Switching from iOS to Android: What You May Not Know

Update Jul 2011: Read the followup article Why Switch to Android to get more insights on Android.

I have a friend who recently switched to Android coming from iOS. Like most of my friends who did the leap of faith, he came to me asking, "how come it doesn't work like this, how come it doesn't do that, iPhone does that!" His questions are coming from the common stigma of iPhone users that Android is merely a copy of the iOS which has been played by the media. If you think this way, you couldn't be more wrong.

At first, before I tried Android, I had the same idea: it should work like the iPhone, only a bit less restrictive. But to my surprise, it didn't. Sure, it was a lot less restrictive, but it's not as iPhone as I think. If you haven't tried Android and have been planning the leap of faith, feel free to read the rest of the article. Below is a quick summary of the similarities / differences:

	iOS	Android
Popular Devices	iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, iPad	HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, HTC Legend, HTC Hero, X10 mini/pro, LG Optimus One, Samsung Galaxy 5, Motorola Droid, Nexus One, Nexus S
Sync Software	iTunes	Manufacturer-provided PC Sync Software
Tethering	Yes	Yes, 2.2+ (or workaround app for lower versions)
Flash Support	No	Yes, 2.2 +
Multitasking	Yes, by pausing apps in the background	Yes, true multitasking
Hot-Spot Capability	No	Yes, 2.2+ (or workaround for lower versions)
Folders	Yes (for apps only)	Yes (filesystem-wide)
Copy and Paste	Yes	Yes
Video Chat	Native support (only on iPhone 4 hardware or tweaks on 3GS	Yes (manufacturer-provided)
Books	Support for iBooks to download and read digital books.	Available only through add-on apps.
Music	Available through iTunes; automatic syncing with desktop iTunes. Streaming music only supported through apps.	Built-in ability to play MP3 files, but no syncing with your desktop music. Streaming music available via add-on apps.
Apps	300,000 iPhone apps	100,000 Android apps
Email	Unified inbox (one inbox for all accounts), threaded messaging	No unified inbox, threaded messaging via Gmail
Claim to Fame	Silky smooth operation, there's an app for anything, casual gaming platform, iTunes integration	OS is updated every 6 months, Very flexible and customizable user experience, support from dozens of mobile phone manufacturers and thus more choices of models

FAQ

How come my Android's interface is not as silky smooth as the iPhone's

Well, this might sound like making excuses but there are several factors: 1.) Android has true multitasking unlike the iOS which pauses or kills applications when not needed. Android multitasks and keeps each app alive unless you signal your device to terminate it. 2.) iOS is designed specifically for Apple's hardware, each procedure and call matches and is optimized to work with the hardware inside your iPhone, whereas Android is very generalized to work with different hardwares--which gives you choices and thus we have cheaper to ridiculously expensive Android phones.

How do I install apps from my PC to my Android Phone

To answer that question: you can't. Android does not have a syncing software to sync your stuff from pc to phone. Everything is done via the Android Market on your device. The stuff you download or buy is remembered by your Google account in case your phone gets lost or the SD card gets broken. But the data is forever gone unless you have backed it up via your preferred Android phone backup app.

Update: You now can do this by visiting market.android.com. Just choose the app, click install, and lo and behold, as soon as your phone connects, the app downloads the app.

What is this fragmentation I hear about?

It is the way the Android Market is broken because of the inordinate number of available combinations of device hardware, screen resolution, and OS version. That is to say that not all apps will work with your Android phone and this is a big pain for the developers (imagine having to write your app so that it works for versions 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.0, and then you have to make it fit the HVGA, HWVGA, WVGA, VGA, FWVGA screens, and then you need to make sure it will run amidst the device not having a GPU or having 600MHz CPU only, you get the point). This is somewhat the reason why developers are hesitant to port their stuff to Android: the tedious testing and making sure it works not only with popular devices kind of leaves them rethinking.

How come my friend's phone is on Froyo and I'm stuck on Donut?

Well, you are using a Sony Ericsson device. LOL. That or you don't know how to update. Because Android has been designed to work with any hardware, we have lots of manufacturers in the scene and each manufacturer makes their own tweaks and choices of hardware and drivers which needs to be modified for each OS version to work properly with their choices of hardware and software tweaks. And that update takes time and money. That's why Motorola's devices are stuck on 2.1 and Sony Ericsson had a hard time moving from 1.6 to 2.1.

Update: Sony Ericsson has now moved to 2.1 and is expecting to release 2.3.3 for their X10 users come August 2011. Motorola is the one who's behind the times now, Hello, XT720.

What is the iTunes equivalent on Android?

There is none. But here is where the manufacturers do their jobs. As far as I know, it is only Sony Ericsson that has a paid music service that allows you to download music and pay for them a la iTunes. This service is called PlayNow. Samsung, HTC, and Motorola, as far as I know, does not have any. Apps are downloadable via the Android market.

Why doesn't my FB notify me when I have a notification in my Android, it does in iPhone?

For one, the FB app on Android is different from the one in iPhone. I haven't read up on iPhone but I guess The iPhone FB has push notifications via listeners--small codes that retrieve data from their servers. On Android, the whole app needs to run to get you the notifications. Or at least that's what experience tells me. I haven't read up on this.

Update: Android users with Froyo (2.2) and above are now treated to push notifications from the facebook app.

So who's winning, Apple or Google?

Apple has more iOS devices if you count the iPod Touch and the iPad. Strictly speaking these are not phones. Android sales only count devices approved by Google and the Galaxy Tab. Strictly speaking that does not count the OEM devices and the oPhones produced in China and other Android devices not licensed by Google. Apple slightly wins over Google, if you add iPod Touch and iPad to the count, but Google wins by a wide if you take them out (blame it on the iPhone's price).

Samsung Kies sucks.

I know, right?!

Update (Jul 2011): It still sucks.

Update (Jul 2011): Apparently, people have been reading this post quite often so I am working on a thorough update for this and a follow-up post on "Why should I move to Android?" that should highlight reasons to switch to Android from iOS or Symbian or RIM. Click here to read reasons Why you should switch to Android.

If you have any more questions, feel free to post them on the comments section. :D