Are you a Mac or a PC? I’m a PC and always have been. I’m one of the five people who bought Microsoft Zunes instead of Apple iPods to play music. It seemed foolish to me to pay so much more for the Apple products when the competitors met my needs just as well and for a lot less money.
Then Apple came out with a phone.
My Smart Phone History
My son, a Mac, switched cell service carriers just to have an iPhone when they first came out. I went the opposite direction for a smart phone and got the Droid.
Other than an initial lack of apps, I loved the Android operating system. The phone did everything I wanted and more. More and more friends chose Android over iPhone; no one chose Blackberry.
After a couple of years, the battery was wearing out and I was ready to go without a keyboard and upgrade to the 4G experience.
The G in 4G Wasn’t Great
By the time I upgraded, my carrier had the iPhone but not in 4G. After much consideration I decided to go with another android phone. It was so much faster and I loved the phone…. but only in 4-6 hour increments.
The battery life was atrocious! My two year old phone would last as long or longer than the brand new one. I was told that it was a problem with all android phones. Some blamed the 4G network. Apparently the speed was also sucking the battery life.
The Conversion to iPhone
The turning point was being at Blog World with a dead battery in November. I had to be tethered to a charging station or risk being cut off totally from the world. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that dire but I saw my friends Phil and J. go all day on their iPhones and was mad that my 5 month old phone couldn’t match it.
I got my iPhone 4S the next month and have been thrilled with the battery life. And Siri is pretty cool. We used her a lot to find restaurants, directions and more during our holiday road trip.
Downgrading to 3G wasn’t bad; it’s almost as fast as the Android phone was with 4G. The camera is better but I dislike the calendar. Other apps are pretty equal with pluses and minuses for both.
I think the hype about iPhones is overblown, but I must say it’s great to have one that works all day. After all ,what good is a product if you can’t use it.
Are you an Apple fan?
photo by: Brett Jordan
{ 21 comments }
I am becoming an Apple fan. Over the last year, I had numerous viruses on my PC. I had to spend money for Dell support. The Apple computers are not more expensive when you add in the additional exposure and support.
iPhone vs. Android should not be a dollars and cents issue. Which one is more effective.
Krantcents, it does seem that sometimes you get exactly what you pay for and cheaper isn’t better. Fortunately, the iPhone is competitively priced so I didn’t feel like I paid more for it. I do think the Macs are overpriced and that’s why I haven’t purchased one.
I’m not an iPhone fan. I love Android, but you are right about 4G smartphones and battery life. You have to install an app like Green Power to manage the phone’s operations so you can extend the battery from morning to last all day.
Jackie, I did try an app but it didn’t help. It wasn’t Green Power though. The one feature I didn’t mention is my music being synced from iTunes. That is nice!
I feel like we’ve talked about this before, but I am DEFINITELY an Apple person. I started out with the iPhone 3G and have owned every iPhone since. Last spring I bought an iPad, which is the best money I’ve ever spent. And when my PC started giving me crap for the millionth time, I bought a Mac. Once I adjusted to the minor differences (most of which are due to the ease of the Mac – I tried to make things too hard because that’s what I was used to), I loved it. I will never buy another PC as long as Macs are being made.
Andrea, probably someone else went through the same saga as me. 🙂 When I get a tablet, I think I will go with the iPad. Everyone that has one raves about it.
I’m wondering if I went down the rabbit hole and there’s no turning back….
I’ve used Droid Tablets that seriously would have been better as coasters. I really wanted to love them too!
You have gone down the rabbit hole … and there is no going back. Fortunately, it’s a beautiful place down here in this particular rabbit hole!!!
In high school all that was available were PCs, so that’s what I learned computing on. When I married my husband he was already a huge fan of Apple products (& still is nearly 20 years later). I held out on trying an Apple product, just reluctant to change. Did I mention I was stubborn? Well… :0)
Anyway, once he convinced me to give it a shot, I became a complete convert & had to admit he was right about something. The ease of use is unparalleled! Yes, if you’re transitioning from PC to Mac, it’s a bit of a change. But, like you said … it’s because you’re used to doing things the hard (and long, and frustrating) way.
In my 18 or so years of using Apple computers (I LOVE my Macbook!) I can’t remember ever, and I do mean, EVER getting a virus. And I surf the web, visiting all kinds of sites that many PC users get viruses from. One time, I was on a site and it caused about 30 pop-up windows to open and closing them individually was a minor annoyance but the even never repeated itself (and I didn’t make any special effort even to upgrade any software or anything to try to prevent it from happening again. But one time in 18 years? Come on!
I used to have the iPod, though now I just have the iPhone 4 & iPad 2. They are all awesome! The one and only thing I don’t like about the iPad is that (so far as I know) it doesn’t support FlashPlayer for the games I like to play. But, that’s not even a huge deal as I can play the games on my other Apple devices.
And, yeah, I get that people balk at the price of the Macs. But, if you take care of them they last for a long time and do not get crippled by viruses on a regular basis requiring lengthy phone calls with tech support or purchasing (or re-purchasing) components to restore the device to working order.
You know what I’d like to see? A poll. Yeah, someone please conduct a poll asking whether people use a Mac or a PC & if they’re on a first name basis with their device’s tech support department. LOL
Bottom line … you will never be sorry you spent the $$$ on a superior product because the savings in the long run (both financially and in terms of lower levels of frustration/stress that PCs incur) will be SO WORTH IT!!!
I started out w/ an Apple //e, (I still own 3 //e’s-> they all work).
Then I started buying Macs. I’ve owned just about every Mac ever made. In my job, I bought 500+ Macs for lg. networks. My Apple store loved to see me coming; while at the same time they hated that I bought so many Macs that I could ask for, & get, at least a 25% discount.
I have six year old Mac Book Pro that I have carried to hell and back and it still works like the day I bought it. I have a “late 2011” Mac Book Pro.
And an iMac; two iPod Touches; an iPad; a variety of iPods; and an iPhone.
I have sort of a ‘thing’ w/ Apple.
Yeah, I am an Apple person.
Mike, my son has two Macs and loves them so I should consider it next time I’m shopping for a computer. I am not sure there is enough value in the higher price to justify it over a Windows OS machine.
I think both have great products, and choosing one or the other comes down to personal preference. There are some pretty crappy droids out there, but you can avoid those with a little research.
For me, the customization that the Android system allows, including more advanced tweaking, is what makes it the right choice.
Tyler, my brother-in-law likes to tweak his Android devices so I know what you mean. That’s not for me so Apple is fine in that respect.
I have an iphone 4 and have not had any issues with it. Although I do not own an apple desktop, I can tell you that from my friends that own it they have not had issues, where as my PC has.
When I purchase a new desktop I’m going to get an Apple one. I have an ipad as well (I’m typing this comment on it) and purchased a keyboard from Brookstone that makes my iPad like a laptop….I love it! 🙂
Taline, I haven’t met a single soul that didn’t love their iPad. I will be looking at those next year.
It is so easy to be anti-apple but they are so many amazing products. Unfortunately androids are so known for their battery life that some of the phones have the extended battery pack (purchase separately of course). Enjoy the new phone 🙂
For me, my cell phone was always just a “phone”. I didn’t want texting or internet access. I had a Verizon phone for 25 years and it served my phone needs just fine. My employer was pushing for me to get a smartphone, so I caved. Since my husband is employed by AT&T I decided to try the iPhone4. Now I find I use the data plan all the time. I’m not as bad as the younger genreation, it’s not attached to my hand all the time and I still have a landline at home. We also have PC’s at home, not MAC’s, but that’s just because that’s what we know!
I am Apple fan, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t stop loving my iPhone and latest craze, Apple TV
I am still not much into the Apple thing but might turn to one when I need to change my mobile. As for now my Sony Ericcson is doing all I need it to do! 🙂
I have been a PC user for years. I recently switched to Mac to buy a MacBook Pro since it had the things I needed for podcasting built right in.
I’ve had a Droid Incredible for almost two years and I hate it now. Like you said, the battery life is atrocious- with many apps running in the background you can’t kill (not user friendly) easily and mandatory updates which have ruined the performance of my phone in the long run.
I was willing to forgive the fact that many of the apps couldn’t hold a candle to Apple but seriously the battery life defeated the purpose of having a smart phone – it couldn’t make it through a day at work unless I turned off updates even if it wasn’t being used. After 6 hours of not being used it was toast. So over it!
It seems like everything I own is Apple, except my smartphone. That is a Blackberry because 1) I am from Waterloo, home of RIM 2) I need it for work.
We have an iMac, a MacBook Air, 2 Iphones, 2 Ipads and a few other Apple products.
I was concerned initially as I thought I had joined the Apple cult, but the products are fantastic.
Totally hooked on Apple products – iPad 2 (Courtesy of Sustainable Personal Finance and Prairie Eco-Thrifter), MacBook Pro, iPhone 4s, iTouch…..All I had 2 years ago was an iPod. Windows Vista was the reason I no longer will use a Windows platform.
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