081211crossplatform-apps-for-iphone-and-android-153608.jpgIt's no secret that many of us here at Unplggd are fans of the iPhone 4, and will probably be purchasing an iPhone 5 when it comes out (in October?). But being the minority within the Unplggd team, personally, these are some reasons that I'd still pick an Android over an iPhone.

10. Google Maps Navigation. If a navigation system is a must in your life, this will probably be the only reason you need to get an Android phone. The Google Navigation app is an excellent navigation that will rival most navigation systems on the market. The best part... it's FREE!

9. Wide selection of devices/carriers. The iPhone is an excellent phone with superb build quality, but not everyone digs the brittle all glass body. Since Android is an open platform, various top-end manufacturers have a wide range of high-quality and well-designed selection. And although the iPhone is on two of the four major carriers (maybe soon to be three?), AT&T along with Verizon have the highest priced monthly plans. If you want to pay less for your phone plans, Android will be your best bet with the lower end carriers.

8. Alternative Keyboard. Sure, iPhone has a great keyboard that probably trumps the much improved Android keyboard. But the beauty of being an open platform is the ability to customize the system, and this includes the keyboard. There are various options for getting better thumb typing options on Android phones, and they are as easy to install as an app. Our favorite Android alternative keyboard is the Swype keyboard, it will revolutionize the way you think of typing on a touchscreen phone, even if you are a die-hard iPhone fan.


Check out some Art made with Swype!

7. Alternative App Markets. We love the ability to install different app markets on Android. This is good news to you because different markets, means more competition, and more discount for you. For example, the Amazon appstore has a free app per day feature for high-quality paid apps, and often post discounts on some of the most popular apps.

6. Customizable Home Launcher and Home screens. This is where Android shines over the iPhone. Android puts all your apps under a separate menu option, which gives you the ability to customize the home screens. Personally, I love having a clean look that will actually show off my background and only the few essential apps on the home screen, something I won't be able to do on an iPhone even with Jailbreaking.

5. Flash compatible. This will likely forever be an advantage that Androids have over iOS, at least until Flash is fully phased-out. And although Adobe has recently announced a solution to iOS's ban on all things Flash, it is not a universal solution that will make your iPhone fully Flash capable. Android has Flash built-in and you won't ever see those annoying spaces that asks you to install Flash to see the content.

4. Widgets. This is another software feature that Android has over iOS, the ability to put useful information on the home screen of your phone, instead of having rows and rows of apps. And widgets is a widely supported feature that many app developers utilize. Get your Facebook and Twitter updates or see your day's event laid out in front of you right when you turn on your phone.

3. Expandable memory. It is slightly absurd in the age of super cheap memory that it costs $100 to get 16GB of memory on an iPhone. Most Android smartphones have the ability to expand its storage through micro SD cards, which cost significantly less than the $100 that Apple charges.

2. True Google Voice Integration. We love Google Voice, we love how we can send messages through online, having a unified voicemail that we can access anywhere, we love the super low international call rate. Sure, there is an iPhone Google Voice app but it is not as deeply integrated as it is on Android. On Android, you are able to click the call button or the message button and Google Voice will launch.

1. Custom ROMs. This is definitely our number one reason for choosing Android over iPhone, and it especially appeals to our inner nerds. This is the epitome of an open platform, and where developers truly shine. Custom ROMs are basically a different version of Android that is built upon the stock OS that adds more integrated features, unlike an app. Our favorite of the bunch is CyanogenMod but there are plenty of great ROMs by both domestic and international developers that impresses us.