Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I’m planning on updating my mobile phone soon. Last time I switched from the iPhone and went for Android (and blogged about it). This time, should I stick with Android and go for the Galaxy Nexus or do I switch back and go for the iPhone 4s?
By far the most enlightening articles I’ve come across on the matter are two recent reviews of the Galaxy Nexus on TechCrunch:
- Pro-Android blogger Jason Kincaid decides in favour of the Galaxy Nexus: There And Back Again: A Lengthy Weighing Of The Galaxy Nexus And iPhone 4S
- Pro-iPhone blogger and tech writing heavyweight MG Siegler decides in favour of the iPhone 4S: An iPhone Lover’s Take On The Galaxy Nexus
Although the two authors reach two different conclusions, the unsurprising consensus is that the iPhone has a superior user interface. But it’s intangible. It’s the attention to detail, the little things. And it’s hard to describe. So, Siegler comes up with an analogy:
I imagine it’s probably hard for a Mercedes owner to describe to a Honda owner how attention to detail makes their driving experience better when both machines get them from point A to point B.
Superblogger and Mac enthusiast John Gruber concurs and adds that:
You either see [the iPhone’s UI superiority] or you don’t. If you don’t, that’s cool, enjoy your Nexus.
Joshua Topolsky however, who writes for the tech blog Verge, does not concur. He writes a response to Siegler’s piece titled “Horseshit“, where he contends that only elitist capitalist pigs use Mercedes analogies when discussing mobile phones. MS Siegler responds here.
This is all very entertaining, but where does it leave us? Galaxy Nexus or iPhone? Marx or Engels?
I’m leaning towards the Nexus. To stick with the automobile analogies, I’m going for the somewhat clunky Batmobile rather than the super smooth Mercedes. Maybe because the Batmobile is better integrated with the various Google services, because it plays nicer with 3rd party apps (even if they always look uglier) or because Google strike me as being less evil than Apple – albeit, only slightly so.
I can see that the iPhone has a superior UI – I get it. But I’m still probably going for the Nexus.
