Android

3 Things You’ll Miss if You Switch From Your Droid to a Verizon iPhone

Posted by on Jan 11, 2011 | 13 Comments

After years of speculation, Verizon announced today that they will be carrying the iPhone 4 starting on February 20. For the usual $200 and a 2-year contract, Verizon users can finally get their hands on Apple’s coveted device. But what if you already have an Android phone? Is the move over to iOS worth it? This blogger doesn’t really think so.
Looking at what I do with my Android phone and what’s available on an iPhone 4 right now, there are a few things that I think will be sorely missed if I switched to an iPhone 4 next month and here’s what they are.
1. Free 3G Tethering
Tethering is great in a pinch. Since I live in the city and don’t travel a lot, I don’t need it that often, but there are times when it really comes in handy. Untimely Internet outage when you need to finish a research paper? Tether! Stuck on a train that’s been delayed for several hours and need help killing time? Tether! Verizon is making a big deal out of their iPhone’s ability to act as a 3G hotspot, but there is no doubt that this will be an add-on service which adds money to your monthly bill. For those of us who might only tether once or twice a month, this isn’t a good solution. Android has a variety of WiFi and wired tethering apps available for free or cheap in the Market, and it would be hard to live without them on an iPhone.
2. An open app Market
Now that I’m used to Android’s Market, it would be hard to go back to the walled garden of the App Store. It’s comforting to know that if there’s ever any part of the Android OS that I don’t really like, there are at least a couple of suitable replacements on the Market that might be more what I’m looking for. Apple’s restrictions make those sorts of app replacements impossible, and their limitations on what App Store apps can interface with on your phone seriously limits creativity for developers. It took Google Voice years to come to the App Store due to Apple’s rejection, and I highly doubt you will see an app as powerful as Tasker on the App Store anytime soon, or a replacement keyboard as good as Swype and Swiftkey (or any replacement keyboards at all). Android’s abilities are much greater in this area.
3. Very frequent software updates
On the iPhone, you get one software update per year–that’s been Apple’s pattern at least so far. Google, on the other hand, has been rolling out two to three major Android releases every year, with plenty of minor software tweaks in between. An easy example is the Maps app. Maps in iOS has not seen a major update since the iPhone’s initial release, while Maps for Android is updates seemingly monthly. Google has added vector graphics, turn-by-turn navigation and lots of other features to the Android version, but these have never made it over to the iPhone. Updates to Android come at a fever pace, and that’s a good thing for consumers, a good thing for developers, and definitely a good reason to stick with your Android phone.



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  • KG3UNFORGN

    dude i totally agree with you man, Driod is better to stay on Verizon had just began the new shock on the apple technology and when Verizons i phone gets to that lv, i think the droid will be already better, plus you can miss out on that selection of apps for that cost. come on now really?

  • http://www.livedigitally.com Jeremy Toeman

    thought you were going to say “widgets” – the single best thing about the Android platform.
    also – the “plus” to software updates is outweighed by the “con” of *needing software updates*!!!

  • Liam

    Do you understand that 3G hotspot is NOT free on Droid. If you get it by verizon it costs money, just like the iphone. and if you knew the iphone you would know that if you jailbreak, just like if you root on a Droid, you can get a FREE hotspot app. Both devices you can do that.
    Also, “Only one update per year?” wtf? im pretty sure they do one MAGOR update per year. There are at least 3 different minor ones and ALL the devices get them. Yes, google announces a software update once and a while but what devices get them? im pretty sure my Droid X will NEVER get gingerbread, and its only a little over a year old.
    Also, Yes the android market is open but with a cost. How many “sexy lady app” are there? also compatibility is just awful. i try to play a game or something and its either FC’s or looks completely distorted or just sits in the background and eats my battery.
    If you want to pick on apple pick on the things they have failed on. stuck with att. notifcations. ease of customization.

  • http://earlhensley.com Earl Hensley

    I find this list a little ridiculous. First you have no factual info that about tethering and price plans although you are probably correct in your assumption. I don’t understand how anyone can prefer android market over the app store. Yes being open has some benefits but finding anything in the market is a nightmare not to mention that most apps in the android market are trash. It seems as though reputable devs are just now creating apps for android market. And your last point makes no sense to me at all. I have both an iPhone and a Droid and find that the updates to the iPhone more than significant. In all honesty Android has had more updates because they are still ironing out the problems in their OS where as the iOS has very few to zero problems in the OS.

  • Jason

    Yawn.

  • JJD

    You don’t have to jailbreak the Droid to tether or create a hotspot. There is a free app on the Market for that! You can get around the VZW extra cost by using a 3rd party free app.

  • http://Www.acadiaforum.net Viral

    This sounds like it was written by someone who has never owned an iPhone. Let’s examine your complaints:
    1) free tethering- all cell companies charge a fee for this service, but of course you can violate the TOS and do it free if you choose. You can just as easily do the same on a jailbroken iPhone to get free tethering (pdanet) or mobile hotspot (mywi).
    2) open market- that has an many downsides as it does benefits. Compared to the apple app store, androids marketplace is an absolute mess! Because of apple’s approval process, practically every one of the QUARTER MILLION apps work, do exactly what they claim, are well categorized and won’t cause problems. And again, if you need more customization options than apple gives you, jailbreak (a dead simple 90 second, fully reversible process) and you get the best of both worlds!
    3) os updates- this is either a joke or you’re grossly misinformed! There’s one major iOS update a year and several minor revisions. And with very few exceptions, every single iOS device gets every update! Android has a lot of updates because they are still playing catch-up, because they have serious bugs left to fix and have tons of hardware configurations to support. And the HUGE majority of android devices not getthe huge majority of these updates!
    The walled garden you mentioned means if you buy an iPhone and see an app you want, you know it will work. Period. Everytime. An if you want more flexibility, that’s a jailbreak away!

  • http://lolinternet.co.uk John Knights

    Wow talk about standards of Journalism slipping. Does Pirillo know you have an account on here?
    So, erm yeah, ‘droid is a great platform…it really is so why the hollow promoting when it doesn’t need it.
    1. You start to talk about the iPhone 3G connection costing then compare it to WiFi on Android…who are you kidding? The mobile companies don’t care what phone you use, 3G data costs money, WiFi is usually free.
    2. Android Market is terribly flawed and it’s a dirty little secret that Google really need to address. Having an open free-for-all does nothing for quality and demands way too much of the average end user to keep up with it all. The opportunities for security flaws are horrific.
    3. iOS sees what I would call a fairly major update every 4 months or so on average. The Maps app HAS been updated from the original (have you even used it?) and although Android is receiving frequent major updates as a platform you’d be lucky if your 6 month old handset gets the new OS version ever, and if it does how long will you have to wait? Will it even work properly? So far it seems that iPhone owners get about 3 years from a new handset to the last major OS that will work on it. I’d imagine most refresh to the latest model after 24 months so it’s not a big deal for them.
    All these phones are great, compared to the crap we were using 5 or 10 years ago so let’s enjoy using what we have and spend less time looking over our shoulders?

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