Android convert, and I'm not sorry!

SterlingRex · Feb 23, 2012

Hiya Folks,

I'm a 43 year old father of two. I work in the QC dept of a small machine shop, and I hack gadgets as a hobby, following tutorials. I don't develop.
I've been with Verizon for many years. I don't have the money to rush out and buy the latest & greatest new gadget, so I usually wait until I can't stand it anymore before I pull the trigger on some shiney piece of newness.
I started hacking with the Motorola V3m, replacing the constricted Verizon OS with Vivo, and implementing changes via hex code alterations.
Next was the K1m.
Next was my Canon TX-1 point & shoot, giving it dslr capabilities, limited of course by the cameras hardware.
-Then came Android and the Droid. That was my first smart phone, and replaced my Krazr.
Of course it wasn't long before I was installing custom ROMs and overclocking her.
I keep really good care of my phones and such, so even though the Droid was still serving me well, I needed another newness fix last year, so I bought the Xoom. I thought the two, rooted, would play nice together and act as a system more than what the two would bring as individual components.
But Android has started to disappoint me because development seems to have slowed to a crawl.

All the while, I have always been enamoured with the build quality and design aethetics of Apple devices. The proprietary, and thus seemingly insulated nature of the systems has always kept me from investigating them. And price, of course.

I needed an updated device, and I went on the hunt for the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx. I only found one store that had a display model, but none in stock. Mind you, folks, I was looking to buy this phone. The research was done, the decision was made.
But when I pulled out my well built original Droid to compare the build quality, I was sorely disappointed. In fact, I was downright disgusted! I had made the decision to remain Motorola loyal, and Android loyal, and spend money I really should not be spending, and the "dream phone" turned out to be a plastic piece of crap!

So, disappointed, looking for a fix, and perhaps even some retribution, I picked up that beautiful, heavy, dense, well built, solid iPhone I had been avoiding for years; that phone I had argued against due to the benefits of Android.
Gadgety-geek orgasmic is what I have to say. My wife and I each came home with one. She laughed as she drove while I drooled, as not only am I inflicted with a geekdom she doesn't understand, but she's been able to show me up on my Xoom with her iPad many a time.

I have a black 64 gig 4S, and I'm here to learn all I can to make it play nice with my Android devices without poking too much fun at them.
I had it 24 hours before I jailbroke it. So here I am, and that's my story.

EWyatt · Feb 23, 2012

A great story!! Thanks. Hope to see you around here often. I'm curious though what turned you off on the RAZR. I was thinking about going there after my current iPhone contract runs out (mostly due to NEVER having to put up with the despicable iTunes again). With the large RAZR screen and the popular Android OS, what could have turned you off?

SterlingRex · Feb 23, 2012

EWyatt said:
A great story!! Thanks. Hope to see you around here often. I'm curious though what turned you off on the RAZR. I was thinking about going there after my current iPhone contract runs out (mostly due to NEVER having to put up with the despicable iTunes again). With the large RAZR screen and the popular Android OS, what could have turned you off?

It was the build quality (...or lack of it).
I hate waiting for something, but I was prepared to have to do so for the Maxx. But when I held it and looked at its construction closely, I saw what a tremendoud backward leap it was from the original Droid, which has an aluminum or magnesium bezel & chassis. Granted, I hadn't been looking at Motos phones since the Droid, so their reduction in build quality could have been incrementally un-noticeable from model to model, but it's just miles away from even the earliest Apple products.
I bought the iPhone knowing I would have to jailbreak it for full functionality, btw. I really am not one to make impulse buys, especially at such a chunk of change as two iphones. But it took ahold of me. I had to have it!

Horsehaulin · Feb 23, 2012

EWyatt said:
A great story!! Thanks. Hope to see you around here often. I'm curious though what turned you off on the RAZR. I was thinking about going there after my current iPhone contract runs out (mostly due to NEVER having to put up with the despicable iTunes again). With the large RAZR screen and the popular Android OS, what could have turned you off?

Android OS is fragmented as it gets. My 4S out performs the best Androids with half the memory.

Android is open, allowing for a virus. When was the last time you heard of a iOS virus? Apple is more secure and no need for antivirus. Android needs antivirus before you use the Internet.

Android phones are built cheaply because the mfg's know the phones will be outdated several months after release, and good luck getting the newest and greatest OS! iPhone's are built look stylish and longevity, and Apple back hauled iOS 5 for the 3G to the 4s and both iPads!

In summary, after being there, done that. The iPhone, even with the quirks of iTunes is a better phone hands down.

PS. eBay the value of a one year old iPhone 4 and a one year old Android phone. There is a huge difference in resale value, Apple wins.

Sent from my iPhone 4S us

Quicksilver7714 · Feb 23, 2012

SterlingRex said:
Hiya Folks,

I'm a 43 year old father of two. I work in the QC dept of a small machine shop, and I hack gadgets as a hobby, following tutorials. I don't develop.
I've been with Verizon for many years. I don't have the money to rush out and buy the latest & greatest new gadget, so I usually wait until I can't stand it anymore before I pull the trigger on some shiney piece of newness.
I started hacking with the Motorola V3m, replacing the constricted Verizon OS with Vivo, and implementing changes via hex code alterations.
Next was the K1m.
Next was my Canon TX-1 point & shoot, giving it dslr capabilities, limited of course by the cameras hardware.
-Then came Android and the Droid. That was my first smart phone, and replaced my Krazr.
Of course it wasn't long before I was installing custom ROMs and overclocking her.
I keep really good care of my phones and such, so even though the Droid was still serving me well, I needed another newness fix last year, so I bought the Xoom. I thought the two, rooted, would play nice together and act as a system more than what the two would bring as individual components.
But Android has started to disappoint me because development seems to have slowed to a crawl.

All the while, I have always been enamoured with the build quality and design aethetics of Apple devices. The proprietary, and thus seemingly insulated nature of the systems has always kept me from investigating them. And price, of course.

I needed an updated device, and I went on the hunt for the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx. I only found one store that had a display model, but none in stock. Mind you, folks, I was looking to buy this phone. The research was done, the decision was made.
But when I pulled out my well built original Droid to compare the build quality, I was sorely disappointed. In fact, I was downright disgusted! I had made the decision to remain Motorola loyal, and Android loyal, and spend money I really should not be spending, and the "dream phone" turned out to be a plastic piece of crap!

So, disappointed, looking for a fix, and perhaps even some retribution, I picked up that beautiful, heavy, dense, well built, solid iPhone I had been avoiding for years; that phone I had argued against due to the benefits of Android.
Gadgety-geek orgasmic is what I have to say. My wife and I each came home with one. She laughed as she drove while I drooled, as not only am I inflicted with a geekdom she doesn't understand, but she's been able to show me up on my Xoom with her iPad many a time.

I have a black 64 gig 4S, and I'm here to learn all I can to make it play nice with my Android devices without poking too much fun at them.
I had it 24 hours before I jailbroke it. So here I am, and that's my story.

Welcome to iPF. I'm glad you joined us. The iPhone is a great device with a solid OS.

horsehaulin said:
Android OS is fragmented as it gets. My 4S out performs the best Androids with half the memory.

Android is open, allowing for a virus. When was the last time you heard of a iOS virus? Apple is more secure and no need for antivirus. Android needs antivirus before you use the Internet.

Android phones are built cheaply because the mfg's know the phones will be outdated several months after release, and good luck getting the newest and greatest OS! iPhone's are built look stylish and longevity, and Apple back hauled iOS 5 for the 3G to the 4s and both iPads!

In summary, after being there, done that. The iPhone, even with the quirks of iTunes is a better phone hands down.

PS. eBay the value of a one year old iPhone 4 and a one year old Android phone. There is a huge difference in resale value, Apple wins.

Sent from my iPhone 4S us

Android devices do not need antivirus to surf the web. This is a myth. I have owned plenty of android devices and am constantly surfing the web. To this date I have never had a virus and I have never run an antivirus app on any of my phones.

As an FYI the Nexus branch of android phones always has the most recent OS updates. They will always receive updates before any other manufacturers as they run a pure version of android. Other manufacturers put a skin over the stock android experience and getting that software to work with a new version of android can sometimes be tricky especially when dealing with the bloatware apps that Verizon places on all android devices with the exception of the Nexus and. OG Droid.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Horsehaulin · Feb 23, 2012

SterlingRex said:
It was the build quality (...or lack of it).
I hate waiting for something, but I was prepared to have to do so for the Maxx. But when I held it and looked at its construction closely, I saw what a tremendoud backward leap it was from the original Droid, which has an aluminum or magnesium bezel & chassis. Granted, I hadn't been looking at Motos phones since the Droid, so their reduction in build quality could have been incrementally un-noticeable from model to model, but it's just miles away from even the earliest Apple products.
I bought the iPhone knowing I would have to jailbreak it for full functionality, btw. I really am not one to make impulse buys, especially at such a chunk of change as two iphones. But it took ahold of me. I had to have it!

Another thing to add! You are right, most Androids are built to last through warranty, then fail, resulting in an outside carrier insurance replacement with a high deductible. Most of them look and feel cheap.

Sent from my iPhone 4S us