curve to iPhone last spring and I've been glad every day that I made that decision. That was my 2nd or 3rd Blackberry and the worst. It frequently froze so I'd have to remove the battery for 10-15 seconds and reboot. Every second time there was an OS update it crashed my phone. I simply got fed up.

Not to mention that that "secure" network seemed to crash with alarming regularity the last 6 months I was with Blackberry, and their technology is about 5 years behind every other manufacturer on the planet.

There's a reason their stock tanked in 2011-2012.


----------



## rdw (Jan 19, 2013)

I had the same freezing problems with the torch - by the end it was freezing every two days. AAARGH!


----------



## Banned (Jan 19, 2013)

I haven't had any hardware problems with my torch and my motivator for looking at iPhone was that I was pretty sure blackberry would be non-existent, but, if they can make a comeback, I might stick with them.  Even the voice and data plans are much cheaper than those for iPhone.  

Quite frankly I don't know what to do so it'll likely be a totally impulsive decision one day.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Jan 22, 2013)

Early reviews of the Blackberry 10 are looking positive: RIM ready for battle in smartphone war, analyst says - World - CBC News


----------



## Banned (Jan 22, 2013)

I know...that's what has me pining to see the actual product .  A really important factor too will be the quality of the camera - the current one is not good at all and it's my only camera so I want a good quality one.  The iPhone one is really good and iPhone is also rumoured to be releasing the 5s this summer...


----------



## H011yHawkJ311yBean (Jan 22, 2013)

Hey there...  Just recently got wind of an issue with Android phones and several email servers...

You might have to go into your Android phone's folders and delete the extra sent folders because they keep sending duplicates to the server and fill up the email...  You'll get quota warnings or your email will stop working all together...

That isn't an issue with the iPhone as of yet...

---------- Post Merged at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:48 PM ----------

Oh, if deleting your extra sent folder in your phone doesn't work, you can get a separate email app/client, like K9...


----------



## Banned (Jan 26, 2013)

I think I'm sold on the new Blackberry.  The camera is an 8 megapixel which is an improvement over the 5 on the Torch.  The phone should be on the market next week and they are also releasing a keyboard version.  I'll see what that looks like and its ETA before I decide which model to go with.


----------



## Banned (Feb 5, 2013)

I ordered the new Blackberry today. I went in to the stor with every intention of walking out with one but most stores were only shipped three units for day one, which I find really weird.  Regardless, its paid for and I pick it up tomorrow.  I might have to call in sick so I can stay home and play wit h my new toy :teehee:.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Feb 5, 2013)

Turtle said:


> I might have to call in sick so I can stay home and play with my new toy.



I believe that's accepted as a valid reason for sick leave in all areas of the world except Las Vegas and Newfoundland.


----------



## Banned (Feb 5, 2013)

That might be true for Newfoundland but I think you're wrong about Vegas.  I'm quite the expert on Sin City, ya know.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Feb 5, 2013)

My reasoning was as follows:

1. My understanding is that in Las Vegas even being deathly ill is not an acceptable reason for not going out to gamble.

2. In Newfoundland, chances are you're unemployed most of the time anyway, so calling in sick for any reason isn't an issue.


----------



## Banned (Feb 6, 2013)

Ok now I'm following your logic.  It works.


----------



## Meg (Feb 6, 2013)

My husband got his new android phone yesterday.  I was trying to have a nap after work and he came in with his phone and mine and asked me to ring his phone to make sure it worked.  I opened my eyes and did so.  He then decided that maybe the one he'd chosen wasn't the best and proceeded to play through the lot of them.  My advice to you: playing with a new phone, whether done on work time or not, is a solitary activity!!


----------



## Banned (Feb 6, 2013)

Picking up my new blackberry on the way to work was a bad idea because now I just want to stay home and play with it. Very impressed so far.


----------



## Banned (Mar 22, 2014)

One year later I switched to iPhone.  I think blackberry is done and my phone gets zero apps and does nothing I want it to.  It should be delivered early next week.  I bought it unlocked directly from apple.

I made my mom buy it first a little while ago to see if I'd like it...it passed muster :lol:.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Mar 22, 2014)

Is that one of the iPhone 5 models, Turtle?


----------



## Banned (Mar 22, 2014)

Yes the 5S.


----------



## Banned (Mar 24, 2014)

My iPhone came today.  There will be NO productivity at work tonight haha.


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Mar 24, 2014)

Welcome back from the Dark Side. Once you go Apple, you'll always be happle.


----------



## Banned (Mar 24, 2014)

So I use gmail.  It doesn't seem to download automatically,  anyone know how to make this happen?  If I have to check for mail every five minutes I will go loopy.  There has to be a way...

---------- Post Merged at 09:39 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:34 PM ----------

Ooh ooh I think I Fixed it :facepalm:


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Mar 25, 2014)

Settings >> General >> Background App Refresh

Choose the apps you want to refresh in the background. Turn off the rest to conserve battery life. 

When you install new apps, check this setting again. Many set background refresh to on by default. Do you really need instant updates for that game? Probably not.


----------



## gooblax (Mar 25, 2014)

Relatively unrelated question, but do you guys get good data connection speeds?

I've kept my phone on 3G because I rarely try to do much on my phone other than instant messaging. But whenever I try to load a webpage it can take from about 30 seconds to a few minutes.
In the couple of cases where I've got marginally lost and tried to load a map, I've usually un-lost myself before the map area has loaded (let alone zoomed in to where I needed to look).


----------



## David Baxter PhD (Mar 25, 2014)

That's not normal behavior for mine in Ottawa... check your settings. Doesn't the 5s offer LTE?


----------



## Banned (Mar 25, 2014)

Even on wifi mine is super fast.  What version do you have, gooblax?


----------



## gooblax (Mar 26, 2014)

Sorry, should have clarified that I've got Android 4.1.2 on a Galaxy Note 2. (There is an upgrade to 4.3 available but from what I've read the potential problems outweigh the benefits.)

Things load fine on wifi at home because I've got a good connection. At free wifi points it does get slower. The phone's capable of LTE (4G) but my service provider doesn't offer it... So I think it's just a really slow connection on 3G that's causing my problem.


----------

