So my Apple Sheep co worker told me that Iphone 4 is superior to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus / S2

[[H]Numerio]

This is outright lies, apple apps are programmed in C and you can program on any platform you want (although some features such as the simulator supposedly work better on macs). BUT, you do have to pay for the developer environment, whereas android developer environment is free. Also, you can get a full phone EMULATOR (not simulator) to debug and test code with with Android.
edit: I should also mention, with Android, you get access to some pretty sweet google resources such as their speech to text translation.
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lies?
the main programming language for the iPhone/IPad is obective-c, which is based on C, but a whole different language
of course you can build parts of the app in C or C++ (which you can on android too), or probably whole apps - depending on what you develop,
but afaik you need atleast to understand objective-c to use some frameworks and libraries.

so yes, you have to pretty much learn a language that is only used for Apple products

(atleast if you want to become an employed developer)

[Lethe]

do I need to point out that to non-technically minded people, apple products are like the best thing ever?

Easy to learn, aesthetically pleasing, makes you appear smart.

As for technically-minded people, honestly I'd say it's a pretty close race between iOS and Android. However, a major irk I have with Android is that the developer decides when to upgrade the OS. The mere idea that the S2 is still on v2.3 is extremely disappointing.

It's hard to deny that Apple takes good care of their products. Samsung ends up neglecting a flagship when a new one appears a few months later.

As for the development costs, I honestly don't see it as a big issue. Many apple owners own multiple apple products, most often the iphone and an imac. If you have that much money to throw around, the extra costs will be somewhat negligible. My friend makes just as much money/hr coding apple apps as he does working in Pason programming controls for offshore drilling rigs.

[Beanybag]

lies?
the main programming language for the iPhone/IPad is obective-c, which is based on C, but a whole different language
of course you can build parts of the app in C or C++ (which you can on android too), or probably whole apps - depending on what you develop,
but afaik you need atleast to understand objective-c to use some frameworks and libraries.

so yes, you have to pretty much learn a language that is only used for Apple products

(atleast if you want to become an employed developer)

I'll take some of that back, but I still think its unfair to call that a NEW language. It's still C, in essence. Also, you have to learn a lot of new things for android, and need to know SQL as well. I admit that I much prefer android for programming, but it's not much harder for a serious programmer to program for iOS.

And I agree with Lethe that the costs are pretty negligible for programming in either. You also have to pay a one time fee of like $70 (forget exact amount) to be a registered android developer to start putting apps up. Feel free to correct me on this stuff, currently not able to look this up.
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[[GnJA]Good_Apollo]

Pointless subjective thread. Not everyone out there is a nerd that gets hard over specs. It comes down to taste and personally, after owning various phones, I love my iPhone 4. Mad?

[Beanybag]

Pointless subjective thread. Not everyone out there is a nerd that gets hard over specs. It comes down to taste and personally, after owning various phones, I love my iPhone 4. Mad?

I love mine too, and specs (and price), aside, I'd recommend it to other people. Very easy to use and very powerful.
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[[5]willdaBEAST]

It's funny how quickly things change. Until 2002 (probably even later) Apple was viewed by the "sheep" as a joke company and anyone who bought their products was a fringe looney. Yes it's annoying when any one product becomes immensely successful and dominates the market, but the king of the hill is always being replaced. If anything you should admire how quickly Apple has gone from being the bastard stepchild of the PC market, to having a significant share and expanding into other markets. There are so many more productive things that you could hate, why waste that energy on a trendy phone?

[[H]Numerio]

I'll take some of that back, but I still think its unfair to call that a NEW language. It's still C, in essence. Also, you have to learn a lot of new things for android, and need to know SQL as well. I admit that I much prefer android for programming, but it's not much harder for a serious programmer to program for iOS.

I dont know objective-c well, but since it enables the object-oriented paradigm to the language it seems like a pretty major enhancement
(you cant even really compare object oriented to procedural programming)
C++ is based on C too, but counts as a different language

also compared to c++ or java, objective-C is very strange and different
so it needs quite the adjustment
(thats what I heard atleast)


but yes,
you need to learn the Android APIs if you want to use them, also the GUI development is completely different to JavaSE (though pretty intuitive imo)
as for SQL: I dont know, you pretty much have to know it anyway, becouse its so common in general


I just meant the programming language though,
learning APIs is different then learning a new language with new concepts
(and you have to learn the APIs for iPhone too, even if you'd know objective-c already)

And I agree with Lethe that the costs are pretty negligible for programming in either. You also have to pay a one time fee of like $70 (forget exact amount) to be a registered android developer to start putting apps up. Feel free to correct me on this stuff, currently not able to look this up.
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isnt it 25$? (like ProfessorOak said)

im not that far yet to publish apps, but I will start pretty soon I hope ^^

[Lethe]

the one time fee is pretty negligible when a competent programmer can make $40+/hr from the comfort of his own home

[[H]Numerio]

the one time fee is pretty negligible when a competent programmer can make $40+/hr from the comfort of his own home

its not like its a financial risk, but since probably no one really will buy my app I'd get no money out of it anyway
but I still can use my apps myself and share with friends without publishing it, so..

[[TECH]YawningAngel]

do I need to point out that to non-technically minded people, apple products are like the best thing ever?

Easy to learn, aesthetically pleasing, makes you appear smart.

As for technically-minded people, honestly I'd say it's a pretty close race between iOS and Android. However, a major irk I have with Android is that the developer decides when to upgrade the OS. The mere idea that the S2 is still on v2.3 is extremely disappointing.

It's hard to deny that Apple takes good care of their products. Samsung ends up neglecting a flagship when a new one appears a few months later.

As for the development costs, I honestly don't see
it as a big issue. Many apple owners own multiple apple products, most often the iphone and an imac. If you have that much money to throw around, the extra costs will be somewhat negligible. My friend makes just as much money/hr coding apple apps as he does working in Pason programming controls for offshore drilling rigs.

Android has all the pluses you've identified: I picked everything I needed to know up within an hour of buying my phone, find it as aesthetically pleasing as an iphone, and am unconvinced that an iBlah is going to score you points with anyone familiar with phones.

The two are largely equivalent, save that Android leaves you with the freedom to modify it and iOS doesn't. For me, that's a clincher.

[Lethe]

bear in mind I was a huge Apple hater up until the last 2 years or so. If you follow the statistics between the two OS, you will know that customers are still more pleased with their Iphones than their Androids.

I'm being as objective as I possibly can here. Like I mentioned before, I ordered an Ipad 3, but my next phone will still be an Android flagship, whatever it may be.

The pros of Android are obvious: They range throughout a spectrum of technical specifications, so that even the poorest student can afford one. They can be modified as you mentioned, although most advanced Apple users will jailbreak their Iphones. The best Android phones will have superior technical specs compared to their Apple counterparts, hands down.

However, a tech spec sheet will only get you so far, something I've become increasingly familiar with in the last couple of years. I'm still using an i8910 (Omnia HD), a revolutionary phone when I bought it two years ago. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a new one when I lost my old one in a drunken stupor. It runs on S60V5, an obsolete OS and something I was aware of at the time. However, I bought it due to the possibility of modding it. The mod community for the i8910 is dead now, but I can still do things with my phone that even an Android or iOS user will find surprising. However, further modding my phone is an investment in time I simply don't have. When Samsung and modders dropped support, I was left to pick up the slack. Support is a key factor that many people overlook. Look what happened to the Samsung i8500 on BADA OS.

Most users are still in their 1st experience with an Android or iOS, and in either case the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I only have a single friend who has ditched iOS for Android.

No, the iphone will not score you points with anyone familiar with phones. However, as someone who is part of that group, it is a small group. Quite frankly, generally speaking, no one cares if you have an iphone 4s or a Nexus s. If Samsung could guarantee they would support their products for at least 2 years, it would be an easier buy, but even that is a stretch.

It is pretty sad because Samsung arguably makes the most technologically advanced phones. However, their support is pathetic and borderline disrespectful to the customer base. Again, case in point, the Galaxy S2 still running on v2.3...that should be raising red flags. Samsung spews out so many iterations of the Galaxy series that it is difficult for them to support each one. You know you will never have this problem with Apple.

You can mod Android phones to v4.0, but that will only gain you points among the biggest phone-nerds, it is meaningless to anyone else. I've flashed my phone at least 10 times and every time I hold my breath, hoping that I haven't turned my phone into an expensive paperweight. It is a risky endeavour that few people can fully take advantage of.

You can compare phones on a multitude of levels, but in my mind, the final comparison to take into account should always be support. And in that case, Apple always blows its competition out of the water, something the users recognize.

At this time, I see no reason to hate on either Android or Apple. They both have their pros and cons. The most objective people will realize that both OS' have their merits and deserve the respect that they've accumulated.

[LegoPirate]

It's really quite simple. My 4s works all the time. It never freezes or locks up and just plain works. And if for any reason it doesn't, I can go to apple and they will help me solve the issue, most of the time for free.

No amount of megapixels or gigahertz can replace that.

And I've had a google my touch before this so I've played with both sides. I don't like the fact that I need a navigational chart and a decoder ring to figure out where stuff is on android. The ios is intuitive and easy to use for the most part.

For my needs and concerns the iPhone is just plain unmatched.

[Trolloc]

bear in mind I was a huge Apple hater up until the last 2 years or so. If you follow the statistics between the two OS, you will know that customers are still more pleased with their Iphones than their Androids.

I'm being as objective as I possibly can here. Like I mentioned before, I ordered an Ipad 3, but my next phone will still be an Android flagship, whatever it may be.

The pros of Android are obvious: They range throughout a spectrum of technical specifications, so that even the poorest student can afford one. They can be modified as you mentioned, although most advanced Apple users will jailbreak their Iphones. The best Android phones will have superior technical specs compared to their Apple counterparts, hands down.

However, a tech spec sheet will only get you so far, something I've become increasingly familiar with in the last couple of years. I'm still using an i8910 (Omnia HD), a revolutionary phone when I bought it two years ago. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a new one when I lost my old one in a drunken stupor. It runs on S60V5, an obsolete OS and something I was aware of at the time. However, I bought it due to the possibility of modding it. The mod community for the i8910 is dead now, but I can still do things with my phone that even an Android or iOS user will find surprising. However, further modding my phone is an investment in time I simply don't have. When Samsung and modders dropped support, I was left to pick up the slack. Support is a key factor that many people overlook. Look what happened to the Samsung i8500 on BADA OS.

Most users are still in their 1st experience with an Android or iOS, and in either case the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I only have a single friend who has ditched iOS for Android.

No, the iphone will not score you points with anyone familiar with phones. However, as someone who is part of that group, it is a small group. Quite frankly, generally speaking, no one cares if you have an iphone 4s or a Nexus s. If Samsung could guarantee they would support their products for at least 2 years, it would be an easier buy, but even that is a stretch.

It is pretty sad because Samsung arguably makes the most technologically advanced phones. However, their support is pathetic and borderline disrespectful to the customer base. Again, case in point, the Galaxy S2 still running on v2.3...that should be raising red flags. Samsung spews out so many iterations of the Galaxy series that it is difficult for them to support each one. You know you will never have this problem with Apple.

You can mod Android phones to v4.0, but that will only gain you points among the biggest phone-nerds, it is meaningless to anyone else. I've flashed my phone at least 10 times and every time I hold my breath, hoping that I haven't turned my phone into an expensive paperweight. It is a risky endeavour that few people can fully take advantage of.

You can compare phones on a multitude of levels, but in my mind, the final comparison to take into account should always be support. And in that case, Apple always blows its competition out of the water, something the users recognize.

At this time, I see no reason to hate on either Android or Apple. They both have their pros and cons. The most objective people will realize that both OS' have their merits and deserve the respect that they've accumulated.

Great post.

At the end of there day "to each their own". I find it funny when people spit out so much hate over an indviduals personal taste.

So what if people like Androids or Apples? Someone owning an IPhone has no impact on me, if they enjoy it all the power to them.

[[DLGN]Bloodaxe]

I currently have a HTC evo 4g. I enjoy it, but it gives me lots of problems, locking up, touch senors freaking out.

I hate Apple computers, but they make great handheld devices. I preorder my Ipad 3, and will probably get the next gen Iphone when it comes out.

Apple products work. If they don't, they will fix it. They give a no headache experience. I may have to wait 6 months before I can jail break it, but it's worth the wait.

[Radiohead]

I currently have a HTC evo 4g. I enjoy it, but it gives me lots of problems, locking up, touch senors freaking out.

I hate Apple computers, but they make great handheld devices. I preorder my Ipad 3, and will probably get the next gen Iphone when it comes out.

Apple products work. If they don't, they will fix it. They give a no headache experience. I may have to wait 6 months before I can jail break it, but it's worth the wait.

Their computers are really good, but quite overpriced. Phones and tablets are on a competitive price range.

I'm not a fan of Android, though. After having two Android devices, I'm fairly sure that my next phone is going to have WP7.5 (or WP8 depending on when I buy it)

[Lethe]

yea we're discussing iOS vs. Android here though (i.e. only the mobile side).

Things change when you get into laptops/desktops. The 'competitive price range' vanishes.

[[BOT]Naib]

do I need to point out that to non-technically minded people, apple products are like the best thing ever?

Easy to learn, aesthetically pleasing, makes you appear smart.

As for technically-minded people, honestly I'd say it's a pretty close race between iOS and Android. However, a major irk I have with Android is that the developer decides when to upgrade the OS. The mere idea that the S2 is still on v2.3 is extremely disappointing.

It's hard to deny that Apple takes good care of their products. Samsung ends up neglecting a flagship when a new one appears a few months later.

As for the development costs, I honestly don't see it as a big issue. Many apple owners own multiple apple products, most often the iphone and an imac. If you have that much money to throw around, the extra costs will be somewhat negligible. My friend makes just as much money/hr coding apple apps as he does working in Pason programming controls for offshore drilling rigs.

fyi Samsung have been pushing out ICS to the S2 since last week to eastern Europe, today it is released for the UK.
If you are on a contract you may have to wait a bit for your service provider to ok it BUT the S2 is Android4 now

My wife was an iphone lover and was going to "upgrade" to an iphone4 but I got her a galaxy tab 10.1 for xmas and she saw how good the interface was so she got a Galaxy S2 and she loves it. So from a non-tech point of view it is no different, being able to have customisable screens was a win for her as well.
just as easy to use ONLY issue was liberating the data from an iphone, apple do not make it easy ... which is prob why most non-tech ppl stick with apple (great between devices once in but hard to leave. android is great between devices as well since all on the cloud)

I'm thinking about grabbing a HTC OneX next month.

[Lethe]

I'm aware of the upgrades, however it doesn't change that most android users are being screwed version-wise. As of February 1, 2012, 95.6% of users are still on Gingerbread or lower.

And yea the cloud issue is kinda a big deal as it enforces brand loyalty, nothing to say there.

Just my personal opinion of course but I've never liked the HTC phone's screens. Super AMOLED and Retina so much better. Quad chip and on-chip LTE confirmed in Galaxy S3 anyway.

[[TECH]YawningAngel]

Honestly, I'm inclined to say that picking a phone with CM support is the only option if you want guaranteed upgrades.

[Radiohead]

Honestly, I'm inclined to say that picking a phone with CM support is the only option if you want guaranteed upgrades.

Pretty much.

I like how the first-gen Windows Phones (from 2010) are still getting updates nowadays and happen to be as fast as they were before.

I got a Lumia 800 last week and I don't think I'll ever come back to Android.