Choosing between an iPhone, Palm or Android

26. Jan, 2010 | by Justin Rutherford 1 Comment

Let me first be clear — this was not an easy choice. As a Sony Ericsson user for nearly 10 years (anyone remember the T28? No? Google it — greatness), then a Palm Treo user, the choice of getting an iPhone was by no means an easy decision. I looked at all carriers and all manufacturers. I looked at plans, as well as coverage in my area. Luckily for me, the greater Phoenix area has great coverage for all four major carriers, so that was not an influencing factor. While I did already have AT&T, I was completely open to switching to another company for the right device. I narrowed my choices to three:

One: iPhone 3GS — Having already had an iPod Touch, I knew the deal. I use a MacBook at home, and love the ecosystem. It just works. iPhone was the standard to beat.

Two: Palm Pre — TealOS was a must-have for all those using PalmOS, and gave me a decent look at what the platform could do. A couple friends of mine sport the Palm Pre, and using WebOS is simply a joy.

Three: Samsung Moment/Motorola Droid — I know, I know, this is cheating. “You can’t have two choices rolled into one!” you’re saying. Yes, well, for me it was the design/form factor more than anything. I have never been a big fan of the horizontal sliding keyboards. The idea of a full keyboard is to make it quicker to type, and spreading the keys out just doesn’t make anything faster for me. I have large hands, and it is easier for me to send a text on my wife’s (former) phone, a Centro, than it is on a G1. The Centro has the smallest keyboard I’ve ever seen, but it just works when your thumbs only have to go a few millimeters to get from one key to the next. But I digress.

Android is cool in many different ways, and for me, the form factor of the Droid is great to look at, but the keyboard is useless. The Moment adds an optical trackpad and a useful keyboard, and instead of Verizon plans/pricing, it runs on Sprint, which offers much more value. If it would have been one of these two, I quite literally would have flipped a coin and been happy either way.

All have their pros and cons, but in the end, the choice was easier than I thought.

Not only does the iPhone still have the most responsive and intuitive touchscreen mechanism in the business, but the device just makes you smile. And for me, that’s all it took. For all their processing power, and their multitasking, widget-running, social networking–loving capabilities, other smartphones don’t really generate that kind of joy while using them.

Well, maybe the Pre just a little, but WebOS deserves a huge full touchscreen for true appreciation. Smiling is completely out of the question on the Droid and Moment, although there is a “wow” every once in a while. I mean, come on — that Droid screen is quite awesome. But still, it doesn’t elicit the same happy (or envious) reactions you get from people when they first see the iPhone’s built-in Compass app. It’s just cool. And that is good enough for me.

So last December, a new 3GS replaced my trusty iPod Touch as my new favorite Apple gadget. And I haven’t looked back since.