Moving From the iPhone to Android: How it Compares and Making the Switch!
Introduction
Congratulations on making the decision to switch from the iPhone to an Android phone! The decision probably wasn’t easy, but you should be commended for making the jump to Android. If you are still on the fence, this guide will enlighten you to the benefits of Android and make the transition to your phone’s new environment much easier.
What To Expect
Switching from an older iPhone like the original 2G, 3G, or 3GS versions to a modern Android phone, you can expect a noticeable bump in performance and speed. All of the best Android phones come with speedy 1Ghz processors comparable if not better than the iPhone 4’s 1Ghz A4 Cortex processor. They all feature 512MB of RAM and combine with Android’s newest and most speedy Froyo OS.
Benefits
Powered With Google** – This is by far the biggest advantage. With Gmail and Google’s other services, it is so easy to organize your life while everything is updated online and your phone in an instant.
- Expandable storage/memory – with a MicroSDHC slot in addition to onboard storage, Android phones are capable of expanding their storage with cards as big as 32GB. This means more room for music, videos, and apps!
- Open Source OS – Android is an open environment free of most restrictions. This also means phone manufacturers and developers are free to create and customize.
- Customizability – On that note, Android phones are inherently more customizable in the home screen and notification bar, desktop widgets, custom shortcuts, and third party apps.
- More Productive – More customizability leads to a more personal and more productive phone. The notification bar keeps track of all of your incoming emails, text messages, and app notifications. It houses convenient connectivity icons, the time and date and best of all, is available everywhere.
- More free apps – Among the 80,000+ apps, Android has a greater proportion of free apps in the Market. It’s about 60/40 free whereas Apple’s AppStore is about 40/60 free/paid.
- Free from ITunes – No more syncing required for updates, apps, and music!
- Multitasking Just Works – Android has been doing multitasking since the beginning and they know how to do it best. Multiple apps (including third-party) run properly when in the background and can easily be switched without halting or pausing apps like iOS 4.0.
- Google Apps – Google’s own apps are awesome! From navigating maps of the road to the night sky, they know how to develop feature-loaded apps that work extraordinarily well.
Jailbreak vs. Root
On the iPhone, there’s jailbreak and Cydia. On Android, there’s just root access gained through rooting your phone. The rooting process unlocks administrative ‘root’ access, which allows you to install rooted apps that require special access. So how do you get these root apps? They’re all freely available and sanctioned on the Android Market. No more alternative markets and third-party repositories! Rooting is also supported by Google and unlike Apple, isn’t trying to patch every root method to keep a closed system.
Syncing Your Data
As previously mentioned, your phone is powered and revolves around Google. This includes, emails through Gmail, calendars, contacts, Google Voice, Picassa Web Albums, Youtube, Android settings, Market apps, and tons more. Once setup with a primary Gmail account, everything is automatically synced over the air so everything is securely stored with Google.
Getting Started with Android
Now that you’ve made the decision to go with Android, head on over to our guides to setting up Android for the first time to get started and using the Android Operating System. Also check out our list of the best Android phones if you haven’t decided on a particular phone yet.
