In Defense of Android (Part the 2nd)

Previously, on Geek in the Heart of Texas... My EVO crashed and I had decided to try out a custom mod. Around this same time I was given a tablet to test drive...

So I had been researching custom Android mods for a while and had come to the conclusion that CyanogenMod was the way to go. I read up on how to flash the rom and was ready. Using Revolutionary, I rooted my phone and flashed CyanogenMod 7 (CM7). It was like I had a brand new phone. I was amazed at how much better CM7 was than the stock HTC Sense UI. I found no issues with apps or anything. It made me love Android that much more. I have played around with jail breaking and iPhone and was not really impressed. This is so much better.

Around this same time I was given a Viewsonic GTab to play around with as a potential gift for my grandfather. The stock rom and UI is TERRIBLE. Five minutes after using it I went searching for a new mod. I decided to go with CM7 as well. Now it is a bit buggy being a tablet and a custom mod, but it works beautifully. I have used my iPad less and less since getting this tablet. If I can figure out how to load my eboks on it, I may not have much more use for my iPad. I would love to get my hands on a proper Android tablet, but this one it pretty slick.

Overall, my experience has been wonderful. My biggest obstacle was how to get out of Android what I was getting out of iOS. Below is a list of things I needed my Android to do that my iPhone/iPad did and how it solved it. Many times the solution works better on Android...

Sync Contacts, Calendars, Email, etc.: I use Gmail and Google Calendar. With my iPhone it was hard to keep my Gmail contacts clean because my Amy (my iMac) always wanted seemed to duplicate entries. I used iCal and had the same results. Android syncs to the cloud seamlessly and I have no problems with duplicate entries.

Sync Music: iTunes does not sync with Android well, and OSX even less. I use Amazon Cloud and Google Music. Prefer Google Music.

Apps: on this, they are about even. Although I do like that I can buy and app from Amazon from anywhere and download it later. Such as at work where I do not have wifi or a good signal. I can buy an app on Amazon and download it when I get home. I no longer have to wait until I have a signal or get back to Amy to buy apps. I can buy it right then and don't have to worry about forgetting.

eBooks: I still use my iPad for iBooks. I have a really good reader on my GTab, but I am still struggling with adding content. iOS wins that round.

Storage: I CAN UPGRADE MY STORAGE! I recently bought a 32GB card for my phone. With iPhone you must decide at that moment what storage space you want and hope its enough. Also, I can take the card out and load it as an external drive to manage files if I need to.

Podcasts: Recently, as in this week, I have found a podcast aggrigator that will download my podcasts directly to my phone so I do not have to carry around a separate device for my podcasts. This can be done in iOS as I understand it, but this keeps me from having to carry more than one device.

In closing, I love iOS. I loved my iPhone. I love my iPad. Android serves my purposes better. Hopefully if you are on the fence about whether to go iOS or Android, this helped a little. Now that the iPhone is on Sprint, I have been asked several times if I am going to go back to an iPhone when my upgrade comes around. No, I am not. Android works for me and I can't see myself going back to iOS for my phone.