Verizon iPhone versus Verizon Android devices

Having had a Droid for all of five days, the Verizon iPhone is going to
be a huge hit.

Negatives about the Droid

1. No dock connector. The added functionality of the Apple dock is very
useful. A defined dock connector would have been a big selling point for
Android because it would have enabled an ecosystem similar to what's
sprung up around the iPhone/iPod to have evolved. While there's a design
for an open standard dock connector, there are no Android devices that
use it yet, and of course no peripherals either. Such is the result of
the fragmented Android market.

2. No IPSEC VPN. This is a very big issue. Enterprises are not allowing
Android based smart phones because of it. It's not a Cisco issue, it's
an issue with the Android OS, that will not be fixed for probably
another six months. I can't use my ISP's VPN for a secure connection
over Wi-Fi.

3. Micro USB charger port. It's so much flimsier than the Mini USB port
on my other phones, and flimsier than the iPod dock/charging connector.

4. Limited accessories. Since the Android market is so fragmented, and
since there's no standard dock, you don't get any of the cool
accessories like you do for the iPhone.

Positives

1. Physical keyboard. A lot better than a virtual keyboard if you're
doing a lot of texting or e-mail, but realistically, for most users, the
virtual keyboard is sufficient.

2. MicroSD card slot. Since the Droid doesn't have as much flash
available as the iPhone, this is essential.

3. Replaceable battery. If you use Wi-Fi a lot, you actually may want a
spare battery and an external charger, just to get through one day of use.


Bottom line, the Verizon iPhone will be a huge seller. Most large
businesses use Verizon, and they _require_ VPN to get into their
corporate networks, which rules out Droid for now.

---

› See More: Verizon iPhone versus Verizon Android devices

SMS wrote on [Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:38:48 -0800]:
> Having had a Droid for all of five days, the Verizon iPhone is going to
> be a huge hit.
>
>
> 3. Micro USB charger port. It's so much flimsier than the Mini USB port
> on my other phones, and flimsier than the iPod dock/charging connector.

This is the new standard, even on iphone


Btw, The good news for iPhone users has always been that the connector that's used to recharge the device is the same one used for some Apple iPods. But annoyingly many iPod docking stations and accessories made by third parties for previous generations of iPods don't work with the iPhone.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7...#ixzz1AkPLqgIp

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...


> 2. No IPSEC VPN. This is a very big issue. Enterprises are not
allowing

This is a big deal. Is Android 2.3 going to offer it?


> 3. Micro USB charger port. It's so much flimsier than the Mini USB
port

Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.




--
Steve Sobol - Programming/Web Dev/IT Support
Apple Valley, CA
[email protected]

On 1/11/2011 10:53 AM, Steve Sobol wrote:
> In article<[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>
>
>> 2. No IPSEC VPN. This is a very big issue. Enterprises are not
> allowing
>
> This is a big deal. Is Android 2.3 going to offer it?
>
>
>> 3. Micro USB charger port. It's so much flimsier than the Mini USB
> port
>
> Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
> prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.

Except there are so many after-market accessories for the iPhone that
they're just as cheap as "standard stuff." Or included with devices,
i.e. the replacement stereo I purchased for a vehicle included an iPod
cable for charging and audio, but if you want to use the Droid with it
you buy one MicroUSB charging cable, and one audio cable, and plug the
audio cable into the amplified headphone jack, rather than using the
line-out audio like on the iPhone.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...


> > Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
> > prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
>
> Except there are so many after-market accessories for the iPhone that
> they're just as cheap as "standard stuff."

So? The point is, they're non-standard.

And Apple pulls crap like that because they know they can get away with
it. Just like Nokia used to -- although I think Nokia's finally stopped.

--
Steve Sobol - Programming/Web Dev/IT Support
Apple Valley, CA
[email protected]

On 1/11/2011 12:42 PM, Steve Sobol wrote:
> In article<[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>
>
>>> Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
>>> prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
>>
>> Except there are so many after-market accessories for the iPhone that
>> they're just as cheap as "standard stuff."
>
> So? The point is, they're non-standard.
>
> And Apple pulls crap like that because they know they can get away with
> it.

But Apple's not making money from those aftermarket accessories. There
was no standard that Apple could follow for a dock, they had to create
it themselves. Would you have expected them to include RCA jacks for
audio and composite video, an S-Video jack, a USB port, etc.? No room.

Android devices have a USB port (well some newer ones are putting mini
HDMI ports on them. This severely limits the accessory choice.

In article <[email protected]>, SMS
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Having had a Droid for all of five days, the Verizon iPhone is going to
> be a huge hit.
>
> Negatives about the Droid
>
> 1. No dock connector. The added functionality of the Apple dock is very
> useful. A defined dock connector would have been a big selling point for
> Android because it would have enabled an ecosystem similar to what's
> sprung up around the iPhone/iPod to have evolved. While there's a design
> for an open standard dock connector, there are no Android devices that
> use it yet, and of course no peripherals either. Such is the result of
> the fragmented Android market.

but a certain unnamed someone said the dock connector was bad and usb
is good.

> 2. No IPSEC VPN. This is a very big issue. Enterprises are not allowing
> Android based smart phones because of it. It's not a Cisco issue, it's
> an issue with the Android OS, that will not be fixed for probably
> another six months. I can't use my ISP's VPN for a secure connection
> over Wi-Fi.

the iphone only does cisco ipsec vpn, which rules out a number of ipsec
endpoints.

> 3. Micro USB charger port. It's so much flimsier than the Mini USB port
> on my other phones, and flimsier than the iPod dock/charging connector.

but it's officially usb, which the dock connector supposedly isn't

> 4. Limited accessories. Since the Android market is so fragmented, and
> since there's no standard dock, you don't get any of the cool
> accessories like you do for the iPhone.

very true.

> Positives
>
> 1. Physical keyboard. A lot better than a virtual keyboard if you're
> doing a lot of texting or e-mail, but realistically, for most users, the
> virtual keyboard is sufficient.

some prefer one, some prefer the other.

> 2. MicroSD card slot. Since the Droid doesn't have as much flash
> available as the iPhone, this is essential.

micro sd is limited to 32 gig and the iphone has that standard.

> 3. Replaceable battery. If you use Wi-Fi a lot, you actually may want a
> spare battery and an external charger, just to get through one day of use.

the iphone generally does get through a day of use, usually more.

> Bottom line, the Verizon iPhone will be a huge seller. Most large
> businesses use Verizon, and they _require_ VPN to get into their
> corporate networks, which rules out Droid for now.

but android is open! just add it!

In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
> prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.

apple includes everything you need so there's no need to purchase
anything and iphone dock cables are not expensive anyway. just a couple
of bucks on ebay, for a good one (less if you don't care).

In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > > Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
> > > prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
> >
> > Except there are so many after-market accessories for the iPhone that
> > they're just as cheap as "standard stuff."
>
> So? The point is, they're non-standard.

they're a de facto standard and you can get them almost anywhere.
iphone and ipod accessories are *not* hard to find.

> And Apple pulls crap like that because they know they can get away with
> it. Just like Nokia used to -- although I think Nokia's finally stopped.

what crap is that?

the dock connector came out in 2003. what would you have suggested
apple do back then?

they needed to have a connector that had usb, firewire, audio out and
remote control at a minimum, with room for future expansion. that is
*not* going to happen with a single micro usb connector, especially
when micro usb wasn't a standard back then.

nospam wrote on [Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:39:53 -0500]:
> In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> > > Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
>> > > prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
>> >
>> > Except there are so many after-market accessories for the iPhone that
>> > they're just as cheap as "standard stuff."
>>
>> So? The point is, they're non-standard.
>
> they're a de facto standard and you can get them almost anywhere.
> iphone and ipod accessories are *not* hard to find.

they are not all compatible!

nospam wrote on [Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:39:50 -0500]:
> In article <[email protected]>, SMS
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Having had a Droid for all of five days, the Verizon iPhone is going to
>> be a huge hit.
>>
>> Negatives about the Droid
>>
>> 1. No dock connector. The added functionality of the Apple dock is very
>> useful. A defined dock connector would have been a big selling point for
>> Android because it would have enabled an ecosystem similar to what's
>> sprung up around the iPhone/iPod to have evolved. While there's a design
>> for an open standard dock connector, there are no Android devices that
>> use it yet, and of course no peripherals either. Such is the result of
>> the fragmented Android market.
>
> but a certain unnamed someone said the dock connector was bad and usb
> is good.
>
>> 2. No IPSEC VPN. This is a very big issue. Enterprises are not allowing
>> Android based smart phones because of it. It's not a Cisco issue, it's
>> an issue with the Android OS, that will not be fixed for probably
>> another six months. I can't use my ISP's VPN for a secure connection
>> over Wi-Fi.
>
> the iphone only does cisco ipsec vpn, which rules out a number of ipsec
> endpoints.

My droid X does the VPN I need to get to my work. Juniper junos

>> 2. MicroSD card slot. Since the Droid doesn't have as much flash
>> available as the iPhone, this is essential.
>
> micro sd is limited to 32 gig and the iphone has that standard.

No it doesn't. 16GB is standard. I have 8GB inbuilt in my droid and 16GB
more in an SD slot.

>> 3. Replaceable battery. If you use Wi-Fi a lot, you actually may want a
>> spare battery and an external charger, just to get through one day of use.
>
> the iphone generally does get through a day of use, usually more.

Depends how much use it gets

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...


> Android devices have a USB port (well some newer ones are putting mini
> HDMI ports on them. This severely limits the accessory choice.

I'd love if my MyTouch had an HDMI jack. My mother's Droid X does.

Anyhow, I fail to see how choosing an industry-standard connector LIMITS
choices. It's the other way around. The iPhone is the exception, but
that's because the iPhone accessory market is mature and there are
gazillions of iPhone users.



--
Steve Sobol - Programming/Web Dev/IT Support
Apple Valley, CA
[email protected]

In article <110120111739516007%[email protected]>,
[email protected]d says...
>
> In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
> > prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
>
> apple includes everything you need so there's no need to purchase
> anything and iphone dock cables are not expensive anyway. just a couple
> of bucks on ebay, for a good one (less if you don't care).

That's true now. A whole ecosystem has grown up around the iPhone
because so many people own iPhones.

In general, going non-standard is not a good idea because it limits
consumer choice. As I mention in a post that you may not have seen yet,
the iPhone is the notable exception to that rule.

--
Steve Sobol - Programming/Web Dev/IT Support
Apple Valley, CA
[email protected]

In message <110120111739516007%[email protected]> nospam
<[email protected]> was claimed to have wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, Steve Sobol
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
>> prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.
>
>apple includes everything you need so there's no need to purchase
>anything

Everything you need? iPhones haven't come with a dock in years, nor
have they ever come with a second charging cable and power adapter.

Heck, even just a second cable would be enough for many users, one for
the power adapter and another to sync.

In message <[email protected]> Steve Sobol
<[email protected]> was claimed to have wrote:

>Everyone's going to micro USB... except companies like Apple that still
>prefer to make you purchase proprietary accessories.

Didn't Apple sign on to that group of industry manufacturers in the EU
that agreed to come up with a common connector to avoid regulation that
would force the issue (potentially leaving them stuck with an out of
date option later)?