Response to Iphone (sic) 5 vs. Galaxy S3

Original post here:
http://fonewars.blogspot.com/2012/09/iphone-5-vs-galaxy-s3.html

I'll admit it up front.  I'm an Apple fan boy.  I wasn't always an Apple fan boy, but somehow, since my first iPod acquisition which was a gift from a girlfriend who didn't know me well enough to get me something I really wanted, I became one.  After numerous iPhones and iPods and Macs, I'm definitely a member of the cult.  However, I'm also not insane about it.  I don't camp out overnight, I don't spend hours on macrumors.com nor do I think that Apple is the second coming.  However, I like Apple.  I must also admit up front, I've never spent more than a few minutes with a droid, although I have spend a fair amount of time with the android operating system.

When I saw this post from my friend and Apple Hater (what I call him), I decided to respond with the best of intentions.  We'll see how this goes.

I won't spend too much time agreeing with why iPhone is better.  I'll just add some additional comments and some other thoughts on why iPhone over droid.

App Experience
The Apple ecosystem does indeed appear richer than the Droid experience, because it is.  It's just a matter of fact that there are more, vetted apps for the Apple store than the Android store.  It's a matter of philosophy.  Clearly Android is a more open system that will take any and all apps while Apple vets out their product and controls the entire ecosystem.  This, at its core, is why I like Apple more than Android.  It just works.  I don't have to figure out what is sucking the life out of my battery, because that doesn't happen.  There is very little tuning, if any, required for the iPhone.  With Android, i always felt like I was deleting processes or tracking the apps running.  I don't want to do that, I just want it to work. +1 to iPhone.

Facetime + iMessage + Mac + iPhone +iPad
I'm a big believer in video technology, and with the proliferation of mobile devices (there are now mobile subscriptions than there are people on the planet) mobile video is critical.  While there are apps for video (Skype, etc) having native integration with your hardware makes the use very easy.  If you want kids or grandparents to use video, it has to be easy.  Apple makes it easy with iPhone, but also with its Mac, iPod and iPad products.  There's FaceTime built into each, and having the ability to video from any device, seamlessly, makes it worthwhile and usable.

In addition, i'd be remiss if I didn't call out the benefit of having iMessage (OTT Messaging) built into all these products as well.  The fact that I can respond to messages from a Mac, iPhone or iPad (haven't tested the iPod but would assume it's the same) is extremely useful.  Essentially, what this allows you to do is keep a central repository or SMS messages on any device, with any connectivity option.  Said differently, you don't have to respond from your iPhone to a message from someone else's iPhone, and you don't have to be connected to the cellular network.  Your messages will populate on any Mac/iOS device, and you can respond from any of those devices.  Think about traveling and only having wifi coverage… iMessage away.  Bottom line, the integration of communication capabilities across the portfolio is stellar. +1 to Apple

AppleTV integration + iPhoto + iCloud + Photostream
I know I'm speaking less and less about the iPhone specifically, but maybe that's the point to all of this.  The iPhone set the early bar for smart phones.  It's first product didn't have all of the features (copy/paste, etc) that we wanted, but it did set the standard for UI and UX.  However, with Android and 3rd party hardware suppliers, other phones have come up to speed in terms of UI and UX.  I think it's really difficult to differentiate phone features from other phone features nowadays, assuming you're talking about decent models.  The iPhone and S3 will make calls, receive calls (network dependent) and allow things you'd expect a simple phone to do.

However, the surrounding Apple ecosystem makes the iPhone much more than an iPhone.  So, maybe this isn't a fair comparison, but it's one of the reasons I love the iPhone.  I can use it for my remote control of my AppleTV.  I can use my iPhone to mirror apps to my HDTV through my AppleTV.  I can use iCloud to backup my iPhone, wirelessly, no matter where I am.  I can push my photos that I take with my iPhone to any device through Photostream.  Clearly, this isn't a phone features, but it's a make your life better and easier system.  Because of my iPhone, my life is just easier, my information is more streamlined, I'm a little smarter and much better looking than droid users.

Bigger Screen, Contact Integration, Battery Life
I find the iPhone screen size to be just fine.  In other words, I don't need to compensate for anything.  I suppose guys who need a bigger screen are like guys who need to jack up there trucks to overpass heights.  What are you trying to prove?

Contact integration?  With iOS 6, Facebook, contact and other integration seems to work just fine.  I'd say it works as well as you have your contacts organized.  I find that my google contacts suck, because I haven't organized them.  If there is something that automatically organized your contacts for you, then that may be interesting, but nothing to sway me from the pros of having an iPhone.

Battery life on my iPhone seems to be ok.  By ok, I mean, if I'm using it like a 16 year old girl, it's probably going to last me from 8am to 6pm.  That's if I'm constantly emailing, tweeting, on wifi, making calls and iMessaging.  If I need power, I plug it in, and I don't care that i need a proprietary cord, it's not that big of a deal.

Overall, while the S3 sounds like a great phone and has some cool NFC features, it can't compare with my care about, which is making my life, entertainment, photo sharing, viewing, streaming and digital life better and easier.  To me and my all important world, the iPhone takes it, hands down, and I'm not switching any time soon.

And besides, I don't trust someone saying the iPhone UI sucks when they have to take pictures of the iPhone screen with another camera instead of just taking a screenshot with the built in iPhone function. (BURN)