Seed NewsvineFirst you should know what you are choosing is not a phone as much as you are choosing an operating system or OS. The term for these phones today is "smart phone".
The iphone uses Apple's existing platform OS X. This benefits users allowing the iphone to live in harmony with Apple computers. You don't need to install any aftermarket software to get the iphone to communicate with your computer, as long as it's an Apple computer.
Apple's core foundation of technology is that they own BOTH the hardware and firmware (operating system). Both are integrated at production level. However buying an iphone is not so good with Windows products. There are workarounds, but that's another story. Apple makes one iphone, other than increased memory and upgrades Apple's phones are all iphones.
Next is Google's Android. It's the operating system Google created. Many people ask the question, What is a G-phone or G-Phone? The answer is simple. Any phone running Android is a G-phone. So you could own a G1, G3 or any number of phones made by different manufacturers featuring Googles' Android, they will all be G-phones because they run Android. In short, a phone running Android is a G-phone.
Like Apple, Google has integrated their world with the Android phones and leveraged their strengths of Gmail, YouTube, Google and more to give the phone so much power. In fact if you buy a G-phone, you MUST have a Gmail account or create one in order to get through the start up phase of using a G-phone. There is NO way around it, period. Conversely iphone leverages their strength of itunes with their Mp3 player features (ipod) built right in.
If you use Gmail and most people do, this becomes amazingly cool, but we'll get to that.
Both Have Distinct Strengths
Convergence is a buzz term you should be aware of if you are not already. For years we waited for someone to build a phone, camera, GPS, PDA, Mp3 player, and gaming system all in one device. At one time PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants now known as Smartphones) like the Palm, Clie and Microsoft Mobile were the forerunners. The iphone and Android blew them into ancient history and are now the powerful front runners.
Yet both have their own strength. The iphone's strength is itunes as the iphone doubles as an ipod. Let's face it, when most people didn't even know what an Mp3 player was, they owned an Ipod. Go into a store, and they have Mp3 players segregated from Ipods, but they are really the same! In short, Apple set the standard for a great device with both perfect form factor and ease of use. Having that service in an iphone gives the iphone the big advantage in this area. The Gphone (Android) has an Mp3 player but it pales in comparison overall features.
The Android's strength is the power of Google pushing it along and that's a big push from a big world of resources. The buzz word for this is "cloud". Google owns Youtube, Gmail and more. You can watch YouTube videos with its very own function out of the box. Of course an iphone can watch Youtube videos and use Gmail too.
Another strength of Android, it's built on an open platform. This means to you as a consumer more FREE stuff! Google welcomes developers to add features, improve the OS and of course build applications for the G-phone without barriers. Some may argue that the G-phones offer a more open environment while the iphone under the Apple mentality is restricted. However applications like Jailbreak quickly opened up iphones so previously restricted apps could be used. Jailbreaking an iphone allows you to do things with an iphone that Apple previously restricted and voids the warrantee, but you can always connect your iphone to a computer with itunes and restore factory settings. In most respects the playing field is even for both the iphone and Gphone when it comes to applications.
This is important because the applications you run on these devices has fast become the heart and soul of the devices. It's become the reason to own an iphone or g-phone.
The iphone features the Apple "App Store" and Android has its "Marketplace" where in both cases you can browse hundreds (if not thousands) of applications. The iphone world currently offers MORE applications and most come at a cost. This is where the "open" term hold meaning for you; money.
In Apple's world it's harder for developers to get their software approved for the "App Store" and it's not free, it's designed as shareware with limited usability. With G-phones, most applications are free. Many developers find payment through donations (PayPal) or advertising. Just as important, the free software (most of it) you download with a G-phone is usually truly free, not freeware where you get 30 days and it is disabled. Android's Marketplace forecasts it will reach 150,000 applications by 2010 closing the gap on the iphone in short order. However how many choices do you need when your needs are being met?
Perhaps the strongest reason new users would want to buy either the iphone or G-phone is the ease of seamless installation of software. You just touch your screen to obtain the software, click install and that is it. No worries over drivers or other difficulties you may experience with personal computers exist. If you don't want an application you uninstall it with equal ease. No dll files are left behind to clog up your memory. If you are age 8 or 80, both phones have super easy OS's to navigate.
Both Phones Have What You Want
Both phones have what has quickly been recognized as standard features. Let's run through them all.
It's true the iphone was first with it's way cool touch swipe screen. But the G-phone has that same feature.
Both offer text messaging.
Both have Wi-Fi capability. Both operate on G3 Networks offering Internet access with web browsers. In fact, you can't use either phone out of the box without subscribing to an Internet plan with a carrier.
As mentioned above, both are a camera, mp3 player, phone, PDA and gaming device.
Both are GPS ready. Buy or get a free application of your choice for driving (or walking) instructions, work-out tracking and more.
Both phones offer a super easy to use Marketplace to find and install applications.
Both are truly functional Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), Mp3 players and high quality phones; and of course both have bluetooth.
Battery Life and Replacement
Smartphones have a ravenous appetite for power. If you are a power user and who doesn't become one, the battery life in any smart phone such as an iphone or g-phone is short lived. You can't get through a day without hitting a charger. In short, you'll need a desk top charger for home or office and a car charger. It's a must. When it comes to keeping a spare battery on hand, the iphone is sealed so you can't buy one. If you break the housing seal to replace it on your own you'll need a soldering iron which Apple has made so difficult, word is you'll bend the case if you are not a pro. Here is an iphone battery replacement how-to video if you doubt this claim. In addition, you'll void the warranty. Conversely with a g-phone, you can but an aftermarket battery cheap and just pop the back of the case off. No warranty issues either. In this area the g-phone wins hands-down.
Direct Comparison
Let's go head to head.
iphone: Integrated Apple OS X platform. Solid, stable, encourages use to stay in Apples proprietary (yet restricted) world. The iphone is cross platform usable but not built for cross platform use.
Gphone: Open source Android OS and Cross platform ready and friendly.
iphone: Itunes. The phone is integrated into itunes, the largest media fountain you'll find. Obtaining songs is a snap whereas you need a cable to transfer songs with the Gphone if you haven't downloaded them from the Internet.
Gphone: DRM free music. Itunes may be simple, but owning the sound file you paid a buck for is a big deal to music buyers that understand Mp3's.
iphone: When it comes to looks, the iphone's form factor is perfect in its elegance. Engadget has it still atop the list of smartphones to own since 2008
Gphone: Currently HTC makes an number of Android phones including the G1 and G3 phones. More are to come. HTC has no clue how to design an attractive device although the HTC Hero has won gadget of the year due to it's funky form factor. Thankfully the G3 is smaller than the iphone and copies its look by-and-large, and still the iphone looks better.
iphone: Accessories... They have entire store in malls dedicated to them! You can't walk into any store without it having its own iphone/Ipod section.
Gphone: With different manufactures getting in on the action, at present finding accessories is annoying.
iphone: Hardware and OS at a single point of manufacturer. So little to go wrong, and so easy to address fixes, upgrades and changes.
Gphone: With so many manufacturers playing with the Open Platform OS of Android, a lot of confusion can take place.
iphone: Not so big brotherish in tracking your every move.
Gphone: While Google asks you in set up mode if you want to be tracked or not, they track everything you do. They own Doubleclick, anything you search for personally, they know. They track you through the GPS and the list goes on. Be advised.
The Final Word
If you asked us to look into our crystal ball and determine who will the iphone verses G-phone fight, the current strengths lie with Google and sheer power of the application community. However this isn't a fight. Both phones have everything you need.
In the current environment you could say that the iphone is better for entry level users or users that don't have an interest in anything that involves technical efforts. The G-phone's intuitive use is slightly behind the iphone but again that is because the phone actually offers you more latitude to do more, which comes at a cost when it want to deliver intuitive use.
If you like sexy looking devices and who doesn't then there is no argument the iphone has the better form factor. Elegance is predicated on less being more. The simple design of the iphone is the current standard every other manufacturer will mock.
In the US, the iphone runs exclusively on AT&T's wireless network and the G-phone is partnered with T-Mobile with other carriers rolling out their own g-phones running Android. Both carriers offer extensive phone support however not all of their employees use these devices; you can get tech help but not always real world use advice. For instance they may recommend applications without having actually used them.
The iphone was first to create such an easy-to-use PDA phone. The phone reached out to non-technical types, show-offs, and of course new users that loved the ipod experience. Being first has it's benefits. The iphone has a loyal following devoted to the core. It's for these reasons and more you can go into almost any store and find an ipod or iphone section.
For the G-phone to enter the game with such a dominant marketshare established by the iphone means that it better be one damn fine product and have one hell of a lot of support. The G-phone (or Android) has quickly established itself as a direct comparison to the iphone. You can't do that with any other phone. It was not Googles plan.
Comparing these two devices is inevitable because more and more people are taking the leap from phone to PDA. The good news is you can't go wrong with either the iphone or G-phone, the question is which will give you more. We lean to the G-phone over time. Anything can change however. Look at how the Palm PDA was considered the gold standard and way of the future. In time the iphone and G-phone could become just as obsolete. Until then...
-Lars Hindsley
