Android? Why, yes!

After nearly a year of using an iPhone (4) I have to admit that Apple did a good job with the little device. It’s polished, detailed, functions quite well and for me, has only one real flaw: iTunes! I have come to dislike iTunes for the bloated program that it is. On my system (Win7 Pro, 8gb of RAM, Intel i5 processor, etc.) it seems to take forever to load up, connect with ‘Mother Apple’ and let me do what I need to do such as backing the phone up, install any updates for the apps, etc. I don’t like slow.

About a week ago I gave my wife the iPhone as her HTC Incredible was giving her some problems. I wanted her to have a phone that she was comfortable with, easy to use and reliable. So, we swapped. She’s liking her new phone and after a few days of tinkering with her old one, I began to figure out what was giving her grief and corrected it. Since then I’ve grown to really like the little Android. It’s admittedly not the best out there and HTC’s Sense and some other things are kind of ‘dated’ but, the more I use the phone, the better I like Android. So much so that now I’m on the hunt for a replacement.

I found that the Android Market is a wonderful place to find apps and syncing them to my phone is an easy two-click affair. No bloated program to wait for, no proprietary software…just plain simplicity. All from your browser.

So I now find myself in a dilemma of sorts. I’m torn between two Android devices sold at Verizon. On the one hand, the Galaxy Nexus has the latest operating system from Google: Ice Cream Sandwich. However, battery life is an issue for some. It does have a detachable battery so replacing it with an extended one is a simple thing. However, this increases the cost factor beyond the initial $299 price from Verizon with a two year contract. This is pretty steep for either cellphone no matter how smart it may be.

The other phone I’m looking at is the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx which has the Gingerbread 2.3 OS in it but has an extended battery already installed. You can’t get at it as the battery is non-serviceable by an end-user much like the iPhone but, this doesn’t bother me. It’s all about the best bang for the buck.

Both phones have large dazzling displays, impressive features and come with the same storage (32gb) although the Razr’s is split between 16gb internal and a 16gb micro SD card. The Razr’s can also be swapped out for a card up to 32gb so the storage issue seems easily remedied if need be.

I found a site that compares the two phones side by side and both are very impressive. Have a look for yourself.

So seeing as both phones sell for $299 with a 2 year contract on Verizon, what do you think? Battery life or ICS? It’s rumored that the Razr will see an upgrade to ICS soon so it may be a moot point for some. Seems everything else is too close to call but seeing as I’m a power-user of sorts, the longer lasting battery may be the selling point in my case. I’m interested in hearing from others though so chime in and let me know what you think.