A lot of hype has been generated and spread recently with regards to the release of Motorola’s Android phone.  This new entry to the smart phone market is the closest competitor thus far to the iPhone and many have written that it actually surpasses the iPhone in many areas.  We took the challenge of comparing these two devices and have compiled this report on what we believe is the real story.

Comparing two remarkable devices is a hard task.  Both phones are light years ahead of previous cell phone of merely two years ago.  These devices should be called “hand held computers” for the simple fact that you can do nearly all of your general computing operations using these devices.  “Smart Phones” don’t really do justice when describing these.  With that said, here is our take on the battle between the two.

Motorola Droid (Google Android 2.0)

The Moto Droid is a powerful phone, packed with tons of features and secured within a sturdy device that Motorola has perfected for their high end phones over the years.  The phone offers a good sized screen and a full Qwerty keyboard that hides nicely until needed, then can be exposed by simply sliding it out.  The screen is high quality, displaying photos and video with extreme clarity.

Combine this with an arsenal of Google Apps including the newly released turn-by turn navigation system and you have a phone that is one of the leaders for Internet on the go.  Google has really focused on the Android operating system and is courting developers at a rapid rate to build new applications for the platform all the time.  The open standards and web based application development of the Android operating system will certainly help power application development on the platform much faster than Apple’s closed “Steve Stamp” approval process for the Apple App Store.  Nobody knows yet how the open standards will effect the quality of the user experience on Android phones  as Steve Jobs indicated “applications can crash your phone”.

Looking at the list of features, it seems that marketing behind the Droid is doing everything they can to show that they have all the features of the iPhone and then some new ones.  While this may work for some people who are not familiar with the iPhone, only a few of these features are really any different that on the iPhone.

Here is our breakdown of the Moto Droid…

Pros:

- FULL QWERTY KEYBOARD – We put that in caps just because it is a huge difference between the two phones.  The Droid has the ability to write true emails where the iPhone is more of a “Tweeter”.  Our iPhone users polled for this article indicated that their emails have been considerably reduced in size since becoming owners of an iPhone.  Most indicated that they could not handle typing lots of emails while traveling due to fatigue after only a half dozen sent within an hour time span.  With the Droid, users can type away to their hearts content and it resembles more of a true keyboard.  The ability to feel the keys also allows for typing without looking which reduces fatigue considerably.

- Changeable Parts – A new battery? That’s reasonable.  More memory? Why not?  The Droid allows you to change many of the things that iPhone does not.  Almost the majority of the iPhone users polled for this article indicated that they did not miss these features. However, one has to wonder how they couldn’t after a year of owning their iPhone and the battery not lasting a full day.

- Verizon Network – Can you hear me now? What? What?  Probably one of the biggest advantages that the Droid has is the Verizon network.  While some people dislike Verizon for various reasons, it’s hard to argue that their network of cellphone coverage is far beyond that of any other network.  Verizon’s CDMA technology produces a better call quality and many fewer dropped calls.  Of the iPhone users that we surveyed, more than 90% of them indicated they had received dropped calls on the AT&T network.

Cons:

- No Pinch Zoom – iPhone users know this well and it is probably one of their favorite features.  Just click on the screen and squeeze or spread your fingers and the screen zooms.  Droid has zoom, but it is not nearly as simple as the iPhone.

- Only WPA2 Wireless – Many users only have a WPA security enabled wireless access point.  Droid requires WPA2.  You might need to pick up a new router or wireless access point.

- NO support for initiating calls w/ Bluetooth! (For legal reasons, Motorola has to fix this – it’s ILLEGAL in many states to be using your handset while driving)

- Music player is lacking - Apple has Droid beat hands down on this one.  The iPhone has incredible clarity in its player and also a huge selection of music.

- Camera lags on photos – This is a killer. When you get the kids together to take a photo, everyone is in place, snap that photo and wait, wait, wait.  iPhone has Droid beat on the camera even if the picture does not have 5 megapixels.

- Vibrate is rather soft – They should call it a hum feature.  You can miss calls easily with this lightweight buzz for a ringer.

- Android OS is Fragmenting – Developers are starting to complain that the Android OS is too hard to develop for due to the number of different devices that it is running on.  As it stands now, developers can’t build for 1 platform like the iPhone, they have to contend with special features and unique features that are available for each different phone model.  This is causing them to spend extreme amounts of time developing separate versions.  Read More Here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/17/android.wired/index.html

Apple iPhone 3gS (iPhone OS 3.1)

As the current King of the Smart Phone market, Apple has set a high bar to beat.  The iPhone has almost everything that a user could want in a mobile computer, and then some.  Although many people have complained (mostly developers) that Apple’s closed door approach to approving apps hurts the market, that’s hard to believe with over 100,000 apps now available in the iTunes App Store.  Over the last 10 years, computer users either love or hate Apple and when the iPhone came out many people were concerned about “going to the other side”.  Apple products have traditionally been more expensive that other competing products and when it comes to the iPhone, it’s no different.  It is more expensive that the average phone, but it packs an entire computer into the little box that it is.

Being the first one to market with such a revolutionary product and now on its third revision, the iPhone is remarkably solid, stable, and sturdy.  The touchscreen is so easy to use and the interface is so friendly that anyone (yes even grandmom) can use it.  In the 3 years that the iPhone has been on the market, other phone makers have tried (and failed) to come up with a competing product.  Nothing has come close to the all-inclusive, pocket friendly iPhone.  Even 3 years later, people still “ooh you have an iPhone” when you pull it out of your pocket.  Ask anyone that has one if they like it… better be sitting down cause they are going to fill your ears with stories of love.  With over 100,000 apps in the iTunes App Store, there is an app for everything, yes everything.  Even getting out of a speeding ticket.

Here’s our take on the iPhone:

Pros:

- Superior Style – slick, simple, small; it fits in your pocket so well you will probably walk around the house looking for it until you realize that it is in your pocket!

- More Apps than you could every need – 100,000+ and counting.  There are so many developers now for the iPhone that hundreds of new apps come out every week.  Every major website on the Internet now has an app.  Use Facebook or Twitter?  You will never visit the main site again after using the free app for the iPhone.  Even Google has apps that make the same features available on Android, accessible on iPhone.

- Easy calling – The phone interface is super intuitive and integrates nicely with business systems such as Microsoft Exchange, Zimbra, or online services.

- IPOD – The reigning King player of Pop, the iPOD is super simple and has crystal clear sound.  This combined with iTunes makes it by far the best music player on a phone.

- Accessories – There are so many iPhone ready jukeboxes, stereos, and car chargers that you will never have trouble using it where you want.  There are so many iPhone users now, that you will probably never need to worry about forgetting your charger.  They seem to be everywhere.

- Ease of use – The interface and configuration of the iPhone is simple yet super satisfying.  You can make it how you want it and add whatever you need.  It is so easy to use that it does not need a manual, seriously.

Cons:

- Keyboard – Apple is just ridiculous about this one.  They simply refuse to allow vendors to create and sell an external keyboard as they have not produced an API or interface that will allow a keyboard to work.  This makes sending longer emails difficult because you have to watch the screen to find the keys.  With Qwerty keyboards you can find the keys without looking.  Tweeters will love this as 140 characters are perfect for the iPhone.  The Voice Recognition tools on the iPhone are unreal however. They are very, very close to making typing emails a voice thing.

- The Network – AT&T is both the ball and chain in this marriage.  Their network drops calls (even when you have 5 bars), voices are not clear and crisp, and coverage is spotty at best.  Of the iPhone users polled for this article, every one 100% stated that they would overlook the AT&T issues simply because they loved the phone so much.

- The battery – After about a year, the battery starts to fade.  No problem lasting 3 years however, you just loose about 1 minute of battery time per week.  Unnoticeable unless you are a serious App user or email junkie.

Conclusion:

Overall, the Droid is the closest competitor to the iPhone in years.  Its features combined with the Verizon network produce a solid package.  In our opinion, several key features still make the Droid a close second place to the iPhone.  Key features such as the iPod, the 100,000+ Apps, and the super intuitive interface of the iPhone make it one step ahead of the Droid.  Having three years on the market to work out the bugs and stabilize the features, the iPhone has dug in for a long battle.  With the upcoming iPhone 4.0 software release, rumors are running wild that an external keyboard is right around the corner.  If this happens, the iPhone will be a full computer, in your pocket.

Our conclusion is mostly based on the sheer number of iPhone owners and their satisfaction with the product.  Of the iPhone users that we polled for this article, 100% said they would by an iPhone again, 100% said they would recommend the iPhone to their mom, and 100% said they were completely glad they had made their purchase.  That’s pretty remarkable, even for a phone.

Let us know your thoughts below.