# iPhone or Android?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 28, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854 "2010-06-28T22:23:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/61 "2010-07-02T02:56:46Z")

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I just upgraded to the LG Droid phone and so far I’m happy with it. For one thing, I like having a physical keyboard that the iPhone doesn’t have.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/62 "2010-07-02T03:20:07Z")

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I had the same concern about the touchscreen keyboard. I went into an AT&T store and played with an iPhone for a while and found it very easy to use. Anyone on the fence should try the same thing.

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**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/63 "2010-07-02T04:32:38Z")

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I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but thought this was hilarious.

[http://www.break.com/index/iphone-4-vs-htc-evo.html](http://www.break.com/index/iphone-4-vs-htc-evo.html)

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**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/64 "2010-07-02T12:52:44Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> I had the same concern about the touchscreen keyboard. I went into an AT&T store and played with an iPhone for a while and found it very easy to use. Anyone on the fence should try the same thing.

And always keep this in mind - “trust the auto-correct!” Android or iPhone, both do a really good job of autocorrecting what you’re trying to type. Don’t worry about the back button until you’re farther along the learning curve, and have a better feel for what’s a minor mistake the autocorrect will fix, and what you need to back up for.

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/65 "2010-07-02T13:49:28Z")

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If I were to pick up someone’s old Droid, and I have a Verizon number, how would I manually configure it? Anyone know? I don’t want to go deal with renegotiating my contract.

There’s got to be some way to manually enter all the right information.

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**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/66 "2010-07-02T14:32:00Z")

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> [@E-Sabbath](#):
>
> If I were to pick up someone’s old Droid, and I have a Verizon number, how would I manually configure it? Anyone know? I don’t want to go deal with renegotiating my contract.
> 
> There’s got to be some way to manually enter all the right information.

Sure. That’s just an esn change. There’s no reason it would change your contract, and you can do it yourself in a couple minutes on your online account. If you don’t have a smartphone currently, it will prompt you to add the $30 unlimited data package.

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**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/67 "2010-07-02T16:24:54Z")

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Yeaaaaaah… what if I don’t want to add the unlimited data package? 🙂

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**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/68 "2010-07-02T17:19:08Z")

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> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> Is there a website out there that says Android is not multitasking? As I said above I have never seen anyone claim it was not multitasking until this thread.

> [@ElectricZ](#):
>
> [This](http://davidquintana.com/entry/mobile-multitasking) seems to be a pretty good breakdown of how both Android and Apple handle “multitasking.”

There are many variants of ‘multitasking’, each suitable for different hardware and software. That link is a very good summary of a slippery and often misunderstood concept (as shown by some very confused comments in this thread). It is still a bit technical for the casual reader.

Folks should not forget that since these portable devices use a single window model, the type of multitasking needed to be able to watch video while taking notes is not needed and would be a waste of battery power.

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**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/69 "2010-07-02T17:35:46Z")

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Here’s an interesting chart comparing lots of the models out there:

> **[Smartphone Comparison Chart Compares Extensive Smartphone Specs](https://lifehacker.com/smartphone-comparison-chart-compares-extensive-smartpho-5575317)**
>
> If you're in the market for a current generation smartphone all the new features and specs can be confusing at best. This extensive—but easy to read!—chart will help you navigate the world of smartphone features and specifications.

I have a jailbroken iPhone 3G, and my wife has an unjailbroken one. I like it, but I have some gripes about the Apple/ATT that it’s associated with. Everybody in my wife’s family seems to live in a dead zone for ATT. Apple’s arbitrary app approval process is as annoying as heck. The inability to sync over wifi is pretty out of date by now (though I don’t know that any other phones fix that).

I will mention that I’ve never even come close to hitting the limit of the $25 data for 2GB package ATT offers. I typically do most heavy downloading at home over wifi, so that reduces the dataplan requirement. If you plan on teathering your phone to your notebook or netbook, don’t go with ATT, which requires an additional $20/month so you can use that 2GB of data you’ve already paid for.

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-or-android/544854/70 "2010-07-02T19:04:13Z")

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> [@E-Sabbath](#):
>
> Yeaaaaaah… what if I don’t want to add the unlimited data package? 🙂

Don’t get a Droid 🙂 It’s a Verizon requirement for smartphones.

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