if you are willing to switch to at&t or verizon, you should get an iphone. i would probably wait until iphone 5 comes out because it should be coming soon. any claims that these new android phones are superior to the iphone 4 are irrelevent until apple releases the iphone 5. these spiffy new android phones obviously have some advantages compared to the year old iphone 4 (EVO 4g which is over a year old, is only behind the Iphone 4 in battery and screen) . however, even though the iphone 4 is a year old now, it still has many advantages over the new phones. i will list the advantages and disadvantages the iphone 4 (not 5) has with the best android phones:
advantages:
- friendly user interface, when i used my first apple product, the ipod touch, i pretty much learned how to use everything in about 5 minutes. everything is just more intuitive and organized on the iphone
I used to be willing to give this one to apple, but it is not so anymore. Especially as I see more and more of my completely non techy friends able to competently handle (and do some outstanding, for them, things with their phones) their phones within a very short period of time
- better icon designs and placement, just purely my subjective view
I don't want to dismiss one of your points, but really? Its a grid
- better app market not just in numbers but in developers. most developers will not mess with android phones because of all the different versions out there. therefore, a company like zynga (if you heard of them, they are the biggest mobile game developers and the most profitable currently) still does not develop games for the android phones for this reason.
I am still willing to give this one to apple, though it is closer than it used to be. I will, however, counter with the fact that despite having less overall apps, the android market has a higher amount of free apps than apple. Even many of the apps that you must pay for on iOS are free on android. Oh and you don't have to enter in a CC# unless you are purchasing a paid app.
- amazing high resolution display, there is still no phone that can match iphone 4's incredible display even though it's been one year since the iphone 4 was released. the iphone 4's display pretty much trounces every other phone out there in both specs and real life experience
You do have all of the android phones on pixel density, yes. However the resolution on my phone is the same as the resolution on the Iphone 4, it is just spread accross 0.8 more inches
- build quality is just excellent, the iphone 4 absolutely destroys any other phone out there, including the plastic android phones
If we are talking Samsung, I agree. However the HTCs are rock solid (from experience), as are (from what I hear) the Motorolas. Choice is good.
- good size, the screen size isn't too big that it just looks ridiculous when placed in your pocket
subjective, but definitely a determining factor for some people. Valid if you don't like the size
- great battery life, lasts a few days if you just use your phone occasionally throughout the day
You do have me there. Iphones have better battery life at the moment. A greater variety of capabilities does hurt android on this particular point. Rooting makes a difference, but for those who are disinclined to do so, this could be a problem
- just an overall well rounded package with good battery life, good internet speed, and able to utilize apps without noticeable lag
I will concede the noticeable lag part for older phones, I don't know why google has taken so long to include the hardware acceleration that apple has had (it is coming with ice cream sandwich). However since he is likely going to buy a new phone I do have to say this: without hardware acceleration my phone has had no instances of lag.
disadvantages
- because apple has chosen to maximize battery life, you won't get stuff like flash for your mobile browser (but they are mostly for ads anyways, you can still watch most videos)
- also, for the same reason, you won't get 4g or a dual core processor, giving the iphone 4 slower speeds
dual-core processors are more energy efficient than single core processors, also you touted fast internet above, but then disparage 4g here which is strange to me.
- no ability to customize home screen, switch out keyboards, use a different internet browser (stuck with safari) etc.
- camera is getting a little dated at 5 megapixel
The Iphone camera is a good thing, megapixel doesn't really tell even half of the story
- no universal back button, intrusive notifications when trying to do other things on the phone
- people complain about at&t but i personally don't have problems with it. if you really will be bothered by it, just use verizon
- iphone is very hard to get open and you will pretty much be at the mercy of apple in regards to replacing parts
conclusion:
if you are looking for a well rounded phone for everyday use, the iphone 4 is best. honestly, you won't need a dual core for your phone or even 4g if you don't plan on doing anything intensive (this is at least 2 year investment future proofing is never a bad thing). the tradeoff is definitely battery life as 4g and dual core processors (once again dual core is more energy efficient) would eat battery charges like crazy. the iphone just has the better apps (for now) and has the processor and internet speeds to smoothly run them.
as for customization, i sometimes wish i had it on the iphone 4. but honestly, it's overrated. i'm perfectly fine with the apple keyboard and browser. there's a bunch of other stuff you could change on android phones but for the average user, you wouldn't bother with it. the iphone lacks a good home screen though as it just puts all the apps on one home screen.
also, if you have itunes as the primary music organizer on your computer, an iphone simplifies the music transferring process. it was a complete pain for me to transfer music onto my phone when i didn't use an iphone. whenever i needed to add a song, i had to add it first to my itunes library then onto my phone. with an iphone, i just plug it into the computer and sync it, which automatically adds all the music in my itunes library that's not in my iphone. My buddy just bought a sensation and all he had to do was plug and play as well (what he said, I don't have itunes) in addition, the iphone has an app that turns the phone into a remote that can control your itunes player anywhere you have wifi. pretty cool (so does android, and blackberry for that matter).
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