So it's been about 3 days since I got my HTC Inspire 4G. Though three days to me is enough time to realize that this is not the phone for me. Now I'm not going to rant on about how Android phones are pieces of shit or how iPhone is far more superior because I honestly do not feel that way. What I will say though is my honest opinion for someone that has a love for both Apple products and Google products. I think the opinions that will be stated here in a bit are fair and to the point... So I'm going to give you a run down of why I did this experiment before I go into further detail on both products.
So as most people know Alice has been an iPhone user since late 2008. That's about 3 years of experience with iOS (obviously). As far as Android phones I've had about 3 days, but with my general knowledge of phones it's really not too difficult to pick up any phone and learn how to use it in matter of seconds. Not only that but my current job requires me to troubleshoot both devices at the least daily.
Anyway so I purchased this HTC Inspire 4G with my new 2 year upgrade from AT&T. The moment this phone fell into my hands it did possibly one of the coolest things I think any device can do... It asked me if I would like to sync my contacts from my old phone to my new phone via bluetooth. If you ask me that is something that could save any Apple user from going home and syncing with iTunes. Now syncing with iTunes is still great because everything is still right there there isn't this huge hassel of backup assistant or adding contacts one by one. Still I think the bluetooth option is one of the best I have seen yet.
Now if I go ahead and compare the cosmetic differences there really isn't much besides a few small details. The HTC Inspire is much bigger and heavier than the iPhone 4. I would have to say the display is about a tie. I know the iPhone has the Retina display which I think has a brighter and more vibrant display than the HTC's SLCD display. As far as High Resolution it's about the same. I do prefer the Retina over the SLCD...though that can be brought down to personal opinion. Another thing about the iPhone is sound quality. The iPhone has a built in equalizer as well as the HTC, but for some reason the HTC sound quality does not compare when even connected to a pair of headphones. Even with the Inspires built in Dolby Digital Technology it doesn't come close. Sound isn't as clear and I hear more treble tones in the HTC rather than with my iPhone I hear more clear tones with better bass. Another thing I really like about the HTC is the extended microSD card & the removable battery... Though to me that isn't at the top of the list I would prefer my device to do.
One of the BIG things that turned me on for the HTC was it's amazing 8mp camera vs the iPhone 4's 5mp back and 3mp front facing camera (I'm not sure if it's 3 or 1 I'm too lazy to look up at the moment). Though I learned the hard way you probably shouldn't buy a phone because the camera is better. As all photographers know megapixels don't really matter unless your an advertisement photographer. The only reason why anyone would need a higher megapixel camera is for when your enhancing an image to a very large size. Though the camera on the HTC honestly isn't that great. It offers some sort of image stylizing, but compared to the iPhones HDR it's honestly not that great.
As far as the operating system goes. Apple iOS has a great smooth running operating system. It's simple to use and it's designed to pickup and go. As far as 2.2 froyo with Android there was a lot to get used to a learn. The Inspire does not come preloaded with swype so if you like "hacking" the system to get what you want Android is defiantly for you. As far as I'm seeing I feel like Android was designed in mind for iPhone users that enjoyed jailbreaking their devices to get shitty programs that honestly don't work on your device half the time. The programs would stall the phone and sometimes make it inoperable for the rest of eternity. It's scary to think that Android isn't protected again malware unless you download antivirus. Digging deeper into the OS I hate the fact that Android updates at a constant rate. Things are always running & again that reminds me once again of a jailbroken iPhone. The problem with this constant app running in the background is not all of us run on the Verizon Network... So us stuck with 2GB plans or less have to suffer massive overage charges every month on a phone that cannot be controlled. As far as TRUE multitasking, I don't know if I haven't figured it out on the Inspire, but it's about the same as for the iPhone.
Some things I hate about the iPhone is it's incompatibility with anything other than Apple. Which yes sucks. I hate how it's not as customizable, and sometimes it gets boring having the same home screen for the rest of your life with this device. I hate how in order to use Facetime I have to run on Wi-Fi (unless you are using Skype). I also hate how this device is not upgradable to the HSPA+ network or even LTE. Which makes this device a little out dated, but honestly overall this device functions and it's perfect for me.
So ending this explanation I will be returning this HTC Inspire for a restock of 35 dollars unless I can convince AT&T otherwise & maybe hope that Apple comes out with something better here in the next couple of months.
VogueXTC
