Thanks, Google
Ironically, it was Google that made the transition feasible. My biggest issue with iPhone was a poor or nonexistent Gmail client, especially lack of multi-account support, because maintaining and monitoring multiple Gmail accounts smoothly is important to me since I have a personal Gmail and one for Cat Angels, where I volunteer. I did not find iOS's built-in mail client adequate to the task because, while it tried to simulate Gmail's threading, the threads don't include the sent emails unless you copy yourself on everything, and it lacked capabilities like an ability to mark multiple emails at once for an action like archive or move to a folder.
Well Google just put a new Gmail app in the iTunes store and it is better than the one on Android, including with built-in multi-account support. Google also dropped a Maps app into the store that is as good as if not better than their Android version, and solves the most glaring weakness of iOS. They also updated their Youtube app. With all that put together, Google solved all of the major issues I had remaining with iOS and enabled me to make the switch. I'm not sure that was their intention... but their good work on iOS apps makes it easier to switch from their operating system to Apple.
iTunes Albatross gone
One of my biggest iPhone complaints was that you had to use iTunes to do any maintenance or even activate the phone. I wrote a blog entry back in March complaining about it. Well Apple must have heard lots of complaints about that because shortly after that, with I think iOS 5, iOS devices became capable of updating without requiring iTunes. Even better, I've also noticed on my new iPhone that even while the phone is synching with iTunes, it's still usable and no reboots or multiple backups are required. So Apple has made major strides in this area.
Not new to iOS
I'm not a newbie to iOS, I've had an iPad 2 since they first came out so that made it easier for me to monitor developments in iOS land. I tried all the new Google apps there before making the switch. I already knew the strengths and advantages of each operating system and said for a long time,"if only Google and Apple would just settle their differences and get good Google apps in the iPhone, that would be the best of both worlds." And that's what happened.
Why abandon Android
After two and a half years with Android I was getting very familiar with its weaknesses.
Flawed Memory Structure
The biggest weakness that started hitting me in recent months was the memory structure. Android phone memory is split into two parts: on-board and SD card. You can put a big SD card in your phone and have room for gigs and gigs of pictures and music, but the onboard memory is much smaller and not upgradeable. Most of the apps on an Android phone have to live in the on-board memory, and some of them can't even store their data on the SD card. Facebook was a particularly piggish offender here.
My phone had 400M of on-board memory and a 32G SD card. And that 400M was filling up. This means that even though I hadn't even filled half of my SD card, I was out of memory on my phone. I was constantly getting messages that my memory was low and I was always having to clean out caches or delete apps to keep my phone running. And while Android's app manager has a "move to SD card" button, that was frustratingly greyed out on almost every single app. Bottom line, I had 20 gig free on my SD card but my phone was out of memory. That's just stupid, and it's not a flaw you notice until you've had the phone a while.
I know that Android phones being sold now have more internal memory... looks like 2G is the new standard. But that's just pushing the problem down the road as apps continue to get large and continue to not be able to use the SD card. In a year or two, that will probably be inadequate as well. By contrast, with a 64G iPhone, you have 64G available for everything... apps and data.
I also know that there is a semi-hack to move apps to the SD card. But I don't find it acceptable to have to install two development kits (Android and Java) just to change one setting on the phone and make it do what it should already be able to do.
Inconsistent phone ecosystem
When I started looking for a replacement for my Evo, it became clear that if I went to any non-HTC phone, and maybe even a new HTC phone, I would be starting with a new look and feel and a different enough feature set that the transition from one Android phone to another had potential to be just as annoying as the transition from Android to iPhone. So why not reconsider the iPhone?
Killer Apps
As a private pilot, there is one iOS app I depend on immensely: Foreflight. And there is no Forelfight for Android, and never will be. The Foreflight team is too small and doesn't have the resources to do multiple platforms... they are iOS only, and that's their business model. It's resulted in a top notch app that's become essential on the cockpit, but you gotta be on iOS to play.
I have it on my iPad and that's what I use in the plane and during preflight, but seeing how handy it is for my pilot peers to also have it on their phones is really eye opening. And as a side benefit, Foreflight has a better weather radar presentation than any other app, including The Weather Channel, WRAL, etc.
By contrast, there isn't a single Android app I can think of that isn't also on iPhone, and usually the iPhone version is better than the Android version...including Google's own apps!
Physical build quality
The physical build quality of Apple devices is head and shoulders above everyone else. My HTC developed the following problems in the two and a half years I used it:
- The spring broke on the kickstand, so it always stuck out
- The plastic around the button on the top started cracking
- The batteries required replacement every six months. They just didn't last.
- And worst of all, the charging port became unreliable. It got loose and the micro USB could easily fall out or be knocked out by a cat walking by it on the bedside table. I'm not the only one this happened too either, talking to other HTC phone owners and googling finds this is a common and well known problem. It's pretty frustrating to wake up and find out that the phone didn't charge last night like I expected it to so I start the day with 10% battery instead of 100%. By contrast my wife and I have had various iOS devices (iPod, iPad, her iPhone) and none of the connections on any of them ever came loose.
Could another Android phone be better built? Maybe. But I know the Apple phones are very well built and the reviews I've read of other Android phones don't give me the impression they are as well made.
So how was the transition?
The transition was much easier than I expected. Before buying the iPhone I took the SD card out of the Evo and copied its contents onto my PC where iTunes is running. I pointed iTunes to the music and picture files in that copy, and they all imported seamlessly and were put onto the iPhone on the first synch. I was able to get my ringtones back without having to buy them after finding these instructions on the internet. I bought Downcast for $2 to manage my podcasts, so I don't need iTunes for that. Because I used Keepass for my password vault and it's supported on both platforms, moving that data was a snap as well... just import the key file into iTunes from the HTC's SD card and it went on the iPhone automatically.
Bottom line: within 3-4 hours of getting home with my new iPhone, I had everything moved and everything set up like I wanted.. and that was while multitasking and doing other things around the house too.
Now to learn more about iCloud and do I want to use it....
