In which I try an Android and miss my iPhone miserably.
I'm sure you all know by now of my love for Ting Wireless. The $21/month bill for two iPhones is a little bit hard to beat.
But joining up with Ting does take some cash up front if you want a nice smart phone. You're not locked into a contract with a high monthly bill, but the tradeoff is that you do have to pay for the phone instead of getting a "free" one.
(Which is obviously not free any more than breakfast at a hotel is free!)
A little while ago, Ting emailed me to see if I'd like to give a an Android phone a trial run, since the upfront cost of Androids is less than iPhones and they thought you guys would be interested in reading a review.
So, a Nexus black arrived at my house, and I gave it a shot.
Now, do keep in mind that this is the only Android phone I've ever tried and also that I'm an awfully new smartphone user (I got my first one in January!). So, if you want a very technical Smarty Mcksmarty pants review, this is not the place.
Upsides
How about I go over the good first?
The Nexus has a beautiful display, a lovely large screen, and the camera is pretty awesome.
This means that Instagram is pretty fun to use on the Nexus.
Which, you know, is very important.
The battery life is good and the touch screen was every bit as responsive as the iPhone's.
Downsides
You guys. Navigating this phone seem way more confusing to me than navigating the iPhone.
I don't think I'm particularly stupid about technology, and I'm also not a huge Apple nerd (I use a Windows desktop!), but geezy peasy, the Google phone is not nearly as intuitive as the iPhone.
When I got my iPhone, I'd never used a smartphone before in my life, but I quickly understood how to find, install, and open things. And let's just say that such was not the case with the Nexus.
Friends of mine tell me that if a Android is your first phone, it's a lot easier to adjust to it than if you've had an iPhone first, and I can imagine that being the case.
Also (and this is probably going to sound really paranoid), I wasn't a huge fan of how everything on the phone was tied to Google. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable in the way that Facebook makes me feel uncomfortable.
I'm not sure that made sense.
So to further confuse things, I'll compare the phones to social media.
(Ha.)
I don't like how Facebook goes with you all over the internet if you don't sign out. It's a little creepy.
So I sign out of my account the moment I'm finished with my news feed.
Twitter and Instagram don't follow me around and I like them better for their simplicity and the ease of controlling what is publicly shared.
The Google phone to me felt a little like always being signed into Facebook, whereas the iPhone feels more like Twitter or Instagram.
I know not everyone feels that way, and I know Apple is certainly collecting my data (as I'm sure Twitter and Instagram are), but there you have it.
Navigation and Google-centric-ness aside, the other major downside to the Android is that I was without my beloved iMessage.
iMessage allows me to send free text messages over wifi to other Apple users, and it's part of what helps me to keep my Ting bill so crazy low.
If your friends and family have Androids, this wouldn't be a big deal, but most of the people I text have iPhones, which means I can do lots of completely free texting.
This makes me happy.
Price Comparison
Ting recommends that you buy a Nexus right from Google and then get a Sim card.
The phone will run you $350 and then you'll just need a $10 Sim card.
This is definitely cheaper than a NEW iPhone.
But Mr. FG and I didn't buy new iPhones, and we didn't buy the latest and greatest. We've both got refurbished iPhone 4S's, and we're completely happy with them.
You can get a used iPhone 4s from Ting for a mere $160, or you can do like we did and buy a refurbished one from Amazon for around $250.
(at the time we bought our phones, Ting didn't carry iPhones.)
So, the way we did it, our iPhones actually were cheaper than the Nexus. But if you're deadset on getting a brand new phone, a Android will be a less expensive option than an iPhone.
Zee bottom line
If you're used to a Android and you really want a new phone rather than a refurb, then the Nexus could be a great money-saving option for you.
But if you're new to the world of smartphones and want something super easy, get yourself an iPhone.
(Don't forget, if you're a recent grad, you can get a free Optimus Elite phone until July 14th. Just click the link at the top of the page to get all the details.)
Regardless of the phone you choose, though, I wholeheartedly recommend Ting's wireless service, and I think you should click on over to their savings calculator to find out how much you could save on your phone bill.
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So, I'm curious where you guys stand on the Android/iPhone divide. Talk to me!
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Ting sent me a Nexus for review purposes but this post was not sponsored in any other way. I signed up for Ting's affiliate program because I am a happy customer. This post contains those affiliate links, which, as always, support this blog at no extra cost to you.
"Which, you know, is very important." - yup very important! Love Instagram!
But it's an iPhone all the way for me. Apple products just work for me. I love them. Simple. Simple. Simple. The perfection (which I know doesn't really exist but hey I'm being expressive) is in the simplicity.
p.s - And rather than 'I carried a watermelon', I Instagrammed a watermelon. Oh yes I did - about an hour ago 😉 (you can buy I carried a watermelon T-Shirts - maybe I should market my own)
I was a devout iPhone fan ... until I switched to the Sony Xperia about a year ago. This phone is all kinds of awesome and it IS very different to get used to initially but I wouldn't go back now.
Now you're making me wonder if I'm missing out! Maybe I should give it another shot...
The Nexus 5 is not a Droid.
Thank you-you and Gustav are both right, of course! I've edited the post accordingly. 🙂
I am absolutely in love with my android devices. To me the google thing is no different than having to create a whole Apple account when we setup my mom's iPhone. Also, being an android girl, I can't navigate the iPhone very well and it really annoys me that you can't take things off the home screen. My phone always has only the apps that I actually use on the screen.
Re: free messaging. If many of your friends are on androids or generally chained to their computers, you can use Google+ for gree messaging. The app used to be called Google Talk. It works like an instant messenger and automatically synchs within Gmail so you can carry on your conversation across platforms. My husband and I use it daily and we use Pidgin on the computers so that we dont have to be chained to a Gmail browser window.
I uninstall the Facebook app off any phone I have and just use the mobile browser version. So much less intrusive and less creepy!
Thanks for the writeup! Not to sound like a total Android nerd (for the record, I am one, but I'm also typing this on a macbook), but "Droid" is a specific line of phones by Motorola, whereas I think you mean to say "Android" in this review. It's kind of like calling all facial tissues Kleenex.
I know - confusing and frivolous - but true. And it will improve this article's findability as people are going to be searching not for "droid" but "android".
Oh, thanks! I'll fix it.
My first smartphone was an HTC Rhyme, which I was perfectly happy with until it died, a year into my contract (thankfully, my upgrade hadn't transferred when I got my Rhyme, so I was able to "upgrade" early). I've since gotten a Samsung Galaxy S3, and am so in love with this thing. It's faster, more clear, bigger, but not as heavy as the Rhyme. I honestly think I'm a Samsung customer for life because of this phone. My family are upgrading this month, and are also planning to get Galaxy phones (s4). Everyone else in my extended family is all about the iPhone, though, which is fine, but I feel like Apple users are in a weird cult of their own sometimes.
You need to be aware that as of the last update, Samsung is going exclusive just like Apple. Meaning, you can ONLY use Samsung with Samsung. As a result, they are losing me as a customer even if I like the product. Mostly because before the phones, I loved their other electronics. But they have focused so much on new cell products that the other products have gone down. I also know they've expanded into new markets. Like I said, though, their other products have gone down in quality. Review after review on TV's and DVD players have gone down. And now this new 'exclusive' thing. No thanks -- I'll take my money elsewhere.
I've never had an iPhone and have had a Droid for 3 yrs. I have a Samsung s4 active and love it. IPhone so are so small but bulky. I do love the whole Google thing though. My pictures automatically go to the cloud and when our computer crashed I went over to my son's net book, signed in and there were all my bookmarks favorites and everything I was used too. I now want a Samsung netbook! It is all what you're used to I think.
I don't have the same experience as you on my droid phone. Maybe I have mine set up different. Facebook doesn't follow me around in any way. I'm not using many google services other than the ones you have to. You don't think every single thing you do on your iphone is going to apple? If you install a instant messaging program you can send "free texts", it's exactly what you're doing on the iphone. It's just pre installed for you. I find navigating android very easy. I find idevices far to dumbed down and stripped of any user control. Basically I would say android is for people who want a portable computer. Iphones are for people who need a simplified device.
Yup, I'm definitely in the simplified device camp. 😉 But I can totally see where someone who wants more control would enjoy an android phone. I just want a simple user experience, myself.
Oy. Gotta be honest, comparing iPhone to just one droid can be a little miseading. Example: I signed up for republic wireless, got a $150 moto g and its the best phone ever. Plus, you can do all calling and text over WiFi totally free, just like imessage but to everyone. Love it. Just sth for folks to think about. Plus I think its entirely true that you're used to what u started with! 🙂
Ooh, nice! I've heard really good things about Republic Wireless, and I think it's a great option for people who use more data than I do.
I have a friend who has Republic and he loves it, for whatever that's worth.
I am an iPhone lover, but Apple is pretty much all up in your data on the iPhone just like Google is on the Android. 🙂
Also my husband used an Android (the lovely Nexus 5) and I use an iPhone. We do most of our texting via Google hangouts. It does the same wifi/data thing that iMessages does so that's how I'd recommend you save costs in a divided household (or an Android only one).
My husband has an iPhone and we also have an iPad and Android tablet for work. The one thing I still haven't been able to figure out is why selecting a different cursor spot is so difficult on Android. On Apple if I want to move my cursor 2 lines up, I just tap and hold where I want the cursor. On Android it's not so easy. Still can't seem to figure it out and if I'm typing something I usually end up backspacing to that spot instead. I'm sure there's a way, but it seems like whatever it is should be more intuitive.
Funny, I find that moving the cursor on my iPad to be a nightmare. I prefer keyboards with arrow keys and found SwiftKey to be just what I need.
I've been a Ting customer for quite a while, and an Android, Palm, and Windows phone user for even longer. On any of those platforms you can keep various apps from following you around, and don't think Apple doesn't do the same. There are apps that you can use on Android for free sms as well. One thing to remember though, if sms connections are important to you, is that coverage for carrier sms is as broad as voice coverage, meaning even without data on, and even where there is no data coverage, you still have sms if you have voice coverage. I was recently standing next to someone complaining he couldn't send a text, so I sent him one. Turned out he meant iMessage wasn't able to send. I was a Mac user years ago, and currently own an iPad. Android is not at all hard, though if you've been using something else, it will be unfamiliar since the conventions are different. With the current crop of more affordable Android phones, there are some great options on Ting.
Yeah, I have mine set to send as SMS when iMessage isn't available.
I'm the exact opposite. My wife has an iPod touch and while it works, it's not very elegant for lack of a better word. We're both rocking 4 year old HTC Androids and I find them to be very intuitive and easy to use. I think a lot of it is based on what you are used to.
I'll start off by saying that I don't think either iPhones or Androids phones are inherently better, they're just different. I live in the Silicon Valley and it seems like everyone has iPhones. I even heard an Adult Education teacher consistently refer to all cell phones as "iphone" like one refers to bandages as Band-Aids or facial tissues as Kleenex.
But, I'm an Android girl. Mostly becauase I don't like Apples business practices. Apple suing Samsung over the curve design of the phone is something I can't stomach. Apple comes out with a new iPhone every 6 months or so, with different power inputs so you need to buy a new powercord. Ugh. Apples proprietary emojis that if a friend with an iPhone sends to my Android, it appears as a blank square in my messages-just frustrating. I could go on, but it's the same kinds of reasons I don't shop at Walmart. Business practices that I don't support.
I don't think it's weird at all that google bugs you with their obsessive data-gathering behavior. I'm sure apple does it, too, but I don't have any experience with them. I feel like there's a limit to what we can do to avoid this, but I do try. (I'm not sure incidentally, why we, as a society, are okay with companies behaving in ways that would be just shockingly creepy stalker behavior for individual people.)
When I got a nexus tablet (I don't have a smart phone), I was disgusted that you couldn't do anything without giving them a google account, so I opened one that I use for nothing but tablet-related stuff. They can track me, but at least they don't overtly link my desktop stuff to my tablet stuff. It is less convenient for sure - there's no meaningful syncing features this way, for instance. And it would be bordering on non-functional if I used any social media, I'm sure. Without pinterest, instagram, facebook, etc, it's fine, but I'm not sure what I'd do if I wanted to use all those things on both computers. Yes, yes, there are privacy settings, but there are limits.
Now I sound like a paranoid freak. I don't think I come off that way in real life 🙂
Or maybe I do...I do tend to say things like, "If you're getting it for free, you're not the consumer, you're the product."
Interesting review, thanks! I'm a pretty loyal iPhone user myself (6 years)... but every once in a while I wonder what I'm missing by not switching. But most of my family (except my silly FIL and BIL) uses iPhones too, so we do enjoy the iMessaging!
Incidentally - I TOTALLY agree with the "free" thing you point out... INCLUDED in the price is different than "free" (a la hotel breakfast). I pointed this out often to my husband in our first years of marriage... now he points it out to me! 😉
I love my iPhone. With the 4s, you can also call for free to other iPhone users. I have unlimited minutes and rarely actually talk on the phone but it's still a nice feature. Just use the FaceTime audio only option. Pretty cool.
I also like that on my Macbook, my iMessages follow me so I can chat very easily and don't strain my thumbs! I text far more than I talk on the phone.
Also-- I had no idea FB followed me around the internet! Good to know! Thank you!
Well, it's just stuff like when you're reading a news article, and you get a little message: "Four of your friends liked this article!" Stuff like that bugs me.
Well-timed post for me as Mr. FP and I are hoping to make the jump to smart phones in the next few months. (We have Airvoice right now for $20/month, but our phones are so dumb, we actually have to set the time manually.)
We are accustomed to using Google Voice for free calls and texting over wifi (it does mean that everyone needs to recognize two different numbers--your cell and your Google Voice number--but any calls to your GV number will ring on your cell if you're not online). There are ways to use that on an iPhone, but we're wedded enough to our Google products that we'll probably be happier with android phones.
Yeah, I use the TextFree app to message people without iPhones, and you get a separate number with that too. So I have a regular number and then a TextFree number.
We have Republic Wireless and use the beta phone they offered a couple of years ago--It runs on Android. It's fine. I'm not attached to any electronics, honestly. I never feel love for them. And I'm techie enough that I can make my way through any platform, so whatever's cheapest works for me. I prefer using my desktop computer (which is easily upgrade-able and not as fragile as a tablet or phone or laptop), so a smart phone is almost wasted on me!
I love both my Samsung Galaxy SII, and my iPod shuffle, I can move around in both universes. 🙂 I will say that one HUGE point in Apple's favor, is that their used (esp. refurbished) devices hold up much better than anything I'm aware of on the Android market. I use a prepaid phone, from Virgin, so my galaxy SII, which was in the design phase at about the same time as the iPhone 4s. (The Galaxy SII was initially released in May of 2011, the iPhone in Oct of 2011.) My personal handset is not from 2011, more like late 2012, but, unlike your iPhone 4s, it's software has never been updated. Your iPhone 4s will run and have many of the same software features of the new iphone 5. (You're a bit heavier than the 5, a bit slower, and the camera and the display aren't as good, but what you can DO is mostly the same. ) My Galaxy sii, vs an galaxy s5 has all those same problems, heavier, slower, worse camera, PLUS it's still running 2011 software. For a frugal market that is going to buy used anyway, that's a big deal. Also, when you're ready to re-sell (if ever), for that same reason, the iPhone will have more residual value.
I switched over from iPhone about 2 or 3 years ago. My family currently still uses Ipads and Ipods and I must admit that the android is much more user friendly once you get used to it. First, you don't need to sync everything to your Google account. Android also has swipe which makes it sooo much easier to type. Other things are easier like swiping my hand across the screen to take a screen shot instead of pressing 2 buttons at once.
A lot of apps are also free for android when they would cost money in the apple store. One great example of this is a flashcard app I use for school called anki. It's $25 or so for Apple but free on android! I also like the fact that more companies are creating android phones so you get more competition and thus better options.
My husband and I are both Android phone users - I forget exactly which model we both have, but I do know it's by Motorola and maybe 3 years old (maybe older than that??). We both love our phones, and though I'm not a tech nerd, my hubby is - he decided these phone would be best for what we use them for (me: Facebook, Internet access, the occasional text or phone call; Hubby: work-related stuff, Facebook, ordering stuff online, phone calls & texts - he is a heavier phone user than I am). Since I've never used an iPhone, I have no basis for comparison, but what we have works for me.
Well first, not all Android phones are the same. Second. it's not a big ting to get rid of that facebok app, as I think someone else said. just delete it and then log into facebook from your browser. I have a real Droid (which a nexus is not) a motorola and I LOVE it. My son has a iPhone and I find my phone much easier to use and more efficient.
Oh, I was referring to Facebook on the computer, actually! Like I said, I don't access Facebook on my phone at all. When I use Facebook on my desktop, I always log out right away. 🙂
I <3 my iPhone and I don't see changing anytime soon. My daughter had an iPhone, switched to Android and has been missing her iPhone. I think she liked it at first but never truly loved it like she did her iPhone. We've got 1 Android pad and it has tons of problems.
I had an iPhone and was plenty happy with it. My husband upgraded to a bigger cell phone (don't remember which) and I couldn't understand why he would want a larger screen. Move forward a few months and we both now own the Nexus Google phone you got to try out. One of our adult sons moved over to T-Mobile and suggested we do the same--mostly because of their overseas rates which are much more affordable than other carriers (as we are residing in Dominican Republic more than being stateside). It took me a bit to get used to the bigger phone for carrying it around, but now I can't imagine going back to a smaller iPhone. No matter what cell phone I have upgraded it, I have had a learning curve to go thru, so I do believe a lot of the decision revolves around what you are comfortable with ---and can afford, of course! Thanks for sharing great information like this with all of us out here.
Your intuition is right on!
I had a friend tell me once (someone who works in internet security) that the Google phones are the least safe and least able to protect someone's privacy, because it's just like you mentioned - Google is following you around everywhere.
I can put my work email on an iPhone or Blackberry, but not a Google phone. Now fancy that ...
The most secure phone now available is probably Blackphone (https://www.blackphone.ch/). It provides secure apps for either an iPhone or Android on the other end - so Android can be managed to be quite secure. The Android OS is not inherently less secure and can be made more secure, but it is much easier for the OWNER to muck with various features that affect the security, and there is less Big-Brother control on Android than the iPhone. Your IT department, since they're letting you use your own device (and probably saving the company money by doing so) just doesn't want to have to deal with the greater flexibility (and hence issues) of the Android OS. If you can access your mail through a browser, you can probably get to it on an Android phone anyway.
I just got my first Android phone (a Kyocera Rise) a year ago, and I like it. I've never seen an iPhone up close, so I can't provide an honest comparison. Like you, I use a prepaid service. Ting isn't available in my area; we have Virgin Mobile as our Sprint subsidiary, and for my use, VM was cheaper than the number I got from the Ting calculator anyway ($25 a month for 300 minutes and unlimited text - to anyone - and data).
Interesting, the cheapest VM I see right now is $35. Voice coverage area for Ting is bigger than that for VM (no voice roaming on VM), so I'm kind of surprised that you had VM coverage but not Ting.
We have VM too, and for me, I think Ting would be cheaper, but for my husband, the heavy data user, it most certainly would not be!!
Right--to say that the Android is not intuitive is an understatement!
Great article! And THANK YOU for leading me to Ting. What a great service! I'm going to wait for my Sprint contract to end to switch. It's almost too good to be true!
Me, too. And the best part is that I should be able to being my iPhone 4s with me. One reasong I don't switch to Android is that I'd have to buy all new apps!
Oops. Typos. BRING and REASON. Not enough coffee yet.
I have had both and iPhone and several Samsung Galaxy phones and in the end, I'm much happier with my Galaxy. First, my S5 has a HUGE screen, while for some, that might be a drawback, I use it to reference medication dosages, etc while I'm at work and it saves a ton on my eyes. Second, you can add memory to it--this is a big deal. With Apple products, you are stuck with the memory you originally pay for, but with the Galaxy phones, you can upgrade this. Another issue is battery life. I'm not sure what the recent iPhone is like, but I get a ton more life out of my S5 battery than my Apple products ever give me. My camera is amazing, the phone itself is waterproof (which came in handy when I wanted to take pics at Niagara Falls last weekend 😉 ). I agree there's a slight learning curve when you first get the Galaxy. If you are lucky enough to have this, our Best Buy has a Samsung kiosk within the store staffed by technicians from Samsung. I call him "My Guy". He was incredibly helpful when I first got the phone and every few months I go back to visit him and he shows me some more amazing things I didn't know this phone could even do. So, if you have to switch to an Android phone, I would recommend the Samsung wholeheartedly. Good luck!
I'm with you. I know iphones aren't perfect but they are so easy to use. For me anyway. Plus I have a mac computer so getting a droid wouldn't make much sense haha. Thanks for letting me know Ting has iPhones now! Our cell bill is outrageous, I feel anyway. So I will look into more now. Thanks for all the info!!
I got my first smartphone in late 2011 - an LG. I liked it well enough for over a year - until I got an iPhone, 2nd hand. Wow. I'll never go back. My dad tried LG (liked), Blackberry (liked, but too few apps), Samsung (detested as battery life was terrible), and then an iPhone. He loved it the first day. He'll never go back, and he got my Mom an iPhone, too. All were purchased 2nd hand, for a fraction of what a new one costs.
I read your article and as an iPhone fan, I couldn't agree more.
However, I suggest you install the "WhatsApp" app --> it's just like iMessage, BUT you can contact ANYONE with it for free, using your WiFi. I mean, any of your Android- or BlackBerry-equipped friends or family wherever they are in the world. Isn't this awesome? And you can make group conversations as well, such as a group of girlfriends you like to see, so it makes setting a dinner date or choosing a "group" birthday present SO much easier.
Of course, WhatsApp is free and no, I was not sponsored by WhatsApp to write you this comment 🙂
Thanks for your blog, which I read regularly, full of good tips 🙂
I was a droid x2 user about 3.5 years ago when I got my first smart phone. Before I entered the smart phone world, my husband and I were debating what to go with, droid or ios operating systems... there was so much hype about the x2 that we got that for me, and the iphone 4 (the latest at the time) for him. Man, do I wish I had gotten an iphone. Over time (after about a year), the x2 got VERY glitchy and would malfunction terribly, while my husband's iphone, the same age, was doing great, and had zero issues. I have an iphone now and would never go back. I used to kind of snub "apple users" but now am one of them!
First, let me say that I'm not normally an earlier adapter to new technology. Case in point, we have no flat screen televisions in our home because the old type still work fine. In the fall of '09 I had driven a 100 miles for a work related situation to find out when I get there that the office had moved even though the mapquest maps said differently. I got a smartphone the same week.
I'm an Android girl and an HTC girl. I got my first smartphone in November 2009, an HTC Eris. It was replaced with a Rezound which I used until May when I got my HTC One M8. This phone is so intuitive and a dream to use. I love how customizable Android OS is. I have a Samsung tablet that I use instead of a laptop. I use my phone to research when I'm out buying for reselling on Amazon so it prevents me from making purchases that would not be a prudent business decision.
My two sons, 19&17 both have IPhones (5&5S) that they paid for and my husband has a Samsung Galaxy 5 as a work phone. I prefer my HTC over any of their phones. I finally decided it's like apples and oranges- they are both good, just different and we all prefer one over the other.
I've used an iPhone 4 S for about a year and a half on Verizon. Then when to Ting and got the Galaxy S III. I loved the fact that I'M in control how as to how the phone works and not someone else's software tells me how I can't use my phone. I was able to put a larger battery on the back of my S III making it last 3-5 days with a 5300 MAH battery which is 5 X larger than the iPhone 5 S and add a SD card for just music giving me 30 GB on top of my already big 16 GB for the phone itself. I guess you could say I get bored and want to change things and not keep it boring. I hope that what ever you go with makes you happy and works for you that's really all that matters in life. I also hated how Apple did away with Google Maps that really sent me over the edge. Apple Maps is right about 1/4 of the time. Where as Google Maps is right about 9/10 and if it's wrong that 10th time you can let Google know and if you are right they'll change it in the app?! Amazing they listen to people who use their stuff. Vers Apple if it's wrong you'll have to hope that while your using the app they notice people aren't getting the results they want and might update it. Our whole family uses Android and were always using Google Hangouts the iMessage equivalent.
Huh. My husband has the google maps app on his iphone and it works great!