Of my 4.5 years with iOS, over 3 years of that time was spent using a jailbroken device. The subject of how I got into jailbreaking is too long to go into here but suffice it to say that my hand was forced by AT&T's crappy service in my area. Point being, jailbreaking gave me the opportunity to see the difference between what a particular iPhone model could do and what Apple was willing to allow it to do. Not to mention some of the shady tactics Apple was willing to use to force updates on us.
Despite all of this tomfoolery, one thing that iOS users have been able to take solace in is the fact that when Apple makes an iOS update available, the whole update becomes available to everyone (using an approved device) at the same time. Carriers are given time to field-test Apple's new software and hardware but once Apple sets a release date, the carriers (for the most part) must step aside. If a new feature is to be excluded by a carrier, it's typically announced before people line up in droves to buy the new device.
Additionally, iPhone users don't have to worry about carriers substituting Apple-tested, approved and supported apps/features with their own non-removable (and often substandard or poorly supported) bloatware. The relationship between a carrier and an iPhone user is no different from the relationship between say, an electric utility and its customer: that of a dumb-pipe. Unlike with other smartphones, carriers are forced to provide iPhone users with nothing more or less than the cellular connectivity with which to operate their devices. In my opinion, that's the way it should be.
Another advantage to Apple's walled garden policy is easier troubleshooting. When an iOS user is having an issue or question, usually all they need to know is which model device and which version of iOS they are using, and a web search immediately brings solutions. Not so much with Android. In addition to the many different brands of Android devices, there appears to be a vast sub-category of different versions of the same make/model - many with their own exclusive features/capabilities. If all of that wasn't enough of a confusing mess, both the manufacturers and carriers have the authority to decide when or if your device will get the latest OS update, and in the case of Verizon, can choose to outright remove features from that update. It seems hypocritical to me that a company would cherry-pick OS features it's willing to allow, all while taking the position that it would rather lose all of my business than give me the option to pay for just voice/SMS service without data (or vice versa).
I guess my biggest problem with Android thus far has been coming to terms with the deception created and fostered by both manufacturers, carriers, tech blog writers and their fanboy supporters. Some would have you believe that every Android scenario is like picking up a Dell laptop from Best Buy that runs a full, bloatware-free version of Windows, and taking it home and plugging it straight into your Comcast cable modem. And it is indeed that simple in a limited number of scenarios that depend heavily on both the hardware and carrier chosen. But for most people, the options are more like this:
- pick out the Dell laptop and tell the salesman you're a Comcast customer. Promise to stay with Comcast for the next two years in exchange for a 70% discount on the hardware. You turn on the laptop and it looks nothing like the same version of Windows running on your work PC. It's covered in apps, themes and branding from Dell, Best Buy and Comcast. Some of the apps and UI elements that come stock with Windows have been replaced by Comcast- or Dell-branded junk. Microsoft releases regular updates for it but you must wait for both Dell and Comcast to decide if/when to make them available, as well as whether or not to customize them when they do make them available. There are all kinds of tutorials on the web explaining how to revert it to a stock Windows PC, accompanied by disclaimers that it'll void your Dell hardware warranty, tip-off the Russian mafia to the secret coin collection in your attic, as well as result in Comcast murdering your first-born child, disconnecting your service and charging you an early termination fee. You also discover that some of the cool Dell-exclusive features of the laptop will no longer work if you do revert it to stock Windows; or,
- buy a specific line of Windows Nexus laptops at full price and still be forced to wait for Comcast to issue the OS updates; or,
- purchase said Nexus laptop and activate it with a more open-minded ISP then move to said ISP's service area; or,
- buy a MacBook at full price, accept that it can't do everything that the Dell can do without a hack that gets overridden every six months when Apple releases an OS update, plug it into your cable modem and tell Comcast and Best Buy to kiss your ass.
I guess my gripe isn't so much with Android (it is a great OS) or even with the device makers, so much as it is Google's willingness to bow down to carriers who never seem to run out of new ways to shaft their customers. Yes, Apple makes me feel like the tween whose over-protective mother still insists on holding his hand every time they cross the street, but that momma bear sure has done a lot since entering the smartphone market to protect her cubs from those greedy carriers. All of the various Android manufacturers seem to be as weak-kneed as Google when it comes to standing up for the interests of their customers. I had assumed before switching that Samsung was big enough by now to have grown a pair, but I guess I was mistaken.
