Is Android Already Better Than the iPhone 5?
aromita is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
There is a huge debate between the users of Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and those who use the Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android as the OS, as to which is superior. Google had announced that in Q3 of 2011, the total number of Android activations had surpassed 190 million, a noteworthy increase of 29% from Q2. Apple may have pleased the masses by adding significantly better features to its smartphone offering, but when it comes to innovation, the iPhone 5 still has a long way to go to compete with the latest Android handsets.
Though they are now presenting a larger screen, a faster A6 processor, 4G LTE support but unfortunately the “numero uno” is a year behind and $199 short because Android has provided all these features and even more for quite some time now. Following are the nuances why Android phones are way better than Apple.
Bigger than 4 inch screens: Apple moved from a mere 3.5-inch to a 4-inch display where as for the Androids, the 4.3-inch Droid RAZR M is measured a “condensed” phone, the 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S III is conventional and the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note II is huge. A larger screen is favored as it makes videos more exhilarating, texts are simple to read and keys on the keyboard easier to hit. Thus Apple still trails by a broad edge.
Stylus support: iPhone 5 doesn’t support pen input. The third party capacitive stylus would work on the iPhone 5 but they would only help in providing the user with a slender finger. Most of the high end android smartphones provide dynamic stylus and deep pen assimilation with the feel like you jotting on a paper with a pen. The latest smartphones with android allows users can to write notes on the calendar, on the flipside of JPGs and various other places all through the emails, photos and videos by moving the stylus faintly on top of the screen.
NFC support: NFC (Near Field Communication) is a set of principles for smartphones and allied devices to determine radio communication with each other by moving them together or bringing them to close immediacy for data exchange, etc. iPhone 5 doesn’t support this and its users can only be positive to have it in iPhone 6 in 2013. However the latest Android phone not only helps to transmit payments, but also contribute to sharing of photos, videos, contacts and more just by tapping their backs as one. The NFC sharing software is built in the OS of the Android and any third party application can use for flawless sharing.
Feasibility to attach any file in the email: The previous iOS mail did not provide the user with an attachment of file option which they do now in the new iOS 6 mail, but is limited to only images or videos. Google's Android allows any sort of file to be attached to the email just like in Windows irrespective of the third party email client be it a word attachment, PowerPoint presentation, etc.
Third-party software keyboard: With the iPhone 5 any keyboard can be used as long as it’s the stock iOS 6 keyboard. But if a user doesn’t like the Google’s basic design, he/she is free to install a third party keyboard that suits their need. “Swype” is regarded to be the best Android keyboard which helps to form words by tracing amid letters on keyboard & Swiftkey predicts the next word in the sentence to put aside the effort of stroking the keys.
Haptic Technology: Most of the Android phones provide with optional haptic response, which allows the user to get a lovely palpable vibration whilst typing, long press on the screen or tap on the navigation buttons. It provides a strong sense of acceptance to the user that the touch is registered and there is no need to tap twice. Alas, with iPhone 5 there is no such choice, it’s just a smooth screen with no response.
File System visibility: When the user connects the Android phone to the PC it shows up the entire file like in Window’s “C” drive. It provides entrée to all the files and folders so if they want to replicate they just have to drag and drop. However in Apple the user gets the access of the (DCIM) folder only i.e. the digital camera folder so only thing that can be dragged and dropped are the pictures.
Siri vs Google Now: The latest Siri software has the ability to even read, sport scores and standings. It also allows you to make reservations via OpenTable. In contrast, Google Now, not only allows you with the scores, but also scans your calendar and automatically reminds you for your appointments. This is how Google is always one step ahead of Apple in terms of innovation.
Maps: Apple was the first one to come up with the Map feature in its initial versions of iPhones. But they could not upgrade the Maps to include walking directions or transit directions. Whereas Google Maps, not only provides walking directions and transits, they have upgraded to the 3-D feature as well. This gives Google's android again an edge on iOs.
Conclusion
There is a huge fad about the Apple’s iPhone 5 that apparently makes its users feel advanced than the rest but we can see from the above distinguishing comparisons that iPhone 5 lacks in a number of ways and features as compared to Google’s Android. Thus after going through this, a buyer would get a pristine picture whether to go for an Android phone and get its money’s worth or go ahead with the fad.
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