Android vs iPhone

I had the pleasure of spending a few days with an Android device, namely a Droid, thanks to @jenist and Verizon. When I say pleasure, I do mean that. There are some really enjoyable traits on here that iPhone can't currently match. While I won't be picking one up for personal use, since I'm already on the iPhone, these things give me pause on recommendations for others. If the Nexus One is available unlocked for a reasonable price, then maybe. Though if Palm did the same thing with a GSM based web0S device I might have get that too.

What I liked:
While Android duplicates much of the iPhone functionality (short of multitouch) there are a few things that improve upon it, some you may already know.

• Home Screen - customizable widgets you can pick from. Apples calendar icon shows you the date, but not at a glance if you have a meeting today, that's a click or two away. The weather icon on the iPhone is static, on more recent Dev builds it's kept up to date.
• Status Bar - from within any app I can pull down this bar and get updates from anything on the system. From calls I missed, to downloads complete, to any new mail I received. It let's me stay focused on my task in the app that I am currently in and not worrying to switch over to find out if there is something I missed.
• Background Apps - while running the GPS navigator I was able to click over via the status bar to check email and the same again to get back to my map. And get updates when my app downloads were complete.
• Google Voice Integration - AppStore apps are allowed to access core functions it seems. Once I download google voice, all calls I made outgoing went over my google voice number from the default phone app. If google voice becomes VOIP, this seamless integration is huge.
• Lock Screen - they've combined the pin unlock and swipe to unlock features of the iPhone into a pleasurable grid of dots that you connect in your own customized pattern. It was fun to flick and fun to even get wrong.
• Development Install - the whole point of this testing was to try and do some real non SDK development which I was also doing at the same time as an iPhone. The process here was really smooth. No keychains to export no provision files to install, just a simple config flip on the Android to allow Dev apps. The iPhone process isn't that bad once you've done it a few times, but the first time use here is much better.
• Search - search for something not on your device and you can search the web. This is something it would be silly of apple not to duplicate as palm does it right here too b
• Status Light- no need to unlock my phone to check for email. The green dot tells me so. This can be switched off so why not give users a choice.
• GPS Navigation - free 3d navigation with voice over. Uses built in google traffic to visualize potential conflicts and allows you to see alternate routes that are available to your destination and compare total time. It might even allow for traffic issues in it's time calculation.
• Resolution - this might just be a rendering difference, as I think the pixel dimensions might be the same. However after using the Android home screen the iPhone UI, and it's homepage in particular seemed horsey.

What I disliked:

• Physical Keyboard - hated it every time I tried to use it. The beauty of software keys is that it gives you only what you need, nothing that you don't. This hardware just made me have too many options, I kept looking for the .com shortcut key
• SDKs load times - might have been my setup, but the time to boot up an Android device on the SDKs compared to the iPhone simulator was drastic, I would refresh Twitter or CNN to kill time in between. Also here with the various 3rd party devices they have multiple sdks that you need to download after installing the main Android SDKs, creating a longer and more confusing first use than the iPhone. I didn't care which image I needed, I just wanted to develop.
• GMail App - some of my gripes here extend from the web version. If you are reading a message and you delete it, they kick you back to the main index. Do the same in any app on desktop or mobile and you are taken to the next entry in read mode. I couldn't even find a way here to goto the next item in my inbox without having to go up a level to the main area.
• Nav Pad - didn't use It, not sure why I would, this is a touch screen, right?

On the fence:

• Text Insertion - missed the apple loop and remember copy and paste difficulty, but was able to get the job done.
• Hardware Keys - found I kept looking in the UI for a back button when I needed to be using the hardware key. This is more of my own force of habit then a native flaw.

As a friend said to me, if the Android system reaches a point where I can not pay any service provider and just use Wifi for VOIP, it would be an instant win. By releasing their own device and selling it unlocked (potentially), they are one upping Apple. Not only do they have a great device, but they have a device you can use however you want, without carrier restrictions. Even tho the Android OS is available like this via third party devices, Google is going to make theirs the best Google Apps device out there, and that's the instant connection I need.

With Google's announcement today, and Apples (maybe) in a few weeks, this shall be an interesting year.