Recommendations for Apple users Transferring to Android

[tomalak301]

Hey all,

I used to have a Droid RAZR which ended up being really awful at the end of it's life. I have an Iphone 5s, and I'm giving some serious thought to going back to the Android Platform because it feels less restrictive thant he Iphone does. Anyone have any recommendations (Phone and otherwise) for an Apple to Android user? I use the phone as kind of a radio too for the most part so what about all the stuff I have on Itunes. Am I restricted to Apple because of Itunes or is something like that easy to navigate around.

 

[Count Zero]

It seems that there are several solutions to get your iTunes music on an Android phone even though there's no official iTunes app for Android (and Linux). Here is a website that details how.

As for recommendations I can't help you there. I have a Sony phone that's a couple of years old with an Android version that's out-of-date.

 

[Marc]

iTunes shouldn't matter - it's just brain dead way of copying audio and video files on to your Apple device.

Apple removed the DRM from music on the itunes stores so any music you've purchased through itunes won't be protected.

The only thing you might have to do is a format conversion to mp3 or have an audio player on your Android phone that plays different formats (Apple used like to m4a which is simply a different condec).

The other thing to do is simply copy your audio and video files from the directory that Apple sticks them in to somewhere more convenient.

 

[tomalak301]

Thanks.

What phones would you recommend. I like the galaxies but this is the research stage and it will probably be a while before I get a new phone.

 

[{ Emilia }]

I have a Sony Xperia Z3. The Experia line is very well-built and feels great. Not sure why they're not more popular. Maybe it's the distinctive style. You should definitely look into them, though. Great hardware, water-proof, good software. No issues for me so far.

HTC's One is a great phone, too. I personally don't like their custom Android look very much but many people think it's stylish. I prefer Sony's approach that's closer to stock Android.

The big LG's (G3/G4) have gorgeous screens but are a little too big for me. The G3 UI also lags quite a bit which would annoy the hell out of me. Not sure if they've fixed that in the next model.

Don't like Samsung.

 

[Ronald Held]

Look and see if the Galaxies appeal to you. Maybe the Motorola phones?

 

[Marc]

One from left field - the Asus Zenfone 2. I've had mine for 6 months and quite happy with it. Not bargain basement and not top of the range but good bang for buck and the best part is you can buy them unlocked/contract free. I bought mine from New Egg. Current starting price is $US199 for 5.5" screen (1080p screen) 2GB ram, 16GB storage, microSD and dual SIM. Mine has an intel Atom CPU but looks like they've now moved to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615. Probably the biggest draw back in the camera.

review can be found at http://www.anandtech.com/show/9251/the-asus-zenfone-2-review

I'd also have a look through the http://www.anandtech.com/tag/mobile. Anandtech has done reviews on a number of the phones suggested above so it will give you a bit more to go from.