Android versus iPhone

The Android versus iPhone debate has been heating up in the recent months as consumers, journalists, industry folk, and even CEOs argue over which platform is superior. Now, obviously an article found on an Android website discussing these issues is going to be a little (ok, maybe a lot) biased, but hey… this isn’t NPR.

There are dozens of Apple sites that will make the argument that Apple’s iOS platform is superior to Android, and they may even be right about a few of them. That being said, there are some really good reasons why I feel Android is better than Apple and the iPhone. In fact, I have five reasons, and you can find out what those reasons are by continuing to read after the break.

Open Source:

This is a very hotly debated aspect of Android, with many people associating this as something negative about Android. Many have argued that Android being open source leads to a lack of control by Google, and thus results in fragmentation. With that being said, however, I think the pros of the open source model vastly outweigh the cons, and here’s why.

Developers and manufacturers are free to implement and change Android in any way that they would like, which opens up the platform to tons of new ideas and innovations. Granted these changes aren’t always for the better, but the potential for a developer or manufacturer to create something unique and customized using Android is there – thanks to the fact it is open sourced.

Take the MIUI Android ROM (pictured above) for example. Thanks to Android being open source, developers are able to produce custom ROMs that look and function amazingly. Having the freedom to choose where and how to implement a platform simply offers much more flexibility, which is ultimately better for everyone.

Adobe Flash:

Many companies (including Adobe, ironically) are beginning to push for HTML5 to become the new standard. However, until that day comes, Flash still powers a lot of the Web’s multimedia. That being said, Android enjoys full Flash support with Android 2.2, whereas the only way to even watch Flash video on an iPhone is to use the recently released iOS version of Skyfire.

In all honesty, I’ve had very little problems using Flash on Froyo. I haven’t noticed any significant decreases in my phone’s performance, and doing something as trivial as watching a YouTube video where it’s embedded on a page is a nice feature. Flash may be a dying star, but while it’s still here, Android has it, and the iPhone does not.

More Carrier Options:

Many iPhone users can attest to their love/hate relationship with AT&T. As it stands, AT&T is the only carrier that has the iPhone, and I have read countless horror stories about their network. Constant dropped calls, lost service and delayed messages are just some of the gripes iPhone users haves with AT&T.

Even as I sit here writing this, I am staring at an AT&T cellular base station my roommate has to use to get a signal in our apartment. With Android, you have the option of just about every carrier in the US, including some of the little guys. Now granted, we may see the iPhone headed to Big Red sometime in the new year, and AT&T’s upcoming 4G network may solve a lot of the woes iPhone users deal with on a daily basis.

Fully Hackable:

I alluded to this a bit up above when discussing ROMs, but the hacking aspect is one area where Android severely trumps the iPhone. Perhaps it’s the Linux geek in me, but there’s something about being able to install custom recovery software, custom ROMs, and having root access to my device that just makes me feel more comfortable about using the device.

For example, I am using the popular CyanogenMod ROM for my Droid Incredible, but was having a problem with an application crashing and causing my phone to restart. I was unable to uninstall it conventionally (it had become corrupt somehow) but I was able to use my superuser privileges to remove it for good.

Another wonderful element of Android’s hacking aspect is the developer community. Forums such as XDA-Developers are a treasure trove of knowledgable individuals who are able to do some pretty incredible things with these phones. The number of custom ROMs, applications, tips, and tricks I have come across on that forum alone is countless, and it is the spirit of the developer community that is going to take Android to new heights.

Dozens of Phones to Choose From:

The iPhone is a beautiful piece of hardware, but what if you want an iOS phone but want something with a QWERTY keyboard? Or suppose you want something a little bigger, or something a little smaller, or something a little more cost effective?

With the iPhone, you’re stuck with just the iPhone. With Android, however, there are dozens of options available to consumers. You have the low-end phones for customers that want the Android experience but don’t want to spend a lot of money, the mid-range models for people that only want to spent $50 or $100, or power users who want the biggest and baddest devices, and have no problems spending $200 plus dollars.

With new Android phones coming out every week it seems, the potential for outstanding devices is massive. I think we’re only seeing a small fraction of what is possible, and I am very much looking forward to what Android 3.0 and the year 2011 have in store.

Conclusions:

I know I’m going to get flamed for this article, and I welcome it. The great thing about opinion articles is the discussion that results and I am looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this.

Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means saying Android is a perfect platform. On the contrary, it has its fair share of problems just like any other. I do firmly believe though that these are five very legitimate reasons that make Android a better platform than iOS and the iPhone.

Hopefully, as Android continues to progress and manufacturers continue to produce better and better devices, we can continue to add to this list. For the time being, however, these are the aspects of Android that I feel make it better than the iPhone, and I encourage you to leave a comment below and let your voice be heard.