The Truth About ditching iPhone for Android

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"To switch, or not to switch? It took me a long time to build up the courage to get rid of my iPhone and buy an HTC Droid Incredible. The iPhone is an amazing accomplishment, and I had a great few years with it. But there were a few things that kept driving me crazy.

It's been a few months since I took the plunge now, and I'm ready to deliver a final verdict. Here's what you need to know if you're thinking of making the switch.

AWESOME: Android gives the user much more power to customize Switching from the iPhone to Android is all about getting control. Apple is all about figuring out the right way for things to look and work, and making them look and work that way.

Android lets you decide for yourself. You can add widgets to your home screen that give you updates without your having to launch a dedicated app. You can add direct links to songs, pictures, websites, or whatever else you like.

If there are settings you frequently adjust, you can set up icons to toggle them straight from the home screen, instead of searching through menus for them every time (a pain in either iOS or Android.) Or you can install a third-party app that completely replaces your home screens and does all of this its own way.

AWFUL: You NEED to customize, because your phone just isn't that smooth out of the box

The power to do all that customization is great, but most users won't ever want to think about any of it. Which is too bad, because Android phones just aren't set up that well by default. That varies a lot based on your phone manufacturer and your carrier, since both tend to make some tweaks, and in many cases install custom UIs (Blur, Sense, etc.)

But many people find the default layout on their phone to be excessively cluttered. Managing your files isn't so nice until you download Astro. And -- again, depending on the phone -- battery life can be a complete disaster if you don't load some widgets that let you quickly turn off wifi and GPS when you aren't using them.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"