gdgt

People always want to know what phone I'm using -- which is one big reason why I started gdgt -- and I often get asked why I don't use an iPhone. The launch of the iPhone 4S this week presented me with yet another opportunity to pass over Apple's offering, so I thought I'd lay it out my reasons for sticking with Android.

Let me preface all this by saying that this is not a criticism of your choice of phone. If you like your phone I am really happy about that. Seriously. There's a reason why we call it "personal technology" and that's because it's stuff that is an intimate part of our lives and anything that is that important by definition has to be a personal choice. I should also mention that my decision to use Android isn't because of some particular devotion to it as a platform, I'd switch in a second to something that I thought better suited my needs (and it's been promising to see all the improvements in Windows Phone, they just need to hit more of the very specific things I'm looking for). And anyone who knows me knows that it certainly isn't because I have some issue or problem with Apple -- I own three Macs and an iPad, all of which I quite like.

So here's why I'm an Android user:

Gmail - This might be the biggest single thing I like about Android: you simply can't get a better Gmail experience on a smartphone. My work life revolves around Gmail and my entire workflow is based on managing all of my email through the web-based and mobile versions of Gmail. Yes, you can access Gmail on an iPhone via the browser or the mail app, but you can't do the sorting and starring that is critical to how I get things done.

Larger screens - I don't care what anyone says, 3.5-inches is too small for me. I find it easier to type on a 4-inch or 4.3-inch screen and watching video is generally a better experience and I like that there are plenty of Android phones that come in those sizes now.

Replaceable batteries - This isn't an option with every single Android phone, but it is with most and I really appreciate being able to swap in a new battery -- or better yet, replace the one the phone came with for an aftermarket replacement with more mAh.

Better keyboards - I've never loved the default keyboard in either iOS or Android, but the good thing about Android is that I can actually do something about it. I've used a handful of different keyboards over the years, including Swype (which deserves all the love it gets), but for the past few months I've been using SwiftKey, which does the predictive text thing in a way that really suits me.

Customizability - This isn't actually that big of a factor for me, but I do like that I can tweak things the launcher and icons on my phone and add widgets to my desktop.

Google Voice - This is something that means a lot to me that might not mean much to you, but now that I've switched over to Google Voice having it tightly integrated into my phone is a game changer. Yes, you can use Google Voice on an iPhone, but it's not as smooth or as easy to use as on Android.

Is iOS smoother, more responsive, and just generally better designed? Yes, though I think the gap is much smaller now with Gingerbread than it was before and will likely close even further with ICS. Are there iOS apps I wish were available for Android that aren't? Absolutely. But when I think about the things that I most want out of a phone right now -- like Gmail, Google Voice, etc. -- those experiences are better enough on Android to outweigh iOS's other advantages. Maybe someday that balance will change, but so far with the iPhone 4S it doesn't seem to have. (I will admit that Siri is impressive, I just don't think I'd use it all that much.)

The funny thing is that I think the situation is reversed with the iPad and Honeycomb tablets. I have both the iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and feel like Honeycomb's shortcomings (especially with respect to UI) are glaring and that the iPad is a significantly better product in the things I look for in a tablet (which are mainly consuming media). I also like having a foot in both camps, I think there's something healthy about not relying entirely on one ecosystem, and it also helps you better evaluate the qualities and shortcomings in each. When it comes to smartphones, Android fits better into what I want and need -- and I think that ultimately gdgt is about each of us finding the gadgets that suit us best.

I'm always a little hesitant to post stuff like this, but I have a lot of faith in the awesomeness of the gdgt community to have a good, respectful discussion about these things. I hope your responses to this will be thoughtful and positive. What is important to you in a gadget might not be important to someone else, so please keep that in mind when replying!