Talk me out of an Android!

[mwatson2]

So I've always been an iPhone user primarily because of the quality of the available apps, the quality of the hardware, and the ease of walking into an Apple store for support and/or a replacement phone. From what I've read and researched, the android OS and hardware options have landed on par with the apple devices so I'm considering picking up an HTC One(perhaps another option?) and figured I'd try to get some opinions before I made the move. To be clear, I give 0 ****s about the company's cultures or their methodologies; I just want a nice phone that will do what I want:

• Run the handful off apps I currently run on my iphone (evernote, wunderlist, spotify, pandora, dashlane, feedly, usaa, ...) which from my research Android does just fine.
• Play the majority of games I play on my iphone to kill time. (kairosoft games, kingdom rush, the occasional puzzle game) again, doesn't appear to be an issue.
• Run some 3rd party tweaks not usually allowed like tethering, downloading modified games, console emulators.
• Fit in my pocket and not feel like a damn tablet.
• Interface well with car stereos for listening to pandora, spotify, and audiobooks.
• Has battery life equal or better than my iPhone (currently end the day at about 20-30% on my 4s)

I'd love to hear from both sides of the fence on this, feel free to talk me out of an android option if you think apple will outperform on many of these. I currently am on a jailbroken 4s and really have no complaints at this point other than the poor emulator performance. Looking to change out of curiosity more than anything, and perhaps for the ease of customization.

Thanks folks!

[Maisteri]

Samsung Galaxy S2 is an option. Or S3, it's slightly bigger than the S2 though.

[x4kep]

Well HTC One is currently one of the biggest shots on the android market.
I personally use Galaxy S+, and did use S3 for a bit and it is completely outstanding, it is really fast and runs every single app in perfect quality with no fps issues.
Check Galaxy S4 but I think it doesn't fit your need of feeling it's a phone rather then tablet.

You will love android and its customisation, as well with a nice camera compared to iPhone, you will be free to transfer songs without iTunes and you will love installing custom mods and stuff
Cheers

[Fisher]

Hmm.. tough one.

You have the option of choosing a few phones, but you should really research the addons companies makes, all new phones can do what you want, difference is how they do it. I'll take two top notch models:

Galaxy s4
Pros: multitask, can run two apps on the screen(not all just some like browser gmail youtube)
Floating video player (on top of other apps, watch a movie while you chat)
Dual photos (use both cameras at the same time)
You can change battery and add more gigs with an sd card
Cons:
Plastic
Lot of crapware samsung put there you will 100% want to root it after a week (when ur in a rush to close an app you press home button multiple times Siri will pop out asking 'what would you like to do')


HTC One
Pros:
Durable
Dual speakers on the front
Zoe (youtube htc zoe)
Blink feed (feed from news or social networks on your home screen)
Cons:
No menu button
Back button placed terirbly for right hand users - its a large phone, 'back' button all the way to the right is a terrible idea
Same with lock button
HTC Sense is very specific and doesn't come all that natural so you will need a bit of time to get used to it overall.

So what you really want to research is the difference between TouchWiz (samsung) and Sense (HTC) as the specs are pretty much the same.

If you want to root the device and install a custome ROM then sense and touchwiz don't really matter, just pick between plastic or metal.

For lower end(cheaper) but still good phones check out the following:
Samsung Galaxu S3, S3 mini, S2. Possibly S4 active, no price announced yet, but a damn nice phone
HTC One S, One X, One X +, Droid DNA (mighty nice phone, USA only)

I own One S and S3 mini at the moment, both perform excellent, and I'm a power user so you should be fine. Next upgrade is S4 active, as its durable, water resistsnt and it can take damn pictures underwater. Gotta love it.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[Fisher]

Just a side note my nexus 7 tablet fits my pocket perfectly, like a phone. As stupid as having a tablet in your pocket is, it makes carrying it around a breeze #amjustsaying.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[eSko]

If I had to choose an Android phone, it would be HTC One, preferably the "Google Play" edition with stock Android. It is really your only choice if you want build quality comparable to iPhone. The questions I would ask first are these:

1) What do I expect to gain from the switch to Android?
2) What applications do I use most on iOS and do they have any decent alternative on Android?
3) How much money have I already spent on App Store?
4) Am I OK with constant UI lags caused by Android's architecture?
5) Am I OK with not receiving any official OS updates after 1-1,5 years from now?

If the answers to these questions are more towards Android, go and buy HTC One. If not, wait for the release of iPhone 5S (to buy it or to buy iPhone 5 cheaper).

[Fisher]

Why get HTC one with stock, then he got hardware, but no software. If you want stock android get a nexus device >.>

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[eSko]

If I recall correctly, the latest Nexus device is Nexus 4, which is pretty old at this moment and Play editions of S4 and One basically take the role of current sort-of Nexus devices.

And well, it is a matter of personal taste, but I find most Android "skins" pretty horrendous in terms of graphic design. TouchWiz especially... But I agree that Sense on One is actually bearable... Another reason to get Play edition is more frequent update cycle (while it lasts).

[Sephiroth]

My coworker has a Galaxy S4, and I must say I actually really enjoy it compared to my Razor MAXX HD.

[Harambeqt]

I have an iphone 4 atm, and I've had 3 or 4 androids before that and my next phone will be an android.
Yes Iphones IOS is alot more stable than the android os but the hardware in the android phones are way ahead, and there are so many different brands and models to choose from.
If buy a brand new android you will get the latest available hardware if you go for something like the newest Samsung galaxy S or HTC same with I phone but it takes months and sometimes a year for them to make a new phone, even now they don't have 1080p screens which was introduced in like December but I guess the 5s will have it. Not a big point but if you want the latest -> Android.