iPhone vs. Motorola Droid comparisons: why does the iPhone seem to win all of them?

[qItor]

I've looked at quite a few reviews that compare the Droid / Milestone to the iPhone 3Gs. Apparently, nearly all of them declare the iPhone 3Gs the winner. I find this somewhat strange - because I really don't see why. And neither do most of the reviewers - the points they cite to justify the iPhone 3Gs' win are either dubious at best or plain out non-existent).

Here are a couple of facts:

- The Droid / Milestone has a screen that's beyond any doubt superior to the iPhone's

- The Droid does multi-tasking without impairing on battery-life or speed

- Both the Droid and the Milestone come with turn-by-turn navigation
(Google maps and Motonav). So while the phone costs the same as the iPhone, for the latter you'll have to shed another 100 something $ on navigation. Therefore (unless you don't need navigation), the Droid is actually quite a bit cheaper than the iPhone. If you're already in a contract, the price difference is massive. Here in Switzerland, the 16gb iPhone 3Gs costs around 1000$ without a contract. The Milestone is 700$.

- The Droid has a physical keyboard, the iPhone doesn't

- Both phones are equally snappy. The iPhone 3Gs is probably slightly faster (about 10% when looking at the raw processing speed). But declaring the iPhone 3Gs to be superior solely based on this is a bit far-fetched

- The Droid has a much better camera. The camera on the iPhone has always sucked and the 3Gs' is only a minor improvement

- The Droid doesn't have pinch-to-zoom. Now that's an annoyance to some degree. The Milestone does have that feature, though.

- The Android Market "only" has 12'000 apps compared to 100'000+ for the iPhone. Again, raw numbers would make it seem the app situation for the Android Market is dire compared to the iPhone's. However - 12'000 apps are already a crapload. Apps also tend to be cheaper on Android Market. Apple counts each book that's for sale in the App Store a whole app of its own - so while there probably are more apps on the iPhone's App Store, the way you count does apps does matter - and so far, I don't think any of the reviews have taken this into account. I somewhat doubt that the number of usable apps is that much higher in the App Store. I know Apple's App Store quite well and still think that the number of usable apps is in the 100s, not 1000s. The rest is crap that nobody wants or uses.


Now this is all coming from an iPhone 3Gs user. I'm considering switching to the Motorola Milestone once it's out here in Europe..

[hondamx525]

Just to be fair, android does the same thing when counting their apps, every individual soundboard, every comic book, every downloadable book is its own app too. Thats why the 100000 to 15000 is a big difference when there is so much clutter in both markets. And a lot of people had a problem with the quality of the droid camera, even though on paper it is better.

A few other complaints were jitteryness and slight lag some times while panning the home screen, which hardware wise is no fault to the droid, it is most definitely a coding thing because the droid should have plenty of power to reduce any lag.

All in all, although the iphone 3gs is probably more polished because its been out longer, the UI tends to get old and boring quickly. The app store is what keeps it intersting, and at least for now thats its one-up. Give it time though as more and more people become attrated to developing for android.

[Fare]

the iPhone is probably still "better*" than the android platform, but I think the gap is closing (and closing fast).

Most people aren't tech savy, most people don't frequent Engadget/Gizmodo. Most people want a phone that "just works", that plays music seamlessly, no lag (why do you think the iPhone is single threaded?), and has the most "things" (IE apps) available to them.

If I may quote Matt Buchanan, a writer for Gizmodo, "I can't say Android 2.0 is ready for your mom yet, but it's defiantly ready for anybody reading [an tech internet blog]"

*better for the average person

[thundermax]

alot of those reviews are written by people who are very familiar with the iphone, so they are more comfortable with it.

I just finished spending a week carrying both an iphone and a droid. My conclusion was the droid was better, partly because I have had a G1 since day 1 and have never used an iphone. The time I spent with the iphone was learning how to use it, while I was already familiar with the android OS I enjoyed the droid more. I kept trying to make the iphone do things that I knew android could do and was frustrating.

I also did not want to spend money on iphone apps, so i downloaded more apps onto the droid and maybe that was also a factor.

So, it is hard not to be truly biased when reviewing phones. The one you are more comfortable with will be easier for you to use.

my 2 cents

[gwlaw99]

I think the iphone interface is still a bit slicker as far as transitions such as the portrait to landscape animation on the iphone vs no animation on the Droid. The Droid camera is horrible, but it looks like a software problem. I also wish the droid screen was a wide as the iphone even if it is longer.

[qItor]

I also wish the droid screen was a wide as the iphone even if it is longer.

well, it's only 3mm less wide - you wouldn't even notice that

[Derrick]

A few other complaints were jitteryness and slight lag some times while panning the home screen, which hardware wise is no fault to the droid, it is most definitely a coding thing because the droid should have plenty of power to reduce any lag.

I think this is the last "big" issue that Google has to fix. This shouldn't be an issue with the hardware we are getting now, and Cyan has been able to almost complete rid of this lag on his ROMs.

[RichardRahl]

I have been a Android fan from since before it came out and I'm pretty biased against the iPhone but most of us know the reasons we like the Android better than the iPhone. Unfortunately usually those reasons dont' apply to the everyday users who just want a user friendly phone and the iPhone still has that polish that Android seems to lack (though from what I've seen 2.0 closes that gap). I agree with the reasons above that user comfort probably has something to do with why many reviewers are giving iPhone a lead. But i think apps and graphics have a lot to do with it also as that adds to the polish. When you see the iPhone you see a very "pretty" UI and its hard for average phone user (reviewer) to get over that with a few hours of playing around.

just my two cents

[ahugo68]

I have been a Android fan from since before it came out and I'm pretty biased against the iPhone but most of us know the reasons we like the Android better than the iPhone. Unfortunately usually those reasons dont' apply to the everyday users who just want a user friendly phone and the iPhone still has that polish that Android seems to lack (though from what I've seen 2.0 closes that gap). I agree with the reasons above that user comfort probably has something to do with why many reviewers are giving iPhone a lead. But i think apps and graphics have a lot to do with it also as that adds to the polish. When you see the iPhone you see a very "pretty" UI and its hard for average phone user (reviewer) to get over that with a few hours of playing around.

just my two cents

my mom was looking at phones and i didnt push her towards the hero but she narrowed her choices to 2 finalist. it was the IPhone and The Hero so we went and looked at both and when we walked out of the sprint store with a brand new Hero and turned to me and said that the Hero was 100 times easier for her to use and was more practical for her (real estate agent) i was shocked. BTW my MOM is FAAAAAR from techsavvy

[bmcclure937]

I think the iphone interface is still a bit slicker as far as transitions such as the portrait to landscape animation on the iphone vs no animation on the Droid. The Droid camera is horrible, but it looks like a software problem. I also wish the droid screen was a wide as the iphone even if it is longer.

I immediately disregarded any credibility in your statement after I read about the "width" of the screens. You do realize that the Droid screen does have much better resolution and pixel density than the iPhone screen, right?!?!

It is not always about physical size (which is only "smaller" than the iPhone physically by a few millimeters anyhow). The Droid undeniably has the best screen on any phone to date. There is no way around that... and that should be the last thing people complain about.

It is fair to complain about no multitouch on the Verizon Droid. It is fair to complain about specific aspects of Android 2.0 that are still lacking or lagging. It is fair to complain that the slideout keyboard does not spring into place (which would be hard with the physical size of the device anyhow) or that there are 2 completely wasted (blank) buttons on the keypad. Heck, it would even be fair to complain that the D-Pad is useless and that the keyboard is not responsive and easy to type on. Or the fact that the 4 "main buttons" are built in to the touch screen and are touch sensitive. But complaining about the screen is the dumbest thing you could complain about.

Like any device, there are always strengths and weaknesses. There is never a perfect device for everyone, some people may prefer one device while other people prefer a different one.

If you like it and it suits your personal needs, then get it!