I recently made the switch from an iPhone 3G to the HTC Incredible (on Verizon). The following is simply a list of what I like and don't like, in no specific order.
The Bad
- Screenshots
- They aren't built in to Android yet. You have to plug in via USB and use dev tools. I didn't do this often, and haven't actually needed it yet. This is scheduled for an upcoming release.
- Bookmarklets
- They don't seem to work yet, also scheduled for an upcoming release.
- Updates
- I'm worried about the speed at which HTC will update my version of Android OS. With the iPhone you're guaranteed everyone will be updated on day 1 of a new release. Only time will tell, but it's been a sore point of Android in the past.
- Podcasts
- One of the few things I think iTunes does right is Podcast syncing. I haven't found an alternative that's on par, though I haven't looked hard. This is less of a pain since I moved because I'm always at home. Mobile Podcasts are best for a commute.
The Neutral
- Flash
- Flash Lite came installed, I was able to watch embedded YouTube clips. I disabled it. "Real" Flash 10 is coming to Android, I highly doubt I'll care, but it's a choice I wouldn't have otherwise.
- Cost
- $200 for the phone, and I believe my service plan costs are exactly the same as the iPhone on AT&T.
- Big name apps
- Which is to say, the ones I care about. They're all there. Google (everything), Bank of America, Amazon, Pandora, Dropbox, Evernote, Meebo, PayPal, Twitter, Yelp.
- Multitasking
- Coming to the iPhone, so I'll call it even. Really, really great for Pandora, IM, etc.
- Multitouch
- Yeah, it has it. It may be the first Android phone that gets it right. Again, it's on iPhone so we'll call it even.
The Good
- Verizon
- My calls don't drop. 3G is faster and with more, better coverage. Fuckin' A.
- Fast
- Network aside, the hardware is fast as hell. 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM (that's 2x the 3GS, I assume the 4G will bump up to this).
- Open Platform
- No section 3.3.1. I develop because I enjoy it, and I have no interest someone telling me what editor I'm allowed to use.
- Another benefit is not being forced into one choice for much of anything. For example, you can swap out the default keyboard and many other pieces. The idea of competing keyboard software is just awesome to me.
- Syncing
- Built-in over-the-wire syncing of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr accounts. I have not hand entered or computer-synced a single contact to this phone and yet it already has everyone I care about in it. The same goes for my calendar. Change the cloud and it changes the phone.
- Notifications
- I prefer the Android way. They stay in the top bar until you clear them (or respond), rather than a pop-up that is instantly lost. I can keep my "new @reply" notification up for hours until I'm ready to check it.
- Speech-to-text
- It's everywhere. I haven't used it much, but it seems handy for driving.
- Exposed filesystem
- Being able to sync Dropbox to a directory just like on a computer and then use other apps to easily access those files is just awesome.
- iTunes-less sync
- Related to the exposed filesystem, when I wanted some music on my phone I plugged it in and it mounted the 16GB MicroSD card. I dragged a bunch of files (gasp) to the volume, unmounted, and the Music app found it all automatically.
- Hardware back button
- And other buttons. I'm surprised I like these, actually. But the back button is especially handy, it brings some of the best of the web to every app on the phone.
- Google Voice
- Automatically use it for all outgoing calls, or have it ask you each time.
- Browser zooming
- This is hard to explain, but basically the browser will squish text content when you double tap to zoom. I always liked how the iPhone would snap to content, but this seems like a step forward. Snapping to desktop-sized content still usually means it's unreadable, and this extra squishing to bring it into readable font-size has been really, really handy.
- Improved Google apps
- Google is able (allowed?) to give extra love to their apps on Android. Maps is improved in a lot of ways, which is great considering how much I use it. The same goes for most others (and more of their apps are available, period).