My Switch From iPhone To Android: Part One

After a month or so of research, testing and gathering opinions, I finally made the switch from iPhone to Android. I ultimately landed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 even though my search initially had me thinking either the HTC One or the Samsung Galaxy S4. When I actually moved my search to in person, while I was impressed with these devices, I was intrigued by the additional screen real estate of the the Note 2. After a few weeks of pondering and testing, I decided that having one device that could replace my iPhone and iPad Mini was the way to go.

Here are my thoughts and observations thus far after having the device now for a week…

What I Love:

1. The Screen. I love having a larger phone and more screen real estate. It truly feels like I can accomplish more and use the phone more then I did with the iPhone. iDevices are simply media consumption devices. They aren’t built or designed for productivity and that’s where I started to feel hampered by the iPhone. Having a larger screen at least makes it easier to get things done.
2. The Flexibility. Another reason I grew increasingly frustrated with my iPhone was the lack of control over the software. With the Android platform it feels much more customizable  and it feels like I have a ton more options as it pertains to how I use and layout my phone.
3. Multi-Tasking. Super cool that I can 2 things at once. Text messaging someone while looking at a map at the same time. iPhones don’t have this feature, nor the screen real estate to pull it off.
4. Widgets. I like that I can customize my screen(s) with a variety of widgets to give me quicker access to information and features.

What I Don’t Love:

1. No More Visual Voicemail. While you can download a variety of apps to bring this feature back, I do miss having this built in to the core phone itself.
2. Paid Apps More Expensive. From what I can tell, paid apps on the Android platform seem to be more expensive then their iPhone counterparts.
3. Text Messaging UI. I’m sure this is just me being picky, but the text messaging on this device (not sure if the look and feel I see is exclusive to this particular device) seems a bit chunky. Wish it was a bit more streamlined and did a better job of maximizing the screen real estate.
4. The Constant Jokes. Yep, I’m definitely on the receiving end of my fair share of ribs on the size of my phone. I deserve it though. The reality is, I was one of those folks too until I actually took the time to explore the device. Hey, it fits in my pocket just fine, and that’s good enough for me.

After a few more weeks, I’ll follow up this post with some additional observations once I’ve had more time with the platform and device. For those of you considering or also who have switched, I’d love to hear your experiences as well.