iPhone Review (From The Perspective Of An Android User Who Hates Apple)

I think I'm one of those guys that can admit when I was wrong about something.  My sense of pride isn't that big.  It definitely depends on the situation, though.  For anyone who's been reading long enough, I've had my fair share of disparaging remakes towards Apple's iPhone.  But to be fair, a lot of the remarks were directed more towards Apple as a business, and iPhone users in general.  Despite this, the techie in me had an itching desire to test out the iPhone and see what the fuss was about. So alas, here I am; an official member of Team iPhone.  On to the review.

It's worth noting that I purchased the 3GS and not the iPhone 4.  There has been entirely too many problems and too much bad press surrounding that device. As sexy and enticing as it is, I decided to hold off for now.  Besides, a 3GS running iOS 4 bares a lot of similarities.  The phone moves very smoothly, does multitasking and runs the same apps.  So while I'm missing the "Retina Display" and the front facing camera, neither is a huge deal for me right now.

Since I LOVED my Droid, I'll make this review very simple.  The aspects I liked the most about the Droid, I'll compare to the iPhone and see how they stack up against one another.

Apps - If your phone doesn't have the ability to download apps, you might as well give it to your grandmother.  This is the world we live in; a phone is only as good as it's apps.  Android Market has some really good apps, but since Apple had the store first it's only natural Android would have to play catch up.  I immediately browsed the store for iPhone versions (or closest equivalents) of apps I had on my Droid and noticed quite a few to run better on the iPhone.  A good example is ESPN ScoreCenter, which was designed to run on the iPhone then lazily ported over to Android.  I (halfway) understand Apple's insistence on keeping their hands in the cookie jar when it comes to the apps; it allows things to be uniform and up to a certain quality.  There's a lot of trash in the App Store but the things I care about all work great.  Notch goes to the iPhone.

Touchscreen - Both have capacitive screens and both have great displays.  iPhone's keyboard is leaps and bounds better though.  I noticed a few instances of hiccups in the software that would cause weird scrolling/input issues with my Droid, and I've yet to see that with the iPhone, so they get the notch here as well.

System Wide UI - Apple's interface is heaps cleaner.  Androids interface is more customizable, and in some ways, more powerful.  I think Apple's cleaner, less is more approach helps them more than Androids open, you-can-rig-this-however-you-like approach helps them.  Aesthetics go a long way and Android is only just now learning how to dress up their OS the way Apple has.  Point to iPhone.

Multimedia - Really?  iPhone.

Usability - This is where it gets tricky.  Both phones will essentially do the same thing.  There are apps I can download on my Droid that iPhone doesn't have and vice versa.  As of version 2.2, Android is a LEGITIMATE threat to Apple rather than the startup rookie it was in 2008.  Despite Apple's insistence on limiting their customers with silly app policies and crippling it's capabilities, it's still a great phone.  And like it our not, Android is the one trying to catch up, not Apple.  At the end of the day, that will always translate into which device has the edge.  Even being tied to a weak network and having a company tell it's customers to hold the phone different and STFU, iPhone STILL leads the pack.  In some ways, it's disappointing (and it says a lot about the questionable loyalty of some fans) but in other ways, it's admirable.  A phone can't possibly sell this well for this long unless it does enough things right.  And after my time with the phone I can see why people like it.  While I'm not willing to let apple off the hook for their crap (hence me not falling for the hype and buying that faulty iPhone 4), I can acknowledge a good phone when I see it.  Android has made strides but it's still in second place.  iPhone wins.  For now.