Two Android users contemplating switching to the iPhone

[cgwaters]

(I'm a new member and a first time poster. My apologies if this should have been posted to a different forum; 'iPhone Apps', perhaps?)

My wife and I have been Android users (on Verizon) for about two years. Our phones (an HTC Droid Eris and an HTC Droid Incredible) are dated; they're up for Verizon's soon-to-be-eliminated 'new every two' program, giving us a discount on new devices. We're relatively happy with Android but (IMO) there aren't any Android phones worth moving to at this time. We really like Android's notification features; but it appears that with iOS 5 the iPhone has bridged the gap. Conversely, Android devices' poor battery life, the lack of third-party accessories, and general instability have been particular sore spots for us; even if stability is improved I don't see either of the first two problems improving anytime soon. So we're contemplating moving to the iPhone--probably the 4S.

We use quite a few Android apps but have been able to determine that most of them are available for the iPhone, also--and then some. There are a few apps, however, that I would really miss if they weren't available--or won't soon be available--on the iPhone. Can anyone comment on the following apps:

• PhoneWeaver. This is one of a number of different apps for Android that provide 'smart profiles' that can be set up to activate automatically based on time, calendar items, power remaining, geographic location, etc. My wife and I rely on this app to (among other things) automatically mute notifications (but not ring tones) during the overnight hours, automatically switch to vibrate notifications and ring tones during office meetings defined on our calendars, automatically turn off Wifi when at defined geographic locations where Wifi coverage is known to be non-existent, etc. The app then reverts to audible notifications and ring tones when the defined profiles 'expire'; i.e., after the overnight hours end, after the office meetings end, when returning to our house, etc. Once you use an app like this, you wonder how you will ever get along without it. Is there a comparable app for the iPhone? (http://www.sbsh.net/profile-manager-android-phoneweaver)
• Google Voice. Another app that, once you start using it, you'll never want to go back. Google Voice can be integrated into Android phones in a completely seamless way. And the Google Voice extension for Chrome is incredible. Last I was able to confirm, Google Voice is supposedly compatible with the iPhone but cannot be fully integrated. Can anyone confirm or deny? If it's not fully integrated, what features would we lose?
• Google Latitude and Maps/Navigation. I believe there are iPhone versions of these apps. Can anyone knowledgeable of how these apps work on Android comment on how well they work on the iPhone?
• How well does the iPhone mail client work with Gmail and with Exchange Server-based mailboxes?
• How about Google Calendar, Google+, Google Picasa Albums, and Google Talk?

​Thank you very much for any comments!

 

[iJeff]

I think you will enjoy the Iphone and its features over the Android and its features. There are so many things you can do with the Iphone weather its stock or JB. I guess the only real way is to try it out during the 15 day grace period that Verizon gives you and make a decision from there. You wont be disappointed.

 

[VTR]

G'day and welcome to the forum!!!!

OT: do it.....

 

[izzyfanto]

I have basketball practice to go to for a couple hours, so I don't have time to answer right now. but I am a former android convert and I have about a half years worth of experience on the iPhone. I can give you a very good honest assessment in the way it relates to your questions. I will be back on later tonight

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[cgwaters]

I have basketball practice to go to for a couple hours, so I don't have time to answer right now. but I am a former android convert and I have about a half years worth of experience on the iPhone. I can give you a very good honest assessment in the way it relates to your questions. I will be back on later tonight

Sent from my iPhone using iPF.net

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing your assessment.

 

[Candace]

I'm an Android covert as well. Been using the iPhone 4 w/ Verizon since March.
I do miss Google Maps. I've downloaded the official Garmin app for $37 & some change. Definitely not the same thing but it gets the job done. I use it daily. (I'm an area sales manager & travel quite a bit).

Regarding Gmail and email servers- I use Gmail seamlessly w/ the native email app. Works great.

I also get my work email through Exchange Server & Outlook integrated into the native email app. No issues at all.

I love my iPhone and I have 175 incredibly useful apps.

Good Luck! Hope this helps & let me know if you have additional questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[izzyfanto]

I'm an Android covert as well. Been using the iPhone 4 w/ Verizon since March.
I do miss Google Maps. I've downloaded the official Garmin app for $37 & some change. Definitely not the same thing but it gets the job done. I use it daily. (I'm an area sales manager & travel quite a bit).

Regarding Gmail and email servers- I use Gmail seamlessly w/ the native email app. Works great.

I also get my work email through Exchange Server & Outlook integrated into the native email app. No issues at all.

I love my iPhone and I have 175 incredibly useful apps.

Good Luck! Hope this helps & let me know if you have additional questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(I'm a new member and a first time poster. My apologies if this should have been posted to a different forum; 'iPhone Apps', perhaps?)

My wife and I have been Android users (on Verizon) for about two years. Our phones (an HTC Droid Eris and an HTC Droid Incredible) are dated; they're up for Verizon's soon-to-be-eliminated 'new every two' program, giving us a discount on new devices. We're relatively happy with Android but (IMO) there aren't any Android phones worth moving to at this time. We really like Android's notification features; but it appears that with iOS 5 the iPhone has bridged the gap. Conversely, Android devices' poor battery life, the lack of third-party accessories, and general instability have been particular sore spots for us; even if stability is improved I don't see either of the first two problems improving anytime soon. So we're contemplating moving to the iPhone--probably the 4S.

We use quite a few Android apps but have been able to determine that most of them are available for the iPhone, also--and then some. There are a few apps, however, that I would really miss if they weren't available--or won't soon be available--on the iPhone. Can anyone comment on the following apps:

• PhoneWeaver. This is one of a number of different apps for Android that provide 'smart profiles' that can be set up to activate automatically based on time, calendar items, power remaining, geographic location, etc. My wife and I rely on this app to (among other things) automatically mute notifications (but not ring tones) during the overnight hours, automatically switch to vibrate notifications and ring tones during office meetings defined on our calendars, automatically turn off Wifi when at defined geographic locations where Wifi coverage is known to be non-existent, etc. The app then reverts to audible notifications and ring tones when the defined profiles 'expire'; i.e., after the overnight hours end, after the office meetings end, when returning to our house, etc. Once you use an app like this, you wonder how you will ever get along without it. Is there a comparable app for the iPhone? (Profile Manager for Android, Automatic Profiles for Android | PhoneWeaver)
• Google Voice. Another app that, once you start using it, you'll never want to go back. Google Voice can be integrated into Android phones in a completely seamless way. And the Google Voice extension for Chrome is incredible. Last I was able to confirm, Google Voice is supposedly compatible with the iPhone but cannot be fully integrated. Can anyone confirm or deny? If it's not fully integrated, what features would we lose?
• Google Latitude and Maps/Navigation. I believe there are iPhone versions of these apps. Can anyone knowledgeable of how these apps work on Android comment on how well they work on the iPhone?
• How well does the iPhone mail client work with Gmail and with Exchange Server-based mailboxes?
• How about Google Calendar, Google+, Google Picasa Albums, and Google Talk?

​Thank you very much for any comments!

first off, i love my iPhone and i don't see myself going back. it is everything i have wanted it to be, and any complaints i have had, have been answered in this new iOS 5 update. minus one complaint actually, which is-->you cannot set your own apps to be defaults over Apple's stock apps, like the browser, notes, mail ect. that is my only standing complaint....but if you jailbreak your iPhone, you can set the browser as another default through a third party app, or if you know where the coding is at, you can edit it yourself. obviously that is not that user friendly. ENOUGH said, i really really really love my iPhone and am 100% glad i went with it over another Android.

another thing that i want to mention, is that Apple's products are engineered, designed, coded, programmed, ect all for themselves. there is ZERO fragmentation, something i can see you are experiencing, and of which i had issues with on my former Android. i constantly had errors, force closes, reboots, lost files ect. also, my Android phone had terrible battery life as well, and the iPhone has been great in that category for me.

another thing i want to mention is that i have not seen a single Android handset that is built with the solidity, quality of materials, and durability that the iPhone has. it is a really fine piece of hardware IMO and i see myself keeping the iPhone 4 well past my upgrade mark i like it that much.

and the Apple AppStore is waaay bigger than the Android Market!

but...my reaction from reading your post is that you should stick with an Android phone. before everyone jumps to conclusions, please read why:
1. i personally have not seen or heard of an app OR the compability for the iPhone to be compared to PhoneWeaver. and it sounds like that is very important to you.
2. NAVIGATION!! the iPhone is quite honestly....terrible compared to Android. and there is no Google Naviation like what your thinking about on Android...the iPhone just has Google Maps with a stupid little blue dot moving along. that is the extent of navigation for the iPhone, unless you want to pay $38 like Candance. if navigation is another big part of your smartphone use, i'd almost on that reason alone recommend you stick with Android. seriously.
3. the iPhone apps are generally more expensive, and the apps that sometimes are free on Android, are $.99 on the iPhone...but you get a way bigger selection. definitely a tradeoff.
4. iPhone 4 doesn't have integrated voice. BUT the iPhone 4S will have something called Siri. pretty the same thing but i have my doubts how good it will compare to Android's perfect implementation of Google Voice and if it will be able to interact with anything other than Apple stock apps...so who knows.
5. in regards to Candice's comment about Gmail, it does NOT support push email....unless you sync your Gmail through an Exchange account on the iPhone WHICH the iPhone only allows 1 exchange account. so, if your like me and only use your phone for personal use, the Gmail will work fine through Exchange, but if you need the one Exchange slot for your business, you will have to have your Gmail on the non Exchange account and manually fetch your mail. does any of number 5 makes sense?
6. Google Calender syncs fine
7. there is no official Google Talk app, but there are third party apps, which i use and work fine.

i never used PhoneWeaver, live in a small town so i don't use Navigation that much, never liked voice commands and so the iPhone is perfect for me. but you on the other hand sound like you use them alot...IMO Android would be the better way to go. hope this helps, and PLEASE comment back with any more specific questions, i enjoy answering!

 

[sirkackletree]

I have a question and im sorry if it has already been answered, but i have a droid incredible and im thinking of switching to the iphone 4s. Will i be able to move my music from my incredible to the iphone. Thanks.

 

[bab2010]

I have a question and im sorry if it has already been answered, but i have a droid incredible and im thinking of switching to the iphone 4s. Will i be able to move my music from my incredible to the iphone. Thanks.

Yes you will be able to do so, just copy your musics to your computer, install iTunes on your computer and upload your musics to iTunes then sync iTunes to your new iPhone. It just works

 

[sirkackletree]

Thank you.

 

[cgwaters]

...my reaction from reading your post is that you should stick with an Android phone. before everyone jumps to conclusions, please read why:

Thanks for the candid comments!

1. i personally have not seen or heard of an app OR the compability for the iPhone to be compared to PhoneWeaver. and it sounds like that is very important to you.

It wasn't important to me...until I became dependent upon it! Within the past year, I can count on two hands the number of times I've had to manually mute or unmute ring tones and notifications. Prior to that, with this phone and with prior phones, my failure to mute resulted in embarrassing disrupting situations; and my failure to unmute caused me to miss important calls. I'm sure you can relate. I'm not sure I want to go back to that. But perhaps there's hope; SBSH, the authors of PhoneWeaver, are supposedly working on--or at least researching the possibility of--a version for the iPhone. They indicated that iOS 5 could make a version possible.

2. NAVIGATION!! the iPhone is quite honestly....terrible compared to Android. and there is no Google Naviation like what your thinking about on Android...the iPhone just has Google Maps with a stupid little blue dot moving along. that is the extent of navigation for the iPhone, unless you want to pay $38 like Candance. if navigation is another big part of your smartphone use, i'd almost on that reason alone recommend you stick with Android. seriously.

Does Google Maps for iPhone at least track your location, provide text and/or turn-by-turn (granted, not audible) directions, and provide zoom in and out capabilities? (FWIW, a poster in an Android-to-iPhone thread on this forum recommended an app called MotionX Drive as a very capable replacement for Google Maps.)

4. iPhone 4 doesn't have integrated voice. BUT the iPhone 4S will have something called Siri. pretty the same thing but i have my doubts how good it will compare to Android's perfect implementation of Google Voice and if it will be able to interact with anything other than Apple stock apps...so who knows.

From what I've been able to determine, Google Voice on the iPhone can be set up so that incoming calls are handled relatively seamlessly...but outgoing calls require the launching of a dedicated app--as opposed to being able to use the stock iPhone dialer. I'm not crazy about that, but it's not necessarily a show-stopper.

5. in regards to Candice's comment about Gmail, it does NOT support push email....unless you sync your Gmail through an Exchange account on the iPhone WHICH the iPhone only allows 1 exchange account. so, if your like me and only use your phone for personal use, the Gmail will work fine through Exchange, but if you need the one Exchange slot for your business, you will have to have your Gmail on the non Exchange account and manually fetch your mail. does any of number 5 makes sense?

Makes perfect sense; thanks. I do need to be able to access both my Gmail mailbox *and* a true Exchange Server mailbox. What's preventing the iPhone from allowing more than one Exchange Sync account? I would think this would be a relatively common complaint from many business people moving from Android.

7. there is no official Google Talk app, but there are third party apps, which i use and work fine.

Just to clarify: Do any of these apps work with Google Talk? Or are you referring to third-party apps that only work with other IM services?

i never used PhoneWeaver, live in a small town so i don't use Navigation that much, never liked voice commands and so the iPhone is perfect for me. but you on the other hand sound like you use them alot...IMO Android would be the better way to go. hope this helps, and PLEASE comment back with any more specific questions, i enjoy answering!

Thanks, again! My wife doesn't (yet) use Google Voice...and isn't as dependent upon PhoneWeaver's features as I am (she doesn't keep her calendar up-to-date enough, among other things). Much more importantly than Android's advanced features and the customization capabilities, she needs a solid smartphone having good build quality, decent battery life, and a good selection of quality accessories. From what I've seen, the iPhone wins hands-down over Android phones in these areas. (She's also a serious iTunes user; I gotta believe an iPhone will work well for her in that area.) All things considered, I think she would miss the features of Android much less than I will. With these things in mind, I think I'll opt to replace her aging Droid Eris with the iPhone...and then see how it goes. In the interim, my Droid Incredible is capable-enough for me, for now. I still welcome your (and others') comments to my follow-up questions, above.

 

[Davidm]

I too am dumping my Droid X for the new Iphone. I had the 4 when it first came out but AT&T service at my home sucked. Worked ok upstairs but go to the family room downstairs and no signal even though the tower was about 1 mile as the crow flies. So went with the X but am sick and tired of each time they update the software to fix a bug it creates 2 or 3 new ones. At least with the Apple you are only dealing with one phone where as in Android there are dozens and each just a tad different. Now I know why Windows can be such a pain trying to make every computer made happy.

 

[rosales_75904]

A great gps app for iPhone is motion x. Only cost $.99.

 

[izzyfanto]

Thanks for the candid comments!
It wasn't important to me...until I became dependent upon it! Within the past year, I can count on two hands the number of times I've had to manually mute or unmute ring tones and notifications. Prior to that, with this phone and with prior phones, my failure to mute resulted in embarrassing disrupting situations; and my failure to unmute caused me to miss important calls. I'm sure you can relate. I'm not sure I want to go back to that. But perhaps there's hope; SBSH, the authors of PhoneWeaver, are supposedly working on--or at least researching the possibility of--a version for the iPhone. They indicated that iOS 5 could make a version possible.
Does Google Maps for iPhone at least track your location, provide text and/or turn-by-turn (granted, not audible) directions, and provide zoom in and out capabilities? (FWIW, a poster in an Android-to-iPhone thread on this forum recommended an app called MotionX Drive as a very capable replacement for Google Maps.)
From what I've been able to determine, Google Voice on the iPhone can be set up so that incoming calls are handled relatively seamlessly...but outgoing calls require the launching of a dedicated app--as opposed to being able to use the stock iPhone dialer. I'm not crazy about that, but it's not necessarily a show-stopper.
Makes perfect sense; thanks. I do need to be able to access both my Gmail mailbox *and* a true Exchange Server mailbox. What's preventing the iPhone from allowing more than one Exchange Sync account? I would think this would be a relatively common complaint from many business people moving from Android.
Just to clarify: Do any of these apps work with Google Talk? Or are you referring to third-party apps that only work with other IM services?
Thanks, again! My wife doesn't (yet) use Google Voice...and isn't as dependent upon PhoneWeaver's features as I am (she doesn't keep her calendar up-to-date enough, among other things). Much more importantly than Android's advanced features and the customization capabilities, she needs a solid smartphone having good build quality, decent battery life, and a good selection of quality accessories. From what I've seen, the iPhone wins hands-down over Android phones in these areas. (She's also a serious iTunes user; I gotta believe an iPhone will work well for her in that area.) All things considered, I think she would miss the features of Android much less than I will. With these things in mind, I think I'll opt to replace her aging Droid Eris with the iPhone...and then see how it goes. In the interim, my Droid Incredible is capable-enough for me, for now. I still welcome your (and others') comments to my follow-up questions, above.

-that's cool about a possible iOS phoneweaver, I'd definitely be interested

-see attached screenshots for the navigation for iOS Google maps

-haven't heard anything about Google voice being integrated with the iPhone, and I could care less personally ;-)

-you'd think they allow more than one exchange! not sure why they don't :-/

-yes there are dedicated Google Talk apps that work great

I think your assessment to get your wife an iPhone is great....anything would be better than a droid Eris ;-)
and likewise concerning holding out with your Incredible, I have heard nothing but good things about that phone. definitely play around with your wife's soon to be iPhone and get a feel for its capabilities and the selections of apps.

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[izzyfanto]

A great gps app for iPhone is motion x. Only cost $.99.

good to know. can you tell me how whether it has search capabilities for restaurants, coffee ect? or do you have to search with the Google Places app, and then plug the address into Motion X? I'm very skeptical how complete a non Google search/navigation app can really be ;-) Google Navigation on Android has just set the bar so high in regards to the ability to search and then seamlessly transform into navigation

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