Do you love your iPhone? Can you ever imagine deserting it? Well, maybe here’s the better question: Have you ever compared your iPhone to an Android-powered smartphone like the Galaxy S III? If you do, you might be tempted to make the transition from an iPhone to an Android phone, just like technology writer Andy Ihnatko recently did. Ihnatko detailed his smartphone conversion in a recent column for the Tech Hive Web site. Maybe his switch will persuade you to reevaluate your love affair with the iPhone.
Making the move toward Android
Ihnatko writes that he’s long been a fan of the iPhone. He bought the first generation of the smartphone. And did it during a time when AT&T provided an unlimited data plan. He still had that unlimited plan prior to making the choice to change to an Android smart phone. What’s that mean? It indicates that Ihnatko really had to like Android to give up that unlimited data plan.
The power of Android
Ihnatko writes that he switched to Android, and gave up his unlimited data plan, for one reason: The Android operating system has turned into a great one. Concurrently, the phones using this system grew more and more powerful. The pull of Android, then, was simply too strong. Today, Ihnatko subscribes to an LTE data plan which has a monthly cap of 5 GB. And he uses his Android phone to make all of his calls.
Two crucial factors
Ihnatko points to two key factors when explaining his smartphone switch. First, the keyboards that come with Android smartphones are easier to use than are those that come with iPhones, he writes. Secondly, the screens on Android-powered phones are larger. This makes a big difference in an age in which consumers use their smartphones to surf the Web and watch movies.
Application Support
Finally, if there are publicly available applications you plan to use, you might investigate whether those apps are available in Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Down the road, many apps are typically supported in both but you may be interested in exactly where the app is available in the short-term. Planning on delivering a line of business applications that would benefit from Android’s easy support of Flash? That might be a deal-maker for you.
With more mobile applications are being delivered using cell phones and tablets, just be sure that yours is supported.