The iPhone 5 is gearing up for the highest volume product launch in consumer tech history, yet geeks continue to insist that would-be iPhone buyers consider an Android phone along the lines of the Droid Bionic or Galaxy S2. The list of reasons provided by said geeks, however, is nearly always based in on geek priorities or based in fiction altogether. As the iPhone 5 prepares to make its way out of the gate, little is known about it beyond the fact that it’ll take up where the existing iPhone 4 left off and move forward from there. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of the areas which matter to you, the mainstream consumer, in terms of how the iPhone stacks up against Android. As you’ll see, it’s an easy decision, all things considered.

Interface: The iPhone 5 runs iOS 5, the latest version of Apple’s touchscreen interface. It’s sophisticated enough for power users, yet straightforward enough that novice users have essentially zero learning curve. Android phones run Android OS, a mobile variant of Linux, which is a server operating system with a bare-bones interface tacked on. Winner: iPhone 5…

Apps: iPhone comes with superior built-in internet and email apps. iPhone has access to a polished, highly safe and secure App Store with hundreds of thousands of apps available, most of them free. Android comes with a collection of obtuse built-in apps along with an app store full of dangerously untested third party apps. Geeks will point out that those fluent in coding languages can write and install their own apps on Android, perhaps without realizing how out of touch that makes them when they say something like that to a mainstream consumer. Winner: iPhone 5.

Hardware overall: The iPhone 5 will come with first-rate specs including the fastest processor, longest battery life, highest resolution screen, and strongest antenna reception on the market. It’ll also be the thinnest smartphone ever released. How do we know this? Because the iPhone 4 has already accomplished all of the above. In short, the iPhone 5 will blow oversized, poorly designed Android hardware out of the water on not just specs but practicality.

Hardware choice: The iPhone 5 will likely come in a single hardware design, customizable only in terms of storage capacity. Don’t like the way the iPhone 5 looks? Settle for an iPhone 4S, or choose from one of the hundreds of Android phone designs. Winner: Android…

Music and multimedia: iPhone is tightly integrated with iTunes, the world’s most popular music store. Cheapskates can also use the lower priced AmazonMP3 with their iPhone. In contrast, most Android users don’t even know how to get music or content onto their phone, and carry a separate iPod just to get by. Winner: iPhone 5.

This list could extend indefinitely, but you get the idea. Other than getting to choose what your underpowered, clunky, poor-interfaced, app-lacking Android phone physically looks like, there’s no reason to consider Android over iPhone 5 – unless of course you’re a hardcore technology geek who cares more about hackability than real world usability. In that case, have fun staying up all night programming your own homebrew apps. Learn more abour iPhone 5.

Source - [ beatweek.com ]