Hoping to get an iPhone, a few quick questions

[TuxDotKing]

Hey everybody. I'm thinking of getting the iPhone 5 on Verizon when it comes out, and I have a few questions. I'm an Android user now, with a Droid 1 as my main phone and a Nexus S that I use as a music player, tinkering device and for a little extra speed and power over my Droid. Lately I've been noticing Android getting a bit farther from the openness that drew me to it in the first place, to the point where nearly all new non-Nexus devices are getting locked down or gimped in some way. Android is a nice experience if you can tinker with it... but I wouldn't, and won't put up with its flaws if I can't. So since I already have a Nexus, I've decided to diversify for my next phone and get the iPhone 5 when it comes out.

Here are my questions:

-Is there an app for Google Maps & Navigation on iOS? It may not seem big, but that is the killer app on Android for me, and has come in handy a lot. I'm really not sure if I could go without it, or an equivalent.

-Is iTunes going to be something I will have to have on my PC? I use Ubuntu as my primary OS now, and I also wasn't very fond of iTunes back when I used Windows and my iPod Classic (though the ease of use and management as a podcatcher beat any Android app I've tried so far). Will I have to use iTunes on my PC to get anything more than basic function out of it?

-Do you think it will be jailbroken? The iPad 2, from what I have heard, has not been jailbroken yet because Apple improved security on it. Assuming that the iPhone 5 comes out with these same 'improvements', do you think they'll eventually be defeated? I'd hate to see something like Motorola's supposedly 'impossible to crack' bootloader come to iOS (although the bootloader can be bypassed on Moto devices... if entirely new drivers are written. >_> ).

And finally, I'd love to hear opinions from anyone else who's been from Android to the iPhone on the transition. The Android way of doing things is different from the iOS way of doing things (I assume), and I'd like to be able to adapt to it quickly instead of suffering through it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[disney.jessica#IM]

There is an app for Google Maps built into iOS. It's just called "Maps", but it's just Google Maps made to fit the iOS design better. There is no Google Navigation, but there's a free MapQuest app in the App Store with free voice turn-by-turn navigation, as well as other free similar apps. If you want to check out more of them you can go on iTunes on your PC and look in the App Store. You can even download the apps you want so when you get your iPhone and plug it into your computer you can put all the apps you want on right away.

I don't know about getting an iPhone in-store, but if you get it delivered to your home, you have to have iTunes to even activate and start your iPhone. If you want any media such as music or movies that are protected and purchased or redeemed from iTunes, then you will need it to sync your iPhone. I'm not sure if you have to have it for anything else.

I'm not sure about the possibilities of jailbreaking an iPhone 5, sorry.

Regarding going from Android to iOS, I would just use iOS a little and also do a lot of research and just pick what's best for you. I was set on getting an Android phone (HTC Thunderbolt) for my upgrade, but after trying out an iPhone 4, I've decided I like it more. I love Android customization and all the little features of HTC Sense 2.0, such as putting your phone face down to silence a call, and the phone ringing louder if it's in your pocket or purse. However, I love the iPhone's stability and compatibility, as well as media. I have a lot of digital copy movies in iTunes, and it would be nice to be able to have the option to put some on my phone if I need to, like if I'm going on an airplane and might get bored. I also like the Netflix application, as well as the app selection. I feel more comfortable with iOS, too, because Android has newer features but they can be a bit buggier, while the features in iOS aren't really half-baked or in a beta form, so the OS just feels more polished and complete. There's also more promise of getting updates.

 

[TuxDotKing]

There is an app for Google Maps built into iOS. It's just called "Maps", but it's just Google Maps made to fit the iOS design better. There is no Google Navigation, but there's a free MapQuest app in the App Store with free voice turn-by-turn navigation, as well as other free similar apps. If you want to check out more of them you can go on iTunes on your PC and look in the App Store. You can even download the apps you want so when you get your iPhone and plug it into your computer you can put all the apps you want on right away.

I don't know about getting an iPhone in-store, but if you get it delivered to your home, you have to have iTunes to even activate and start your iPhone. If you want any media such as music or movies that are protected and purchased or redeemed from iTunes, then you will need it to sync your iPhone. I'm not sure if you have to have it for anything else.

I'm not sure about the possibilities of jailbreaking an iPhone 5, sorry.

Regarding going from Android to iOS, I would just use iOS a little and also do a lot of research and just pick what's best for you. I was set on getting an Android phone (HTC Thunderbolt) for my upgrade, but after trying out an iPhone 4, I've decided I like it more. I love Android customization and all the little features of HTC Sense 2.0, such as putting your phone face down to silence a call, and the phone ringing louder if it's in your pocket or purse. However, I love the iPhone's stability and compatibility, as well as media. I have a lot of digital copy movies in iTunes, and it would be nice to be able to have the option to put some on my phone if I need to, like if I'm going on an airplane and might get bored. I also like the Netflix application, as well as the app selection. I feel more comfortable with iOS, too, because Android has newer features but they can be a bit buggier, while the features in iOS aren't really half-baked or in a beta form, so the OS just feels more polished and complete. There's also more promise of getting updates.

Thanks! And I still have Windows in a partition on my computer, so I can still use iTunes (a bit of a pain to know I still need to use the partition though for some things though ). And the stability and user experience that I hear so much about is what I'm looking forward to most. I hate how sluggish my Droid is sometimes and it just downright irritates me when it starts to happen on my Nexus S ('But I'm overclocked to 1.4 Ghz!!!! Grrrr..... ).

 

[imwjl]

Hey everybody. I'm thinking of getting the iPhone 5 on Verizon when it comes out, and I have a few questions. I'm an Android user now, with a Droid 1 as my main phone and a Nexus S that I use as a music player, tinkering device and for a little extra speed and power over my Droid. Lately I've been noticing Android getting a bit farther from the openness that drew me to it in the first place, to the point where nearly all new non-Nexus devices are getting locked down or gimped in some way. Android is a nice experience if you can tinker with it... but I wouldn't, and won't put up with its flaws if I can't. So since I already have a Nexus, I've decided to diversify for my next phone and get the iPhone 5 when it comes out.

Here are my questions:

-Is there an app for Google Maps & Navigation on iOS? It may not seem big, but that is the killer app on Android for me, and has come in handy a lot. I'm really not sure if I could go without it, or an equivalent.

-Is iTunes going to be something I will have to have on my PC? I use Ubuntu as my primary OS now, and I also wasn't very fond of iTunes back when I used Windows and my iPod Classic (though the ease of use and management as a podcatcher beat any Android app I've tried so far). Will I have to use iTunes on my PC to get anything more than basic function out of it?

-Do you think it will be jailbroken? The iPad 2, from what I have heard, has not been jailbroken yet because Apple improved security on it. Assuming that the iPhone 5 comes out with these same 'improvements', do you think they'll eventually be defeated? I'd hate to see something like Motorola's supposedly 'impossible to crack' bootloader come to iOS (although the bootloader can be bypassed on Moto devices... if entirely new drivers are written. >_> ).

And finally, I'd love to hear opinions from anyone else who's been from Android to the iPhone on the transition. The Android way of doing things is different from the iOS way of doing things (I assume), and I'd like to be able to adapt to it quickly instead of suffering through it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

As a Droid (X) and iPhone owner I can say with certainty that you will loose the superb navigation, voice to text and ability to customize from the start along with the better calendar and link to maps or navigation from location field.

I like the waze app for navigation more than MapQuest as far as free navigation goes. waze is available for Android and other platforms. Many iPhone users choose to get the navigation apps with local database. They use 1 - 1.5 GB of your storage.

Using the Apple mobile environment is simple and that's part of why many like it. You may not like the keyboard options if you're an Android user but you can get used to it.

If you're using a Linux distro I suggest a Windows VM and not dual boot because the iPhone, iPad and iTunes relationship.

Finally, I'm not going to make predictions or judgments on vaporware (the iPhone 5). It's not here now and the next phone, privacy issues and competition will probably give us some software changes by the time we have a next phone from Apple.

Good luck.

 

[honeytree]

expecting iP5
but iP4 white just on market, I'm afraid iP5 will not come out on June

 

[TuxDotKing]

expecting iP5
but iP4 white just on market, I'm afraid iP5 will not come out on June

I've heard that, and I'm ready to wait, I'd be waiting till November for the next Nexus anyway (well, November for the first one on T-Mobile that I can't use as a phone... more like March 2012 for it to at least be on AT&T, and probably never on Verizon ). My Droid is still doing great in the meantime, and no offense, but the iP4 doesn't have much that would compel me to get it. I'm more than ready to try out an iPhone, but iP4 wouldn't be enough of an upgrade to justify using my upgrade on it.

 

[ajonesma]

There is google maps for iOS but isnt as great as it is on android, but there are plenty of other nav apps in the appstore.