iPhone vs. Droid phones for apps?

[ocalla]

I am curious about the difference in the two phones types when it comes to adding apps.? Can apps be added to droids like they can with the iPhone?

Trying to decide which phone service to switch to, TIA.

 

[tghamilton]

I am also interested in this.....

TIA

 

[kandemom]

The droid phone has as many apps as the Iphone does. They can be easliy downloaded onto the phone

 

[ssawka]

Droid phones can also load apps from sources other than the the "official" store. Unlike Mr. Job's phone, the Droid is open (i.e. No censorship!). A word of caution though, make sure you trust the source that you are downloading from.

 

[love2disney]

I own a Itouch and a Driod phone so her goes in terms of comparison

Driod becoz of the open source store has a lot of silly apps and nearly al lof the useful ones too. You just need to search and sort a bit more than apple store. Also the apple store has a lot more apps than droid.

On the other hand becoz Apple has such strong control over its apps store you can be sure apps there do not come with bloatware and do exactly what they advertise they do. Droid apps from quiestionable sources may come with bloatware which drain batteries way quicker, keep rebooting your phone etc. A virus for smartphones if you will. Apple has no such issues.

Many companies banks, restaurants etc seem to have a Apple app a few months/weeks before a droid app. Some have only apple apps and no droid apps.

Conversely some paid apple apps are free for driod. Case in point the game angry bird is free in driod and $2 in apple.

f you buy an application from the Android Market (their application store), you can return it in 24 hours if you don’t like it for a full refund. With Android you can download a five dollar application, play with it, and then if it is really only worth three dollars, send it back. That does not happen with apple.

 

[princessmom29]

I went with droid over iphone because:
1. ATT service STINKS. We have had it several years and it just keeps getting worse.

2. I could not stomach adding $30 per phone to our already high phone bill, and not having the option of an unlimited data package.

3. no flash player with apple.

We now have 2 android phones for the same amount we were paying for our regular phones with ATT, and have added unlimited texting (We had no texting plan with ATT).

 

[KristinU]

As I was researching before buying my HTC Evo I was really on the fence with the new Iphone vs. an Android because of the apps. This was in June, and I have to say that there are more and more apps available for the Android platform. I also have learned that I really don't use a heck of a lot of apps anyway and anything I've looked for I have pretty much found. Well, one exception is that Coleman has a camping cookbook/meal planning app for the iPhone but doesn't for the Android...nor do they have plans at this time (I e-mailed them)...but other than that very specific niche, I've found plenty and couldn't be happier with my Evo.

 

[chyam]

I have to agree with Kristin U....I too have the EVO and have been more than happy with the availability of the apps for the Droid phones, yes maybe some of the apps contain bloatware etc. but it's just like your home computer you have to be careful and sure of what you are downloading...I always read the reviews that you can read before you download an app onto your phone...I like the fact that there is "no censorship" of Apple telling you what you can download and nothing else....I also like the fact that I do not have to pay ATT a premium....my EVO does everything that I need it to and probably all that I would ask an Iphone to do. Research the Droids you will find that most techies are very impressed with them.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

3. no flash player with apple.

I can't get flash on my Ally... [droid]

 

[ocalla]

When you guys mention thepossible virus problems, is that with the Android Store also? or just with other retailers?

I have NO idea what most of this means (I still have a VERY OLD razor phone). I don't even know how you get apps on the phone, hehehe.

DH said the service seems better with Verizon than AT&T, and DD wanted to know about the apps available.

Thanks for helping this Old dog learn new tricks.

 

[princessmom29]

I can't get flash on my Ally... [droid]

I think that is a phone specific issue. Some of the slower poocessers cannot handle flash. I have a desire and DH has a widfire and we both get flash. A friend at work can get it on her hero.

 

[princessmom29]

When you guys mention thepossible virus problems, is that with the Android Store also? or just with other retailers?

I have NO idea what most of this means (I still have a VERY OLD razor phone). I don't even know how you get apps on the phone, hehehe.

DH said the service seems better with Verizon than AT&T, and DD wanted to know about the apps available.

Thanks for helping this Old dog learn new tricks.

the droid marketplace is safe. They are reffering to outside sources. For example, 1800flowers has a link on thier website to get the droid app. I downloaded it, but my phone questioned the source so I didn't install it.

 

[ssawka]

When you guys mention thepossible virus problems, is that with the Android Store also? or just with other retailers?

I have NO idea what most of this means (I still have a VERY OLD razor phone). I don't even know how you get apps on the phone, hehehe.

DH said the service seems better with Verizon than AT&T, and DD wanted to know about the apps available.

Thanks for helping this Old dog learn new tricks.

I think the whole virus thing is overrated. Could you get viruses from downloading from non-reputable sources? Sure! but, so far I have not heard of any.

Apple also uses this scare tactic with OS X. They claim that their OS is more secure because there are no known viruses for the Mac. The truth of the matter is that there are no known viruses because Apple has such a small market share for computers that the hackers have not bothered to write viruses for it. I would argue that Apples are less secure because no one bothers to run anti-virus software on it.

Now I have neither a love or hate for Apple. I actually have an Apple laptop and use it daily. I also have several PCs running Windows 7.

When it came time to get a smartphone, I choose the Droid X for two simple reasons:

1. Verizon did not have the iPhone and I didn't want to change providers.
2. I found all other smartphones (iPhone and other Droids) to be too small for my stubby fingers.

I have friends that have the iPhone and I must say the picture is much sharper than my Droid X, so if that's important to you you might want to consider the iPhone. To me it was more important that the screen be big enough for me to use easily.

If you'rr on Verizon and you are interested in iPhone. I would wait awhile since the Verizon iPhone is suppose to be released the first quarter of 2011.

 

[MrsWendy]

I think the whole virus thing is overrated. Could you get viruses from downloading from non-reputable sources? Sure! but, so far I have not heard of any.

Apple also uses this scare tactic with OS X. They claim that their OS is more secure because there are no known viruses for the Mac. The truth of the matter is that there are no known viruses because Apple has such a small market share for computers that the hackers have not bothered to write viruses for it. I would argue that Apples are less secure because no one bothers to run anti-virus software on it.

Now I have neither a love or hate for Apple. I actually have an Apple laptop and use it daily. I also have several PCs running Windows 7.

There have been apps sold on the Android store that were caught doing bad things such as sending personal data to unknown servers overseas. The people who run the Android store have since taken steps to eliminate the problem. If you install software from somewhere else then you will be taking a risk, but the Android store itself should be less risky now.

As far as your "security through obscurity" comment... that has long since been discredited. The current Mac operating system has been around for more than 10 years and the underlying Unix BSD operating system has been around for more than 30 years. Expert hackers have tried to create viruses for them but none have succeeded. The best anyone has come up with are a few trojan horses which at best can be referred to as amateurish, lame and ineffective. The simple fact is that Apple's computers are far more secure than Windows and it has nothing to do with market share.

 

[ocalla]

Do you mean "THE" actual iPhone will be available with Verizon service?

 

[love2disney]

Verizon is probaly getting iphone in Feb. Bloatware is a real threat even with droid store apps coz apps couldbe doing things in the background we dont know about. This becoz no1 is actually checking each app that makes it to the store.

 

[ssawka]

Verizon is probaly getting iphone in Feb. Bloatware is a real threat even with droid store apps coz apps couldbe doing things in the background we dont know about. This becoz no1 is actually checking each app that makes it to the store.

I guess the question is how much risk are you willing to accept. I personally prefer to manage risk myself and use common sense when downloading apps. To me that is much more palatable then having one company control everything that goes on the phone. I prefer Android's open architecture that allows me to decide what I want to put on the phone. It's my phone, I should be able to put on it what I want and not have to worry about the business agreement between the software company and the manufacturer of the phone. But to each his own, some people just want simplicity and are willing to relinquish control in order to get it.

 

[princessmom29]

Verizon is probaly getting iphone in Feb. Bloatware is a real threat even with droid store apps coz apps couldbe doing things in the background we dont know about. This becoz no1 is actually checking each app that makes it to the store.

Iphone for verizon is still rumor. There has been NO official word on it as yet. ATT obviously wants to block it. Everything is a risk. Just turning on a regualr cell phone opens you up to risk, iphone included.

 

[princessmom29]

There have been apps sold on the Android store that were caught doing bad things such as sending personal data to unknown servers overseas. The people who run the Android store have since taken steps to eliminate the problem. If you install software from somewhere else then you will be taking a risk, but the Android store itself should be less risky now.

As far as your "security through obscurity" comment... that has long since been discredited. The current Mac operating system has been around for more than 10 years and the underlying Unix BSD operating system has been around for more than 30 years. Expert hackers have tried to create viruses for them but none have succeeded. The best anyone has come up with are a few trojan horses which at best can be referred to as amateurish, lame and ineffective. The simple fact is that Apple's computers are far more secure than Windows and it has nothing to do with market share.

I don't think this is completely true. Apple IS a smaller market share, there is no doubt about that, and therefore much less profitable to hack, so fewer hackers are going to try it. This is part of the reason it is harder to hack. There have been fewer attempts, and less is known about how to get in. I don't think it is so much that it is "unhackable" just that there have not been enough attempts to do so yet.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I just got a HTC Incredible for verizon and I LOVE it!! And I am a total Apple lover. I just can't take the AT&T service. I am sticking with Verizon.