the files of nukirk

Yesterday, while I was in the car with a client on the way to a farm (don’t ask), the elder woman asked me about the iPhone while I was using my Nexus S (with Android 4.0). The elder woman, who has an older Samsung with Android 2.3, really disliked her phone. Her son (who’s about my age and was driving) said that the iPhone had more apps than an Android, which I won’t debate because the iOS was out longer than Android and not to mention you can use any iOS device outside the purpose the phone, media player and tablet purposes.

So, they got to me and asked me why I don’t get an iPhone. I told them “because I wanted an Android. I used Google products, so it only made sense for me to use something that integrates with them flawlessly”. The son pointed out to me that “so you can do that with iPhone”. They were more confused because they thought “maybe the phone is out of my cost range”, which really offended me. I told them “even if I have a choice between iPhone and Android, I would still pick an Android over an iPhone.”

And then they insist on me telling them why I would pick an Android phone (which they feel is inferior) over an iPhone. I told them “it’s not up for debate” and shut down the argument.

Why I didn’t want to get into it? I could tell them things like:

• I like to customize my phone, which includes ROMs.
• I like to have a choice of keyboards.
• I like the fact that I have the ability to use my phone like a wallet (if I wanted to)
• I like to have widgets to get immediate information.
• I like the fact that I have a choice between Google Play & Amazon.
• I like that I can do more with my phone without having to root it.
• I like to organize myself without having to touch my phone (edit contacts on my computer)
• I like the ability to sync data and information without thinking about it.
• I like my phone to not be the primary device for such big projects like studio recordings.

I could have said a lot of things. But I realized that there are two type of customers:

The Thinkers and the “Just Do It” People

The Thinkers like to tinker with their devices and push their limits while the “Just Do It” don’t want to think about it. They just want their device to work probably.

I’m a thinker. I like to tweak and so on, so using the Android OS isn’t going to frustrated me as much as the average user. Android 4.0 is actually the OS that puts it up to par with iOS 5, and I would recommend getting a phone with 4.0 to anyone, either the thinker or the “just do it” audience. After all, with Google Play and Google Contacts, you can just “sync it and forget it”. This includes Music, something that iPhone only recently caught up with their iCloud. 

The iOS is for the people who just want something that works. It’s the same built on all devices, so even if you use iPhone 3, you can still do a lot of things. If you want your phone to be your only computer, you can do that with the iPhone. (You can also do it with Android if you want)

Right now, the market is at a point where I don’t care about which OS you want for a mobile device.

If you want a device that is compatible with a LOT and don’t want to worry about upgrades at all, you’ll get an iPhone. You want a portable studio? iPhone. You want the largest game selection? iPhone. Anything you can possibly dream of doing on a phone you can do on an iPhone. However, risk looking “the same” to people.

If you want a device that allows you to tinker with the OS or if you want something that is compatible with Google products, you’ll get an Android. Is the phone not the center of your world? Android. You want a phone to be a phone and not your main device? Android. You don’t mind putting a little effort into knowing your phone? Android.

And if you want to make sure your phone stays up-to-date, you’ll get a phone within the Nexus line, since they are pure Google products and they don’t have to go through all the hopes that they other phones have to go through. You’ll see an update on a Nexus phone first before the others.

Just don’t ask me which phone to get. I’m tired of this.

I will tell you which phone not to get. Blackberry. They are not a major player anymore. Windows Mobile? I can’t never take them seriously.

One more thing: Getting an Android phone (matter of fact, getting any piece of technology that isn’t considered “mainstream”) doesn’t make you look “poor”. I find this whole “Android is a poor man’s OS” stupid. I can take pictures, do video, edit videos and so on just as good as anyone with an iOS. It’s never about the tool, it’s how you use the tool.