Hi all,

 

It was interesting to see a larger percentage of Mac users in the web design/development field than in general across the globe with only a 60:40 split (thread), PC:Mac. Statistically, that split should be more like 9:1 if you were to exclude all other alternatives!

 

So, out of weekend boredom I thought it would be interesting to have a calm discussion about the mobile OSs available. Discuss which one you use and why you chose it over alternatives.

 

I have a feeling the poll will sway towards Android, but that's purely a guess so we shall see!

 

I shall start:

 

I had iPhones for about 4 years from 2007, starting with the iPhone 3G. At the time, the 3G was a genuine game changer. There's no denying that it redefined the term smartphone. However, by 2011 I was using an iPhone 4 and, besides perhaps the speed, it still felt like my original 3G all those years ago. I'm not suggesting that is a bad thing - I simply got bored!

 

With the above, I ended up moving to a Samsung SIII (SIM-free) in September last year. I disliked the Touchwiz UI (the Samsung mod of Android), so now run a custom ROM which keeps the useful Touchwiz gestures/features, but skins the entire OS as stock Android. With a few customisation apps, it's fun again!

 

However (yep, the story continues!), I am half-looking at selling my SIII before the new iPhone comes out. I'm hoping for big changes with iOS 7 because, well, an iPhone works better within my iHouse (Apple logos galore in this place). Android doesn't natively play friendly with Macs, or the Apple ecosystem - for obvious reasons I suppose - and once the customisation novelty has worn off, I fear it will irritate me. I need function over snazzy lockscreens at the end of the day.

 

Widgets, shortcuts, gestures, default apps, these are all things that Android allows for but iOS doesn't. The most recent example has been the new Facebook Chat Heads for messenger. I use them all day, every day on my SIII - I've replaced my default SMS app with FB messenger in order to use them. On my iPad, however, they only appear in the app - rendering the multi-tasking focused feature absolutely irrelevant. It's these useful functions/customisations that are keeping Android just that inch ahead at the moment, in my opinion.

 

tl;dr. Used iOS 4 years, switched to Android last year, wanting to move back to iOS, but only after Apple make some significant changes.

 

What's your weapon of choice, and why?

I still use iPhone 4S, didn't get the 5. I think it will be better to get Samsung maybe or other Android phone next.

Not sure why I have iPhone - I am not a big Apple fan really