Weekend Open Forum: Android, iOS, or Windows Phone?

[ET3D]

For tablets, I'm own two Android tablets and one Windows 8.1 tablet. I mainly use Android, because it's most comfortable. Apple products in general are more than I'm willing to pay.

For phones, I'll shortly be moving from Android to Windows Phone. I used a Motorola DEFY in the past, which introduced my to Android and was why I bought a Nexus 7 (2012). I then moved back to a Nokia 6120c. Frankly I like these small bar phones and don't feel that I need more, but people wanted me on WhatsApp, so I finally bought a THL A3. I wanted my phone small and there's not much choice at these sizes these days, not if you want a decent resolution display (I.e., not 320x480). Turned out its microphone is far from great, so people are complaining (or worse, just don't hear what I say). I looked for another small but better phone, and came up with the Lumia 620. Ordered it and I'm waiting for it to arrive. I figure that considering my limited phone use the OS doesn't matter much, and I'm curious about what Microsoft did with the OS.

 

[TraceAbsence]

Having used both iOS and Android, I have settled on the former. It is tight, never crashes, has countless great apps and is blazingly fast. My Android phone crashed at least twice a week; Google Play is rife with garbage dysfunctional apps and while there are many more things one can use to customize the phone, the interface is nevertheless often confusing. I've been using iPhone 6 Plus for 9 days now and it's like having Aladdin's Lamp in my pocket.

 

[Guest]

I use a Lumia 820 on Windows Phone 8.1, very happy with it.
IOS is great, but the devices are just ridiculously priced. I don't like android, too much difference in experience from device to device, they need to set a standard and stick to it. I think that's what makes IOS and WP winning OS's.

I like some of the devices that run Android. If device manufacturers offered the same devices with an option to run WP instead of Android, that would be great.

 

[Guest]

Apple: we don't care what you do, as long as you do it in our walled garden.
Codewords: Security and simple.
Google: we don't care what you do, as long as we know about it. Codewords: Freedom, choice and malware.
Microsoft: we don't care what you do, because we aren't sure what we want (apart from your money; we want that, obviously).
Codeword: Microsoft (which says it all, really).

Me, I go with Google. Not because I trust them (I don't), but since the price is right, and I get to have some freedom (I can get apps from different sources, and have some choice in customization).

I wish there was better a option, but as of now, I think Google is the lesser evel. Again, not because I trust them, but with Android there are alternatives. With Apple? Not so much. I always thought Microsoft was evil (they are); then Jobs came back to Apple... I pity all *****s that sold their soul to Apple. (And to think I used to be an Apple fan... Their rounded corners patents, their sky high prices and their walled garden cured me from that at least.)

 

[Jad Chaar]

iOS all the way. The eco-system cannot be beaten .

 

[Railman]

Not had any experience of Windows Phone but plenty with Android and iOS. I personally use an Android smart-phone but my wife and daughter both have iPhones. I much prefer my Android phone despite its age as the screen is larger (4.7 inches) and it is great for what I use it for.

When I need a new phone I expect to get another Android phone but I will go for a larger screen and it must have a decent camera.

 

[Guest]

My personal phone is a google nexus 5. I'm very happy with it and having used Samsung flagships previously I will say that stock android is so much better and they support their devices with updates much longer than the likes of Samsung.

Also have a work phone that runs on symbian (Nokia feature phone) I could have had apple but I dislike their os) and screens were too small.

I'm going to upgrade my work phone to a lumia 930. Awesome phone. Ivdobt care about the smaller app store
Has everything I need for work.

 

[Guest]

I've used all of them, and I like Windows Phone the best. I am not app crazy, so I don't mind that they are missing a few "key" apps; the apps that they do have are solid. Also, you cannot buy a better phone for around $130 (or cheaper) than the Lumia 635. I got one for my mom--solid, stable, easy to use and the very latest OS runs extremely well on mid-spec devices. I own a 920, though I've owned 925, 928, 822, 520. I enjoy customization with Android, but once I've had fun with that, I don't enjoy using it much. Android seems to be less solid than WP or IOS, though it gets better all the time. I still can't get over that it seems like a knockoff of IOS though, even though they have innovated in some areas. The last iPhone I had was a nice 4S, but once you get used to a back button it is hard to live without it. Actually I also love having a dedicated camera button and the side position of the power button is exactly where I want it. Admittedly, the 920 is a little too heavy, but I also love wireless charging. So far, there is no perfect phone, but for me WP comes the closest.

 

[Guest]

Android.

Every Androids I owned now running CynogenMod & others custom ROMs

 

[Guest]

Anything but Android.

 

[Jorge007]

I have used every mobile OS released until now and am in love with the new BB1o

 

[Guest]

None of the above. I guess I haven't jumped on the bandwagon. I'm "suffering" on my BlackBerry 10 and its hub. Oh, woe is me... How I wish I was forced to jump from app to app to do the same thing I can do all in one place... So obsolete...

 

[Guest]

SQW100-1/10.3.0.1418 via my Canadian Blackberry Passport

 

[johnbourne;]

For me it has been "what do I use the phone for" I started my smartphone experience with iphone 3 and have stayed with apple through 5-- I then moved to android from ipad on tablet as I enjoyed revisiting old games (mario, kirby, monkey island and simon) and I also enjoyed running old dos programs-- android is a lot of fun! however, I found that the camera and blogging have become an important part of my mobile experience and games and entertainment are less important on the phone-- iphone has been acceptable but the camera on the iphone 6 and + is laughable when samsung and microsoft are much more advanced-- of course, now microsoft/nokia has burbed and is issuing 5 mp phones-- ??? samsung has 16 mp but do I really want all the rest of the google package-- I have two weeks to decide-- perhaps microsoft lumia will release an exceptional phone to my phone company, perhaps I will just get a samsung galaxy s5 active but surely not an apple product--

 

[EClyde]

Christ. Who gives a ****? Bu what ya want it's a phone that takes pictures and plays games

 

[mayankleoboy]

All have their strengths and no one system is better since this would depend on the priorities of the user.

Want the best apps? IOS>Android>WP
Want the best customization? Android>IOS>WP
Want the best security? WP>IOS>Android

When someone asks me what phone to buy, WP>IOS> with Android being a far far 3rd. Android is a far 3rd since only a very small percentage of people care about what "benefits" android brings to the table.

There are all shortcomings too... IOS is pricey, Android is inefficient, WP has sucky apps that are missing features.

Good observation here.
It just struck me that "Android = inefficient" on phones is the same as saying "Windows=inefficient" on PC's. They are inefficient becuae they have to support such a large number of hardware configurations.

 

[GhostRyder]

IOS for me personally because I enjoy the whole system and its functionality compared to the other major OS's. I like the idea of windows phone personally but felt its something I have no reason to switch to. Android for me is something I would not enjoy because no matter how many times I tried using it I found nothing but the extreme amounts of customizations to be the only benefit on it.

It is just my personal preference of course.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Android for better home screen configurations, features offered by the OS, rooting and overall customization.

 

[Junio]

I like to get the latest OS as soon as possible when it gets released, so I used to have iPhones from 1 to 3g to 4, 4s and finally the 5. when the OS gets updates you can get them instantly. Only thing that botters me is that it's pricy and it's only good for syncing with other apple products, thus pushing you to buy more apple products that again are pricy.

Since I didn't like the 5 and the screen was getting to small for my likings I switched to android operated smartphones and started out with a galaxy S3 then went to xperia Z and I enjoyed using the android except for all the bloatware (that also made it impossible for them to update the OS in a reasonable time). But after those I tried the Nexus 5 with it's pure android... wow!

Since I recently dropped my nexus 5 it's not working as it should anymore so I'm looking for a replacement and thinking about windows phone, only thing holding me back is that around 80% of my apps I can't find in the app store.

I'm not gonna buy the nexus 5 again, the nexus 6 is to big to my likings, WP don't have enough apps... so I think I'm going back to iPhone 6.

Summary: Best OS in my experience up till now is the pure android closely followed up by iOS. any android that is not pure isn't even in the race to be the best OS. WP I can't comment on since I haven't tried it.

 

[Forg0t2]

I've got a windows Phone but I would like it if they made some sync functions more easy or if they gave it a better overview.

 

[rvnwlfdroid]

Android

Since the first Moto Droid was released. Since then I've had several different android phones. I am currently using the LGG2. People can say a lot of things about iOS vs Android. After working a help desk (connecting people to wireless networks) that covered all devices, I've dealt with plus's and minuses to both. I prefer the choices available with Android. Then again I've always been a fan of (open source/ish) products. With enough creativity and resourceful individuals the sky's the limit.

 

[amstech]

Want the best apps? IOS>Android>WP

Umm no.

Want the best customization? Android>IOS>WP
Want the best security? WP>IOS>Android

Umm maybe.

 

[Spykezxp]

I prefer Android myself, but have had multiple phones with each of the three main operating systems. I like to tweak and customize phones, so that is why I stick with Android. iOS was a stable (3GS & 4), but I did not like the fact that I was limited on what I could do. Windows phones just didn't cut it for me either.

 

[Rippleman]

Umm no.


Umm maybe.

ok, you're right. Sorry about that.

 

[TomSEA]

Pay as you go, cheap Tracphone. Runs me $10 a month and works just fine.