I'm finally getting a smart phone. I'm on AT&T and I narrowed my search to the Samsung Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5. Any ideas?
 
Rocky

Both are excellent phones with great specs. In a lot of cases (but not always), the apps for iPhone tend to be slightly better/more polished than the Android versions. But if you're a tweaker, you can tweak Android phones to your heart's content - there are few restrictions in the OS. This means Android apps can do pretty much anything to your phone, and some say this is it's downfall. It's easy to install a bunch of dicey apps on an Android phone and before you know it it's slowing down and/or locking up etc. That said, as long as you stick to apps with a good reputation, you'll be alright. 

In contrast the iPhone OS is much more of a closed system and Apple restrict which parts of the OS developers can and cannot access (unless you "jailbreak" it of course, but that's a whole other kettle of fish with its own risks). There is also a stringent acceptance process to be able to sell your app in the app store. While tech heads lament these restrictions, the result is that for the casual user (especially first time smartphone users), iPhone apps are generally very stable and don't have the same potential to screw up your phone like some Android apps do. 

I'm quite a techy person but I chose the iPhone because I use it for business and I need rock solid stability. I have the 4S and it's an excellent phone with a superb camera. The user experience on each is very smooth and fluid, although I think the iPhone's retina screen wins hands down because of its smaller dot pitch (small text is much easier to read). 

The other difference is in the batteries. With the iPhone, you cannot remove the battery and put in a spare, which means if you're a heavy user and your battery runs out halfway through the day, you either have to plug it back into the wall or put it in a charging case (which can be clunky and expensive). However with the Galaxy you can carry a spare battery around and do a switch. I'm a heavy iPhone user so I have a Mophie charging case which works great. Something else to think about. 

If I had to make a choice for you (which of course I can't), I would say that the iPhone is a better choice for the first time smartphone user.

Nokia Lumia 920.  Its absolutely awesome.  I've got an iPhone 4, on AT & T, and come June, I will be due for an upgrade; according to my contract, and I've got my eyes on the Nokia Lumia 920.

I've own, "at least 3," samsung phones, and while they were flip phones, I always thought they were absolute crap.  I also have a bunch of samsung technology in my house and I feel like, "its cheap, and worth the cheap price I paid for it."

As for iPhone 5, its not so much better then the iPhone 4.  Apple has kinda dropped the ball, and hit an innovation wall.  If I thought the iPhone 5 totally rocked, than I would totally upgrade to that, but I think the Nokia Lumia 920 has it beat, and has it beat bad!!

http://nokia.com

I've got a Galaxy S3 and it absolutely smokes all the iPhones which a few friends own, and now that Samsung are really pushing the S4, you can get some great deals for the S3.

I both the S4 and iPhone 5 are great phones.  I have the iPhone 5 and love it, but my partner at work has the Samsung and I would be totally fine with that.  I have had really good battery life on my iPhone.  

I will be spending about three weeks in Vegas working installing a trade show in May.  To double my battery life, I am seriously considering one of the Juice-pack cases. 

Bristol_Jonesey


I've got a Galaxy S3 and it absolutely smokes all the iPhones which a few friends own, and now that Samsung are really pushing the S4, you can get some great deals for the S3.

This ^...
 
There is no longer a single good reason to buy an iPhone. The S3 is streets ahead of the iphone in specs and the current android version is also much more capable and flexible than ios, as well as being viewed as easier to use in current surveys...http://news.cnet.com/8301...an-iphone-survey-says/

Wow!!! Thanks guys. I'll mull it over a little more,

Rocky

  
  Anything like Garageband or loopy on android?  If you want to tinker with music on it I would get an iphone.

 I don't feel in any way like the app system is "closed" with iphone. It's all I could want. No restrictive feeling....now if I can only teach Siri how to sing.

I've got both garageband and amplitude on my iPhone, as well as various other "payware" apps, and what I realized at the first few purchases I made years ago, when apps were very fresh and new is, "I never use these apps I pay for."  As compared to sitting at a desk, and working on a real computer I find these small, handheld devices to be extremely aukward.

Good for gps, good for internet searching and a few mobile websites, great to store contacts, listen to music, keep up with friends, make old school phone calls, write quick and short emails ie not long letters, keep an alarm clock, remind yourself of meetings, jot down quick notes.

Write a dissertation, or produce an album?  I still like a desktop/laptop with a larger screen.  I simply prefer to type things on a qwerty keyboard, then I do on gorilla glass graphical keyboards, and I prefer a large computer monitor than I do a five-10 inch screen.

Smartphones are a great innovation, and in short order I expect the smartphone to be as powerful as xenon quad cores, with 16 gigs of ram, and plenty of hard disk space, bluetooth to a larger monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse.  However that has not happened yet.  When it does, than the PC will be dead.

What about this google glass though, what exactly does it do?

Google glass looks pretty cool. Hope we have Boba Fett hemets soon too with all the realworld showing up on our HUD like Ironman and Samus Aran etc etc.

Remember when people were worried about computers taking over mankind? Well it seems we're pretty happy to meet them half way nowdays.


Between Galaxy S4 (I don't think it's actually been released yet) and iPhone I'd go Galaxy (I have S3)