Android Newbie Guide

The thing I like most about my Android phone (a Samsung Galaxy Vibrant on T-Mo) over an iPhone is widgets and the ability to customize it. Multitasking allows you to have apps running that will turn the volume down when you get into work, pop it into silent mode when you plug it in to charge at night etc. It allows you to run widgets on your home screen so at a glance I can see my agenda, the weather etc. If Woot gets a new item I get a notification etc etc. Check out the Galaxy S2 or the new http://www.google.com/nexus/ I can think of many things you can do with an Android that you can't do with an iPhone but nothing an iPhone can do that an Android can't.

I do not know of an Android Newbie Guide. I switched mid-2011 and think it's excellent. I have a Samsung Galaxy S II (Hercules) and love it. It's not as big as the Note but about as big as I can use comfortably with one hand. I use http://www.swype.com/ as my text-entry and it's great to be able to do it one-handed. To me, the only major annoyance between iPhone and Android is that iPhone has one excellent audio app for all things audio (podcasts, audio books, mp3s, all of which I use). Android does not have one audio app that excels at all of these things--you need a different app for each if you want the most features (I use beyondpod for podcasts, audible and Mort Player for books, and the built in app for mp3s). There is nothing the iPhone can do that my Android cannot that I know about or care about (I used to have an iPhone 3GS). The screen on my Galaxy is absolutely better than the iPhone in the ways I care about: legibility in general and legibility in direct sunlight. The iPhone is utterly useless in direct sunlight (not sure if they fixed this in the 4S). The main difference when it comes to customization is that Android allows the use of widgets. Whearas on the iPhone each icon just launches an app, the Android screen can have widgets which look like dynamic (constantly updated) icons. At it's most basic, these can tell you the weather, let you control apps without launching them (for instance, control an audio player), or use specific aspects of an app without leaving the home screen (such as create an audio or photo note, view contents of your calendar/agenda, etc.). You can also customize the complete look of your phone. For example, to my memory the iPhone has a 4-icon dock at the bottom. My phone also has a 4-icon dock... but it's scrollable, so I can swipe left or right to bring up different docks (without changing the rest of the screen). I am also able to assign multiple apps to a single icon. So, for instance, if I tap on the "speech bubble" icon, it launches my texting app (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jb.gosms&hl=en). If I stroke that same icon, it launches my email app. If I tap the icon that looks like an outline of a person, I see my contacts. If I stroke it, it launches my Facebook app. This is because I'm able to use a custom launcher (I use https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gau.go.launcherex&hl=en, which allows me to alter ever aspect of my "desktop", from wallpaper to icon size and placement, number of screens, results of gestures such as swiping down or up, etc etc.). As much as I love the features of Android, one of the things I like best is that I can use them on whatever network I please. I'm in Canada and data and cell plans are outrageously expensive on the major networks and their offshoots. I wrote a http://ask.metafilter.com/203958/Please-help-me-pick-a-mobile-phone-plan-in-British-Columbia#2939813 about this a while ago.

BTW, there are numerous Siri wannabes on Android. Probably the best is Vlingo. It doesn't do everything Siri does, but it does a lot of it, and it's free. Also, pretty much every app can use voice recognition; there's a button on the keyboard to use speech on anywhere you can input text. Keyboards are another thing you can swap out. There are keyboards that let you enter text by gliding from one letter to the next (Swype). There are others that have supernatural word prediction (Swiftkey), I mean I can type "I love you" to my wife with THREE keystrokes because I do it so often. There's a Graffiti "keyboard" for Palm fans and other handwriting recognition ones. There's even one that combines a number of entry methods into one (FlexT9). Some of these cost a few bucks, but keep an eye out on the Amazon app store or on GetJar for discounts or freebies. I guess I can't talk about how customizable Android without mentioning Tasker, an inexpensive app that lets you basically program your phone. For example, when my phone rings, and the Bluetooth is off, I've set up Tasker to turn it on so that if I'm in my car, I can take the call on the car handsfree unit. If Bluetooth isn't connected in ten seconds after it turns on, I have Tasker set up to turn it back off to save battery, because I'm not in my car. When I plug in my headphones, Tasker automatically gives me a menu of my music apps so I can pick which one I want, and also adds an item to the notification bar to turn the volume all the way up in one click in case I'm in my car and have connected the phone to the line input on the head unit. When I launch a mapping app, Tasker automatically turns on the GPS if it's off, and turns it off a few minutes after I've stopped using the app. I have even customized the locking function on my phone using Tasker, so it doesn't lock until the screen's been off for 15 seconds (so if I see it turn off and turn it back right on right away, I don't have to unlock it). If I don't unlock it a few seconds after I turn it on, Tasker displays my contact info so that if someone found it, they can contact me. This took hours to set up and debug, and it's not for everyone, but the iPhone can't do it at all.

I too am very interested in the Galaxy Note, seems like the Newton has finally come 'round again. To me the big advantage of Android is how extensible it is. For example, if you install an application that can be used to share things with others (e.g. Facebook, Flickr, whatever) then whenever you say "Share This" in any program, that application (along with all applications that have a sharing capability) is one of the options. Share to Facebook, share to Flickr. iPhone has nothing like that. Same for maps; if you install an app that can do maps, Android will ask you which one you want to use for mapping, so when an app says "give me a map" it goes to whatever application you select. Android also lets you add widgets to your home screen with weather, the latest text message, your e-mail, stock quotes, whatever you want. And by the way, the home screen application can be switched out too; there are a number of good replacements, many free. Pretty much every stock component can be replaced: text (SMS) app, e-mail, Web browser, phone dialer/address book... the list goes on. On most Android phones, you can even replace the entire operating system with a different variety from a third party. The downside of all this flexibility, of course, is that you will spend a lot of time trying various apps to find the best one. With iPhone you can just use it, secure in the knowledge that there's not a better phone app you could be using -- if only because Apple doesn't allow any phone apps. On the other hand, the iPhone is very smooth and it's hard to imagine better phone, SMS, etc. apps than the provided ones anyway. I have an Evo 4G on Sprint and will probably get another Android phone when I'm eligible for an upgrade this fall. My wife has an iPhone. I like the flexibility of Android and have "rooted" my phone and installed a third-party ROM with additional features... but I also spent a month with a phone that spontaneously rebooted at least twice a day, usually when I was trying to actually do something with it, until I figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Still, I think even if I didn't root my phone, I'd probably still go with Android.

And that they give you the ability to customize everything, but I don't really even know what that means. I haven't played with a recent iPhone, which I'm told has incorporated some Android-first-features, but what it means in the real world is that when you look at your phone and think "I wish it could do [simple little thing] that would make me very happy" then an iPhone often will not let you do that, and an Android usually will. For example, if you find yourself turning wifi or bluetooth on and off a lot, Android phones will let you put those toggles right on the screen as soon as you swipe-to-unlock. Iphones will (or used to) keep them hidden behind several taps in the settings (making it a pain to toggle them, leading to them always being on and draining the battery). Iphones will give you one slider for unlocking the phone. Android (well, a specific app) will give you 6 different ones so that one unlocks, one unlocks and goes straight to the calculator, one unlocks and goes straight to the browser, one unlocks and goes straight to the podcast app, and so on. Basically, there are several different ways to put exactly which features/apps you want (even obscure ones normally buried in a sub-menu of settings) right there on the screen as soon as you unlock the phone (or, in some cases, before). So if I know this week that I need the calculator, maps, phone, 2 clients and one boss on speed dial, and a specific spreadsheet ready in 1 second, Android lets me put those things right behind the slider/unlocker and nothing else. Next week when I'm on vacation it can be maps, 2 specific websites, a Spanish-English dictionary, a dynamic weather report, an audiobook and a relative on speed-dial, then that's what it's set up for. An iPhone will (or would) make me hunt around for those things every time. I could even set it to automaticaly flip to the work-set-up everyday at 9am and the funtime set-up at 6pm (and turn off the wifi and bluetooth during the commute) if I wanted. IPhones used to be far better for games (playing and selection) but Android is catching up. Both pretty much 'do' the same things and, in the end, do them about as well as each other. Android just lets you tell the phone to do things exactly like you want it to. And carry spare batteries.

I use Android. My wife has an iPhone. If you like to fiddle with your phone, or customize and tweak, then you'll probably like Android. If you just want the phone to work without muss or fuss, then the iPhone is hard to beat. Both platforms do pretty much everything the other does. However, I think the maps and GPS functions that are built into Android are amazing and very useful, especially for frequent travellers.

One thing that the Android platform excels at well beyond the other players is GMail integration. The native GMail application on Android phones is the best GMail experience you can have on a mobile phone. If you are a big GMail user than this can easily tip your hand towards Android.

"You can also do this on the iphone, it shows your most recently run apps " - point is on an Android phone you get to choose what it shows. I have my Vibrant setup so that when I connect my bluetooth speaker it automatically pops up a dialog containing all my music apps - no way you can replicate that on iOS. Also seconding the Swype keyboard as a big android/galaxy plus - I sorely miss it when using my iPad.

Since you're new to all this, rather than listen to zealous talk of the virtues either device/platform, why not just go to the wireless stores and see which device you actually like to hold and use the best? Honestly, expecting to "unleash the full potential" of either iOS or Android is kind of a meaningless goal, because each has a whole slew of apps that do all sorts of things that you may or may not have a clue about. Keep it simple, see what devices strikes your fancy in person, then look them up on Amazon, Gizmodo, CDNet, and others to see what kind of reviews they get, then get one and enjoy it.