USA TODAY
Here is an article discussing the pro and con of each smart phone. Now I thought I would share my own opinion of which phone I might decide to upgrade to next when the time comes. And in the last month it has changed.

Allow me to share with you how I first dipped my toes into the smart phone world. I really didn't think I could justify the expense to bother with owning a black berry years ago. And after getting my hands on one I found the menu lay out to be absurd, not at all intuitive what so ever. I have had a few Motorola cell phones, then tried a couple lg feature phones. My previous phone was an lg env3. A decent phone that allowed me to have a taste of what its like to have the Internet with me anywhere I went. It was slow and basic but served my uses well. Then came time for me to upgrade, and I decided to go for it because Verizon was offering limited data plan of 150mg for 15 a month. So perfect for me, it was a way of easing into the smart phone realm of possibilities.

I have owned an iPod 32gb 3rd gen to upgrade to a 32gb 4th gen - and love it. I use my iPod all the time, in fact there are apps on there that are not available on the android market that has in a way required that i carry around my iPod even though I have a smart phone. So what does an iPod have to do with Android vs iPhone. Simply put an iPod is all the same stuff as an iPhone - just that the phone has, well, phone abilities, and also a much better camera than an iPod. So for the most part that has been my experience with the iOS system. When I was going to get a smart phone a year ago, the iPhone was not yet available with my carrier. And I was able to go with a phone that was rated highly with consumer reports.

(Side note - My first smart phone was a terrible flop that I kept for a few hours. This was the Microsoft kin 2. As a reviewer noted: The Kin Two is a cheap feeling, black plastic brick. The phone is not very heavy, which doesn't help the impression of cheapness. The sales person told me it would sync with windows outlook, hence the only way you could back up your contacts, there was NO other option. All my contacts would have to be manually inputted into the phone, and no way to recover. There were NO app options for it would not work with the Verizon market. I ate the activation fee of $35 reluctantly to go with the phone I originally wanted)

ANDROID

My first real smart phone was a Motorola Droid 2 certified pre owned. So a $199 phone I got for $50 with the same warrenty as a new phone - it had a slide out keyboard, that i thought i would use all the time. The battery life was longer than the Incredible I was looking at. The incredible did offer an 8mp camera where the Droid 2 gave me a 5mp. What sold me on this was the longer battery, and keyboard. All in all this phone was a great phone. Why do I mention it in the past tense, Verizon upgraded me. My phone was having a few issues with power cycling (where the phone turns itself off and back on) Which happens to be a common Android problem. but the kicker began when I would turn the phone off myself, the phone decided Nay, Nay and would turn back on. Needless to say to hear a loud robotic tone announce DROID in the middle of the night would really catch me off guard.

My Current phone is a Motorola Droid 3 - Verizon was all out of Droid 2's so they actually upgraded me to a Droid 3. It was still a refurb - but that has been ok. This phone has not given me issues at all. In fact I now have an 8mp camera, and HD video capabilities, the screen is larger than before, and there is also a dual core processor - what does that mean on a small phone? Well that means that I can load apps faster, switch between apps faster among other processing issues that are not always apparent I am sure. I love this phone. I have had the chance to view a few other Android phones, and their menus have been tweaked by the manufacturer, hiding some very basic settings or making some impossible to use at all. This un-uniformity - (ok not really a word, but I'm using it here) does make issues with Android phones. The open source can create an OS that crashes probably more frequently than the more secure and stable iOS on Apple products.

All this past year, I have kept thinking I really can't wait until my time comes to be eligible to upgrade, when that comes I had some pretty strong feelings that I would be an iPhone owner. Then I got the Droid 3 - this was a game changer. I think my Droid 2 was glitchy, this one isn't. I love the fact that no matter what I'm doing I can freely share in multiple formats. The iOS makes it so a link can be shared via email, or I can tweet about it. I have no desire to tweet really, to use at signs and hash tags so that others in the world can spam me with their amazing product that I didn't even know exists, or asked about. Most often I share with my very personal and select face book friends - however most of the time the option to share to facebook is not available. With the Android phone I can share links and pictures via email, facebook, twitter, text message, and blogger. I can pick any picture in my gallery, and share it right to facebook. That option is not available directly on the iOS - i can use email and then send it to my personal mobile email address on facebook. The option to share a photo you are viewing IN FACEBOOK there is no way to share on a mobile device - but with my Android phone I can view the image in full size and then tap the image to then share it to facebook. Plus I am sure there are more ways to use share on the android phone that would require me to look it up, but I really do think I have made my point.

So will see what happens when the time comes. Right now my upgrade phone choice is going to be the Motorola Droid Razr MAXX - this phone is so thin and light weight. And the one thing all Android phones have an issue with - the Maxx has a battery life longer than any other phone out there. Now if the iPhone 5 comes out and there are some changes and tweaks, my scale could tip back in the other direction. Who knows what will come out in the next six months that I have to wait to upgrade.

Well, you can read the article from USA Today about their Android vs iPhone. Then decide for yourself what phone are you going to be willing to commit to for the next 2 years. Remember, not all phones are alike. Play with them, read reviews. Phonescoop.com is a good website to look up information about any phone out there. When the time comes closer to the upgrade event, I might keep you posted. (Let me know if your interested)

-Mishelle