iPhone 4S vs. Android Phones: What's Better for You?

You know your smartphone is doing well when 4 million people buy it in the first weekend and it temporarily sells out on all three of your carrier partners. 

The overwhelming demand for the iPhone 4S is understandable, given the much-talked-about Siri voice-controlled assistant, as well as the device's faster dual-core processor and fantastic 8-megapixel camera. But today's top Android phones—such as the Samsung Galaxy S II>—offer plenty of features you won't find on Apple's blockbuster sequel. How do you know which side to choose? 

Interface
I would never call the row-of-icons interface on the iPhone 4S fresh, but its ease of use means a lot, especially to first-time smartphone owners. And iOS 5 catches up to Android with its Notifications area, which is cleanly designed and dynamic (thanks to the addition of weather and stock info).

However, some Android phones let you do more from the notification area. On the Samsung Galaxy S II, for example, you can toggle the wireless radios on and off. And on HTC Sense phones, you can switch between apps from this menu as well as tweak several settings. The other edge Android has in the interface department is widgets, which let you access all sorts of info at a glance. Indeed, Google's OS is so customizable that the user experience can vary drastically from one phone to the next.

Winner: iPhone 4S. While Android is more flexible, it can also be more confusing. Simplicity wins this round.

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Multitasking
Just as with the iPhone 4, it's easy to switch between apps on the iPhone 4S. You just double-press the home button and swipe to either side. To shut down apps, you press and hold the screen and then tap the X next to an app's icon. Because most apps are suspended when they're not open, you don't really need to worry about them zapping battery life.

Today on Android, you must long-press the home button, but you might only see a subset of all of your running apps—and you can't close programs from this view. Android Ice Cream Sandwich will offer a better user experience, with a Recent Apps button that displays live thumbnails of your running apps. And you'll be able to dismiss apps with a swipe.

Winner: iPhone 4S. But it looks like Android 4.0 will put Google's phones ahead.

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Screen Size and Quality
One of the chief complaints people have about the screen in the iPhone 4S is that it's the same size as the original iPhone's: 3.5 inches. But what many don't realize is that this LCD's resolution is higher than the vast majority of Android phones. The display is not only crisper but brighter than most of the Android competition.

On the other hand, bigger screens are just easier on the eyes, and they don't force you to zoom in as much to read text. And although they're not as bright, the Super AMOLED displays on phones such as the Galaxy S II and the Droid RAZR offer better contrast and more vibrant colors, making them great for watching movies. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Nexus will up the ante on with the first HD display (1280 x 720 pixels).

Winner: Draw. The iPhone 4S has the superior display right now in terms of detail and brightness, but some shoppers just prefer a larger screen.

Keyboard/Typing
Amazingly, Apple's multitouch keyboard remains second to none, despite the fact that in most cases you're typing on a smaller display. Both in portrait mode and landscape mode, I can type quickly and accurately. I'll certainly make more errors than when using a physical keyboard, but overall the iPhone 4S keyboard just works.

With Android phones, keyboards vary quite a bit from one phone maker to the next. Generally speaking, I've found HTC's keyboards to be the best, with Android's stock keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S 4G being a close second. But Android has a few advantages. One is that you can download third-party keyboards, such as Swype, from the Android Market. Second, only Android phones come with physical keyboards, though they seem to be a dying breed.

Winner: Draw. The iPhone 4S keyboard is great for its size, but some prefer a bigger screen and more customization options.

Web and Data Speeds
The iPhone 4S may have a fancy new dual-antenna system and the ability to reach 14.4 Mbps (theoretically) on AT&T, but it gets blown away by 4G Android phones. For example, the AT&T iPhone 4S delivered speeds as high as 5.3 Mbps but averaged 2.2 Mbps. Both the T-Mobile Galaxy SII (12.6 Mbps) and the Motorola Droid Bionic (11.6 Mbps) are faster.

In terms of loading web pages, we’ve seen a huge real-world difference as well. The iPhone 4S takes about 10 seconds to load many mobile sites (regardless of the network) versus about half that for true 4G phones. Everything on an iPhone 4S that involves data will require more patience than on an 4G Android phone, whether it’s streaming YouTube videos or updating your Facebook news feed. The only caveat is that 4G radios (especially LTE) can drain your battery in a hurry.

Winner: Android. 4G speeds make a big difference in everyday use.

Social Networking
Apple is making a big deal about Twitter integration with iOS 5, and it’s certainly welcome. You can share photos, websites, and more with just a couple of taps. However, Android goes deeper by including Facebook, as well as pretty much any other service that uses Android’s APIs.

For example, you don’t have to use Twitter on Android; you can use Tweetdeck instead. Android also works with Evernote, Flickr, GroupMe,LinkedIn—you name it. We just wish the Sharing option wasn’t two clicks away from the browser page.

Winner: Android. The iPhone 4S makes it easy to share stuff on Twitter, but you need to use dedicated apps for everything else.

Camera
Apple has raised the bar for photo quality—both in terms of speed and low-light performance—with the iPhone 4S, thanks to new optics and an improved backside illuminated sensor. It also captures sharp and smooth 1080p video. Android phones such as the Galaxy S II are only a step behind in terms of speed, though, and they take equally good photos outdoors. 

While the iPhone 4S has an HDR feature, there’s not much else you can do when taking photos. An advanced Android phone such as the Amaze 4G has a panorama mode, HDR, burst shot mode, and more. And although the iPhone 4S has some editing features, the best Android phones go further, letting you add all sorts of effects without using a separate app.

Winner: Draw. The iPhone 4S has the best camera we’ve used yet, but Android phones give you more control of your images—before and after the shot.

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Apps
After trailing iOS for years, Android is finally catching up to Apple in terms of the sheer number of apps available in their respective stores. Apple has about 360,000 iPhone apps, compared to approximately 320,000 for Android (according to research firm Research2Guidance). You’ll also find that both app stores stock a lot of the same stuff, from Angry Birds and Words with Friends to Kindle and Pandora.

But if you dig deeper, you’ll find that the iPhone 4S has a better selection of high-quality games with more impessive graphics, such as Infinity Blade and Shadowgun. You’ll also find that apps either come to the iPhone first (such as Netflix) or exclusively (such as Instagram) and just look more polished (Facebook).

Winner: iPhone 4S. The iPhone has always been known for its apps, and at least for now it still has a quality and slight quantity edge.

Secret Weapons
Only the iPhone 4S has Siri, a fantastic voice-controlled assistant that can help you with everything from scheduling appointments to sending messages. Other advantages unique to the iPhone 4S include iTunes; Google only offers a subset of Apple's content. And then there’s iCloud, which does a better job than Google of keeping all of your content in sync across multiple devices. Last but not least is the iPhone’s vast number of available accessories. Having a single standard connector makes things a lot easier on makers of add-ons.

Android has plenty of unique strengths as well. In addition to offering 4G speeds, only Android has free GPS navigation built in. And only Android phones support NFC, which enables mobile payments and will gain even more power with Ice Cream Sandwich. With the beam feature you’ll be able to share all sorts of info with a tap.

Winner: iPhone 4S. Siri + more content + more accessories give Apple the win in this round.

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Bottom Line
Android phones won five points, but the iPhone 4S took home seven -- making this head to head appear to be a decisive victory for the iPhone 4S. But it really comes down to what you value most in a smartphone. If it’s ease of use and better apps you’re after—as well as smooth performance and a great camera—the iPhone 4S can’t be beat. Siri takes smartphones to the next level by serving your needs with real intelligence. As long as you can live with 3G speeds, you can’t go wrong with the iPhone 4S.

On the other hand, the fact that Android phones offer 4G should not be overlooked. It speeds up practically everything you do. Android also integrates with multiple social networks—instead of just Twitter—and you have a wider range of design choices. If you like the idea of customizing your interface to your heart’s content and want the option of a bigger screen, Android is the way to go.

IFA 2011: Top 9 Things We'd Love to See But Won't

While Berlin's annual consumer electronics fair has previously been a showcase of home appliances from TVs to fridges, it has become a battleground for manufacturers of wireless gadgets, according to Bloomberg News.

At IFA 2011 this week, Sony Corp., LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., among other device-makers, will unveil their new tablets/and or smartphones.

We've listed some things that we'd love to see at the tech show in Berlin, but wont:

9. Samsung Engineers Rubbing Elbows with Apple's.

Although Samsung has been producing chips for Apple's mobile devices, the two have been at a war that gets uglier each day. The maker of the iPhone, iPad and iMac has sued Samsung for patent infringement in every country mapped by Google. What's worse, Apple is asking the local courts to stop the sale of Galaxy S 2 and Galaxy S Tab on grounds that they're "slavishly" imitating Apple. What's even worse is that Samsung is running out of brilliant ideas, now saying that Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey" invented the tablet.

8. Glasses-Free 3-D Devices That Actually Work.

Toshiba has already unveiled the world's first glasses-free 3D laptop, which uses a lenticular screen and integrated webcam. And LG Electronics has already released the LG Optimus 3D, which claims to offer "the world's first 3D experience on a smartphone." But the technology is still in its infancy. Like the LCD screens of laptops more than 10 years ago, these devices would likely show blurred pictures when viewed at the wrong angle or when exposed to sunlight. What could be more interesting is Sony's HMZ personal 3-D viewer, a futuristic little helmet that lets you watch 3-D movies. But would anybody actual sit alone with this $800 visor with an OLED screen? Nintendo released bulky Virtual Boy headgears for gaming 20 years ago, and the device flopped.

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7. Apple's Steve Jobs and His Turtleneck Shirt.

The man credited for propelling a company near bankruptcy to the world's most valuable tech company; at one point, richer than the U.S. government; and with zero long-term debt. Steve Jobs loves the stage and enjoys touting Apple's new devices. Jobs, the man who created the 21st century, would certainly steal the limelight from any devices exhibited at IFA 2011. Certainly, he resigned from Apple CEO because of poor health, it is reasonable he didn't show on the IFA.

6. The iPad Killer.

Even the world's biggest seller of desktops and laptops (Hewlett-Packard) gave up against the iPad. The tablet version of the BlackBerry (the PlayBook), Motorola's XOOM, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab, although cheaper than the iPad, have also failed to gain any ground. But Sony is releasing devices (one with a folded design, and another that looks like the Nintendo DS), which depart from the usual square, flat slab-style of the present tablets. Not only that, the devices are pre-loaded with games and have access to the PlayStation network. Talking about games, Nintendo is already unveiling the WiiU, its next generation gaming console that also works like an iPad. Amazon Inc., the world's largest online retailer, is also gearing up to sell its own tablet. But Apple's iPad has 75 percent of the tablet market. And few are buying the others because Jobs has created functional fashion statements (not the turtleneck shirts, but the sleek, easy-to-use products iPad, iPod and iPhone).

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5. People Flocking Intel's Ultrabooks.

Apple has been providing us with brilliantly designed devices, but the problem with a single manufacturer is pricing power. Apple's devices are not cheap (the $3,000 MacBook Pro for example), and in the absence of competition, it can charge more for the iPad 3. One qualified challenger is the Ultrabook, a new class of mobile computer being promoted by Intel Corp. The Ultrabook will have the performance of today's laptops with tablet-like features. While the Intel device is expected to be more powerful than the iPad -- it is unlikely to take market share away from Apple. Although Intel has been bribing developers for more apps for the Ultrabook, Apple is already way ahead as more than available 100,000 applications optimized for the iPad that can be downloaded from the App Store, in addition to the more than 300,000 iPhone apps that can also work for the Apple tablet.

4. iPhone 5's Most Awaited Curtain Raising.

After Jobs decided to only talk about some cloud and updates to platforms for Apple devices at a developers' conference in June, there has been speculation that Apple won't be releasing the iPhone 5 this year. Apple has been unveiling a new iPhone every June for the past four years. Is it production problems, or is Apple still trying to add more features to the new iPhone?

3. A New HP Mobile Device (That Costs $99).

After Hewlett-Packard slashed the price of its HP TouchPad from $499 to $99, the HP tablet has suddenly become the hottest on the market. HP paid $1.2 billion for Palm Inc. in July last year, so it's unlikely the TouchPad is the only new webOS device in its pipeline. Since HP is killing its mobile devices business and is getting rid of the inventory, why not release other devices also at $99? It would not be surprising if HP makes an about-face, given that the webOS devices have now penetrated the market following the fire sales. Or it could wait until someone jail-breaks the HP TouchPad and gets it to run on Android.

2. Device That Shows the Glory That Was Nokia.

Finland's Nokia was previously the world's largest seller of smartphones. And including the $30 phones and other lower-end models, it is still the largest seller of mobile phones. After retiring the outdated Symbian and changing its mind with the Meego, Nokia is releasing its first batch of Windows-based phones. While Windows is the number one operating system for PCs, nobody -- except probably Bill Gates -- owns a smartphone running on Windows. With Microsoft still building apps for the Windows mobile ecosystem, it won't be at the IFA 2011 when Nokia will take back the crown from Apple and Samsung. Maybe next year.

1. Motorola Phones Designed by Geniuses at Google.

Google's search engine -- the world's most popular Web site -- is known for its classic, "less is more" design. Although Google has already developed the Android platform for mobile devices, it is interesting what aesthetics Google (minimalist like the Honeycomb?) will promote for future Motorola phones. After paying $12.5 billion for Motorola's mobile devices business, Google should needs more than the Droid to have a return on its investment.

At CES, Lenovo marries Windows and Android in potential iPad-killer

Someday, Apple's iPad and rival tablet computers may completely replace the PC for a large number of users. But for now, tablets are mainly a companion device, a diversion for those times you'd like a fun, portable computer and don't need to do real work. But that may all change this week at CES, the consumer electronics show expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors to glitzy Las Vegas.

The major device manufacturers are unveiling a plethora of tablets based on Google's Android operating system as well as Microsoft's Windows. One early contender from Lenovo puts both operating systems on the same machine and gives users a complete notebook and tablet experience.

I had the opportunity to see a demo of Lenovo's IdeaPad running both Windows 7 and Android in notebook and tablet form Tuesday, and came away quite impressed. Naturally, I might see five or ten tablets that blow it out of the water by the end of the week, but for now I think Lenovo has a very promising solution to the conundrum of providing the fun of tablets to users who aren't ready to give up the traditional laptop.

That's because Lenovo's IdeaPad hybrid running Windows 7 and Android really does give you both. At first, the Lenovo machine looks just like a regular laptop, although a bit small with a 10.1-inch screen. But as Lenovo "brand ambassador" Stephen Miller demonstrated, you can switch between Windows 7 and Android with a simple flip of a switch. And even more amazing, the notebook running Windows acts as a dock for the Android tablet, letting users remove the monitor and use it in just the same way you'd expect to use any Android-based tablet.

Lenovo calls it "the IdeaPad U1 hybrid with LePad slate, a unique two-in-one device that combines the mobility of a media-rich, high-definition slate featuring access to Android applications and a keyboard base that provides a full Windows 7 computing experience."

While moving from Windows to Android on the IdeaPad seemed almost instantaneous, it took a bit longer to move from Android back to Windows. An adventurous user could potentially solve that small problem by replacing Windows with the faster-booting Ubuntu Linux. But the switching times between Android and Windows are small enough that it probably wouldn't bother most users.

While iPads, iPhones and Androids are already moving into corporate networks, I can't help but think that a tablet/notebook combo running both Windows and Android will make the whole concept even more palatable to IT directors. Even those IT shops that aren't quite ready for Android would be willing to let users hook up a Windows notebook to corporate systems.

The specs for Lenovo's hybrid IdeaPad are impressive compared to standard netbooks, but may not live up to the full laptop experience. A spec sheet distributed by Lenovo shows two different sets of statistics, one for notebook mode and one for slate, as the system consists of two different devices. In notebook mode, IdeaPad runs an Intel Core i5 processor with speeds of 1.2 GHz and 2GB of memory. By way of comparison, the Windows 7-based Lenovo ThinkPad I am typing this blog post on has double the RAM and processor speed.

In slate mode, IdeaPad will have a 1.3 GHz processor from Qualcomm, 1GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB of flash storage. The notebook portion, by the way, will have a sizable 320GB hard drive. The system demonstrated at CES had one USB port but no disc drive or SD card slot.

You'll be able to buy the tablet portion by itself for about $520 but the whole system including the Windows 7 notebook will set you back $1,300, more than twice the cost of a basic Apple iPad.

The price point "is more notebook-y" than a typical tablet, Miller notes. But the cool design and usefulness of the Windows/Android combo will be alluring to a wide range of consumers and business users, he predicts.

"Everybody wants a tablet. Everybody still has a notebook," he says.

Still, the $1,300 price point makes it nearly as expensive as a version of the Apple MacBook Air that has a larger screen and 4GB of RAM. Tablets are definitely the cool product of 2011, so perhaps the combination of a notebook and tablet will convince consumers that it's worth buying even if they're not getting the same amount of power they might receive in a traditional laptop.

Lenovo is trying to build excitement for the new IdeaPad even though it's not for sale in the United States yet. The demo version is running Android 2.2, and Lenovo will release a commercial version in the U.S. once Google unfurls Android 3.0, expected this summer, Miller says. The commercially available version will also feature newer Intel chips and graphics processors.

The IdeaPad hybrid will be available earlier in China, in the first quarter of this year.

While Lenovo's Windows/Android tablet looks like an enticing device, it will have plenty of competition for the spotlight at CES. NEC, for example, is expected to show off a dual-screen tablet running Android and there are likely to be many other interesting takes on the tablet space. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will give a keynote speech Wednesday, and it's possible he could discuss how future versions of Windows or Windows Phone 7 might play into the tablet market (although some reports say Microsoft will instead discuss a new television offering at CES). Whatever happens on the tablet front, we'll keep you updated the rest of the week at CES.

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