I hate phones.
I had the iPhone for six years and I thought I loved it. After a year of each version, though, the battery would start to go. The home button would become harder to press, the screen would crack, I’d drop it into a Jersey City bar toilet, my dad would learn how to text it, etc, etc, you get the idea. Yes, six years of being totally cool and awesome for having an Apple phone finally started to take its toll on me.
My first Apple product was my 13″ white MacBook. I purchased it in the summer of 2007, after getting a big check for teaching gifted suburban kids how to make websites and flash animations. It was fun money made, but it also lead to a tragic accident involving a projector cable and the video output of my then-beloved HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook. That fun money was used to buy my MacBook, which is still in great condition today and turned me into an avid Mac user.
When I think of that HP and how awesome I thought it was back then, it reminds me of how I thought I was hot shit for owning a Motorola Razr before any of my friends did. My boyfriend at the time was mad jealz and my little brother added it to his angsty teenager list of reasons his life was “so terrible” compared to everyone else’s in the world. But then the iPhone was announced, and I got one as a gift! I was suffering from Mono during my first semester of graduate school! I was so excited, I was able to lift my fatigued head up to stare out the window every day, waiting for the UPS bro to deliver the thing!
Fast-forward to a couple of months ago, when the iPhone 5 was out, and I was seriously considering throwing my iPhone 4 out the window after the home button stopped working completely. I told my pal Mike, who has questionable facial hair – but is an awesome, single dude, so all y’all ladies should totally hit that – I was bored with iOS and hated Apple Maps (ugh, what a piece of shit app). I wanted to get an Android phone, but had no idea what was good out there. Mike immediately took me to the mall’s AT&T store. I told the AT&T guy to direct me to their nicest Android phone, and he brought us to the Samsung Galaxy S3. Well, actually, first he told me that I may want to look at the iPhone 5, but I told him to stop effing with me and “show me what I want to see.”
Within 10 minutes, I was $250 poorer and the new owner of a Samsung Galaxy S3 AND my ~*vintage *~ iPhone 4, which is now a glorified iPod hooked up to my stereo and playing Pandora radio. Everyone thought I was insane; most, though, even before I bought the new phone. I always had my iPhone on me, and now I had this new strange device to replace it; it was like putting a blue dress on after six years of wearing the same silver tuxedo. I’m sure that doesn’t make nearly as much sense in text as it does in my brain.
I hate writing reviews for things because who freaking cares, but my first impression of the Galaxy S3 was great. I love the large screen; it is gorgeous and, importantly, it still fits in one hand. The camera is much better than the iPhone, as is the widgetable home screen. The one thing I dislike about the phone is the keyboard, probably because it’s new to me. I remember when the iPhone came out, and everyone was like “oh the keyboard is tiny and my fat fingers won’t be able to type and I’m so old and what is Twitter about anyway you guys…” I think that after a few months of having the phone, I’ll get the hang of things and stop being such a geezer.
The one thing that the iPhone will always have over other mobile devices, simply because it’s an Apple product, is the availability of cool cases and accessories. As soon as I got this phone, though, one of my favorite artists, Brandon Bird, added a bunch of Galaxy S3 phones to his store. That’s when this phone got legit.
I love the Samsung Galaxy S3. It’s still a phone, and I hate phones because they send emails and app notifications, and they come with pricy phone bills. I’m just glad to have a device that is more flexible in terms of interface changeability and freedom to develop apps without having to join the Illuminati or be T-Pain. Sure, a stranger already called me a douche bag for switching from the iPhone, but the week before someone else called me a douche bag for owning an iPhone. I’m guess I’m just a douche bag regardless.
Have any of you made the switch from iOS to Android?
How about the other way around?
Will we all laugh one day at iPhones and Android phones like I do at HP laptops and Motorola Razrs?
My name is 
Welcome to the darkside. While you’re at it, check out AirDroid. Very very cool app.
NO EFFIN’ WAY.
This is, like, the coolest thing ever. I’m MESSAGING PEOPLE ON MY PHONE FROM MY COMPUTER. Thanks for the tip, dude.
I made a switch from Blackberry to iPhone way back when, but I don’t think that counts because Blackberries are not phones but medieval torture devices.
In other news, I just got myself an iPhone 5. Maps is a piece of shit, but it is a piece of shit I’ve been living with since I upgraded to iOS 6 as soon as it came out. The iOS just works for me. Yeah, it’s a closed system, yeah, apple has questionable policies, etc… But the damn thing just works. I’m used to it. I like the simplicity…
The iPone 5 is a nice upgrade from iPhone 4. I like the retina display – it is ridiculously crispy. Other than gorgeous new screen and a hardware facelift it is essentially the same phone. Which is more or less what I wanted.
Here is the reason I like apple devices: my iPhone 4 was 3 generations out of date, still got iOS6 update and all the new software features for free. This does not really happen on Android.
Btw, Galaxy just outsold iPhone this month so I think you will see a lot of accessories for it.
Btw, what’s the Android app development platform? Is it Java based? I downloaded XCode like a year ago to try to see how it is to make iPhone apps and found the IDE counter intuitive and the Obj C quite ugly.
It’s basically Java with Dalvik instead of JVM. It’s a dream to get students to set up because they don’t need to go through installing X Code (or setting up Mac OS X Server on VM if you’re a Windows user) and getting a developer account.
Oh, and totally remember when you had a Blackberry. Actually, Jimmy had a Blackberry and thought it was so cool until he inherited my old iPhone and was super quick to trash the Bb hahaha.
I think the Galaxy S3 is super simple. Of course, not as simple as going from one phone to the same phone upgraded like you did. Also, I wanted the challenge, if there were to be one, because I was getting my wisdom teeth all pulled out the next day haha. I needed a new toy to play with.
Ha! Motorola Razors… such innovation. My wife’s aunt still touts one. Someone should tell her :/
Sadly(?) I have never owned an iOS device. I’ve played with them for a few minutes here and there and I’ve watched what seems like 90% of the population around me dilly dally with them. I did have an iPod about 6 years ago. Traded it for a Zune (no regrets).
I am not against Apple or iOS. They make a good product. It’s really shiny and well designed. And from what I hear, “it just works” (maps excluded). I’m always a fan of functionality.
I didn’t really want to be part of the iPhone crowd (code for: I didn’t have enough money), so when the T-Mobile G1 (first Android phone) came out (2008) I jumped on it. That phone sucked pretty badly. In fact, it is a device I already laugh at. I swear it had like 5 apps or something when I got it. The “Market” was a black and white list of words back then. The phone was so laggy and slow. But it was refreshing somehow. I have stuck with the Nexus line of Android devices ever since. Being a graphic designer I feel like I’ve betrayed my breed or something.
If you get another Android phone in the future, when we are all forced to live under the Android overlords, I would suggest getting one in the Nexus line that Google puts out themselves. It eliminates the “long wait for an update” problem, plus stock Android is the best version these days. The early versions felt like a damn cartoon compared to the Skynet styling of today.
Really, I think the bottom line is if you want to customize your phone, in almost any way, then Android is your best choice. These Chinese folks made their own, way different version of it: http://www.miui.com/ that kind of looks like iOS a little (irony?).
Each person will prefer something different. I think you chose wisely being that you’re a web dev/programmer person.
Thanks for the post! Keep on keepin’ on.
Yeah, you must get a lot of h8rs getting on your case about not being an Apple fanboy. I’m surprised that folks get on my case about what technology I use. My students pick on me for my office iMac. So jealous of my fancy machine, those kids.
#razrs4ever