I have been using an Android phone for more than month now. I used the original iPhone which I upgraded upto iPhone 3.0. I have used newer iPhones 3GS, 4 occasionally. Here is what I find better in the Android platform:

  1. No Need for iTunes: Apple insists for syncing music, video and other things, you need iTunes. Which requires a PC/Notebook with Windows or Mac. This is a big limitation for me for two reasons. One, you need a computer, today cellphones are out-selling computers so why have the need for a computer. The second is I don’t use Windows or Mac, I use Linux. So every time I needed to add an MP3 into my iPhone, I had to re-boot into Windows.. newer version of Ubuntu, allow you to sync with iPhone without iTunes, which is nice but it still requires a PC.
    With Android, I can stick-in a memory card full of music and it will allow you to play it. You can also transfer from another phone/PC via Bluetooth.
  2. No Apple Tax on data usage: In India Vodafone charges higher for data usage if you have an iPhone, essentially a part of the data revenue gets shared with Apple.  Do I get any benefit of paying the Apple Tax? No, so why should I ? Android phones data plans are the standard plans and they are cheaper.
  3. Choice of Vendors: With Android, you have a choice of vendors to choose from. Android has the large number of vendors supporting it, while iOS is only available from Apple. Competition is always good for the customer.
  4. Cheaper and pricing options: You can purchase an Android phone from Rs. 6800 ($150) up to Rs. 32,000 ($710), while the iPhone costs $800 in India.
  5. Faster availability: iPhone 4 is still not available in India, while 3GS is priced very expensive. Android phones are hitting the markets faster pace.
  6. No Vendor lockin: When you buy an iPhone you are locked into apple and also with the service provider due to contracts etc.. With Android you can choose to buy your own handset and take the plan of your choice without any contracts.
  7. More Free Apps: Lots of free apps right from Wi-Fi hostspot to games are available. While many of these apps are charged on the iPhone.
  8. Play you own ring tone! Apple doesn’t allow you to select any music from your collection as your ring tone, while Android has no such restrictions.
  9. Expandable Memory: When you buy an Apple product, you better be sure how much memory you are going to need. You would either end up buying more than what you need or if you buy with less, you would always feel wish I had bought the model with higher memory. With Android, you have a choice of phones which has expandable memory slot. So if you every run out of memory in the phone, you can always add expandable memory.  This also works out cheaper.
  10. OS upgrade make your phone faster. With iPhone, every time I would upgrade the OS, my phone would slow down.. it was tell me time to get the new  iPhone. With Android, upgrading to the newer version of the OS actually makes your phone faster. The upgrade on Android also doesn’t require iTunes or a PC, so can be done directly