5 reasons why Android is better than iOS

Be sure to check out the first post in the series: 5 reasons why iOS is better than Android


The great debate rages on. The iPhone and it's iOS have become the grizzled veterans of the touchscreen smartphone market, but Android is an up-and-coming youngblood with a lot of tricks up it's sleeve. Android's fans have become just as passionate about their OS as iOS fans, and their numbers are quickly growing. Here are five reasons why the Android fanboys are right, and iOS is for losers.

1. Android is a more open platform
If iOS is about control, Android is all about freedom. Wanna make an app that has access to pretty much your whole phone? Go ahead, you can get that in the Android Market, no problem. Want to download a different music player? Sure, that's fine. Wanna use your cell phone to leak highly confidential government secrets? Well we have to draw the line somewhere. But you get the point. Android gives you the freedom to choose.

2. Multitasking without limits
Sure, Apple just added their version of multitasking, but it's limited, and it's three years after the introduction of iOS. With Android, multitasking's been there from the start. And we're not talking about just freezing an app's state or only letting it do what Apple says it can do in the background, no. Android apps have free reign in the background, so if you wanted to listen to Pandora and Slacker at the same time (although who knows why you would) you can.


3. It runs Flash
Apple says that Flash will compromise the iOS experience, so it won't be allowed on their iDevices. Android though, believing in choice, gives you that option though. Ask someone on their iPhone to watch a Hulu video. Wait, they can't. Ask an iPhone user to play a cool Flash game that you just found. They can't. All they get are blue blocks.

4. A choice of carrier and hardware
Ask any iPhone user what they hate most about their iPhone. Most likely, a majority of them will say AT&T. Apple's exclusivity agreement with AT&T has made them a lot of money, but is also coming back to bite them. Since Android is so open, it' pretty much on every carrier in the US, so if you like Verizon's service or T-Mobile's low prices, you can choose. And hey, if you do like AT&T, you can also get a good Android phone with them now as well.

Another choice you'll get is in hardware. Can't stand a virtual keyboard? Get an Android phone with a physical one. Want a good camera? You can get up to an 8MP camera right now. Want something cheap? Go for a low-end one. With Android, you're given more than a choice between white or black.

5. Better notifications
This is one area where I think a lot of iOS device owners would actually agree with me. iOS' notification system is antiquated, and if you get multiple messages at a time, you're in trouble. Android had a great idea with the pull-down notifications, as there is still a unified notification system, but you can view them all at once and choose if you want to look at them right away or not. Apparently Apple's hired someone from Palm to work on them, but for right now at least Android has the huge upper hand here.

So there it is, 5 reasons why Android sends iOS home crying to mommy. Have more reasons Android is better? Sound off in the comments. Think we're completely crazy and iOS is bringing the heat, check out the first part of the series, 5 reasons why iOS is better than Android.