Choosing a smartphone part 3

Choosing a Smartphone, Part 3: Android vs. iPhone

In our third part of the “Choosing a Smartphone” series, we’re going to take on the 300lb gorilla that is the iPhone. I fully expect that our readers will get a little hot under the collar about this one.
In our first post, we incurred the ire of the Windows Loyal, our last post made the Palmaniacs get their torches and pitchforks, and this time, we’re going to anger quite possibly everyone! We’ll call the iPhone platform a Smartphone OS, which offends many. For the iPhone loyal–and I don’t want to spoil the surprise ending, but–we’re going to say that Android is a viable alternative to the iPhone. Shocking, I know, but this is an Android blog.

We’re going to structure this post a little different, too. We’ll cover iPhone OS 3.1.3, but there are essentially two classes of devices running it: iPhone 3GS’s and iPod Touch 3rd Gen’s, and other outdated hardware. Apple’s hardware is at least as important as the OS, because their older hardware provides a distinctly different experience from new hardware. Then there’s a third variable, the ever-present “what’s next” factor with Apple. By taking a look at each situation, we’ll try to cover iPhone vs. Android buying decisions pretty comprehensively. Also, for the sake of space, I won’t cover individual apps on either platform in detail, but will focus on the core OS. Let’s start with an overview of iPhone OS 3.




more...

Read rest of entry

Choosing a smartphone part 2

Choosing a Smartphone, Part 2: Android vs. Palm WebOS – Updated

In our second in a series of articles helping you choose a smartphone OS, we’re going to take a look at Android versus Palm’s WebOS, which by every metric is soundly bringing up the rear in the smartphone OS race. Still, it has a lot of features that not only show Android’s possible future, but also its room for improvement.

more...

Read rest of entry

choosing a smartphone part 1

Choosing a Smartphone, Part 1: Android vs. Windows Phone 7

The last few weeks have brought us a flurry of information about different smartphone OS’s. At this blog, we prefer Android, and the past weeks’ news has only made us more proud of our favorite OS. However, there has been a lot of talk about Windows Phone 7, and Palm is trying to expand by bringing its devices to Verizon. Of course, there’s the ever-present iPhone OS, and its next update is looming. Blackberry . . . also still makes phones. In this series of articles, we’ll take an honest look at how Android stacks up to the competition. I think you’ll find that whatever your needs, there’s a Droid for that!

To get started, let’s talk about Microsoft’s big play in the mobile space: Windows Phone 7 Series.

more....

Read rest of entry