Verizon iPhone 4 vs. Motorola Droid X

angrybird · Mar 2, 2011

hi dude, you offers a nice sharing!

iphonesteve · Mar 2, 2011

motorola vote 8 >>> iPhone 4 vote 9!!!!!

strawberries · Mar 3, 2011

I like iPad so much! I am using it!

TheBigGiantHead · Mar 3, 2011

great write up, Ive never had an android phone before but i have used them and Ive always found my iPhone to be superior in just about every category, nice to see a former droid user confirm my bias.

And just to extrapolate on the cameras, i myself am a photographer and a lot of companys try and fool you with this lame "mega pixel" number.... mega-pixels mean NOTHING if you dont have a quality camera that shoots at a high DPI!

our iPhones shoot at 92dpi with a 5MP camera, these driod phones that tout their 7,8 and 9MP cameras typically shoot at around 72dpi which is why despite iPhones lower MP the photos typically look better. Its not magic, its quality hardware. Iphone chose a lower MP but higher dpi which is the way it should be, these other phones are simply choosing a high MP just to say, "Hey look our camera has the highest MP on the market", this is true but what they dont tell you is the quality is second rate.

cleskers · Mar 4, 2011

Great write up, I often wonder if I will go back to Android. The one thing I miss most about my Droid is Cyan's ROM's. This guy did amazing things with his custom ROM's. The X was just over themed and could not run a true custom ROM or kernel. I am happy with my IP 4. You reminded me of some annoyance's, I don't think I will be heading back.

ITS ME DAVID · Mar 4, 2011

Excellent writeup

geoff5093 · Mar 4, 2011

Excellent comparison, I had an iPhone 3G and I have a Droid 1 now so it's still easy for me to compare. Whenever I go to an AT&T or Verizon store and test out the iPhone 4, I am always impressed with it over my Droid. I also noticed the same thing regarding signal strength as you did, I had my D1 right next to the iPhone 4 and the iPhone has full bars while mine fluctuated between 2-4 bars. I tried gripping it in several ways and I didn't see the signal drop at all like I did on the AT&T iPhone.

Matth3w · Mar 4, 2011

cleskers said:
Great write up, I often wonder if I will go back to Android. The one thing I miss most about my Droid is Cyan's ROM's. This guy did amazing things with his custom ROM's. The X was just over themed and could not run a true custom ROM or kernel. I am happy with my IP 4. You reminded me of some annoyance's, I don't think I will be heading back.

I have no reason to ever go back. I've gambled a bunch of times and always lost with Android, no reason to take another chance.

ChaseTexxxas · Mar 8, 2011

I just got rid of my Droid X less than 4 days ago and it was rooted, fully customized and the iphone 4 blows it out of the water. Even without flash player, the iphone makes up for it with amazing apps. Youtube app is 1837888390 times faster and the Facebook app is amazing. Not to mention the notifications on your apps. The Droid X falls to the iPhone 4 on several aspects.

KCS7272 · Mar 9, 2011

I am a self admitted phone whore! I have had just about EVERY top of the line phone in the last 5 or so years. My girlfriend flips out because I switch carriers almost monthly to get the latest and greatest.

I also work in the cellular industry and read everything I can about the latest tech. now that I have given a peek at my experience / obsession here is my view on IOS vs Android.

I bought the first generation iPhone in 2006 or 2007 (can't remember) on day one when they were not subsidized and you had to sell an organ to get one. IT WAS revolutionary at the time and I loved it Edge only network and no app store and all!

I believe it was 2008 when the Google Android powered G1 was released and I was on it like a bum on a bologna sandwich! I drove the Android bus and never looked back until the Palm Pre came out.

I did try to go back to the iPhone (3G) for a bit but by then Android was more mature and offered more customization. Like I said, once WebOS came out I jumped in!

The OS itself was AMAZING!!! It was like IOS and Android made a beautiful mutant baby with all the best features of both and none of the drawbacks plus some new tricks.

Then I realized the screen was WAY TOO SMALL and the hardware was CRAP!!!!! BANG! Back to Android! I must admit I love the 4 and 4.3 inch screen sizes but between the skins manufacturers lay on top and the natural "problems" with Android I decided to give the iPhone 4 a shot on AT&T.

I left my Droid X on VZW and got the AT&T iPhone 4. I loved the Retina display, the smoothness of the UI / OS and the over all build quality of the device. but I missed the bigger screen and the customization of Google so I grabbed the Inspire.

Great screen size and fast phone. But Sense on Android is not for me and the phone absolutely SUCKED as a phone, i.e. HORRIBLE call quality and signal. SOOOOOO I got the Iphone 4 again....... Then the Motorola Atrix ( I know I am a nut) Then in a moment of clarity I returned the Atrix, cancelled my AT&T service and got the iPhone 4 on Verizon.

I am going to ride this baby out until the iPhone 5 or 6 hits. Yes IOS is aging and a bit stale, But it runs sooooo smooth and like I said the build quality on the iPhone is so impressive. Also call quality (especially on VZW) is AWESOME!!!!!

I have heard that IOS 5 is going to be a complete if not too drastic revamp of the whole UI. Including a better notifications system. To be honest if they would take a cue from WebOS in that area as well as others I would be hooked!!!! Oh yeah, and a bigger screen

So the point of my rambling is....... Droid is ultra flexible / customizable. But it all goes back to smoothness, reliability and quality. And that means Apple and IOS. I was anti Apple for years after Android hit the scene but it is what it is. Apple has it together, BUT IOS DOES NEED TO BE UPDATED!!!!! The End!!!! Finally, Right?

Ponderous · Mar 10, 2011

Great review. After a few blackberries and a Droid I can definitely tell that this device is "different". I'm very happy with my iPhone so far.

Backnblack · Mar 16, 2011

I see You can change devices but not the OP.

Goofy · Mar 16, 2011

AT&T iPhone 4 > all lol

escalade6103 · Sep 2, 2011

Matth3w said:
See full review here:

http://fromandroidtoapple.blogspot.com/

I believe that I have come full circle. I absolutely hated Apple products (except for basic iPods) up until the iPad came out. I tried the iPad out in Best Buy and was amazed. Ever since, I have been on the iDevice bandwagon. I still won't use a Mac computer, but as far as the mobile devices go...

Anyhow, being that I've been an Android user for so long, I figured I'd post up a comparison between the two for those thinking of switching but might be on the fence.

Display

Hands down this goes to the iPhone 4. Yes, the screen size on the Droid X is much larger, but the quality is much better on the iPhone and that makes all the difference to me. Text, pictures, and everything is much clearer. Think about it this way: would you rather have a 55" non-HD TV or have a 46" 1080p HDTV...that's about the difference to me, and for me, I'd pic the HDTV over the non-HD any day of the week.

Keyboard

This is HUGE for me. The number one frustration I have ALWAYS had with the Android OS and even aftermarket keyboards is the phone always seems to lag because I type on it too quickly. This is NEVER the case with the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and probably the primary reason I switched.

Also, the keyboard works wonderfully. Somehow, and I can't figure out how Apple does it, but no matter how big the keyboard is on the Android, I can always type faster on an Apple keyboard. It boggles my mind.

In addition, the Apple devices NATIVELY support Arabic keyboards, something that Android devices still cannot do, last I checked. This is also a huge deal breaker for me.

App Store

As an Android user since it's inception, I can say for certain that the Apple App Store is far superior. However, it has also been around for longer so there is a possibility that the Android store will catch up some day. But for now the App Store isn't inherently better, it's just that there is a bigger market apparently so developers are most likely to develop an app for iDevices FIRST if not exclusively. I can't count how many times there was an awesome app in the app store that I waited over a year for to come to Android.

The downside is, many apps on the Apple Store are more expensive than apps on the Android Market. For example, you can get Google Sky Map for free on the Android Market, but you have to pay for some sort of equivalent on the App Store.

I still find the App Store far superior.

Navigation

Hands down, any Android device wins in this category. The iPhone has some great GPS apps available, but most of them are between 30 and 60 dollars, whereas every Android device comes with Turn by Turn Google Maps navigation...something I never felt the need to stray from. Right now I am using a cheap (or maybe it was free?) Mapquest Navigation app for the iPhone. It works decent, but it's nothing as good as Google Maps TBT that comes with Android.

Speech to Text

Nonexistent on the iPhone and Dragon Dictation is worthless, so hands down this goes to Android.

Fragility

The iPhone definitely seems less durable than my Motorola Droid X. It also looks more quality, but if you drop it, I'd say you're done for. I bought the Square Trade warranty for $99.

Widgets

Most people say that the Android has widgets and that makes it better, but frankly, most Android widgets suck and just drain the battery so I don't miss them at all. Yeah you can have the weather right on your desktop, but I can get the weather from an app in one click. If you're jailbroken you can add the weather to your lock screen anyhow.

Fluidity

I don't know how they do it, but no matter how fast of an Android phone I've had, nothing compares to the lagless nature of iOS. I've overclocked my Android phones, optimized, you name it. Still not as seamless as iOS.

Loudness

The iPhone seems to be a lot louder than my Droid X in terms of ringtones and call volume. This wasn't a deal breaker for me by any means on the Droid X but it was worth mentioning if you have that issue.

Notifications

The Android devices tend to have better notification systems. The pop ups on the Apple devices can be annoying and of course most Android phones have some sort of LED that let you know you have a notification without having to turn on the screen.

Camera

Despite the megapixel difference, I don't notice a picture quality difference. If I want to take a high quality picture, I'm not using a phone camera anyhow.

One thing I thought would be irrelevant to me would be the front facing camera. But as it turns out, having one is just awesome. I use FaceTime all the time because I live thousands of miles away from my family. Today I chatted with my cousin while she was at my grandmother's house and I was able to see them for the first time in months and I also gave them a tour of my new house. Very spiffy.

If you aren't frequently separated by distance from your family/SO this might not be a huge deal to you, but it's a pleasant surprise for me.

Email

If you have GMail, the Android phones are going to be inherently better at handling your GMail. However, I had many problems with the GMail application on my Android device, and I wasn't alone. No solution was ever really found, but sometimes at random messages would get stuck in the outbox even when on full signal with wifi. It appeared to have something to do with the way Android OS handled cache but we never really pinpointed it. It was few and far between, but it happened.

Facebook

I know some old geezers hate Facebook, but the Facebook app for the iPhone is infinitely better than the app for Android. You can tag photos, and actually get regular notifications, unlike the Android version. Why such a difference I have no idea...

Reception

EDIT: I went into the office today where I NEVER had signal with my Droid X. I would have to lean out the window just to send a text. Today with my iPhone I texted, played Words with Friends, got emails, sent emails, and made a few flawless voice calls. I was the only one in the entire office (including one of my NCOs that has a Droid X) that could do any of that. Everyone else had to go outside to make calls. Granted, my battery drained like a mofo, but it was too easy to plug the phone in next to my desk. People were borrowing my phone all day to make calls to soldiers. Very odd that this should be the case, but for whatever reason it is.

Flash Player

This was always a huge contention to people, that the iProducts can't play Flash. I had Flash on Froyo 2.2 Browser on my Droid X and it was HORRIBLE. Make no mistake about it, it's about money for Steve Jobs/Apple, but at the end of the day he is still right - Flash is garbage on mobile devices. Period. Most websites with Flash have flash ads, flash banners, flash menus, etc. The phone ran like utter crap trying to process all that junk. Most of the good websites have HTML5 anyhow - even the porn sites. lol

I gotta say I had the same basic experience with my dinc and droid x. Had the dinc replaced twice and the dx 9xs. And when I got the ip4 and it just worked w out any rooting or overclocking/undervolting, I was instantly pleased. And to add the battery life is amazing on the ip4! I no longer have to walk around looking for my next place to get a quick charge. Lol