The Argument for iPhone

January 17, 2011, By PJ Mullen 5 comments

If you ask a random sampling of people about which is the best smartphone on the market you are likely to get a healthy debate, especially when it comes to the battle between iPhone devotees and Android advocates.

I’ll freely admit that I’m a recently converted Apple fanboy. I made the switch a year and a half ago after Vista finally broke my spirit for all things Microsoft. After nearly two years with my MacBook Pro I can honestly say I couldn’t go back to a Windows based PC. I have a two year old Dell collecting dust so my son can learn Windows, but it is definitely the red headed stepchild of computers in our house.

I had my iPhone 3G before turning to the dark side of computing and loved it. However, when the Android devices started flooding the market I seriously considered switching back to Verizon to get a Droid R2D2. As the rumors circulated that Apple was working on an iPhone that wouldn’t be tied to AT&T’s network I decided to hold off.

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to play around with a few Android phones (Droid 2, Droid X) and, for me, the iPhone is a cleaner design with a much more intuitive interface. Still, the one thing that really has me considering an Android device when I am free to switch is the tight integration with Gmail. I use Gmail as my email client for a number of POP3 addresses and even with the changes iOS 4 brought to the native email client it is still lacking for my needs.

One argument that is frequently bandied about by iPhone proponents is that there are more apps available for it than Android devices. The reality is that once I get past email, Facebook, Twitter and Angry Birds I probably couldn’t tell you half of the other 40 or so apps I have installed. Plus, since the Android platform is very open there is the ability install apps from other developers that don’t have to go through Apple’s review process, which can at times be very draconian.

Now that the iPhone is also available on Verizon the only remaining complaint I have about it is, it still does not have full multi-tasking capabilities. Other complaints like that iOS is closed with limited customization ability and its inability to run Flash aren’t big concerns for me.

Additionally, I don’t have an issue with the battery not being removable on the iPhone because no matter what device you prefer they have a short shelf life. The minute I get a new device in my hand it isn’t long before I’m counting down the days until I’m eligible for an upgrade credit with my carrier due to “next big thing syndrome”.

If you can count on anything it is that Steve Jobs will take the stage once a year to unveil the latest Apple offering. And while it will no doubt be “revolutionary” (tongue firmly in cheek) the flip side to that coin is that Google seems to have a new version of the Android OS out every other week.

They’ve gone from Éclair to Froyo to Gingerbread in a little more than a year’s time. With Honeycomb just around the corner, Google is not only making me hungry but bewildered from the seemingly endless updates to its OS.

The Nexus S, the second Google sanctioned Android phone that is manufactured by HTC, will no doubt spark the likes of Motorola, Samsung and LG to rush to market with their latest and greatest in an effort to lay claim to smartphone supremacy. The pace of innovation is a great thing, however, the constant change of the lead horse in the Android race is, more than anything else, the biggest roadblock for me in making the switch away from the iPhone.

With Apple I know what I’m getting and, for the most part, when I’m getting it. It seamlessly integrates with my MacBook Pro and does everything I need it to do.

By no means am I a power smartphone user and my only “business” as a stay at home dad is taking pictures of my kids and the occasional check in on Foursquare. So, for my money, I’ll probably be sticking with the iPhone-when it is time to upgrade later this year even though I’ll probably switch back to Verizon when my AT&T contract expires. Still, the growing Android market won’t make it an easy decision.

What's your current smartphone of choice – and have you recently considered switching?