Why Android is Better than iPhone ?

Recently my sister has bought a new phone. Previously she was using iPhone but now she purchased one Android based phone, What is the reason? Is network providers to blame? Are the restrictions that providers set in place with Apple limiting innovation?

Android phones can do things better than iPhone and are far better than iPhone. Below are the reasons :

Availability:

Android phones are almost universally available, unlike the iPhone, which is available only at Apple Stores and a select few stores. Also, nearly all Android phones are available almost instantly in India when they are launched worldwide, but the iPhone is available in USA first than in other nations usually after a year, when it is already too old.

Network lock:

The major drawback of iPhone is, it is sold with a network lock - it works only with one mobile service provider to which it is subscribed, and you cannot use it with another provider. Android phones do not have any such restrictions and the users are free to use any network of their choice.

Price:

With Style and features, money also matters. When a new iPhone is launched, it is priced exorbitantly and is out of reach for most customers. Whereas, Android phones are a mixed bag as far as price is concerned, as there are so many of them that almost every price segment is covered and you can choose the Android phone that suits your pocket. .

Widgets:
 
Widgets are valuable because they can provide an at-a-glance look at lots of different kinds of information and quick access to valuable apps and configuration settings. Android phones have screen with widgets with an actual purpose, giving you information at the flick of your finger tip.

For example, Data Counter widget instantly displays data usage to check your internet usage, On the other hand, Twitter widget keeps you updated with your Tweets.

No need for software application on the computer:

iPhone needs iTunes on your computer for syncing to do just about anything on the iPhone, such as transferring applications, music, videos or contacts. In addition, you can sync it with only a limited number of computers. Android phones do not need any such application - simply plug the phone into any computer and exercise complete control over your phone.

Data transfer is as easy as drag and drop. On a side note, I deem the SD card expandable memory option in the Android phone to be better than having no memory slot as in the iPhone, because you can carry additional memory cards with you and use when required without worrying about running out of memory.

Convenience:

You can instantly switch on or off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile Network or GPS on the Android phone just by simply clicking on the provided buttons on the home-screen. This goes a long way in conserving battery life. In the iPhone, you have to go deep into the settings to be able to enable or disable these features.

Better web browser:

The web browser on the Android phone is really awesome. To know the reality, you have to use it personally. It is faster than Safari, has every feature that you expect from a web browser, and supports Flash. Being an operating system developed by Google, as expected Google is integrated deep into the heart of Android. Thus, if you want to search, simply enter the search button and enter your search string and the results will appear with no delay. There is also Google Voice app available for Android.

Of course, the browsing experience varies with the speed of the processor inside the Android phone, which means that you will get the best browsing experience on the more expensive phones. Also, we must mention here that the web browser on the iPhone 4 is supposed to be the best around, but we don't get the iPhone 4 here in India and even if we were to import it, it is too expensive. 

Notification system:

In the iPhone, there is a very limited notification system. For example, if you are a Twitter user, then you need to open the Twitter app to find the tweets.

In Android based phones, notifications are organized in a better fashion. These apps can access the notification system of the operating system and alert you on the notification bar to a new email, voice message, and Twitter or Facebook notification, in addition to SMS. The application runs in the background and you do not need to open it to find out the status.

Click image below for information about app design :

 (Click image to enlarge)

Apps from Market:

Just like the App store from Apple, there are lots of apps for Android available in the Android Market. Just about every iPhone app has an equivalent, which is usually free. The coolest part is that you need not sign into your account every time you want to install an app from the Market, even if the app is free. And yes, Market has more liberal censorship laws for Android apps - Google does not play the moral police.

Unlimited personalization:

Android phones can be personalized the way you want. Thus, you can make the phone appear the way you want, and behave the way you wish.

  

Depending on the type of user you are, you can configure each desktop to serve your needs. If you are a business user, you may want a screen with contacts, emails, stocks and news updates via RSS, etc. A social network user may want to have a Facebook desktop, a Twitter desktop, and so on. You can even add a whole new desktop if you want and set default actions for different contacts. This is the power of Open Source that is not available in iPhone.

OS update makes your phone better:

Updating the operating system on an older iPhone such as installing iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G, usually affects the performance in the negative way, forcing me think whether it is a strategy by Apple to force you into buying their newer iPhone. Forget about preventing the OS being updated in older devices after a certain version, Apple does not even care to warn the users against the ill effects of updating the OS on older devices.

Android on the other side, has been seen to actually make the phones work faster with the updated OS. Better still, to avoid any problems as we have seen in the previous example, a trend has been seen where most Android phone manufacturers play safe by setting a limit that an Android phone can update its OS only twice in its lifetime.

Some of the above limitations can be overcome by Jailbreaking the iPhone, but then would you risk voiding the warranty on such an expensive device? I wouldn't.

So at last, i have some good enough reasons to decide to go for an Android phone. Please tell me your views in the comments section below.