“Many prominent tech writers get lots of attention by writing about how they’re switching from the iPhone to Android,” Ben Bajarin writes for TIME Magazine. “I know several of these individuals and speak with other writers frequently, and so thought an interesting angle to explore would be the reasons why I’m not switching to Android.”
“To lay the groundwork for my points you need to understand that I have in my possession all the flagship Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices,” Bajarin writes. “I’ve tried and tested them all, using them as my primary phones for a period of time in order to form an opinion. I’m aware of the fact that this is a luxury not all have. Still, my conclusion is that they aren’t for me.”
Bajarin writes, “My choice to stick with the iPhone has everything to do with how productive I can be with iOS while mobile. Whenever I use an Android phone as my primary phone (or a Windows Phone, or the BlackBerry devices), I feel a profound drop in my productivity.”
Much more in the full article here.
In the first place why would I want an Android phone?
The only thing lacking in an iPhone is a bigger 4.7″ screen and a 4:3 aspect ratio, like an iPad. The iPhone is too long and thin at the moment which is not very good for reading in portrait orientation.
And throw in a file system too or integrate Dropbox within the iOS file system or something. It’s maddening why I can’t save and retrieve files.
But apart from that, it’s iPhone all the way!
“Whenever I use an Android phone as my primary phone (or a Windows Phone, or the BlackBerry devices), I feel a profound drop in my productivity.”
The issue of mobile handset superiority has been hijacked by geek spec reciters. It isn’t size, memory, processor that drive people to buy, it is what they can DO with it, and when it comes to doing, Android is a distant 2nd to iOS.
Don’t let the red herring argument blind you. Just look at how internet usage and data consumption occurs on iOS products vs Android.
If you’re looking for a “pretty” handset go Android.
If you want to DO stuff go iOS.
Android pretty handset? Which one?
BLN, comfortably above the fray, absent from the fracas over child bearing. Well done 🙂
…check your iTunes account, I just gifted “Having My Baby” by Paul Anka to you.
we can sing it together!
[Botvinnik:]
Havin’ my baby
What a lovely way of sayin’
How much you love me
Havin’ my baby
What a lovely way of sayin’
What you’re thinkin’ of me
I can see it, face is glowin’
I can see in your eyes
I’m happy you know it
[Both:]
That you’re havin’ my baby
[Botvinnik:]
You’re the woman I love
And I love what it’s doin’ to ya
[Both:]
Havin’ my baby
[Botvinnik:]
You’re a woman in love
And I love what’s goin’ through ya
[Botvinnik:]
The need inside you
I see it showin’
Whoa, the seed inside ya
Baby, do you feel it growin’
Are you happy you know it
That you’re
[Both:]
Havin’ my baby
[Hannah:]
I’m a woman in love
And I love what it’s doin’ to me
[Both:]
Havin’ my baby
[Hannah:]
I’m a woman in love
And I love what’s goin’ through me
[Botvinnikl:]
Didn’t have to keep it
Wouldn’t put ya through it
You could have swept it from you life
But you wouldn’t do it
No, you wouldn’t do it
[Both:]
And you’re havin’ my baby
[Hannah:]
I’m a woman in love
And I love what it’s doin’ to me
[Both:]
Havin’ my baby
[Hannah:]
I’m a woman in love
And I love what’s goin’ through me
[Botvinik:]
Havin’ my baby (havin’ my baby)
What a lovely way of sayin’
How much you love me
[Botvinnik:]
Havin’ my baby
(havin’ my baby)
[Hannah:]
I’m a woman in love
And I love what’s goin’ through me
that was groovy.
You misspelled your own name twice
well, I’ll sing it to Kidless Kim instead.
There’s no way they will ever integrate Dropbox, it competes directly with iCloud.
And a file system isn’t just something they could “throw in”. It would fundamentally change how iOS works and differs from OS X.
Hey BLN,
What is your primary use for your iPhone?
– i would expect making and receiving calls to be the answer
What is the second most useful thing you do in your iPhone?
– i would guess taking photos or browsing the internet
Do you create any files other than photos? Do you make slide presentations, draw or paint? Do you type invoices or crunch numbers?
Do you own an iPad?
– i expect you do, i believe you mentioned you own a mini.
Do you travel with your iPad or does it stay home?
If iPad mini was capable of being a phone would you leave the iPhone at home?
– i can imagine you would love to carry an iPad mini daily if you do any kind of creation on the go. – i would expect the device is comfortable in one hand for you. I can imagine if a bluetooth ear phone assisted the iPad mini for phone capabilities freeing you from holding such a device up to your head, that this one device would be closer to the perfect size all around and you would come top love the size over your desired 4.7 inch dream.
You are seeking a 0.7 inch increase over the iPhone 5, and can imagine even a 5″ phone will not be enough for some other people who wants to do more. Eventually you will ask for a 6″ device. Where an 7.9″ is already proving extremely popular for the next wave of needs.
Apple, please make the iPad mini with telephone capabilities, retina quality screen and include a bluetooth ear plug to command my phone services by Siri so i can leave the device in my bag or over my arm. New habits will be adopted and the love for bigger real-estate on a compact mobile device will change what a phone looks like and works like.
http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/22/analyst-new-iphones-to-be-in-short-supply-no-new-ipad-mini-haswell-imacsmacbook-pros-in-2013/
Anal-ists say this – NO NEW IPAD MINI – so who cares what they say.
well if so its a sad day for Apple… as there is no need for a iPad 5, a iPhone 5s and inexpensive iPhone 5 plastic.] might be the best offering – yet still sad
Apple said they would wow us come fall.
iMac updates its processor – ok thx
Mac Pro – yup saw that cool
Mac Book Pro – nice too
but ALl that is expected… if the iWatch is all Apple has that is inspiring and new – Apple is not going to have happy people all around.
This is not to say iPad Mini with phone capabilities would shock the world either but I will STATE HERE, Apple then goes a good few years without competing head to head with a larger iPhone or same size iPhone as the competition offers. And that will be very bad.
What the heck is wrong with having children? How is it either immoral or disgusting?
Granted, there are people who shouldn’t have children but the answer is not claim it is immoral to have children. You sound like you had a bad experience growing up, maybe molested or abused, and for that I feel bad for you. But your views now are terrible and you are not working to make the world a better place, you are just spreading your negative and malignant attitude. Poor you.
Way to hijack the thread. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you could also be referred to as …
Alone Kim?
Making a decision for yourself not have children is something I can respect. To make a broad claim that anyone having a child, or being a “breeder” as you say, is immoral deserves no ones respect. Should we “respect” Jim Jones decision to have a mass suicide for his followers in the Peoples Temple cult? Should we “respect” Hitlers opinion that Jews should be exterminated?
Asinine claims, decisions and opinions deserve no ones respect.
@Kidless Kim
I don’t respect or care about your “decisions and opinions” because they are being posted on a Mac news site. As far as I’m concerned, I should have NO IDEA what your opinions about having children are.
Seeing as you made a broad statement that having children is “immoral”, you should expect people calling you out. Genius.
Also, last I checked, we were at 6.9 billion, not 8 billion.
What the hell does having children have to do with an article about phones? Future generations thank you for removing your genes from the pool.
If you feel that way Kim, thin the herd, starting with yourself.
Actually, all 8 billion of us could fit comfortably in the state of Texas and the rest of the earth could be used to grow food. Our problem is not overpopulation, but rather man’s inhumanity to man. I cannot understand why we keep on hating and killing each other.
My best defense is to raise children who respect life and love one another and carry those beliefs into the following generations.
You can have the western part of Texas!
In the middle of the night, high on something, Kim must have watched ‘Soylent Green’ way too many times …
When you have an avatar name like that on a Mac blog — whoop, whoop, whoop — nutty activist alert.
Your last point DM is simply smart and just beautiful!
Dear DustyMac,
Your comment is funny, puts things in perspective, warm and what have you not. This is the best comment I have read in a long while….
“I am NOT a kid hater.”
yeah, well, I think I’m becoming a “kim hater.”
like Microsoft, just go away.
Kim,
You seem to like kids, seem to be happily married and well adjusted having a decent family life when and where you grew up.
So, have you adopted kids?
I mean first, you’re comparing breeding in America (or other well-off nations) to breeding in over-populated areas where the children can’t be adequately supported. There are flaws with the comparison. Breeding or not breeding children in the US (or other well-off nation) doesn’t affect over-population in other areas unless in lieu of breeding, adoption occurs.
But more so, if you’re so passionate about the plight in 3rd world countries in regards to overpopulation and do care about the children, are you doing anything to help any of those children directly such as adoption?
If you’re not adopting or directly engaged in helping reduce over-population, then you really have no position to call those having children in well-off nations immoral and disgusting.
Without hesitation, you are dead on with population growth and selfishness of childbearing in this juncture of human civilization.
I deleted a full paragraph due to the sensitivity of the issue. “Immorality” is an accurate word but too potent of a word for the masses to grip on to.
Why do you think having a child is immoral? You believe the human race should become extinct when no more children are born to replace those who are dying?
We are a long, long way from the human species becoming extinct because of very thoughtful decisions being made by people like Kim. The biggest threat to extinction is our continued wrong headed behavior to each other and to our life support system, something we call Earth.
So this guy is saying……what?
I have four kids ranging from 10 to 1 years old. I adore them.
Maybe more to the point, I can afford them.
Personally, I don’t find your choices without any merit at all. But let’s get a couple of things straight . . . just because parts of the world have become overpopulated does not mean that where I live I have to make such dramatic choices or be made to feel irresponsible for it.
Further, I think that if your username on a tech blog HAS to include a reference to your view on having children or not you’ve jumped the fence from passionate to cooky.
Let me guess, you’ve got a lot of holier-than-thou bumper stickers on your Prius?
Yours truly,
A “breeder” who likes Apple products
Who cares if you switch or not, dose it lookalike I care if anyone switches or not, is this starting to become Facebook post when u do a shit, this is mac daily news news about mac not android, go and switch if you want and if you don’t just shut up and carry on life ,I don’t want to know what u do.
The quality of all ‘Apple’ product including the iPhone, the OS and the comprehensive and well integrated ecosystem are the three most compelling reasons why most consumers will remain the diehard loyalists they have been for many years.
1) the iPhone is a superior phone
2) The main reason tech writers switch to Android is to make money $$$$.
They make money by reviewing tech devices like phones. there a LOT more Android phones to review than iPhones.
To get free android phones to review from the manufacturers (and especially PRE-RELEASE models) you need to suck up to the Android OEMs and to that you have to show that ‘you really like Android’ i.e by writing articles saying “I switched to Android because iPhone sucks’. (even andy Ihnatko had to do it, when he stopped writing for Macworld and entered the non apple world of tech publishing in newspapers etc which are struggling to survive… )
If reviewers pissed off the Android OEMS are they going to make a living reviewing ONE iPhone a year? (there are dozens of androids phones, tablets, etc to review). Every review = $
That’s why reviewers so often give sucky Android models glowing reviews (Gruber calls it ‘grading on a curve’ ). Seriously how many android phone reviews ever mentions interesting android facts like it has 90% of the malware and that most likely you’ll never get an OS update … ?
3) Bajarin is not strictly a reviewer but a tech and financial analyst so he doesn’t have to suck up to android so much and can tell more of the truth. His dad is Ben bajarin long time financial analyst covering Apple (who personally knew Jobs).
to add:
reviewers are ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of the iPod-ification of iPhone. (i.e iPhone WINS)
If iPhone kills everything like iPod they will make no money off reviews.
In old days from mp3 players they made money writing reviews for SaeHan, Toshiba, Phillips, iRiver, Creative Nomad Rio Diamond, Zune, Sandisk etc etc….. now for years it’s only iPod ! (sure there a few small reviews on rival music players but no one cares and no one pays a lot for those reviews).
so it’s the tech writers HOLY GRAIL FOR SURVIVAL ( i.e $$$$) to keep android alive and well.
Kim,
I respect your choice not to have kids (I don’t, either). But, geez, you don’t seem very respectful of people who do. Lumping everyone who has kids into the category of “breeder” is nasty. What if those people are as thoughtful and loving as you claim your parents were? Why shouldn’t they raise more people who will try to make the world a better place?
Activism should be about changing people’s hearts and minds to make for a better world. Your current methods of attacking people as an over-broad group throws the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.
“Whenever I use an Android phone as my primary phone (or a Windows Phone, or the BlackBerry devices), I feel a profound drop in my productivity.”
Not to mention a profound drop in ones IQ!
That was one boring article.
But he got his hits. When writers need to get hits what do they do? Put Apple or iPhone in a title. Disparage Apple etc…. Heck putting Steve Jobs still works in a title.
It’s funny that I’ve read your post on an Android phone with all you have just mentioned, an aluminium shell, truly fantastic battery life and that has not given me a single issue in the few months I’ve owned it.
When I compare this to the iPad that I had to troubleshoot yesterday that somehow lost all memory retention while in use and had to be factory reset I can say that I do not regret my choice.
One data point does not a valid survey make.
Compared what you say to industry surveys of customer satisfaction and return rates.
Would you care to name this sleek and elegant Android phone? I haven’t come across anything like what you describe.
Vapid article
One of my biggest reasons is the build quality of the iPhone. It is just amazing.