I phone or andnroid ?

I have often gotten non photo as well as photo advise here. I am an android user, have a Dell computer and an android phone. I'm overdue for a new phone and don't know what to get. Any suggestions would be helpful.:)

I went away from both and got a Lumia Icon Windows phone. It has a fantastic camera and camera app but is no longer available. I have used the new Samsung Galaxy and it has a pretty darned good camera as well.

To be honest, any of the new flagship phones have great features, including the cameras. It really depends on what you like and what you are used to.

Dave

I always check wirecutter.com before I make a technology purchase. Kinda like Consumer's Report - but free. Best I can tell they aren't influenced by advertisers.

Here are their articles on smartphones:

http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/smartphones/

The also have a sister site: thesweekhome.com

Thanks Dave. Clueless, that's a great site.:)

My wife got the iPhone 6+. She loves it, she also uses apple pay and the camera takes pretty good pics. The large screen is very easy on old eyes.

I used to avoid Apple due to their very strong and arrogant approach to everything... in the end you can't argue with the usability and stability of their ecosystem.

Its been fashionable to slam them for their arrogance, approach but you can't debate the elegance and stability of their products.

I've gone from being a hater to converting my kids to Macs, word is that they will never go back. When I visit them at school, it is safe to say that both the iPhone and Mac presence puts Apple in a good space, far better than it was 10 years ago.

We started with Android phone and have moved to iPhones. There was some complaints initially about the lack of some flexbility, but the products just work. There is no question that Android dominates MS, but only because of the hundreds of millions of cheap Androids out there, the high end is mostly owned by Apple and copied by everyone else. It will be another blow out quarter by Apple, sadly under Jobs there were to stubborn to understand the market dynamics around large screens and underlying desire for the better product versus bigger screen.

On contract there is little price difference, even a free iPhone5 is an amazing product. Now the iPhone6 and 6+ are out and have taken the world by storm and you can go big if that is your interest, very little to fault the fruity company.

Windows and Nokia have some nice product but their MS is so slim they simply aren't going to survive, MS can throw more billions but they missed the boat, the product is good, the MS will set the future.

Samsung or Apple is like CaNikon can't really go wrong with either, both have some interesting features that pull one ahead versus the other. The reality both can do everything the other can with minscule difference, comes down to the more subtle things. Personally I'm a fruity fanboi these days for elegance of hardware, software and the fact it is American based company!

For political reasons I will never buy Samsung that is really a predatory company if you know their history...

Get an iPhone.. you won't regret it.

Just for contrast, my iPhone-using-since-there-was-an-iPhone son spent 30 minutes with my Icon and is now waiting for the Windows 10 phones to come out when his contract ends. The newer Windows interface is very elegant, intuitive and as was said about IOS, it just works.

Android is attractive because it's often cheap and iPhones are attractive to those who appreciate their simplicity or simply think they are "cool". Windows is fighting an uphill battle but if thy can pull off the Windows 10 cross-platform apps promise so my bank app works on my phone and my desktop, it will certainly turn some heads. Especially with people who use their phones for business and can make use of the tightly integrated Office apps.

I would be hesitant to count Microsoft out of the game. If they can leverage their desktop/laptop dominance through application integration, Apple may be looking at another shock like the Android phones gave them.

Dave

A good article on Gizmodo re: Android vs. IOS

http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/ios-vs-android-the-2015-edition-1700461435/+seanhollister

Bullet points:

• Stability on new hardware running IOS 8 or Android 5.x is virtually identical.

• Camera is better on iPhone except for the top end of Android phones so, cost-wise, a tie).

• Apps are more plentiful on IOS but core apps from major sources are on both. (editorial note from me: 500k IOS apps vs. 300k Google apps is a make-believe argument. The average user has 65 apps on their phone including pre-installs and uses 10-15 regularly, including games.)

• Content" Apple wins for music and movies, Google for email and work content. (More editorial: A spreadsheet or movie on a smartphone is an emergency option. Neither is really very good.)

Bottom line: Sort of like I said above, any of the new flagship phones have great features, including the cameras. It really depends on what you like and what you are used to.

Dave

I was hoping Windows phone would have done better but MS botched so many things with the design, roll out, and getting developers on board. More competition is always good for the consumers and this Apple/Android duopoly is getting old. Both bragging about new 'features' that the other has already had and used as a talking point against each other.... now suddenly it's a good idea and an innovation. I would love for Windows 10 to be a more viable option than Windows phone was just to spur more competition and progress.

I work in IT and have users (journalists) on both Android and iPhone. There are no shortages of praises and complaints from both camps. For all it's ease of use and simplicity, the biggest complaint I get from iPhone users in this environment is the hoops they feel they have to jump through for something as simple as getting a document into their computer to edit for a story they have to get out.

For me, I'm an Android guy and 3 things will likely keep me from changing and drive me crazy with my work iPhone.

Keyboard: Stock Android keyboard has come a long way but still mostly sucks. I love being able to change it to something *I* prefer and like better. IOS keyboard is just awful in my opinion and third party keyboards are still too restricted to be viable in IOS.

File explorer/browser: This is soooo useful! Just like Windows Explorer or Finder. I can easily copy anything back and forth just like a USB drive. No bloated software needed.

Home screens: I have every app on my iPhone moved into different folders on a second screen. I don't like all the clutter. I love live wallpaper, and have widgets.

Ultimately, for me, I make my phone work more the way I want it to rather than the phone making me work more how Apple thinks I should.

For both iPhone and Android, their biggest strengths are also their biggest weaknesses depending on who you ask.

Final swing for me all things being equal where is the company based and profits and jobs ;)

Samsung... or Apple... very very different IMHO

Seriously people should read about how Samsung got into televisions, flatscreen TVs, how they ended up copying and marketing smartphones.

Yes Jobs copied after he visited PARC too, but still I will choose to send my dollars to an American company first

Yes Apple is arrogant in deciding what is good for you and that is it.... what is better to give your business to if all things are equal?

It seems from all your answers, that since I know android, I should stick with it. I use my old Droid phone to make bank deposits and pay bills on line, use CC, Facebook, email, texting, and the camera without any trouble. Wondering why I'm upgrading, except that my battery life isn't great.

At the top end, camera quality is pretty much equal between Android and Apple. The reasons I went Android last time were the better keyboards available, removable storage, replaceable batteries and my passionate belief that iTunes is the most appalling piece of software ever created.

Now Samsung has brought out the S6 which has no replaceable storage and a non-replaceable battery. Apple allows Swype keyboards. The only difference now is that abomination that is iTunes.

My next phone will be neither an S6 now an iPhone. I want full access to its file system via USB mass storage... Either the other Android makers need to improve their game or it may well be a Windows phone.

I've got an iPhone, but suspect next phone will be windows 10.

But I don't use my phone for photos so can't really help there.

I use a Samsung Alpha. Smaller that the usual phone (about the size of an iPhone 5). Very sturdy construction - feels great to hold. Features are mid-upper of the spectrum but still pretty reasonable specs.

Sunset

Here is an example of the Alpha images:

Infinity Pool @ Iberostar Playa Mita, Riviera Nayarit , Mexico

(1 hr north of Puerto Vallarta)