A discussion about iPhone vs. Android

The other night, I was at a party and I was talking with several people about Apple's iPhone vs. Google's Android. It's really a discussion between iOS vs. Android, but given that Apple's iPhone is the only smartphone running iOS, we're really talking about both the operating system and the hardware when we're talking about the iPhone.

Here are a few reasons why Android will be the most popular smartphone operating system in the near future:

• Android is currently available on every major wireless network. Although the iPhone is coming to Verizon in 2011, will it also come to T-Mobile or all the other wireless carriers?
• We're seeing a wide range of Android smartphones ranging from free phones to expensive smartphones. Yes, Apple is offering their older iPhone models for less (or free refurbished), but who wants to buy an "outdated" model or a refurbished smartphone?
• We have many major smartphone manufacturers who are developing smartphones running Android. This means that we'll have a wider selection of hardware features if you're shopping for an Android smartphone. Will Apple diversify the iPhone lineup and create models with QWERTY keyboards that slide out?

Let's face it: most of us will be upgrading smartphones every 1.5 to 2.5 years. How much do you really want to spend if you're only going to have that smartphone for 1.5 to 2.5 years? With Android, you have a wide range of models that range less than $50 to over $200. Sometimes I wonder whether we're comparing smartphone features: iPhone vs. Android, or whether we're comparing companies: Google vs. Apple?


Apple definitely has loyal users and fans who will never defect to any other device or platform. I can't say that Google users are that loyal right now, but maybe that will change if Chrome OS becomes the "standard" operating system on the majority of desktop and laptop computers. Let's see what type of cloud computing OS Apple has coming.