This photo was taken with an iPhone. It did not self-destruct.
The vitriol, name-calling and idiocy that once were the hallmark of Mac vs. PC debates have been overtaken by fanboys of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android devices.
It is one thing to enjoy your favorite mobile platform. It is quite another to ridicule and throw insults at users of the competition. It seems that many people (mostly men) get a ridiculous, Alpha Male attachment to their phone and must defend its honor when any perceived criticism arises.
The reality is each device has its distinct advantages and weaknesses. The iPhone 4 benefits from Apple’s maniacal focus on design and control to create a smooth and minimalistic user interface. Its control of the App Store prevents some buggy and unnecessary apps from making it onto the device. Of course in exchange you surrender some freedom: your choice is only one device with one color (although a white iPhone is rumored to finally arrive this spring).
Android offers more flexibility and choices of devices and carriers. There is a good Android phone now on all four of the major carriers. Unlike the iPhone, there will soon be a 4G version on each network, such as the ATRIX 4G on AT&T or the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon.
Additionally, heavy users of Google products like Gmail and Google Calendar get tight integration with those services and are not locked into iTunes. Yet more and more Android phones are getting loaded up with bloatware and have ugly skins like Motorola’s BLUR or HTC Sense. This forces users to wait for the latest version of Android while the carriers and device makers figure out when it won’t break their software.
It’s a phone, not a religion. Just because I have an iPhone does not mean those who choose Android have done so unwisely. Interest in technology and mobile devices should be about discovering innovation and expanded knowledge. Instead many readers of the popular blogs have chosen sides and engage in all-out war.
