Diversity of Android

Not every Android phone is created equal. Each have their own design or spinoff to try and make them unique, to stand out among the rest of the Android army. I've gone through my fair share of Android devices; the original Droid 1, Droid X, Samsung Fascinate, and the Thunderbolt. They all had their own reason for customers to buy, the Droid X offered something new to Verizon Android phones, it offered a huge screen (well back when 4.3” was considered big). I was all about it, I bought it the day after it came out and instantly claimed it to be the best. Then the Thunderbolt rolled out and the internet was lit up with talk about the new 4G LTE network, so of course I went and bought it, but I failed to read any reviews. I assumed well if the phone's $300 it has to be the best. Every month a new phone will come out demanding to be #1, boasting state of the art technology and features. Each company trying to appeal to their directed audience, to gain your attention with something bold. Sometimes the biggest and fastest doesn't always equate to the best.

This is when it comes down to your own personal preference, what do you look for in a phone? It's not always about the power behind the screen, it's more about what you want to do with your device. If you're someone who enjoys browsing the web, downloading the occasional app, and texting, you don't necessarily need the 1.5ghz dual core processor, with a 12 megapixel camera, and 32 GB of memory. Too many people take the motto “you get what you pay for” too seriously. Sometimes you're going to pay $50 for the Samsung Stratosphere and come out with a better experience than you would if you spent $300 on the Galaxy Note. Keep this in mind when you go out and buy a new phone, figure out what you truly want to do with your phone otherwise you'll spend too much and fall victim to buyers remorse.

Why I Still Have the iPhone

Everyone talks about specs.
How fast is it? How many megapixels is the camera? Whats the processing power?

A phone is so much more than just numbers, I used to have a couple of Android phones until switching to the iPhone. I tried out the Droid X, Samsung Fascinate, and the Thunderbolt, sure all of them were good phones and I enjoyed some of the time I spent with them, but I ran into so many issues. Yes these phones have 8MP cameras, yes they have 4G LTE, yes they have faster processors, the only problem is it they just don't seem to always work. I would get countless force closed  errors and random reboots that it really discouraged me from continuing my use with Android, and trust me at first I was all about Android. I kept getting the newer model with better processors and more memory in hopes that my phone would run the way I wanted it to, but each time it only seemed to get worse and worse. I went from having a decent battery life to getting maybe 5 hours out of my Thunderbolt. After 2 years of swapping Android phones, I finally gave in.

"Oh I'll just try the iPhone and see how it is, no way will I stick with it." Well, after my first few weeks I was extremely happy with it, I never had it force close an app or randomly reboot while I was doing something. It just always worked, whenever I needed something I could count on my phone to get the job done. The new Android phones can definitely do a lot but when it comes down to just working and being reliable the iPhone hasn't missed a beat and that's why I still have it.

Could Android Takeover?

With so many different Android manufacturers and new Android phones coming out monthly, will Apple be able to keep up with its competitors? 

Apple had an amazing start, but as we see each month newer and more advanced Android phones keep coming out. It seems the gap between the two are stretching farther and farther apart, leaving Apple quite a distance behind. For example the new iPhone 4S, everyone thought this phone was going to be amazing; with a bigger screen, 4G connectivity, 12 megapixel camera, and a handful of other new designs. Realistically the difference between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S is 3 megapixels and Siri. Yes I know it has a new A5 dual core processing chip, but the people that buy iPhones don't seem to bother taking that into account.

The great and worse thing about Android is the amount of phones that come out per month, customers have to be particularly careful when it comes to choosing a new phone. The Droid Razr, when it came out a lot of people wanted it and they grabbed it up as quick as possible, then a couple weeks later the Droid Razr MAXX was announced. That upset a lot of people and I know Motorola offered a way to return your Razr and get the MAXX but not everyone was able to figure it out. With Android, you buy the top of the line phone but then next month there is something greater out there. Which also happens to be the best thing about it, so many new phones come out that newer technology becomes a standard and we see further advancement almost each time a phone comes out.

Apple needs to step it up this year and produce something revolutionary, maybe even more than revolutionary. They need to put something out there that no other phone has and actually give its loyal customers a real phone to upgrade too. If they fail to come through with something we may very well see the iPhone become the lower tier phone.

Send me your opinions cdstelmach@gmail.com or leave them in the comments.
Is the iPhone already too far behind? Will Android take over anytime soon? Will the iPhone remain #1?

Already Have an iPhone?

Coming from an Android phone to the iPhone I felt like I was missing some freedom. Within a couple of days I read about jailbreaking iPhones and what the benefits would be. There are so many different "tweaks", applications, and other tools you can download to truly make it your own. There's even an app that will change the way the operating system looks, if you prefer Android, Windows, or even something completely unique you can make it happen! The best part is you can change almost every single thing about it. Want a different color for your keyboard? Done. Don't have the iPhone 4S and want Siri? I have a Siri program called Sara and it works great. It's also fairly simple to jailbreak your phone, for the most part it's just a three click process. To get a direct link to learn more about jailbreaking and the exact process click here.

What I'm getting at is this, at first I felt like the iPhone had so much untapped potential and I was actually thinking about switching back to an Android device. After I jailbroke my device it felt like a new phone, I could do everything I did on my old device and more. It has truly enhanced my experience with the phone and I recommend everyone to do the same.

If you have any questions about it or want to know what tweaks I downloaded, leave a comment or send me an email at cdstelmach@gmail.com.

iPads Being Seized in China

Crazy news this week, iPads are being seized over in China for trademark infringment. Apparently a company named Proview Technology owns the trademark to iPad, they are getting them seized and banned across China. Proview Technology says "it has asked regulators in more than 40 cities across China to investigate Apple’s alleged trademark violation" if all of this goes through for Proview Technology it would deliver a massive blow to Apples tablet market in China. Apple came out and said they had a previous deal with Proview Technology to allow them to use the iPad trademark but an Apple Spokesman said "Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China." Seems like things are  getting quite intense for Apple, I will post more information when it becomes available.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus definitely brings up the question "Which phone is the best?". Right away the phone provides a different feel than any other android phone available; rocking the newest version of android, Ice Cream Sandwich which has been absolutely amazing, I'm glad to see the newest software lives up to the hype.

Screen 

The screen is a monster at 4.7 inches, you can see everything and do everything without feeling that you don't have enough room to operate. You will definitely be able to tell you have it in your pocket though, it feels a little uncomfortable at first but you get used to it after awhile. The actual quality of display is amazing as well, even though the screen itself is quite large the quality sets the standard for future smartphones of that size. 

Battery Life

Nothing special here, the battery will last you through the day if your not using it heavily. During my experience with it I've managed to get 8 hours out of it with heavy usage. They do offer the extended battery which would be well worth the buy.

Connectivity

Reception has been great with the phone, also I have 4G LTE available in my market so I'm able to benefit from the lightning fast internet speeds. I've averaged 15mbs download and 8-10mbs upload. 

Software

The new android software Ice Cream Sandwich has been wonderful, everything reacts perfectly. I haven't noticed any kind of lag with it either. Tons of new features that make this android phone fresh and unique. The software borrows from Honeycomb but is designed to make much more sense with a smartphone. 

Overall

All in all the Galaxy Nexus has been a great phone, I would recommend it over any phone available on the market now. With the great new software, large screen, and 4G LTE connectivity it proves to be a keeper. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'll give it an 8, would give it a full 10 but the battery life is less than desirable.